Doctoral Dissertation Research: Drought Resource Management and Pastoralist Livelihood Change: An Examination of the Social Dynamics Mediating Conservation Goals and Outcomes

博士论文研究：干旱资源管理和牧民生计变化：对调节保护目标和成果的社会动态的检验

• 批准号: 1030847
• 负责人: Paul Leslie
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-15 至 2012-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1030847&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Drought; Resource

It is well documented that humans influence their environment, and that conservation initiatives can have substantial impacts on local people. Less well understood how conservation initiatives affect social changes, and how these social changes in turn impact conservation goals. Doctoral student Brian Miller, under the supervision of Professor Paul Leslie in the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill will conduct a study that explores the social dynamics that mediate conservation actions and outcomes by examining the individual and institutional responses to changes in access to resources. Rivers, swamps, and highlands are key resource areas for livestock herders (pastoralists) living in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, but pastoralist access to these dry-season/drought resources is inhibited by the establishment of parks and other protected areas. Such changes in resource availability have considerable implications for pastoralists' livelihoods, which are increasingly being supplemented with, or replaced by, cultivation and wage labor in sub-Saharan Africa. Although livelihood change among pastoralists is well documented, there has been little study of its interactions with access to drought resources. This study will describe the accessibility of drought resources in the Kenya/Tanzania border region, the relationship between resource access and Maasai livelihood decisions, and the response of local resource management institutions to ongoing livelihood changes. Describing the human responses to changes in resource accessibility will illustrate the social consequences of conservation as well as the indirect ecological implications of these effects. This study will use a mixed methods approach that will entail geospatial analysis of resource distributions, household survey data analysis, and interviews with members of communities that are varying distances from a national park. Conservation efforts directly affect pastoralists' access to the resources they need to make a living. At the same time, ongoing pastoralist livelihood changes could substantially alter rangeland ecosystems, which cover a large portion of the earth's land surface. These changes have the potential to transform landscapes in the vicinity of iconic conservation areas (e.g., Serengeti National Park), block wildlife migration corridors, and thereby affect the viability of tourism economies. This study explores the idea that the challenges facing conservationists and pastoralists are mutually dependent, and so are the solutions for resolving them. Understanding the consequences of conservation initiatives for local land use is necessary for developing management strategies that sustain ecosystem function and resource availability beyond the boundaries of protected areas. Moreover, pastoralists in some regions are gaining recognition as valuable conservation partners, and identifying patterns of resource availability is needed in order to establish access rights that prevent further land dispossession and marginalization. Finally, learning about the individual strategies and the collective resource management institutions that have allowed some people to remain in the pastoral sector will likely be instructive for livestock herders and conservationists alike.

有充分的证据表明，人类会影响他们的环境，而保护措施会对当地人民产生重大影响。不太清楚的保护措施如何影响社会变化，以及这些社会变化如何反过来影响保护目标。博士生布赖恩米勒，教授保罗·莱斯利在地理系在北卡罗来纳州查佩尔山大学的监督下将进行一项研究，探讨调解保护行动和结果的社会动态，通过检查个人和机构的反应，在获得资源的变化。 河流、沼泽和高地是生活在干旱和半干旱生态系统中的牧民（牧民）的主要资源区，但由于建立了公园和其他保护区，牧民无法获得这些旱季/干旱资源。资源供应的这种变化对牧民的生计产生了相当大的影响，在撒哈拉以南非洲，牧民的生计越来越多地被种植和雇佣劳动所补充或取代。虽然牧民的生计变化有详细的记录，但很少有人研究这种变化与获得干旱资源之间的相互作用。这项研究将描述肯尼亚/坦桑尼亚边境地区干旱资源的可获得性，资源获得与马赛人生计决定之间的关系，以及当地资源管理机构对持续生计变化的反应。描述人类对资源可及性变化的反应将说明保护的社会后果以及这些影响的间接生态影响。这项研究将使用混合方法的方法，将需要地理空间分析的资源分布，家庭调查数据分析，并与社区成员的访谈，是不同的距离，从国家公园。保护工作直接影响到牧民获得谋生所需的资源。与此同时，持续的牧民生计变化可能会大大改变牧场生态系统，而牧场生态系统覆盖了地球陆地表面的很大一部分。 这些变化有可能改变标志性保护区附近的景观（例如，塞伦盖蒂国家公园），阻断野生动物迁徙通道，从而影响旅游经济的可行性。本研究探讨了保护主义者和牧民面临的挑战是相互依赖的，解决这些挑战的解决方案也是如此。了解当地土地使用的保护举措的后果是必要的，以制定管理战略，维持生态系统功能和资源的可用性超越保护区的边界。此外，一些地区的牧民作为宝贵的养护伙伴正在得到承认，需要确定资源的可得性模式，以确立使用权，防止进一步剥夺土地和边缘化。最后，了解个人战略和集体资源管理机构，使一些人留在畜牧业部门可能是有益的牲畜牧民和保护主义者。