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Rwanda Egypt
Photos at top: Left: Rice paddies in Kishui, China. Right: Community Forestry Management Group, Ampatsy Forest, Madagascar |
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The
Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program's Small Grants Initiative (SGI)
provides seed money to support alumni-initiated conservation and sustainable
development collaborative projects. It enables alumni of the program to
further develop ideas and pursue projects that are either extension
of their current professional work or have been inspired as a result
of participation in the course. The resources provided through
the SGI (UCB partnerships and seed funding) enable alums to
apply their newly-acquired knowledge, skills and global network to address on-the-ground challenges they face as environmental
professionals. RWANDA The overall objective of the project is to contribute to improved livelihoods of Kagitumba farmers through teaching gardening and feeding school children in their region, thus relieving parents to engage in more productive and development activities. The first stage in the process was covered by the 2006 SGI project and conducted a feasibility study of school feeding linked with local agriculture in Kagitumba and elsewhere in Rwanda. The 2006 SGI award provided funding to study the year-round sourcing of foodstuffs from local farmers including potential competition with home consumption needs, range and quality of foods, and links with yield-increasing practices. It is hoped that this scoping project will lead to 1) a thorough understanding of the capacities of local farmers to produce sufficient food to supply and support school feeding programs in local schools, 2) identification of production obstacles that can be overcome though the work of RHEPI and other organizations and 3) a realistic assessment of long-term financing for school feeding programs in these districts, and in Rwanda nationwide. Information gleaned from the study gives RHEPI a clear assessment of the environment within which it operates in order to understand it better and thus plan future interventions more effectively. It will acquaint RHEPI with both capacities and limitations of stakeholders as well as beneficiaries. The project will include a visit to Ghana , and consultation with alum Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng, who manages a school feeding program in the north of that country. Click here to see the original proposal. MADAGASCAR Diahhreal diseases are the third leading cause of infant mortality in Fianarantsoa Province , Madagascar . In 2006 a group of NGOs, governmental and non-governmental agencies linked to form the WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) Committee to address this problem. However, they have been unable to implement their word due to lack of funding. The Malagasy NGO Ainga Association is a founding member of this committee. The Small Grant would provide funding necessary to fulfill the brief to set up model water, sanitation and hygiene stations in all 10 schools in rural Ankafina commune in Fianarantsoa Province . In addition to establishing the safe water and sanitation technologies in 10 schools, the project includes creation of a set of lessons on water, sanitation and hygiene for elementary schools. It is hoped that the models developed would be replicated and adopted by other communes where the organization operates. The project will link with the Blum Initiative on Safe Water and Sanitation by sending a UCB intern to work on the project in Madagascar for three months. Click here to read the original proposal. EGYPT PERU Anna Zucchetti’s organization has been collaborating with other groups as part of The Green Valley Program for the sustainable development of the Lurin Valley surrounding Lima , Peru . The SGI proposal is to assess a variety of economic models and instruments for ongoing conservation of the Valley. This assessment process has incorporated the activities of numerous stakeholders in exchange and evaluation of experiences and solutions for conserving and managing agricultural lands. In particular, the project provided funding for a conference/workshop held in August 2006, attended by Professor David Zilberman, that engaged the Environmental Authority, Municipal Government and the public of metropolitan Lima in presentations and fruitful debate. David Zilberman shared his expertise in urban development and valuation of/payment for environmental services. Click here to see the original proposal. RWANDA This project, administered by the NGO - RHEPI (Rwandese Health Environment Project Initiative) in Umutara Province , built upon the success of the previous SGI project in Gitarama Province , Rwanda (2004- see below), but in a more environmentally degraded area and among pastoralist and returned-refugee communities. Parents of local schoolchildren, organized into a parents’ association, received intensive training in “green” agronomic skills, such as tree planting, water conservation, and kitchen gardens, as well as low-cost water and waste-management systems. Additional training subjects included family nutrition, reproductive health, prevention of HIV and sexual disease transmission, and fabrication of fuel efficient cook stoves. Since this community is unusual in that it includes many widows and female heads of household, special emphasis was given to training women -- who traditionally have not participated as leaders in the community. Thirty female leaders and ten male leaders now extend the knowledge and skills to neighboring families as a result of this project.. 