Suchergebnisse

This article compares six interventions to enhance community resilience. In this review, underlying principles for community resilience interventions are (a) use a multihazard approach relevant to the local context, (b) utilize community assessment, (c) focus on community engagement, (d) adhere to bioethical principles, (e) emphasize both assets and needs, and (f) encourage skill development. The interventions are compared with respect to parameters that address their foundation, methodology, and implementation.

In order to ensure the sustainable management of reef fisheries, it is necessary to obtain data about the effects of these fisheries on both fish resources and the ecosystems that sustain them. Ecosystem-based surveys provide this information, but are difficult to implement because of technical, financial and human resources requirements. In this regard participatory assessment methods have the potential to increase the amount of data collected at low cost, while taking advantage of local traditional ecological knowledge. In order to investigate the reef fishery of Toliara Bay, southwest Madagascar, we used participatory fish survey and interview data collected on site. These methods included: (i) monitoring of catch landings during six months by wholesale fish merchants, (ii) household surveys of fishing catch and effort and fish consumption conducted by school children, and (iii) semi-structured interviews of reef users. One thousand five hundred and eighty six fishing trips were sampled between September 2006 and February 2007, 326 households were surveyed by trained school children in January 2007, and 70 reef users were interviewed in July/August 2006. Data collected by participants have been compiled and compared to reference values when available, allowing an assessment of the sustainability of the reef fishery. The results of this study confirm the unsustainable nature of resource exploitation and underline the need for rapid management responses in order to reverse this trend. It also highlights the great potential of participatory assessment methods for gathering large amounts of relevant information on the status and evolution of the ecosystem upon which the fishery depends, while promoting education and awareness about the protection and sustainable use of natural resources. RÉSUMÉ Bien que les pêcheries récifales ne contribuent que marginalement aux captures de pêche mondiales, elles restent une source majeure de revenus et de protéines pour des millions de personnes, en particulier dans les pays en voie de développement. Afin de s'assurer de la bonne gestion de ces pêcheries, il est nécessaire de disposer d'informations sur l'état des ressources et des écosystèmes dont elles dépendent. Mener de telles études est d'autant plus compliqué que les pêcheries en milieu corallien portent sur un large éventail de stocks et d'espèces de poissons, concernent de nombreux pêcheurs et supposent diverses méthodes de captures, et empruntent un grand nombre de canaux de distribution. De plus, ces pêcheries sont souvent considérées de moindre valeur par les gouvernements qui leur octroient donc peu de moyens humains et financiers. Face à ces problèmes, l'implication de la société civile dans les programmes de suivi, appelé suivi participatif, semble en mesure d'apporter des solutions, d'autant que les suivis participatifs présentent l'avantage d'accroître le nombre de données collectées à moindre coût, tout en profitant des connaissances écologiques empiriques qui sont disponibles localement. Afin d'évaluer la pérennité de la pêcherie récifale de la baie de Toliara dans le sud ouest de Madagascar, des méthodes de suivi participatif ont été expérimentées. Ces méthodes consistent à mettre en œuvre : (i) des suivis des débarquements pendant six mois impliquant des mareyeuses, (ii) des enquêtes auprès des ménages, réalisées par des écoliers préalablement formés, afin de recueillir des informations sur l'effort de pêche, les captures et la consommation de poisons, (iii) des entretiens semi-directifs avec des usagers du milieu marin. Ainsi, entre 2006 et 2007, 1586 sorties de pêche ont été échantillonnées, et 326 ménages et 70 usagers ont fait l'objet d'enquêtes. Les données collectées par les membres de la communauté locale ont été analysées afin d'évaluer la pérennité de la pêcherie dans la baie de Toliara. Les résultats de l'étude confirment une exploitation non pérenne et soulignent la nécessité de mettre en place des mesures de gestion afin d'inverser la tendance de détérioration des écosystèmes de la baie. Il ressort également de cette étude que l'implication de la société civile s'avère être pertinente pour recueillir des informations sur les pêcheries récifales à faible coût. En effet, de part le nombre, la qualité, la variété et la pertinence des informations produites, les suivis participatifs contribuent utilement à l'évaluation des pêcheries récifales. Cette expérience met également en évidence le fort potentiel des suivis participatifs à contribuer au renforcement des connaissances et des capacités des communautés locales dans le domaine de la gestion des ressources marines. Ainsi, face au difficile contexte socio-économique et politique qui prévaut actuellement à Madagascar, cette approche s'avère particulièrement prometteuse pour améliorer la gestion des pêcheries traditionnelles grâce à la production d'informations sur ces pêcheries et une plus grande implication des communautés locales dans le processus de gestion.

