The world today faces many challenges. Reducing poverty and protecting the environment are prominent amongst these challenges, and consequently both are high on priority lists for many national, international, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Since the 1980s there has been an increasing awareness that environmental protection must not fly in the face of social justice, especially in developing countries, and that a system can only truly achieve sustainability if it is socially just and economically sound, as well as environmentally secure. Likewise poverty reduction at the cost of the environment is worthless in the long term. This has given rise to much more holistic approaches to both conservation and poverty reduction policies and brought the rights of communities living in or near protected areas into the international focus. However, wether it is possible to conserve biodiversity and protect habitats successfully without undermining the livelihoods of local communities, or wether it is possible to offer development aid to an impoverished region without jeopardizing their local environment, is a question which has not been resolved. This study approaches this debate by examining the relationship between the livelihoods and natural resources of a rural village adjacent to a forest reserve on the Mambilla Highlands in Nigeria. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed during five months spent living on location to develop a picture of the situation as it currently exists, the environmental effects of development in the village to date, and the effects of these environmental changes on people’s livelihoods. Based on this research this thesis concludes that development in a region certainly increases the vulnerability of the environment. However, rather than concluding that this makes development and environmental protection conflicting agendas, this thesis argues that this period of vulnerability presents opportunities to develop true sustainability, as effective sustainable practices can develop from the experience of resource depletion. Additionally, examples of how knowledge sharing and dialogue between western scientists and indigenous communities has the potential to facilitate and accelerate this process are discussed.

The world today faces many challenges. Reducing poverty and protecting the environment are prominent amongst these challenges, and consequently both are high on priority lists for many national, international, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Since the 1980s there has been an increasing awareness that environmental protection must not fly in the face of social justice, especially in developing countries, and that a system can only truly achieve sustainability if it is socially just and economically sound, as well as environmentally secure. Likewise poverty reduction at the cost of the environment is worthless in the long term. This has given rise to much more holistic approaches to both conservation and poverty reduction policies and brought the rights of communities living in or near protected areas into the international focus. However, wether it is possible to conserve biodiversity and protect habitats successfully without undermining the livelihoods of local communities, or wether it is possible to offer development aid to an impoverished region without jeopardizing their local environment, is a question which has not been resolved. This study approaches this debate by examining the relationship between the livelihoods and natural resources of a rural village adjacent to a forest reserve on the Mambilla Highlands in Nigeria. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed during five months spent living on location to develop a picture of the situation as it currently exists, the environmental effects of development in the village to date, and the effects of these environmental changes on people’s livelihoods. Based on this research this thesis concludes that development in a region certainly increases the vulnerability of the environment. However, rather than concluding that this makes development and environmental protection conflicting agendas, this thesis argues that this period of vulnerability presents opportunities to develop true sustainability, as effective sustainable practices can develop from the experience of resource depletion. Additionally, examples of how knowledge sharing and dialogue between western scientists and indigenous communities has the potential to facilitate and accelerate this process are discussed.

The state of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is of importance to ecologists and conservationists considering the recent trends in the loss of local culture and indigenous knowledge systems worldwide. An understanding of the factors that affect the distribution and transmission of TEK may offer scientists an insight into how it can be conserved to persist to inform ecological decisions. This study investigated the distribution and transmission of TEK based on gender, age and tree resource use in two rural communities in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The distribution of this knowledge was assessed based on respondents’ ability to identify local tree species, their uses and conservation techniques. Their ecological knowledge of a number of common and rare indigenous tree species was also assessed. This was done mainly through focus group discussions, individual interviews and a participatory appraisal technique. Age group rather than gender had a significant effect on the distribution of TEK with old age respondents being more knowledgeable than youths and middle aged respondents. Resource use also affected the distribution of knowledge indicating that knowledge was highly dependent on resource use. Females were the main actors in the transfer of TEK in this community and majority of this knowledge was acquired through passive means. The results revealed a combination of factors that may pose a threat to the loss of TEK in these communities. These factors include; the continuous and unregulated harvesting of trees in the area, the effects of modernisation and globalization on aspects of the traditional community and the high levels of rural urban-migration.