400 families and 120 school children were involved in planting and in continuing to care for 41,200 tree seedlings. Robin Marsh visited Rwanda in November 2006, and spent a few days in Umutara Province at the site of the project, evaluating project results and needs. She also visited with the Minister of Environment, Kigali , and LWF, to discuss expansion of the RHEPI/SGI training model nationwide. Click here to see the original proposal. RUSSIA Russian youth in and surrounding the city of St. Petersburg gain ecological awareness, information and training through participation in established “Eco-clubs”. The study of surface and groundwater quality has been a major theme among these groups, and annual contests are held to judge and reward the groups’ water quality monitoring projects. Natalia Vinograd realized that Dr. Vince Resh’s effective, low cost, easily taught method for biological assessment of water bodies (learned during the ELP 2005) would be a significant contribution to the knowledge of Eco-club members. Her proposal included a “Clear Water 2006” conference followed by the preparation of a small (100 pp.) textbook on environmental assessment of water resources. The project included a visit to Russia by Dr. Resh in October 2006 to participate in the review and revision of the textbook and to present a one day seminar to teachers and Eco-club leaders on various water assessment methods. The creation of the textbook enables widespread dissemination of these methods throughout the region. Dr. Resh also met with the Working Group of the SPSU Center for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development to discuss on-going collaboration with UC Berkeley/ELP. Click here to see the original proposal. 2005 SGI Projects The rate of deforestation in this unique bioregion negatively impacts both natural resources and human livelihoods. In 2003, data collection was begun to develop an economic model to assess the effectiveness of community-based natural resource management and the factors influencing deforestation rates. The 2005 project aimed to develop and put in place a community-based monitoring system and will extend and broaden the study. MALI NEPAL Rural poverty and low employment in areas managed by local communities has persisted where these communities derive only minimal economic benefit from their non-timber forest products. This project proposes that enterprise development through a pro-poor entrepreneurship approach can conserve natural resources while generating income and equity for poor community forest users. In May and June a team of four Haas students worked with Dinesh Paudel (Community Forestry advisor), Forest User Groups, and an incipient community-based paper enterprise in the Himalayas to develop a business plan for sustainable operations under the pro-poor entrepreneurship model. UGANDA GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF)) As Policy and Legal Advisor to the Georgia Program
of Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), alumna Eka Otarashvili saw the
need to develop public awareness and technical skills to conduct biological
monitoring, chiefly of rivers, in Borjomi, an especially rich bioregion
lying on the course of a proposed oil pipeline. The project would develop
and distribute teaching modules and toolkits to selected schools, provide
training for the teachers, conduct workshops, and publicize these activities
in the media to increase public awareness. RUSSIA Alumnae Svetlana Chernikova Assistant Professor
of Environmental Safety and Sustainable Development at St. Petersburg
State University, and Natalia Belova, Vice Director of the Russian NGO,
“ECOCITY” proposed a project to develop and disseminate an
effective teaching and evaluation tool for environmental impact assessment
for the Russian context, the “Ecological Footprint”. They
realized that to take concrete steps toward environmentally and ecologically
sustainable policies and practices, Russia needed such instruments to
measure the extent of the environmental impact of its industrial and domestic
activities. The “Ecological Footprint” method is among the
most informative and efficient. This project would bring this strategy
to Russia and Russian-speaking countries via training, websites and collaborations