Whilst public participation is now accepted as an essential requirement of planning, there is limited literature which considers the effectiveness of participation in practice. In this study, we focus on the perspectives of members of the public and planners/policy-makers in the island state of Malta, to identify (i) expectations of the participation process, (ii) the extent to which practices meet expectations, and (iii) ways in which participation practices could be rendered more effective. Five key areas of concern emerge: (i) lack of influence on decisions, (ii) lack of professional ethics and expertise, (iii) methods and techniques used, (iv) the nature of information provision, and (v) local cultural influences. Results illustrate the inadequacy of present legal requirements for ensuring effective participation, and a related need for institutionalizing review mechanisms. Results also reveal tension between positivist views of planning as an expert discipline, and public expectations of democracy. Furthermore, the study provides wider insights into processes of assessment/evaluation. ; peer-reviewed

Whilst public participation is now accepted as an essential requirement of planning, there is limited literature which considers the effectiveness of participation in practice. In this study we focus on the perspectives of members of the public, and planners and policy makers in the island state of Malta, to identify (i) expectations of the participation process, (ii) the extent to which practices meet expectations, and (iii) ways in which participation practices could be rendered more effective. Five key areas of concern emerge: (a) lack of influence on decisions, (b) lack of professional ethics and expertise, (c) methods and techniques used, (d) the nature of information provision, and (e) local cultural influences. Results illustrate the inadequacy of present legal requirements for ensuring effective participation, and a related need for institutionalizing review mechanisms. Results also reveal tension between positivist views of planning as an expert discipline, and public expectations of democracy. Furthermore, the study provides wider insights into processes of assessment and evaluation.

Survivors of human trafficking often experience considerable financial difficulties upon exiting human trafficking, including pressure to provide financially for their families, challenges securing employment, lack of savings, and familial debt. Few evaluations have been conducted of reintegration support interventions addressing financial vulnerability among trafficking survivors. In this article, we present findings from a participatory assessment of the BARUG program, a matched savings and financial capability program for survivors of human trafficking and their family members in the Philippines. Photovoice was used to understand the experiences of two cohorts of BARUG participants. Survivors collaborated with research team members in conducting thematic analysis of transcripts from the photovoice sessions. Themes included: the positive emotional impact of financial wellness, overcoming the challenges of saving, applying financial management skills in daily decision making, developing a habit of savings, building a future-oriented mindset, receiving guidance and enlightenment, the learning process, and the change process. Findings reinforce the importance of interventions to support trafficked persons and their family members in getting out of debt and accumulating emergency savings, while also providing emotional support to survivors in coping with family financial pressures. The study also highlights the value of using participatory research methods to understand the experiences of trafficked persons.

AbstractThe use of participatory approaches in devising disaster risk reduction strategies has increased. With the emergence of this new risk management approach, the concepts of vulnerability assessment and hazards analysis have been put into practice. This paper introduces an efficient, empirically tested, and user‐friendly hazards assessment tool (HAT). HAT follows six steps for a quick hazards assessment. They are i) identification of hazards, ii) historical overview of disasters, iii) severity and frequency analyses, iv) hazard ranking of communities, v) vulnerability scenario building, and vi) summary of hazards analysis. This paper describes each step in a very detailed way demonstrating its application in three village development committees of Nawalparasi District in Nepal. The applicability of HAT is reviewed in terms of promoting learning, fostering local empowerment and building participation, which are the basis of participatory methods of assessment. HAT bears generic criticism of participatory approaches which can be resolved with proper preparation and facilitation. HAT is an attempt to analyze people's perception of vulnerability and suffering from hazards by fostering their active participation in the process that pave the way to holistic disaster risk reduction strategies.