Uncover the Concealed Link: Gender & Ethnicity-Divided Local Knowledge on the Agro-Ecosystem of a Forest Margin

This research is a study about knowledge interface that aims to analyse knowledge discontinuities, the dynamic and emergent characters of struggles and interactions within gender system and ethnicity differences. The cacao boom phenomenon in Central Sulawesi is the main context for a changing of social relations of production, especially when the mode of production has shifted or is still underway from subsistence to petty commodity production. This agrarian change is not only about a change of relationship and practice, but, as my previous research has shown, also about the shift of knowledge domination, because knowledge construes social practice in a dialectical process. Agroecological knowledge is accumulated through interaction, practice and experience. At the same time the knowledge gained from new practices and experiences changes mode of interaction, so such processes provide the arena where an interface of knowledge is manifested. In the process of agro-ecological knowledge interface, gender and ethnic group interactions materialise in the decision-making of production and resource allocation at the household and community level. At this point, power/knowledge is interplayed to gain authority in decision-making. When authority dominates, power encounters resistance, whereas the dominant power and its resistance are aimed to ensure socio-economic security. Eventually, the process of struggle can be identified through the pattern of resource utilisation as a realisation of production decision-making. Such processes are varied from one community to another, and therefore, it shows uniqueness and commonalities, especially when it is placed in a context of shifting mode of production. The focus is placed on actors: men and women in their institutional and cultural setting, including the role of development agents. The inquiry is informed by 4 major questions: 1) How do women and men acquire, disseminate, and utilise their agro ecological knowledge, specifically in rice farming as a subsistence commodity, as well as in cacao farming as a petty commodity? How and why do such mechanisms construct different knowledge domains between two genders? How does the knowledge mechanism apply in different ethnics? What are the implications for gender and ethnicity based relation of production? ; 2) Using the concept of valued knowledge in a shifting mode of production context: is there any knowledge that dominates others? How does the process of domination occur and why? Is there any form of struggle, strategies, negotiation, and compromise over this domination? How do these processes take place at a household as well as community level? How does it relate to production decision-making? ; 3) Putting the previous questions in two communities with a different point of arrival on a path of agricultural commercialisation, how do the processes of struggle vary? What are the bases of the commonalities and peculiarities in both communities?; 4) How the decisions of production affect rice field - cacao plantation - forest utilisation in the two villages? How does that triangle of resource use reflect the constellation of local knowledge in those two communities? What is the implication of this knowledge constellation for the cacao-rice-forest agroecosystem in the forest margin area? Employing a qualitative approach as the main method of inquiry, indepth and dialogic interviews, participant observer role, and document review are used to gather information. A small survey and children’s writing competition are supplementary to this data collection method. The later two methods are aimed to give wider information on household decision making and perception toward the forest. It was found that local knowledge, particularly knowledge pertaining to rice-forest-cacao agroecology is divided according to gender and ethnicity. This constellation places a process of decision-making as ‘the arena of interface’ between feminine and masculine knowledge, as well as between dominant and less dominant ethnic groups. Transition from subsistence to a commercial mode of production is a context that frames a process where knowledge about cacao commodity is valued higher than rice. Market mechanism, as an external power, defines valued knowledge. Valued knowledge defines the dominant knowledge holder, and decision. Therefore, cacao cultivation becomes a dominant practice. Its existence sacrifices the presence of rice field and the forest. Knowledge about rice production and forest ecosystem exist, but is less valued. So it is unable to challenge the domination of cacao. Various forms of struggles - within gender an ethnicity context - to resist cacao domination are an expression of unequal knowledge possession. Knowledge inequality implies to unequal access to withdraw benefit from market valued crop. When unequal knowledge fails to construct a negotiated field or struggles fail to reveal ‘marginal’ decision, e.g. intensification instead of cacao expansion to the forest, interface only produces divergence. Gender and ethnicity divided knowledge is unabridged, since negotiation is unable to produce new knowledge that accommodates both interests. Rice is loaded by ecological interest to conserve the forest, while cacao is driven by economic interest to increase welfare status. The implication of this unmediated dominant knowledge of cacao production is the construction of access; access to the forest, mainly to withdraw its economic benefit by eliminating its ecological benefit. Then, access to cacao as the social relationship of production to acquire cacao knowledge; lastly, access to defend sustainable benefit from cacao by expansion. ‘Socio-economic Security’ is defined by Access. The convergence of rice and cacao knowledge, however, should be made possible across gender and ethnicity, not only for the sake of forest conservation as the insurance of ecological security, but also for community’s socio-economic security. The convergence might be found in a range of alternative ways to conduct cacao sustainable production, from agroforestry system to intensification.

