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September 2001 Newsletter

Mopane Woodlands And The Mopane Worm: Enhancing Rural Livelihoods And Resource Sustainability (2001 –2003)

The Institute of Environmental Studies has been awarded a grant under the Mopane Woodlands and the Mopane worm: Enhancing Rural Livelihoods and Resource Sustainability project. The coordinator of the project in the Institute is Prof. Peter Frost. The project is an  initiative funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID).  The purpose of the project is to identify the principal factors that limit mopane worms (MW) production and determine how MW and mopane woodland can be managed to increase production. Socio-economic studies will address the use of MW as a livelihood support for poor rural people. Ecological investigations will build up on existing knowledge of MW biology and mopane woodland management to facilitate improved management of mopane woodland to increase mopane yields; and a community mopane worm farming will be established. Principal ultimate beneficiaries will be rural poor across the mopane zone.  For more information email  Peter Frost on  pfrost@science.uz.zw

Collaborative Teaching in Environmental Studies:  Is There A Need for A Postgraduate School in Environmental Studies
In 1999, the Institute of Environmental Studies commissioned a study on Collaborative Teaching in Environmental Studies as part of their mandate to facilitate environmental activities at the University of Zimbabwe. The study was conducted by Dr. Ignatius Ncube of the Department of Biochemistry.

There are a number of  post-graduate courses dealing with environmental issues being offered within the University.  These include the Masters in Environmental Policy and Planning (MEPP), offered by the Department of Geography and Environmental Science and to some extent Masters in Tropical Ecology offered by the Department of  Biological Sciences.  A number of courses within the majority of MSc Programmes deal with environmental issues in a variety of ways:  These include Biostatistics/Experimental Design, Environmental Impact Assessment, Ecosystems, Geographical and Land Information Systems and Environmental Policy. There is realisation that there is a lack of coordination of environmental training at postgraduate level.  Following a study on the coordination and integration of environmental MSc courses at the University of Zimbabwe, a workshop was held to discuss the findings of the study and also look into collaborative approach to environmental training at MSc level.

Recommendations of the Study

The study made the following recommendations:

1.  Rationalisation of the structures of MSc courses, which would be in line with the course unit system that has been implemented within the University.

2.  Establishment of a Graduate School of Environmental Studies whose role would be to coordinate environmental training at post-graduate level.

3.  Constitution of a rationalisation committee which should bring together those involved in these courses, so as to establish course that are suitable for a wide range of programmes.  These courses would come under the proposed Graduate School of Environmental Studies.

Resolutions of the workshop

The participants to the workshop recommended that:

•  There is need to rationalise teaching of environmental subjects at UZ.  The participants expressed need for a speedy process.

•  A Graduate School in Environmental Studies should be established to manage a more efficient and coordinated way of environmental training and other environmental programmes.  This would be in line with the university strategic plan which aims to focus more on postgraduate training.

•  From the draft syllabi produce at the workshop, it is possible to have courses that are suitable for a range of programmes.

•  The major constraints of differing backgrounds of students and specialisation of modules could be overcome by having introductory  sections and case studies respectively.

•  Offering the courses more than once a year could solve the timetable constraints.

Overall, participants agreed that these efforts of establishing a collaborative way of environmental training through the establishment of a Graduate School of Environmental Studies are worthwhile and should be supported.

The International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP) 2002 Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

The 9th Biennial Conference of the IASCP is scheduled to be held during the period of 17 – 21 June 2002 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  The IASCP is an association of scholars and practitioners with an analytic focus on the management and use of common property resources, including institutional, political, economic, ecological, cultural and historical factors which influence common property arrangements.

Conference Theme: ‘The Commons in an Age of Globalisation’

Globalisation is a pervasive characteristic of the new millennium and highly topical in terms of the attention now being given it in the social and ecological sciences. It is seen as the latest stage of a process where technological, economic, ecological, cultural and military trends, traditionally observable on a geographically limited scale and scope, are extended to the entire globe, leading to the emergence of new players with new and different (power) relationships among them. For the ‘developing world’, the asymmetrical power dimensions of these relationships are of particular relevance, not only in terms of the cultural and conceptual hegemony associated with globalisation. 

