News December 2001 December 2001 Newsletter
From
The Director’s Desk
The
year 2001 saw a change of guard at IES with the departure of Prof Campbell
the first Director of IES.
Despite
the harsh economic situation the Institute received further/new funding
for three projects, “Mopane Woodlands and the Mopane Worm: Enhancing
Rural Livelihoods and Resource Sustainability”, from DFID; “Developing
the Air Pollution Information Network for Africa (APINA) from Sida, and
Small Scale Mining and Sustainable Development in Southern Africa –
Minerals Mining and Sustainable Development (MMSD)” from the
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
Eleven
projects were successfully completed during 2001. The Institute was very
productive as we published 10 papers in international journals and eight
IES Working Papers. The Institute hosted four workshops and was requested
to run three Environmental Impact Assessment courses.
Members of IES attended numerous workshops and seminars.
I
would like to thank our colleagues, partners and donors for their
continued support and to wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2002.
Professor S. B. Feresu
Strengthening
Grassroot Networking in Conservation Farming
Strong
and effective national and grassroot networks are one of the basic pillars
of the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT). Therefore, the ACT
Secretariat has been facilitating and supporting the development and/or
strengthening of grassroot and national networks. Currently, systems for
formal facilitation of networks on conservation farming exist in a few
African countries.
Although
the need and importance of networking in conservation farming is widely
acknowledged and supported,
there are several constraints which hamper its realization. The
constraints noted are generally circumstance specific and vary from area
to area. The following are the common constraints:
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Difficult
in establishing a common and mutual purpose for the network,
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Most
institutions, especially those in the civil service, do not regard
networking/public relations as part of the terms of reference of
their employees. So those participating in networks have to do it in
their own time and meet the expenses,
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Sometimes,
emphasis on network structures (positions, authority, etc…) as
opposed to NETWORKING per se, has distracted participants from
concentrating on real issues thus hampering the operations and
effectiveness of the network.
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Limitation
in resources, including willing and able human resources.
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ACT
has been working with a number of national teams, institutions, and
persons in addressing some of these constrains and is trying to help
create
effective networks.
A
number of national workshops,
have been held to enhance mechanisms for sharing of experiences and
information on conservation farming in addition to discussing technical
matters on conservation farming. A national workshop was jointly organized
by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development of Namibia,
the Plant Science Project and ACT in May 2001 in Namibia. The workshop
facilitated the re-focusing and streamlining of the purpose and mission of
the Soil Management Network of Namibia (SoilNet). SoilNet is a national
network established in Namibia in 1999. It aims to contribute to the
development and dissemination/adoption of conservation farming (CF)
technologies in Namibia, by facilitating increased exchange and sharing of
information and experiences on CF. The SoilNet is now operational and
actively pursuing issues of information flow in and around the country
(Contact person/address: alweendot@mawrd.gov.na).
ACT
was also involved in a similar workshop in Tanzania held in
August, 2001 (contact person/address wlmariki@yahoo.com).
The Network is collaborating with various partners in Zimbabwe, Zambia and
Malawi on activities aimed at strengthening sustained networking systems
including where necessary the holding of national stakeholder workshops.
There
could be other persons or institutions in Africa, involved in the
development and promotion of conservation farming practices who are not
yet in contact with the African Conservation Tillage Network.
These are requested to contact the ACT Secretariat at actsecre@africaonline.co.zw so that
they can join in the international wave to promote conservation
farming in their country.
The
Challenge of Governing Common-Property Resources
Since the 1980s, Zimbabwe has had in place a system for local control of
natural resources—especially shared resources such as grazing areas,
wood for building and crafts, and other forest products. Under the
decentralisation plan it introduced more than a decade ago, the government
of Zimbabwe made District Councils responsible for governing natural
resources. The councils regulated resource use through a system of bylaws,
but the regulations were developed by the state without local
participation, and did not reflect the communities’ interests. Moreover,
the rules were not well enforced. Essentially, there was a mismatch as the
most effective local systems for natural resource management are based on
traditional systems. Thus although, the District Councils had the legal
mandate to manage the local resources, these were basically ineffective.