with various municipalities. Alumnus James Rubakisibo is Agriculture and Environment Officer with the NGO the Lutheran World Federation. He found that developing leadership skills among farmers was essential for the success of reforestation projects addressing severe erosion problems. The project he proposed would set up a farm demonstration center and conduct training workshops in leadership, communications skills, agroforestry and energy conservation technologies. Thirty five trained “farmer-leaders” trained in this program would return to their communities to demonstrate and practice the new technologies. 193 tree nurseries would be set up in target communities. Periodic farmer feedback to the demonstration center would ensure adaptation as needed. SOUTH AFRICA This project continues and extends the first stage of an SGI 2003 project. It is part of a wider effort to develop the estuary district of the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape Region into a source of sustainable livelihoods through eco-tourism. In Phase I, business models were reviewed, lessons learned and best practices identified. Phase II would fully develop three business models: micro-scale community-based enterprises, eco-tourism ventures that rely on subsidies from outside agencies including NGOs, and a community-private sector partnership venture with minimal NGO involvement. The ultimate goal was to create a handbook on best business practice for environmentally-based businesses in disadvantaged/poor regions of Southern Africa. 2003 SGI Projects: The project’s expected outputs were to: 1) develop the Group’s constitution, mission statement and sustainable set of objectives; 2) hold a Forum to discuss and devise systems to better anticipate problems and their solutions with respect to new threats to biodiversity; 3) create a province-wide database on credible threats to biodiversity and individual databases for each nature reserve, using the CORINE-type pro forma for important species, together with a catalogue of indigenous knowledge, skills and customs related to species identification, use and conservation; 4) construct a mechanism for tabulating and classifying local findings on biodiversity and the means for informing policymakers; and 5) become the definitive, central point for contact and coordination of the many interests and organizations connected to biodiversity in Guizhou Province. The UCB Collaborator, Melinda Herrold, had worked on Nature Reserve policy in Guizhou Province in the past, and would with design of the various Biodiversity Group databases and mechanisms to influence policy. ELP alumni Leopoldo Dimas and Susan Kandel are both Senior Researchers at PRISMA, a non-profit applied research and policy center on development and environmental issues in El Salvador. PRISMA has been developing what they call an ‘alternative approach’ to current Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs in El Salvador and around the world. In PRISMA’s view, current PES schemes may be counterproductive, as financial compensation as well as access to land is often limited to land owners, excluding small farmers and the poor. Dimas and Kandel state that an ‘alternative approach’ to eco-system stewardship and PES is imperative to meet the two-fold objectives of environmental restoration and poverty alleviation. This ‘alternative approach’ is based on the inclusion of rural and poor communities in the rulemaking process, expansion of access to land by small farmers and the poor, adopting a “landscape perspective” which includes - and compensates for - environmental services provided by complex ecosystems and agricultural contexts, and the inherent value in social capital to ensure that rewards for environmental services are sustainable, equitable and just. The project would enable a wider group of international advisors and academics to provide analysis, critiques, and contributions to the ‘alternative approach’ document via comments on a first draft, and intensively in a two day workshop convened in El Salvador. The outputs would be a published document on the refined alternative approach, and a strategy for widespread discussion and use of the alternative approach among PES programs worldwide. INDIA The project would provide start-up capital for establishing tree nurseries, basic irrigation equipment, technical advice and community-based demonstrations and training. Simple irrigation systems would be fueled by Pongamia oil. A business plan would be developed with the rural communities involved, and it is anticipated that after four years the project would be handed over to the community for ongoing management. The UCB collaborator is Dan Kammen, Director of UCB’s Renewal and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, who would serve as technical advisor. Prof. Kammen is an internationally recognized expert on alternative energies research and energy policy, and has extensive field experience in India. INDONESIA ELP alumnus Ade Cahyat was Executive Director of Yayasan SHK in East Kalimantan, an NGO that assists communities with sustainable management of the rattan forest and in the production and marketing of rattan products. Poverty, lack of technical and marketing assistance for producer communities, monopolistic marketing control by rattan furniture firms in Jakarta, and increasing global market demand for rattan products all increase pressures to exploit the forest for short-term gain. The Cayhat project enlisted the support of four graduate student consultants from the Haas School of Business to assist with developing a marketing strategy and business plan that will reduce the role of intermediaries, tap into “fair trade” opportunities, and thereby lesson the pressure for unsustainable rattan production practices. The student team worked with Haas and the local communities in Indonesia over a six month period. The four Haas School MBA students traveled to Indonesia to participate in a joint workshop, in which basic business and organizational development topics were combined