<p>This report presents findings from research in Ribáuè district, Nampula province, in northeast Mozambique. Our aim was to understand the living conditions of the impoverished elderly and identify strategies that may improve their situation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with elderly people, including some of the most vulnerable and some who receive income from the social assistance programme. To gain a wider context we met representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations and referred to secondary sources.</p><p>We use the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework to present the capital assets (natural,social, financial, physical and human) of Ribáuè district and of its elderly inhabitants. We consider how access to assets is affected by political, economic and cultural factors in the community. We set the situation of the elderly against the development history of postindependence Mozambique, and international concern about poverty, the ageing population and their human rights.</p><p>We find that social assets in the form of human relationships, and natural assets in the form of land, are essential for elderly people’s livelihoods. Most of the elderly have very limited access to financial assets, apart from the few who receive social ssistance. This programme makes a very small but appreciated contribution to family welfare. However the programme’s reach has been limited geographically and eligibility regulations tend to obstruct access for the very poorest. In general the human capital of the rural and uneducated elderly is declining, as society increasingly values modern skills and knowledge. However the Ribáuè residents we met experience some benefit from infrastructure modernisation. Elderly people are receiving more attention, especially as carers of children.</p><p>We have identified existing strategies for improving elderly people’s livelihoods. We suggest ways to build on these, as well as possible new strategies. If development policies are both equitable and successful, increased employment and taxation should enable formal pension and social security systems to provide for the elderly in the long-term future. In the short to medium term, expansion of the social assistance programme must be prioritised, as it is vital to the most vulnerable. It is also important that people’s customary engagement in mutually supportive social networks is strengthened rather than undermined by development changes.</p><p>Key words: Mozambique, Nampula, elderly, social assistance, the food subsidy program (PSA), Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL)</p>

From large-scale agriculture and farming to concentrated fishing discards, garbage dumps, game carcasses and bird feeders, human action has been increasingly affecting natural systems and animal species through the deliberate and unintentional provisioning of food resources. Anthropogenic food sources (AFSs) are often more spatially concentrated, easily accessible, abundant and stable than natural food sources. The common raven, Corvus corax, is a behaviourally flexible and ecologically adaptable species that has managed to thrive in human transformed landscapes by exploiting these anthropogenic sources of food. The aim of this research was to investigate how raven individuals vary in their use of different AFSs through space and time. I used data from a long-term GPS tracking initiative in the Upper Austrian Alps to investigate (1) the space-use of non-breeding raven individuals across this landscape to answer the questions: (2) what types of AFSs are most extensively used by ravens in this landscape, and what factors predict individual variation in AFS use (i.e., apparent reliance on and access to resources), specifically (3a) the number of AFSs visited and (3b) the probability of being at AFSs at any given point in time. Movement patterns can reveal information on the foraging decisions made by individuals, including how they use different AFSs. Non-breeding raven individuals exhibited great variation in how they moved around and used the landscape. The number of AFSs visited, but not the probability of being at an AFS (at any given point in time), varied among individuals with different ranging behaviour and of different age class (i.e., juvenile and adults) and origin (i.e., captive-bred-released and wild-caught), suggesting that experience affects AFS-use. Non-breeders differed in their use of AFSs by season, visiting the highest number of AFSs but having the lowest probability being present at an AFS in winter, potentially indicative of high foraging competition under stressful environmental conditions. They were also found to extensively exploit resources in spring, both visiting high numbers of AFSs and having a high probability of being present at an AFS, perhaps due to decreased competition (e.g., from breeders) and increases in food availability. The category (i.e., wildpark, refuse site, hut) of AFSs also influenced the probability of an individual being present at the site, likely because of differences in resource quality, quantity and replenishing rate. A very few foraging sites were highly popular, while over half attracted less than 5 individuals throughout the study. By exploiting AFSs, raven population numbers have increased across their range, raising conservation concerns (i.e., predation on threatened species and human-wildlife conflict). With a better understanding of the patterns of AFS-use and the factors influencing these patterns, I suggest that strategies to manage ravens in this semi-transformed, alpine environment should focus on controlling the supply of food at AFSs at a regional scale.

