Traditionally Protected Forests´ Role within Transforming Natural Resource Management Regimes in Taita Hills, Kenya

In Taita Hills, south-eastern Kenya, remnants of indigenous mountain rainforests play a crucial role as water towers and socio-cultural sites. They are pressurized due to poverty, shortage of cultivable land and the fading of traditional knowledge. This study examines the traditional ecological knowledge of Taitas and the ways it may be applied within transforming natural resource management regimes. I have analyzed some justifications for and hindrances to ethnodevelopment and participatory forest management in light of recently renewed Kenyan forest policies. Mixed methods were applied by combining an ethnographic approach with participatory GIS. I learned about traditionally protected forests and their ecological and cultural status through a seek out the expert method and with remote sensing data and tools. My informants were: 107 household interviewees, 257 focus group participants, 73 key informants and 87 common informants in participatory mapping. Religious leaders and state officials shared their knowledge for this study. I have gained a better understanding of the traditionally protected forests and sites through examining their ecological characteristics and relation to social dynamics, by evaluating their strengths and hindrances as sites for conservation of cultural and biological diversity. My results show that, these sites are important components of a complex socio-ecological system, which has symbolical status and sacred and mystical elements within it, that contributes to the connectivity of remnant forests in the agroforestry dominated landscape. Altogether, 255 plant species and 220 uses were recognized by the tradition experts, whereas 161 species with 108 beneficial uses were listed by farmers. Out of the traditionally protected forests studied 47 % were on private land and 23% on community land, leaving 9% within state forest reserves. A paradigm shift in conservation is needed; the conservation area approach is not functional for private lands or areas trusted upon communities. The role of traditionally protected forests in community-based forest management is, however, paradoxal, since communal approaches suggests equal participation of people, whereas management of these sites has traditionally been the duty of solely accredited experts in the village. As modernization has gathered pace such experts have become fewer. Sacredness clearly contributes but, it does not equal conservation. Various social, political and economic arrangements further affect the integrity of traditionally protected forests and sites, control of witchcraft being one of them. My results suggest that the Taita have a rich traditional ecological knowledge base, which should be more determinately integrated into the natural resource management planning processes.

Étude des moteurs de développement en Chine rurale et ethnique

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Cultura como desenvolvimento entre os Paresi Kozarini

The proposal of the present study is to get to know and to analyze the building up of the culture notion among the participants of the Paresi Kozarini group in the ethnodevelopment context. The main focus is the ethnographic study, presenting a description of Aldeia Rio Verde (Paresi Indigenous Land), understanding it as a synthesis of historic processes which explains the current moment of Paresi Indigenous group. By using the mentioned methodology, the processes and social relations produced along the contact path of this group with regional-national culture were focused, and how that contact affects the present. The research questions which concern the present study refer to the processes of identification of the researched subjects about themselves and in relation to others. According as almost the totality of the indigenous group we usually know as Paresi, recognize itself as Kozarini, the attention is directed to the manner how they see themselves and how they differ from the other Paresi groups, not indigenous people, and other indigenous groups; and which meanings of the prefix ethno- (which culture elements) they have elected to represent and manage external matters to their culture and society, in the context of discussions about ethnodevelopment

O turismo de base comunitária como vetor de etnodesenvolvimento: a comunidade Mebêngôkre-Kayapó na Terra Indígena Las Casas - PA

This study aims to analyze the contribution that the future implementation of community-based tourism can provide to Mebengokre-Kayapo, people of the village Tekrejarôti, they re-inhabiting the indigenous land Las Casas, located in southern of Pará, taking into consideration that tourism is as vector of ethnodevelopment, and it can also contribute to the conservation of Sociobiodiversity and local culture through experiences that will enable the realization of acquaintanceship, where there will be sharing of the daily activities of the customs of the local people, and cultural changes, which is the aim between visitors and the community, where these ones can promote the knowledge of non-indigenous people, and to consolidate the ethnic and cultural identity thereof too. Thus, this study guided by the participatory action research, it was used data obtained in 2012, that were results from the application of interviews with the community to make the diagnosis of tourism potential. It is an exploratory and descriptive research about the topic. The field research combined with participant observation, workshops and interviews contributed to it was possible to conduct a depth analysis about the environment studied. This research has the intention to obtain concrete results in the implementation and/or promotion of a cultural practice and environmentally sustainable ruled in organizational processes that permeates the guidelines of community-based tourism, however this depends on the conditions of human and forest resources, and infrastructure conditions in the community, providing in the short and medium terms, social activities and culturally positive for the culture of this people, and providing to long term, environmental and economic landmarks. As result, it was possible to identify that the community with its cultural events, parties and ceremonies being allied to their way of life and taken from their criteria, it is able to work with the tourism within their land and it can makes the tourism, a cultural affirmation opportunity and income generation. But, it concludes that for tourism to become ,in fact, there are required to be carried out some measures, that meets the new Regulatory Instruction IN 3/2015, this IN states that for the community to work with tourism in their land, it is necessary to be prepared a visitation plan that fits the established requirements. This research is constituted as an important tool in building this visitation plan, given that it was done from the community demand and it was conducted in a participatory manner, valuing the horizontal dialogue and the autonomy of this people.