Revision of the genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae)

Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt eine umfassende taxonomische Revision der Gattung Fosterella L.B. Sm. (Bromeliaceae) dar, die alle 31 derzeit akzeptierten Arten umfasst und einen Bestimmungsschlüssel für diese beinhaltet. Die Revision beruht auf der morphologisch-anatomischen Auswertung von Herbarmaterial (über 800 Exsikkate), Lebendpflanzen (ca. 150 Akzessionen) und eigenen vergleichenden Untersuchungen im Freiland. Die Gattung Fosterella ist seit nunmehr etlichen Jahren Forschungsgegenstand einer interdisziplinären Studie, die sowohl molekulrae, als auch anatomische, morphologische und biogeographische Untersuchungen einbezieht. Unser Interesse an der Gattung Fosterella gründet sich auf ihrer enormen ökologischen und biogeographischen Vielfalt, sie gilt als hervorragendes Modellsystem für Artbildungsmechanismen in den Anden. In den letzten Jahren wurde von verschiedenen molekularen Methoden Gebrauch gemacht, um die verwandtschaftlichen Beziehungen innerhalb der Gattung zu untersuchen, so dass mittlerweile gut aufgelöste Stammbäume vorliegen. Diese molekularen Studien, überwiegend durchgeführt von Dr. Martina Rex, wurden ergänzt durch intensive Sammelaktivitäten und eingehende taxonomische Untersuchungen im Rahmen der vorliegenden Revision. Auf diese Weise konnten die morphologische Plastizität der einzelnen Arten erfasst und schließlich ein wohlfundiertes Artkonzept vorgelegt werden. Zunächst wird ein kurzer Überblick über die Familie der Bromeliaceen als auch die Gattung Fosterella gegeben, in dem jeweils Informationen zur Verbreitung, Morphologie, Physiologie, Ökologie und Phylogenie geliefert werden. Im Anschluss an einen historischen Überblick des taxonomischen Werdegangs wird die Abgrenzung der Gattung Fosterella zu den nächstverwandten Gattungen Deuterocohnia, Dyckia und Encholirium erläutert. Die morphologischen Merkmale zur Differenzierung der Arten innerhalb der Gattung werden im Hinblick auf ihre Zuverlässigkeit und ihr Gewicht diskutiert. Der Artschlüssel basiert auf Merkmalen, die leicht auszumachen und gut zu unterscheiden sind. Bei der ausführlichen Beschreibung der Arten wird auch auf ihre jeweilige Verbreitung, Ökologie, taxonomische Abgrenzung, systematische Verwandtschaft sowie die Etymologie des Namens eingegangen. Beigefügt sind jeweils Zeichnungen, ein Foto vom Holo-/Lectotypus, Fotos von Lebendpflanzen sowie eine Verbreitungskarte. Im Rahmen der taxonomischen Arbeit wurden fünf Arten zu Synonymen reduziert: Fosterella chiquitana Ibisch, R. Vásquez & E. Gross und F. latifolia Ibisch, R. Vásquez & E. Gross wurden in