Resident Relocation of Wulingyuan World Natural Heritage Site Based on Community Participation Theory

Migrant relocation is an important measure for the scenic spot to effectively protect the ecological environment.The problem of migrant relocation of Wulingyuan World Heritage Site is the most serious and difficult problem in the development of Wulingyuan,and it is a very representative case of migrant relocation in tourist attractions of China.Based on the community participation theory,this paper made a detailed analysis of the panel data on the relocation of residents in Wulingyuan World Heritage Site.Combining the first-hand information obtained from the field interviews,starting from the reasons for the relocation,the resettlement plan,and the effects of the relocation,it also analyzed the problems existing in the relocation of residents in Wulingyuan World Heritage Site.Finally,it came up with recommendations in line with the interests of residents from the perspective of community participation.

Analysis on Driving Forces behind Community Participation in Heritage Site Protection and Tourism Development

This paper applied literature research, model analysis, considered current community-participated tourism development, established a four driving forces model on the basis of analyzing the driving forces for community participation in heritage site protection and tourism development. The driving forces and applicability of community participation in heritage site protection and tourism development from the perspectives of interests drive, government pushing, tourism development attraction and environmental protection pressure.

An Investigation of the Factors Influencing Community Participation in Forest Management: A Case of Balaka District, Malawi

Forests are vital for the environment through the support which they provide to biodiversity. They also provide cultural, social and economic support to human welfare. Forest degradation is attributed to multiple land uses which include agriculture, human settlement, the use of trees as the main source of energy and other infrastructure development. The main objective of the study was to assess factors that influence community participation in forest management in Kangankundi village forest area in Balaka District, Southern Malawi. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 community members who were interviewed in the study. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 22. The results showed positive significant relationship between community awareness and community participation (p = 0.015), and also between economic benefits and community involvement (p = 0.003). Involvement was not affected by income-generating activity which showed that (p = 0.781) and level of education (p = 0.535). Community awareness and economic benefits appear to be the main factors influencing community participation. Firewood and bamboos were noted to be the most resource obtained from the forest and beekeeping was also the income-generating activity in the study which is being promoted. It is concluded that community participation is influenced by many factors. The study recommends that youth must be deliberately involved in forest management as opposed to the current participation which is dominated by elderly people.

Factors Impacting Benefits of Participatory Forest Management in Upper Imenti Forest, Meru County, Kenya

This study focused on identifying factors affecting the benefits of Participatory Forestry Management (PFM) income generating activities in Upper Imenti Forest and whether they are dependent on status of participation in forest management through membership of Community Forest Association (CFA) or not. Cross-sectional survey research design was applied for collecting quantitative data using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 384 households stratified on the basis of PFM participation status. Qualitative data was collected through focused group discussions using a checklist and key informant interviews using an interview schedule. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25, Binomial regression with Wald Chi-square was analyzed to identify factors perceived to be significantly influencing benefits for PFM participants and Pearson Chi-square to compare factors perceived to be affecting PFM and non-PFM participants. CFA members participation in PFM was significantly and positively affected by benefits of PFM income generating activities and forest products accessed in the forest. Benefits linked to Plantation Establishment for Livelihood Improvement System (PELIS) for CFA members were significantly reduced by enforcement of moratorium policy since February 2018, diseases and pests, poor PELIS guideline adherence and animal damage. Benefits related to state forest access for firewood by the CFA members were negatively influenced by the moratorium policy. Diseases and pests affected benefits associated with bee keeping significantly. Comparing factors under different PFM participation status, crop production was significantly affected by policy changes, pest and diseases, animal damage and PELIS guideline adherence for CFA members than for Non-CFA members. Policy changes also affected the CFA members significantly in firewood collection and access to fodder in the state forest than the Non-CFA members. Hence, sustainable community participation in Upper Imenti Forest management requires: increasing PFM benefits, addressing factors reducing benefits and enhancing active participation of CFA members in PFM related decision-making processes.