The anthropogenic use of natural resources has become a major cause of biodiversity loss and habitat degradation throughout the world. Deforestation - the conversion of forests to alternative land covers - has led to a decrease in local biodiversity directly through a decrease in habitat, and indirectly through habitat fragmentation. Likewise, defaunation – the loss of animals both directly through hunting and indirectly through deforestation – has led to the empty forest syndrome and subsequent deterioration of forest ecosystems. In many cases, areas where anthropogenic use of natural resources is high overlap with areas of high biodiversity value. Therefore, the present series of studies aims to better understand the impacts that different types of natural resources use and habitat degradation have on biodiversity. This dissertation details the results of five studies, which aimed to: 1) examine the effects of habitat degradation on plant-frugivore networks; 2), understand the live capture and extent of ownership of lemurs in Madagascar; 3) understand the micro- and macro-level drivers of wild meat consumption in Madagascar; 4) describe the capture, movement, and trade of wild meat in Madagascar; and 5) the impacts of habitat changes on the diets and vertical stratification of frugivorous bats. For the first study, our objectives were to understand the effects of habitat degradation on (1) community structure, (2) network structure, and (3) seed dispersal services. We focused on fruit-bearing trees and frugivores (two lemur and five bird species) across a three-point gradient of habitat degradation in a tropical dry forest in Madagascar. Our objectives were to understand the effects of habitat degradation on (1) community structure, (2) network structure, and (3) seed dispersal services. We focused on fruit-bearing trees and frugivores (two lemur and five bird species) across a three-point gradient of habitat degradation in a tropical dry forest in Madagascar. Data on fruit consumption by frugivores were collected over 592 hours of observations at 13 fruiting tree species. We found that as habitat became more degraded: (1) the community structure of both frugivores and fruiting tree communities changed; (2) the mutualistic network structure became less complex and less connected; (3) the interaction strengths of pair-wise interactions changed and the asymmetries of these interactions shifted; and (4) seed dispersal decreased by 91% in the secondary forest, compared to the primary forest. In addition, we show that frugivores: (1) sometimes stopped eating fruit in the degraded forest, even when they had consumed it in other forests; and (2) appeared to avoid some fruiting tree species while showing preference for others. The mutualistic network studied in this paper appeared sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and a novel measure of effectiveness helped quantify these changes. For the second study, our objectives were to provide the first quantitative estimates of the prevalence, spatial extent, correlates and timing of lemur ownership, procurement methods, within-country movements, and numbers and duration of ownership. Using semi-structured interviews of 1,093 households and 61 transporters, across 17 study sites, we found that lemur ownership was widespread and affected a variety of taxa. We estimate that 28,253 lemurs have been affected since 2010. Most lemurs were caught by owners and kept for either short (≤1 week) or long (≥3 years) periods. The live capture of lemurs in Madagascar is not highly organized but may threaten several endangered species. For the third study, we investigated the role of wild meat in food security in Madagascar, a country where wild meat consumption is poorly understood in urban areas and at regional scales. Using semi-structured interviews (n = 1339 heads-of-households, 21 towns), we aimed to: 1) quantify the amount and purpose of; 2) understand the drivers behind; and, 3) examine recent changes in wild meat consumption in Madagascar. Few respondents preferred wild meat (8 ± 3%) but most had eaten it at least once (78 ± 7%), and consumption occurred across ethnic groups, in urban and rural settings. More food insecure areas reported higher rates of recent consumption of wild meat. However, consumption was best explained by individual preferences and taboos. Few respondents (<1 ± <1%) had increased rates of consumption during their lifetimes, and wild meat prices showed no change from 2005-2013. Most consumption involved wild pigs and small-bodied animals, though these animal groups and lemurs were consumed less in recent years. Given these data, wild meat is unlikely to enhance food security for most Malagasy people in urban and well-connected rural areas. For the fourth study, and to improve understanding of the wild meat trade in Madagascar, our objectives were to: (1) quantify the volume of consumption, transport, and sale for different animal groups, compared to domestic meat; (2) describe the methods of capture and hunting for different animal groups; (3) analyze the patterns of movement of wild meat from the capture location to the final consumer, compared to domestic meat; and (4) examine how the prices of wild meat change depending on the venue through which the consumer purchases it. Data was collected in May-August 2013 using semi-structured interviews of consumers (n = 1343 households, 21 towns), meatsellers (n = 520 restaurants, open-air markets stalls, and supermarkets, 9 towns), and drivers of inter-city transit vehicles (n = 61, 5 towns). We found that: (1) a wide range of hunting methods were used, though their prevalence of use differed by animal group; (2) wild meat traveled distances of up to 166 km to reach consumers, though some animal groups were hunted locally (<10 km) in rural areas; (3) most wild meat was procured from free sources (hunting and receiving meat as a gift), though urban respondents who consumed bats and wild pigs were more likely to purchase those meats; and (4) wild meat was consumed at lower rates than domestic meat, though urban respondents consumed twice as much wild meat as rural respondents. We conclude that urban and rural respondents differ in how they interact with the wild meat commodity chain. We also believe that the consumption and trade of wild meat in Madagascar is likely more formalized that previously thought. Finally, for our fifth study, we used stable isotope analysis to examine how foraging by three fruit bat species in Madagascar, Pteropus rufus, Eidolon dupreanum, and Rousettus madagascariensis, are impacted by habitat change across a large spatial scale. Our results indicated that the three species had broadly overlapping diets. Differences in diet were nonetheless detectable and consistent between P. rufus and E. dupreanum, and these diets shifted when they co-occurred, suggesting resource partitioning across habitats and vertical strata within the canopy to avoid competition. Changes in diet were also correlated with a decrease in forest cover, though at a larger spatial scale in P. rufus than in E. dupreanum. These results suggest fruit bat species exhibit differing foraging strategies in response to habitat change. They also highlight the key threats that fruit bats face from habitat change, and clarify the spatial scales at which conservation efforts should be implemented to mitigate threats for these bat species in Madagascar. / Biology