Thanks to a series of researcher-initiated workshops (in the project – “Micro-Catchment and Common Property Resources in Chivi District), government officials and villagers found common ground and agreed to governance changes that were mutually acceptable. Through participation in workshops organised by the research team, the villagers and the council agreed to an arrangement in which the council’s role will be to mainly support and coordinate community initiatives and provide arbitration when necessary. The District Council wants to expand the pilot project to other villages.
The
1st World Congress on Conservation Agriculture – October 2001
The First World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, held in Madrid,
Spain during the first week of October, 2001 was a big success. For
Africa, the Congress could have not come at a better time than now, when
sustainable agricultural efforts at various levels, including political
good-will are moving into “fast gear”.
The
Congress was attended by over 300 delegates from all continents. The
African Conservation Tillage (ACT) Network facilitated the participation
of six persons from different countries in Africa. The Congress drew the
attention of the world to the need for sustainable use of soil and water
resources in agriculture.
In addition to sustainable food production, the Congress noted that conservation agriculture (CA) also provides public benefits through the conservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment. The Congress, hence, called for increased public and private sector investment into this area. This may include supportive “incentives” to farmers to encourage and facilitate farm level applications of CA practices.
The
congress also discussed the basic principles of conservation agriculture,
with the “no-till” principle taking center stage. The majority of
participants from Africa called for a more broader understanding of
conservation agriculture, especially if the widely diverse agro-ecological
and socio-economic situations as obtaining in Africa are to adopt this
practice. The Congress agreed on the need for increased efforts in
bringing out the success stories on CA in Africa (success stories blended
in African values, knowledge systems and priorities) and of
evaluating/identifying the benchmarks and factors responsible for
their success. It is these stories (cases) and the inspiration from the
successes in Latin America and other continents that will provide that
desired leap into widespread adaptation and adoption of CA technologies in
Africa. However, widespread adoption may not be realized unless farmers
perceive such efforts and technologies as serving their financial/economic
and cultural interests.
The
information obtained and interactions made during the Congress, have
provided some inspiration to ACT. Details of the Congress, i.e. report,
technical documents, and the Congress Declaration can be accessed at www.ecaf.org or from the ACT Secretariat at actsecre@africaonline.co.zw
A
critique of by-law development and implementation in Chivi District,
Zimbabwe
by Alois Mandondo
This
study used a review approach to critically interrogate the political
economy of the allocation of environmental jurisdictions among the
Zimbabwean state, local communities and Rural District Councils through
the conferment, to the latter, of the authority to enact conservation and
landuse planning by-laws. The subsidiary aim was to investigate, through a
field study, the practical operation of the by-laws in everyday social
life, in an analysis that situates the effectiveness of the by-laws within
the theme of proximity to citizens. Several flaws and contradictions are
evident in the political economy of the allocation of authority and
responsibility among the above actors. Assignment of the responsibilities
is framed within a top-down structure in which entrustments are
transferred solely to Rural District Councils at the expense of other
levels of social organization, particularly those close to the citizens.
Although parent legislation allocates broad powers to Rural District
Councils, monitoring of the effectiveness of such allocations is done on
the basis of whether the governance arrangements deliver on the state's
goals, and not on local people's goals and aspirations. But there is not
much scope for communities to effectively participate in governance at the
Rural District Council level. There also is not much scope in parent
legislation for revising these governance arrangements, with higher level
actors enjoying the prerogative to effect amendments, and not the
communities. Governance arrangements fostered by the by-laws punish
citizens for not respecting arrangements that the citizens do not
effectively participate in crafting. Revenues accruing from fines imposed
on people violating such arrangements accrue to the Rural District
Councils, and not to the communities from which they are extracted.
The study argues for innovative governance approaches that entail
fundamental changes in bye-law articulation.
For more information on obtaining the full paper and information on the IES working Papers Series contact fnengo@africaonline.co.zw or visit the IES website at www.ies.ac.zw