The conference theme should be addressed from a broader perspective, not restricted to natural resources management, but to include issues of governance, economic systems and hidden values, tourism and global ideology. The central concepts of cultural diversity, marginalisation, and globalisation deserve attention in this global debate. There are The conference theme should be addressed from a broader perspective, not restricted to natural resources management, but to include issues of diversity and uniformity, scale issues and nested hierarchies that globalisation as a concept implies which ought to be addressed. Under globalisation, whose interest does the state serve and what are the related implications on traditional resource and intellectual property rights? A major challenge is the use of practical cases that offer practical solutions to the global debate on globalisation and the commons.

Sub-Themes for the Conference are:

1.  Globalisation, Governance and the Commons

2.  Globalisation, Culture and the Commons

3.  “Protected Areas” in Constituting the Commons

4.  Land/Water and Resource Tenure and the Commons in an Era of Globalisation.

5.  New Analytic Tools for Common Property Resource Management

6.  Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Integrity of Commons and Emerging Regimes of Intellectual Property Rights in a Globalising World.

7.  Trans-boundary natural resource management and the commons

Detailed information on the theme and sub-themes can be accessed on the IASCP website; www.indiana.edu/iascp while hard copies of the same can be requested from:

The Secretariat, IASCP/ CASS, 5 Aberdeen Road, P.O Box A1333, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Tel: 263-4-303 080/15 Fax: 263-4-307 720

E-mail: iascp@cass.org.zw

World Summit on Sustainable Development (RIO + 10) – Johannesburg 2002

The Southern African Development Community Preparatory meeting was held in Port Louis, Mauritius from 17^th – 18^th September 2001.  For more information the outcomes of the meeting and also a copy of the report of the meeting as well as the progress report on Agenda 21 implementation in SADC you can visit the summit website or contact the regional focal point:

Mr Jobo Molapo, Tel:  +266-312-158 or sadcelms@lesoff.co.za, jmolapo@elms.org.ls

A number of meetings towards the summit both within African  and on the international level are planned and below are some of the important meetings:

	African Regional Preparatory Meeting – Nairobi, 15 – 18 October
	Preparatory Committee II Meeting – UN Headquarters, 28/01 – 08/02 2002
	Preparatory Committee III Meeting – UN Headquarters, 25 March – 5 April 2002
	Preparatory Committee IV Meeting – Indonesia, 27 May – 7 June 2002
	World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2 – 11 September 2002

The Johannesburg Summit emphasises participation of major groups, based on the decisions of the first Precom in late April 2001.  If your organisatioon wants to participate in the summit or its Prepcoms, it must be accredited.  Only organisations can be accredited to an inter-governmental meeting.  Individuals wishing to participate at the summit or its preparatory process must be affiliated with an accredited organisation.

For more information on the summit, visit the summit website at:  www.johannesburgsummit.org

The Institute of Environmental Studies Participation in The RIO plus 10 is mainly going to be through the activities of the Southern African Network on Training and Research on the Environment (SANTREN). SANTREN has participated in the Minerals, Mining and Sustainable Development   project commissioned by IIED. The results of the research conducted under this project will be presented at the RIO plus 10.

The 2000 IES Annual Report and Five year strategic plan our out, visit website at www.uz.ac.zw/ies

New Publications

• Elias Madzudzo, Participatory Rural Appraisal for Agroforestry, IES Special Report No. 14, 2001

• James Gambiza, A Primer on Savanna Ecology, IES Special Report No. 18, 2001

• Vupenyu Dzingirayi,  Institutional materials on the Importance of Wealth Differentiation and Institutional Analysis in Agroforestry, IES Special Report No. 20, 2001

•  Sibongile Moyo and Paul Mapfumo, The Economic and Social Context of Technology Adoption:  Agroforestry in Sub-Saharan Africa, IES Special Report No 27, 2001

• Michelle Veeman, Marketing of Resource Products:  How Markets Work, IES Special Report No. 28, 2001

• Tim Lynam, Participatory Systems Analysis:  An Introductory Guide, IES Special Report No. 22

The “IES Special Reports” are published by the Institute of Environmental Studies to provide a forum to accelerate the presentation of issues, concepts and research results.  More IES Publications are available on the IES website:  www.uz.ac.zw/ies or www.ies.ac.zw