This is a qualitative study examining conservation attitudes and resource use of 63 individuals in Kasigau, Kenya. Community members described their perceptions of conservation, the resources that they use, the location and availability of these, their support for the protection of Mt. Kasigau, their likes and dislikes of plant and animal species, and their support of ecotourism in Kasigau. All individuals listed conservation behaviors and agreed that protecting Mt. Kasigau is important. Many recognized the mountain as the only source of water. Some resources were limited, especially at certain times of the year. All interviewed community members except one would like tourists to visit Kasigau and are interested in cultural exchange. There is an apparent difference between conservation and ecotourism attitudes in Makwasinyi and the other six villages which could be because Makwasinyi has a lower level of education and is isolated on the northeastern side of the mountain. Gender differences between males and females were also present as each gender uses different resources coupled with a division of labor. The main theory that evolved was rational choice theory. People of Kasigau are trying to sustain their livelihoods and will pick conservation activities due to their benefits and chance they will increase income. When developing a community-based conservation model, these attitudes, education level, and gender differences must be considered to make a plan the whole community can agree on and from which it will benefit.

Sustainable development as our joint global goal is consensus in the mainstream international arena, in the name of long-term well-being for all living creatures. However economic constraints often limit the choices available to local communities, forcing them to make trade-offs between immediate socioeconomic gains and the long-term sustainability of natural resources. Thus, economic interests parallel with biodiversity conservation create difficult positionings for individuals, which becomes even clearer in developing areas and biodiversity hotspots. Despite this conflict of interest, there is currently insufficient empirical evidence on how communities on microlevels – in areas of both environmental and developmental interests – understand and reason about this potential dilemma. A discrepancy between assumptions and empirics motivates an investigation of discourses from local perspectives. This thesis will therefore highlight local development and environmental discourses of forest and land use. The region of North Sumatra, Indonesia, functions as a paradigmatic case study on how community members reason who are appointed to two forceful narratives – resource extraction and biodiversity conservation. Through conducting semi-structured interviews and using discourse analysis, two environmental discourses and four development discourses were identified in the local understandings of forest and land use. This gives us indications of how the jungle is understood and valued from a bottom-up perspective. Exploring local perspectives of land use is essential for informed decision-making, promoting sustainable development, ensuring social equity, and fostering community engagement. Further research on the relationship and interactions between local communities and the natural world is called upon.