O turismo de base comunitária como vetor de etnodesenvolvimento: a comunidade Mebêngôkre-Kayapó na Terra Indígena Las Casas - PA

This study aims to analyze the contribution that the future implementation of community-based tourism can provide to Mebengokre-Kayapo, people of the village Tekrejarôti, they re-inhabiting the indigenous land Las Casas, located in southern of Pará, taking into consideration that tourism is as vector of ethnodevelopment, and it can also contribute to the conservation of Sociobiodiversity and local culture through experiences that will enable the realization of acquaintanceship, where there will be sharing of the daily activities of the customs of the local people, and cultural changes, which is the aim between visitors and the community, where these ones can promote the knowledge of non-indigenous people, and to consolidate the ethnic and cultural identity thereof too. Thus, this study guided by the participatory action research, it was used data obtained in 2012, that were results from the application of interviews with the community to make the diagnosis of tourism potential. It is an exploratory and descriptive research about the topic. The field research combined with participant observation, workshops and interviews contributed to it was possible to conduct a depth analysis about the environment studied. This research has the intention to obtain concrete results in the implementation and/or promotion of a cultural practice and environmentally sustainable ruled in organizational processes that permeates the guidelines of community-based tourism, however this depends on the conditions of human and forest resources, and infrastructure conditions in the community, providing in the short and medium terms, social activities and culturally positive for the culture of this people, and providing to long term, environmental and economic landmarks. As result, it was possible to identify that the community with its cultural events, parties and ceremonies being allied to their way of life and taken from their criteria, it is able to work with the tourism within their land and it can makes the tourism, a cultural affirmation opportunity and income generation. But, it concludes that for tourism to become ,in fact, there are required to be carried out some measures, that meets the new Regulatory Instruction IN 3/2015, this IN states that for the community to work with tourism in their land, it is necessary to be prepared a visitation plan that fits the established requirements. This research is constituted as an important tool in building this visitation plan, given that it was done from the community demand and it was conducted in a participatory manner, valuing the horizontal dialogue and the autonomy of this people.

Cultura como desenvolvimento entre os Paresi Kozarini

The proposal of the present study is to get to know and to analyze the building up of the culture notion among the participants of the Paresi Kozarini group in the ethnodevelopment context. The main focus is the ethnographic study, presenting a description of Aldeia Rio Verde (Paresi Indigenous Land), understanding it as a synthesis of historic processes which explains the current moment of Paresi Indigenous group. By using the mentioned methodology, the processes and social relations produced along the contact path of this group with regional-national culture were focused, and how that contact affects the present. The research questions which concern the present study refer to the processes of identification of the researched subjects about themselves and in relation to others. According as almost the totality of the indigenous group we usually know as Paresi, recognize itself as Kozarini, the attention is directed to the manner how they see themselves and how they differ from the other Paresi groups, not indigenous people, and other indigenous groups; and which meanings of the prefix ethno- (which culture elements) they have elected to represent and manage external matters to their culture and society, in the context of discussions about ethnodevelopment

Cultura como desenvolvimento entre os Paresi Kozarini

The proposal of the present study is to get to know and to analyze the building up of the culture notion among the participants of the Paresi Kozarini group in the ethnodevelopment context. The main focus is the ethnographic study, presenting a description of Aldeia Rio Verde (Paresi Indigenous Land), understanding it as a synthesis of historic processes which explains the current moment of Paresi Indigenous group. By using the mentioned methodology, the processes and social relations produced along the contact path of this group with regional-national culture were focused, and how that contact affects the present. The research questions which concern the present study refer to the processes of identification of the researched subjects about themselves and in relation to others. According as almost the totality of the indigenous group we usually know as Paresi, recognize itself as Kozarini, the attention is directed to the manner how they see themselves and how they differ from the other Paresi groups, not indigenous people, and other indigenous groups; and which meanings of the prefix ethno- (which culture elements) they have elected to represent and manage external matters to their culture and society, in the context of discussions about ethnodevelopment