Suchergebnisse

Abstract
In 2014, Newmont, a multinational mining company, invested in a large-scale 'open-pit' gold mining operation near a cluster of villages in the Paramaca Maroon community in Suriname. Mines are considered stressors that engender ecological, social and economic disruption. It is vital that place-based communities are resilient to the impact of this disruption. Resilience theory provides an applicable framework for studying how systems respond (i.e. cope, adapt or transform) in the face of exogenous stressors and disruptions. The Photovoice study presented in this paper, using the community capitals (CCs) framework, explores in a holistic and systemic way the CCs that exist in a Paramaca Maroon village, and how such capitals contribute to resiliency. The methodology assumes that people are experts regarding their own lives, and can voice their experiences, concerns and views of both the past and the future through imagery that speaks through and for them. This study shows that participants focus on the lack and erosion of CCs, yet, despite this, the Paramaca society displays resiliency. The Paramaca Maroon community is able to articulate its demands within the corporate decision-making process on sustainable community development, primarily by adapting their political organization to the new reality and by mobilizing their intangible capitals, such as social, cultural, human, political capital, in the face of exogenous stressors and disruptions.

Although mangroves dominated by Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle are extending over 6000 ha in the Tanbi Wetland National Park (TWNP) (The Gambia), their importance for local populations (both peri-urban and urban) is not well documented. For the first time, this study evaluates the different mangrove resources in and around Banjul (i.e., timber, non-timber, edible, and ethnomedicinal products) and their utilization patterns, including the possibility of ecotourism development. The questionnaire-based results have indicated that more than 80% of peri-urban population rely on mangroves for timber and non-timber products and consider them as very important for their livelihoods. However, at the same time, urban households demonstrate limited knowledge on mangrove species and their ecological/economic benefits. Among others, fishing (including the oyster—Crassostrea cf. gasar collection) and tourism are the major income-generating activities found in the TWNP. The age-old practices of agriculture in some parts of the TWNP are due to scarcity of land available for agriculture, increased family size, and alternative sources of income. The recent focus on ecotourism (i.e., boardwalk construction inside the mangroves near Banjul city) received a positive response from the local stakeholders (i.e., users, government, and non-government organizations), with their appropriate roles in sharing the revenue, rights, and responsibilities of this project. Though the guidelines for conservation and management of the TWNP seem to be compatible, the harmony between local people and sustainable resource utilization should be ascertained.