<p>The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life.</p><p>The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses?</p><p>I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation.</p><p>The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful.</p><p>It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses.</p> / <p>Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet.</p><p>De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs?</p><p>Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser.</p><p>Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter.</p><p>Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.</p>

The aim of this study is to find out if the former students think that they have made use of the courses they have taken at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet or if the courses should be exchanged. In the study it is assumed that a course can be useful professionally, for further studies and in private life. The main questions are: Have the former students made use of the courses they took at the Natural Resource Use Programme specialised in Animal Husbandry at Lillerudsgymnasiet? Was it the right decision to replace the course Horses? I have sent a questionnaire to all the students who graduated between 2003 and 2007. Out of 107 questionnaires I received 66 replies (62 %). All students have studied the same mandatory courses but different eligible courses. Therefore the frequency of replies shows great variation. The course Horses was recently replaced by the courses Small Enterprises A, Dogs and Species at risk. 52 % (34 persons) answered that they found the course Horses useful. 46 % (16 persons) answered that they found the course Small Enterprises A useful. 78 % (32 persons) answered that they found the course Dogs useful. 37 % (10 persons) answered that they found the course Species at risk useful. It is hard to say if it was right to replace Horses if you look only at the answers to how useful the course was. My conclusion is that the teachers should look at Species at risk and try to make it suit the specialisation Animal Husbandry better. English B is the course that the highest share of former students found useful, 82 % (18 persons). Nevertheless I think it should stay with the eligible courses. The former students think that they have made use of the mandatory courses. / Syftet med det här arbetet är att få reda på om de tidigare eleverna tycker att det varit nyttiga kurser som de läst på naturbruksprogrammets djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet och om det är någon eller några kurser som skulle kunna bytas ut. Jag tänker mig att en kurs kan vara nyttig både i kommande arbete, i fortsatta studier och i privatlivet. De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna är: Har de före detta eleverna haft nytta av kurserna som de läste på Lillerudsgymnasiets naturbruksprogram med djurvårdsinriktning? Var det riktigt att ta bort hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs? Jag har skickat ut en enkät till alla elever som gick ut naturbruksprogrammet med djurvårdsinriktning på Lillerudsgymnasiet mellan 2003 och 2007 och det blev 107 stycken. Svarsfrekvensen blev 62 % (66 st.). Alla elever har läst samma inriktningskurser men de har läst olika kurser av de individuellt valbara. Svarsfrekvensen är därför mycket olika för olika kurser. Kursen Hästkunskap blev nyligen utbytt mot Småföretagande A, Hundar och Utrotningshotade arter. 52 % (34 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hästkunskap. 46 % (16 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Småföretagande A. 78 % (32 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Hundar. 37 % (10 st.) svarade att de har haft nytta av kursen Utrotningshotade arter. Det är svårt att säga om det var rätt att ta bort Hästkunskapskursen som inriktningskurs enbart utifrån nyttan. Jag anser att man bör se över om Utrotningshotade arter kan göras om för att passa djurvårdsinriktningen bättre. Engelska B är den kurs som störst andel i den här studien tycker att de har haft nytta av, 82 %, (18 st.). Jag tycker ändå att den ska vara kvar bland de valbara kurserna. De tidigare eleverna tycker att de har haft nytta av sina inriktningskurser.