die Synonymie von F. penduliflora (C.H. Wright) L.B. Sm. eingezogen; F. fuentesii Ibisch, R. Vásquez & E. Gross als Synonym zu F. albicans (Griseb.) L.B. Sm. gestellt; F. elata H. Luther in die Synonymie von F. rusbyi (Mez) L.B. Sm. verwiesen und F. nowickii Ibisch, R. Vásquez & E. Gross als Synonym zu F. weddelliana (Brongn. ex Baker) L.B. Sm. gestellt. Fosterella schidosperma (Baker) L.B. Sm. var. vestita L.B. Sm. & Read wird zum Synonym von Fosterella weberbaueri (Mez) L.B. Sm. reduziert. Sechs Arten wurden neu beschrieben: Fosterella batistana Ibisch, Leme & J. Peters; F. christophii Ibisch, R. Vásquez & J. Peters; F. elviragrossiae Ibisch, R. Vásquez & J. Peters; F. kroemeri Ibisch, R. Vásquez & J. Peters; F. nicoliana J. Peters & Ibisch und F. robertreadii Ibisch & J. Peters. Das Taxon F. gracilis (Rusby) L.B. Sm. wurde neu etabliert. Um die Evolution von einzelnen morphologischen Merkmalen zu rekonstruieren, wurden die Zustände von zehn ausgewählten Merkmalen kodiert und auf einen molekularen Stammbaum kartiert. Die folgenden Merkmalszustände wurden als ursprünglich innerhalb der Gattung ermittelt: Stammlosigkeit, ganzrandige Blattspreiten, flache Rosetten mit dem Boden aufliegenden Blättern, locker beschuppte Blattunterseiten, schildförmige Haare mit gezähntem Rand, ganzrandige Pedunkel-Brakteen, rispenförmiger Blütenstand, kahle/verkahlende Blütenstandsachsen, weiße Petalen und einfach-aufrechte Narben. Rückschlüsse bezüglich der Evolution und Ausbreitung der Gattung Fosterella werden diskutiert: Die überwiegend kleinen Verbreitungsgebiete der Arten hängen offensichtlich mit ihren fragmentierten, inselartigen Habitaten (z.B. innerandine Trockentäler) zusammen. Die Tatsache, dass die Yungas-Bergregenwälder des Departamento La Paz, Bolivia, die Region mit der größten Artenvielfalt darstellen, lässt sich mit der extrem variablen Topographie und der außerordentlich hohen Vielfalt an Habitaten dieser Region erklären. Aus folgenden Gründen erscheint es sehr wahrscheinlich, dass die Gattung Fosterella ihren Ursprung im Tiefland hat: Die Mehrheit der Arten weist einen eher mesophytischen Habitus auf und ist in mehr oder weniger humiden Habitaten zu finden. Die Gattung ist durch mehrere Arten in sehr alten Habitaten des präkambrischen Schilds im Tiefland von Zentral-Südamerika vertreten. Weiterhin betreiben, soweit bekannt, alle Fosterella Arten C3 Photosynthese, während in den Gattungen der Schwestergruppe, Deuterocohnia, Dyckia and Encholirium, CAM der verbreitete Photosyntheseweg ist. In jedem Fall ist die Besiedelung der Anden und/oder Tieflandhabitate mehrfach unabhängig voneinander geschehen, vielleicht sogar in beiden Richtungen.