This report presents findings from research in Ribáuè district, Nampula province, in northeast Mozambique. Our aim was to understand the living conditions of the impoverished elderly and identify strategies that may improve their situation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with elderly people, including some of the most vulnerable and some who receive income from the social assistance programme. To gain a wider context we met representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations and referred to secondary sources. We use the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework to present the capital assets (natural,social, financial, physical and human) of Ribáuè district and of its elderly inhabitants. We consider how access to assets is affected by political, economic and cultural factors in the community. We set the situation of the elderly against the development history of postindependence Mozambique, and international concern about poverty, the ageing population and their human rights. We find that social assets in the form of human relationships, and natural assets in the form of land, are essential for elderly people’s livelihoods. Most of the elderly have very limited access to financial assets, apart from the few who receive social ssistance. This programme makes a very small but appreciated contribution to family welfare. However the programme’s reach has been limited geographically and eligibility regulations tend to obstruct access for the very poorest. In general the human capital of the rural and uneducated elderly is declining, as society increasingly values modern skills and knowledge. However the Ribáuè residents we met experience some benefit from infrastructure modernisation. Elderly people are receiving more attention, especially as carers of children. We have identified existing strategies for improving elderly people’s livelihoods. We suggest ways to build on these, as well as possible new strategies. If development policies are both equitable and successful, increased employment and taxation should enable formal pension and social security systems to provide for the elderly in the long-term future. In the short to medium term, expansion of the social assistance programme must be prioritised, as it is vital to the most vulnerable. It is also important that people’s customary engagement in mutually supportive social networks is strengthened rather than undermined by development changes. Key words: Mozambique, Nampula, elderly, social assistance, the food subsidy program (PSA), Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL)

[pt] Este estudo foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar o Programa Subsidio de Alimentos (PSA) em Moçambique, especialmente em Cahora Bassa (Tete) com o intuito de compreender as repercussões do programa nas condições de vida das famílias de acordo com suas próprias visões. De maneira específica, buscámos conhecer o perfil dos beneficiários; apresentar suas principais carências; o conhecimento das titulares acerca do programa, as principais repercussões em suas condições de vida; analisar os significados que atribuem ao PSA e verificar se o PSA estaria contribuindo para a utilização de serviços sociais, como o acesso à alimentação e saúde. A pesquisa procurou fazer um levantamento bibliográfico sobre as políticas socais em Moçambique, relacionados à pesquisa. Também foi realizada a pesquisa de campo desenvolvida por meio de 30 (trinta) entrevistas em profundidade, sendo vinte e cinco com beneficiários do PSA e cinco com gestores do programa, a partir de um roteiro previamente elaborado. A pesquisa indicou que a população reconhece o PSA como uma ajuda que contribui de forma significativa no orçamento familiar, promove a manutenção ou uma maior variedade na alimentação ou mesmo o acesso a bens de consumo, mesmo considerando problemas em sua execução ligada ao baixo valor do benefício que varia de acordo com a renda familiar per capita e com a estrutura familiar, e mais cautelosos em relação às críticas. Por outro lado, os gestores indicam que predomina a aprovação e a percepção de que o PSA tem efeitos e resultados positivos uma vez que permite a ruptura com o ciclo vicioso da pobreza, e a saída permanente dos beneficiários dessa situação em Moçambique. Porém, sendo financiamento externo o principal instrumento de realização do PSA, o programa enfrenta limitações para se efetivação e expansão devido à escassez de recursos financeiros do governo os quais apontam o impacto da insegurança alimentar nas estruturas familiares, cuja expressão mais severa é a fome. / [en] This study was developed to evaluate the Benefit Food Program (PSA) in Mozambique, especially in Cahora Bassa (Tete) in order to understand the program s impact on the living conditions of families according to their own views. Specifically, we sought to know the profile of the beneficiaries; present their main needs; the knowledge of the owners about the program, the main impact on their living conditions; analyze the meanings they attach to PSA and verify that the PSA would be contributing to the use of social services, such as access to food and health. The research sought to review the literature on socais policies in Mozambique, related to the research. It was also carried out field research developed through thirty (30) indepth interviews, twenty-five with PSA beneficiaries and five program managers, from a previously prepared script. Research has indicated that the population recognizes the PSA as an aid that contributes significantly to the family budget, promotes maintenance or a greater variety in food or access to consumer goods, even considering problems in implementation connected to the low value of benefit varies according to family income and family structure, and more cautious with regard to criticism. On the other hand, managers indicate that dominates the approval and the perception that the PSA has effects and positive results since it allows to break the vicious cycle of poverty, and the permanent departure of the beneficiaries of this situation in Mozambique. However, with external funding the main instrument for implementing the PSA, the program has limitations to effective and expansion due to lack of government funds which point the impact of food insecurity in family structures, the most severe expression is hunger.