Over the last two decades, there have been increasing concerns about environmental degradation and its consequences on the long-term sustainability of socio-economic systems around the world. The publication of the report of the Club of Rome in 1972, (Meadows et al. 1972) focused on the issue of limits to growth. Since then, there has been a profusion of literature and general models have been developed to address the causes of environmental degradation and the unsustainability of current patterns of growth (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1970; 1990). Essentially these models used parameters that included population growth, consumption levels and aspects of technology, and their effects on the environment. While these models and studies were at a macro level that helped focus attention on the patterns of growth and their unsustainability, they did not provide insights into the mechanisms that were driving ecological change, nor suggest alternative models of growth. An entry point into the current study is to understand the mechanisms that drive ecological change. Motivated by concerns for environmental degradation, and the need to understand the mechanisms that drive ecological change, the study is situated in the academic domain of studies on human-nature interactions. The complex nature of interactions between human groups with their environment and their dependence on the situational context, requires that such studies be at a regional and local scale for which sufficient detail is available. This particular study is situated in the Nilgiri hills in the Western Ghats of Southern India for which such detailed information is available. The study reconstructs the ecological history of the Nilgiri area during the last 200 years, and from this laboratory of human-nature interactions, attempts to derive general patterns.

Local perceptions and livelihood strategies have in this study been examined through extensive fieldwork in two villages in rural Pondoland in the former homeland Transkei in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. Using a bottom-up perspective, changes in livelihoods and the processes involved in choosing between and combining various types of livelihood activities are analysed. The study also looks at specific South African policies, targeted at poverty relief and restriction of natural resource use, from the local perspective and points at communication problems between the national and local levels. Livelihoods in Transkei are today often conceptualised as consisting of subsistence agriculture combined with monetary incomes in the forms of state pensions and remittances from migrant labourers. This view is challenged by the results of the present study, showing that local jobs are the major components of livelihoods in the studied villages. Informal jobs are stressed as constituting an important, and perhaps previously underestimated, part of local job opportunities. While pensions also do make important contributions to livelihoods, the significance of agriculture, livestock keeping and various forms of natural resource use is shown to be relatively low. Key insights are that livelihood activities in rural Transkei vary a lot between specific localities, and that important recent changes in livelihoods have taken place. Transkei is furthermore often conceptualised as a region where severe environmental degradation is taking place, a fact that is also contradicted by findings from the study area. In accordance with recent research on an ‘African degradation narrative’, the hopeless and homogenous picture of Transkei as a generally degraded region is questioned. These results are also used to critically examine concepts such as ‘multiple livelihood strategies’ and the tendency to generalise about rural livelihoods across regions, countries or even continents. / Lokala uppfattningar och försörjningsstrategier har i denna studie undersökts genom långvarigt fältarbete och omfattande intervjuer med lokalbefolkningen i två byar i den rurala kustregionen i Pondoland, i Sydafrikas f.d. ‘homeland’ Transkei (idag Östra Kapprovinsen). Under apartheidtiden tvingades Sydafrikas befolkning av afrikanskt ursprung i hög utsträckning att bo i dessa s.k. homelands, vilket anses ha lett till både fattigdom och omfattande miljöförstöring i dessa områden. Transkei konceptualiseras idag därför ofta som ett problemområde, där befolkningen överlever på småskaligt jordbruk, nyttjande av, statliga bidrag och pengar från släktingar som jobbar i storstäder. Denna studie ifrågasätter upprätthållandet av en sådan bild av Transkei, genom att peka på att majoriteten av hushållen i fältområdet idag har lokala jobb. I detta sammanhang har informella jobb en viktig och troligtvis tidigare underskattad roll. Studien pekar också på att försörjningsstrategier är föränderliga och att det finns stora skillnader mellan olika lokaliteter med avseende på olika försörjningsmöjligheter. Många studier i Afrika har på senare tid ifrågasatt antaganden om att olika regioner är generellt degraderade, och visat på att detta ofta kan vara ett narrativ som av olika skäl upprätthålls utan att närmare granskas. Denna studie visar däremot på att miljön i fältområdet inte är generellt degraderad och att lokalbefolkningen inte överutnyttjar naturresurserna. Därmed bidrar studien till att nyansera en ibland alltför homogen och hopplös bild av Transkei som region. Studien granskar också specifika Sydafrikanska policies för naturvård och fattigdomsbekämpning utifrån lokalbefolkningens perspektiv och visar på problematiska kommunikationsbrister mellan nationell och lokal nivå.