Horizontal nutrient fluxes and production efficiencies in urban and peri-urban crop and livestock husbandry of Niamey, Niger

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) increasingly supplies food and non-food values to the rapidly growing West African cities. However, little is known about the resource use efficiencies in West African small-scale UPA crop and livestock production systems, and about the benefits that urban producers and retailers obtain from the cultivation and sale of UPA products. To contribute to filling this gap of knowledge, the studies comprising this doctoral thesis determined nutrient use efficiencies in representative urban crop and livestock production system in Niamey, Niger, and investigated potential health risks for consumers. Also assessed was the economic efficiency of urban farming activities. The field study, which was conducted during November 2005 to January 2008, quantified management-related horizontal nutrient flows in 10 vegetable gardens, 9 millet fields and 13 cattle and small ruminant production units. These farms, selected on the basis of a preceding study, represented the diversity of UPA crop and livestock production systems in Niamey. Based on the management intensity, the market orientation and especially the nutrient input to individual gardens and fields, these were categorized as high or low input systems. In the livestock study, high and low input cattle and small ruminant units were differentiated based on the amounts of total feed dry matter offered daily to the animals at the homestead. Additionally, economic returns to gardeners and market retailers cultivating and selling amaranth, lettuce, cabbage and tomato - four highly appreciated vegetables in Niamey were determined during a 6-months survey in forty gardens and five markets. For vegetable gardens and millet fields, significant differences in partial horizontal nutrient balances were determined for both management intensities. Per hectare, average annual partial balances for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) amounted to 9936 kg C, 1133 kg N, 223 kg P and 312 kg K in high input vegetable gardens as opposed to 9580 kg C, 290 kg N, 125 kg P and 351 kg K in low input gardens. These surpluses were mainly explained by heavy use of mineral fertilizers and animal manure to which irrigation with nutrient rich wastewater added. In high input millet fields, annual surpluses of 259 kg C ha-1, 126 kg N ha-1, 20 kg P ha-1 and 0.4 kg K ha-1 were determined. Surpluses of 12 kg C ha-1, 17 kg N ha-1, and deficits of -3 kg P ha-1 and -3 kg K ha-1 were determined for low input millet fields. Here, carbon and nutrient inputs predominantly originated from livestock manure application through corralling of sheep, goats and cattle. In the livestock enterprises, N, P and K supplied by forages offered at the farm exceeded the animals’ requirements for maintenance and growth in high and low input sheep/goat as well as cattle units. The highest average growth rate determined in high input sheep/goat units was 104 g d-1 during the cool dry season, while a maximum average gain of 70 g d-1 was determined for low input sheep/goat units during the hot dry season. In low as well as in high input cattle units, animals lost weight during the hot dry season, and gained weight during the cool dry season. In all livestock units, conversion efficiencies for feeds offered at the homestead were rather poor, ranging from 13 to 42 kg dry matter (DM) per kg live weight gain (LWG) in cattle and from 16 to 43 kg DM kg-1 LWG in sheep/goats, pointing to a substantial waste of feeds and nutrients. The economic assessment of the production of four high value vegetables pointed to a low efficiency of N and P use in amaranth and lettuce production, causing low economic returns for these crops compared to tomato and cabbage to which inexpensive animal manure was applied. The net profit of market retailers depended on the type of vegetable marketed. In addition it depended on marketplace for amaranth and lettuce, and on season and marketplace for cabbage and tomato. Analysis of faecal pathogens in lettuce irrigated with river water and fertilized with animal manure indicated a substantial contamination by Salmonella spp. with 7.2 x 104 colony forming units (CFU) per 25 g of produce fresh matter, while counts of Escherichia coli averaged 3.9 x 104 CFU g-1. In lettuce irrigated with wastewater, Salmonella counts averaged 9.8 x 104 CFU 25 g-1 and E. coli counts were 0.6 x 104 CFU g-1; these values exceeded the tolerable contamination levels in vegetables of 10 CFU g-1 for E. coli and of 0 CFU 25 g-1 for Salmonella. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Niamey’s UPA enterprises put environmental safety at risk since excess inputs of N, P and K to crop and livestock production units favour N volatilisation and groundwater pollution by nutrient leaching. However, more detailed studies are needed to corroborate these indications. Farmers’ revenues could be significantly increased if nutrient use efficiency in the different production (sub)systems was improved by better matching nutrient supply through fertilizers and feeds with the actual nutrient demands of plants and animals.

Optimising contributions of goat farming to household economic success and food security in three production systems in Ethiopia

The study aims to analyse factors affecting contributions of goat farming to household economic success and food security in three goat production systems of Ethiopia. A study was conducted in three districts of Ethiopia representing arid agro-pastoral (AAP), semi-arid agro-pastoral (SAAP) and highland mixed crop-livestock (HMCL) systems involving 180 goat keeping households. Gross margin (GM) and net benefit (NB1 and NB2) were used as indicators of economic success of goat keeping. NB1 includes in-kind benefits of goats (consumption and manure), while NB2 additionally constitutes intangible benefits (insurance and finance). Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was used as a proxy indicator of food security. GM was significantly affected by an off-take rate and flock size interaction (P<0.001). The increment of GM due to increased off-take rate was more prominent for farmers with bigger flocks. Interaction between flock size and production system significantly (P<0.001) affected both NB1 and NB2. The increment of NB1 and NB2 by keeping larger flocks was higher in AAP system, due to higher in-kind and intangible benefits of goats in this system. Effect of goat flock size as a predictor of household dietary diversity was not significant (P>0.05). Nevertheless, a significant positive correlation (P<0.05) was observed between GM from goats and HDDS in AAP system, indicating the indirect role of goat production for food security. The study indicated that extent of utilising tangible and intangible benefits of goats varied among production systems and these differences should be given adequate attention in designing genetic improvement programs.

