Community and sustainable development in tropical forests in Southeast Asia

这个项目是关于热带农村减轻贫穷与环境保护之间联系的国际合作研究的第一阶段。本课题的目的是：(1)建立关于家庭、社区和环境的动态理论；(2)为计划于2004年及以后进行的家庭和社区调查做前期工作——选址、实地研究设计和研究方法设计。我们的理论和实证工作揭示了自然资源利用作为热带农民应对策略的作用。在考察了东南亚和太平洋地区的几个国家之后，我们选择斐济作为研究地点，主要是因为斐济传统社区的作用非常强大，现有的实证研究有限，而且2003年1月的历史气旋造成了严重破坏。为了及时研究住户对这种冲击的反应，我们改变了原来的计划，于2003年对9个村庄的361户住户进行了第一次住户和社区调查，减少了对理论工作的重视。具体而言，我们进行了：(1)前期研究（文献调查、南太平洋大学访谈、村落选择）、(2)问卷设计、(3)调查预试和培训等准备、(4)全面调查、(5)数据录入和管理。我们于2003年1月至12月在斐济进行了(1)-(4)，并计划于2004年夏季完成(5)。这项调查是在太平洋地区进行的第一次系统的家庭和社区调查。关于人口统计、资产、储蓄、收入、转移、产权和资源管理的原始数据使我们能够研究生计多样化、风险应对、自然和社会资本以及生态旅游。

This project is the first stage of an international collaborative research on the link between poverty alleviation and environmental conservation in rural tropics. The purpose of the project is : (1)to develop dynamic theories on household, community, and the environment, and (2)to do preliminary work -site selection, field research design, and research method design -for household and community surveys which are scheduled in and after the year of 2004. Our theoretical and empirical works shed new lights on the role of natural resource use as a coping strategy among tropical farmers. After we examined several countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, we selected Fiji as a study site, mainly because in Fiji the role of traditional communities is very strong, existing empirical studies are limited, and a historical cyclone caused serious damages in January, 2003. To examine households' responses to this shock in a timely manner, we changed our original plan and conducted the first household and community surveys among 361 households in 9 villages in 2003 with less emphasis on theoretical works. Specifically, we conducted : (1)preliminary research (literature survey and interviews at the University of the South Pacific, and village selection), (2)questionnaire design, (3)survey pretest and training and other preparations, (4)full survey, (5)date entry and management. We conducted (1)-(4) in Fiji in January-December, 2003 and plan to complete (5) in the summer of 2004. This survey is the first systematic household and community surveys conducted in the Pacific. The primary data on demographics, assets, savings, income, transfer, property rights, and resource management allow us to examine livelihood diversification, risk coping, natural and social capital, and ecotourism.