with sessions on market analysis, logistic and supply-chain management, multi-stakeholder problem solving, and global trade issues. Consultation before and after the workshop was maintained via the internet. USAID’s NRM project in Kalimantan co-sponsored the workshop. ELP alumna Olga Ramaromanana was monitoring and evaluation coordinator for the Landscape Development Interventions (LDI) Program in Madagascar. In light of rapid degradation of forest resources in Madagascar, the Ministry of Water and Forests had adopted a new forest policy to involve local communities in the sustainable management of natural resources. This participatory forest management, referred to as "Gestion Contractualisée des Forêts" (“Contractual Management of Forest "), is a mode of management (not property) transfer of the forests to the grassroot communities or Communauté de Base. LDI’s mandate was to create sustainable legal and administrative systems for devolving control and management of natural resources to local communities. The project was to design an effective monitoring system of community-based forest management practices in the Ampatsy Forest of the eastern rainforest corridor. UCB collaborators Adina Merenlender and Catherine Corson have extensive field experience in Madagascar; Professor Merenlender is an expert in use of GIS for monitoring ecological impacts of land use changes. The project would also entail an enhanced data collection and analysis process to identify socio-economic and ecological factors that contribute to successful forest management. Data collection and monitoring would combine field-level participatory techniques with remote sensing, GIS technologies and aerial photos. LDI would expect to transfer the monitoring process to the communities so that they might be able to track changes taking place in their forests over time. THE PHILIPPINES AND VIETNAM Both ELP alumnae Dr. Espaldon (UPLB) and Ms. Tuong-Vi (CRES, National University of Vietnam) are experienced researchers on community-based natural resource management in their respective countries, and question whether past efforts to support CB-NRM would be undermined by the overwhelming pressures of globalization. The project objective was to contribute needed research to debates on the impact of globalization on fragile upland ecosystems and indigenous communities. Such research could contribute to the capacities of households and local institutions to better adapt to globalization pressures, and inform local governments and NGOs on needed mitigation measures to avoid loss of land, and cope with influx of competing imports, and pressures to convert land for export production. Research would take place in upland communities in areas of transition from traditional mixed farming systems to banana plantations in Mindanao, Philippines and to litchi fruit production in northern Vietnam. Research would focus on changes in livelihood strategies and welfare, household and community structure, adaptive strategies, local institutions, social networks, and conditions of local natural resources as a result of globalization, policy changes and agricultural transitions. In addition, through comparative analysis, differences in impact and implications for more developed countries (Philippines) vis à vis less developed (Vietnam) would be identified and would contribute to the overall understanding of appropriate adaptive strategies. The UCB collaborator, Dr. Robin Marsh, would contribute to the design of research methods, analysis of economic policy in both countries, analysis of primary data, write-up and dissemination of results, drawing on her research experience on rural livelihood-local institution linkages. SOUTH AFRICA As Project Manager at the Institute of Natural Resources, associated with the University of Natal, ELP alumnus Nhlanhla Sihlophe is challenged with assisting poor coastal communities along pristine estuaries in the development of enterprises based on ecosystem goods and services while preserving ecosystem balance and integrity. A number of factors have limited the sustainability of enterprises to date, including, harvesting systems that exceed replenishment rates, enterprises that conflict with each other or compete for the same resource because they are poorly differentiated, market failure, and exploitative labor relations. This suggests that flawed business models are being promoted. The 2003 project would be the first phase of a three-part strategy, and would involve the commissioning of case studies of successful eco-enterprise business models and best practices, in similar contexts, to review and discuss in a workshop, followed by action research to adapt, test and improve the models and best practices, before replication in the estuarine locale in a later stage. Professor Getz, originally from South Africa, and Andy Lyons both have extensive research experience on community-based management of Nature Reserves in Southern Africa, and development of sustainable use strategies for wildlife. They would help prepare the agenda for the workshop, attend the workshop, and assist with adaptation of the case business models for use in the local context. | ||
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Viewing nursery, Rwanda 
Papermaking project with UCB collaborators (Haas School of Business), Nepal 