Changes of traditional farming systems and their effects on land degradation and socio-economic conditions in the Inle Lake region, Myanmar

At many locations in Myanmar, ongoing changes in land use have negative environmental impacts and threaten natural ecosystems at local, regional and national scales. In particular, the watershed area of Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar is strongly affected by the environmental effects of deforestation and soil erosion caused by agricultural intensification and expansion of agricultural land, which are exacerbated by the increasing population pressure and the growing number of tourists. This thesis, therefore, focuses on land use changes in traditional farming systems and their effects on socio-economic and biophysical factors to improve our understanding of sustainable natural resource management of this wetland ecosystem. The main objectives of this research were to: (1) assess the noticeable land transformations in space and time, (2) identify the typical farming systems as well as the divergent livelihood strategies, and finally, (3) estimate soil erosion risk in the different agro-ecological zones surrounding the Inle Lake watershed area. GIS and remote sensing techniques allowed to identify the dynamic land use and land cover changes (LUCC) during the past 40 years based on historical Corona images (1968) and Landsat images (1989, 2000 and 2009). In this study, 12 land cover classes were identified and a supervised classification was used for the Landsat datasets, whereas a visual interpretation approach was conducted for the Corona images. Within the past 40 years, the main landscape transformation processes were deforestation (- 49%), urbanization (+ 203%), agricultural expansion (+ 34%) with a notably increase of floating gardens (+ 390%), land abandonment (+ 167%), and marshlands losses in wetland area (- 83%) and water bodies (- 16%). The main driving forces of LUCC appeared to be high population growth, urbanization and settlements, a lack of sustainable land use and environmental management policies, wide-spread rural poverty, an open market economy and changes in market prices and access. To identify the diverse livelihood strategies in the Inle Lake watershed area and the diversity of income generating activities, household surveys were conducted (total: 301 households) using a stratified random sampling design in three different agro-ecological zones: floating gardens (FG), lowland cultivation (LL) and upland cultivation (UP). A cluster and discriminant analysis revealed that livelihood strategies and socio-economic situations of local communities differed significantly in the different zones. For all three zones, different livelihood strategies were identified which differed mainly in the amount of on-farm and off-farm income, and the level of income diversification. The gross margin for each household from agricultural production in the floating garden, lowland and upland cultivation was US$ 2108, 892 and 619 ha-1 respectively. Among the typical farming systems in these zones, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plantation in the floating gardens yielded the highest net benefits, but caused negative environmental impacts given the overuse of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and spatial analysis within GIS were applied to estimate soil erosion risk in the different agricultural zones and for the main cropping systems of the study region. The results revealed that the average soil losses in year 1989, 2000 and 2009 amounted to 20, 10 and 26 t ha-1, respectively and barren land along the steep slopes had the highest soil erosion risk with 85% of the total soil losses in the study area. Yearly fluctuations were mainly caused by changes in the amount of annual precipitation and the dynamics of LUCC such as deforestation and agriculture extension with inappropriate land use and unsustainable cropping systems. Among the typical cropping systems, upland rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation had the highest rate of soil erosion (20 t ha-1yr-1) followed by sebesten (Cordia dichotoma) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) plantation in the UP zone. This study indicated that the hotspot region of soil erosion risk were upland mountain areas, especially in the western part of the Inle lake. Soil conservation practices are thus urgently needed to control soil erosion and lake sedimentation and to conserve the wetland ecosystem. Most farmers have not yet implemented soil conservation measures to reduce soil erosion impacts such as land degradation, sedimentation and water pollution in Inle Lake, which is partly due to the low economic development and poverty in the region. Key challenges of agriculture in the hilly landscapes can be summarized as follows: fostering the sustainable land use of farming systems for the maintenance of ecosystem services and functions while improving the social and economic well-being of the population, integrated natural resources management policies and increasing the diversification of income opportunities to reduce pressure on forest and natural resources.