Participatory Land Rehabilitation Strategies in Angacha District, Kembata Zone, Central Ethiopia Region

Community participation has become widely incorporated into policies of many soil and water conservation organizations. The purpose of this study was to assess the community participation in the rehabilitation of degraded land. In order to achieve the objective of the study, both primary and secondary data were generated by employing qualitative and quantitative data. Purposive sampling was employed to select three study kebeles (the smallest administrative structure of the country) from 16 rural kebeles in Angecha District. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 183 household heads from the lists of farmers in the selected kebeles for detailed household survey. In addition to household survey, field observation and key informant interview were also conducted to collect the necessary data. The data were presented using descriptive statistic such as percentage, frequency, tables and figure. The data collected through the use of household survey questionnaires were analyzed using logit regression while data collected through field observation and key informant interview were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative description. The findings of the present study revealed that population pressure, soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, and over cultivation were the major causes for land degradation. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that the main causes of the low productivity of farmland were farmers’ involvement in off-farm activities, increase in size of human population, lack of full cooperation of family members to involve in land rehabilitation practices. Households participated in rehabilitation practices at different levels, with 43.7% respondents showing intermediate participation. However, 22.4% of the farm households clarified that there is low experience sharing and motivation to participate in the process of implementation of rehabilitation programs. It is recommended that, continuous training and experience sharing program, immediate action to increase the number of literate persons, to practicing compatible practices for the agro climatic zone such as soil bund, Fanyaaju, stone bunds, and tree planting, extending effective practices, create opportunities for alternative means of livelihood and promoting NGOs effort to involve in land rehabilitation practices in the highly degraded area.

Model Building for Community Participating in Rural Tourism and Game Analysis of Core Stakeholders

Community residents play an important role in the development of rural tourism. Taking the interest demands of stakeholders and non-cooperative game process as main line,the conflict of interest between community residents and tourists and between community residents themselves as guidance,it built an interest relation model for community participating in rural tourism. Besides,it elaborated non-cooperative relation and their interest pattern for stakeholders of rural tourism,and discussed behavior interaction process and results of core stakeholders of rural tourism. Finally,it came up with pertinent recommendations for harmonious and healthy development of rural tourism.

Community Insights:Citizen Participation in Kamaishi Unosumai Decade-Long Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake

Numerous scholars and researchers have long advocated for citizen engagement in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction initiatives,although unique opportunities and challenges in effectively implementing citizen engagement still exist.It has been 12 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake,where the government called for a citizen-centered recovery and reconstruction process,and reconstruction in most areas in the Tohoku region has almost been concluded.Using qualitative data acquired through interviews with the residents,field observations during the World Bosai Walk,and questionnaire and archival research,this study aimed to discuss the overall reconstruction of Unosumai in Iwate Prefecture,giving the residents'perspective on the benefits and challenges they faced in participating in recovery planning and reconstruction and how the community has been able to strengthen their participation in disaster reduction initiatives since the earthquake and tsunami.This discussion is crucial as it would effectively offer lessons on engaging residents in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction after mega-disasters.

Bringing Rain to the Land: Rainfall Simulation as a Participatory Teaching Aid to Understanding Erosion

There is a need for science and community knowledge and resources to be combined in the mitigation and rehabilitation of land degradation, as a large portion of degraded land in South Africa is communal land. Rainfall simulation was used at Okhombe valley, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a tool to collect scientific data regarding the erosion rates on cattle access paths and to demonstrate erosion driving forces to the community members. The community members were able to experience erosion taking place through rainfall simulation and observe the impact of slope and basal cover change on erosion rates. Cattle access paths and rehabilitated access paths showed similar runoff rates (Figure 1), however the sediment concentration varied between the severely degraded cattle access paths and the rehabilitated land. Through the rainfall demonstration a better understanding of the driving factors in the erosion process, an understanding of why particular mitigation techniques work and where such mitigation measures would be effective were identified. With the combination of scientific techniques and community knowledge and resources a step can be taken towards sustainable land degradation mitigation and rehabilitation in the communal areas of South Africa.

Accessibility to Safe Drinking Water and Diarrheal Diseases: A Quasi-Experiment on a Case of Water Well Drilling in the Village of Kassouala, Municipality of Tchaourou, Benin, January 2018-July 2019

Background: In 2017, 900 million people in the world did not have sustainable access to safe drinking water (SDW). In addition, between 2016 and 2020, the global population with safely managed drinking water at home increased from 70 percent to 74 percent. Drinking water insecurity is the daily situation of people in developing countries. The lack of SDW supply is at the root of many diseases, including diarrheal diseases. Kassouala is a village in the municipality of Tchaourou without access to SDW, but having benefited from the drilling of a well in September 2018. The objective of this study was to study the effect of access to safe drinking water on the frequency of diarrheal diseases in Kassouala between January 2018 and July 2019. Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study in Kassouala using the natural experiments of the village of Bérétou as a control group for estimating the effect of a causal nature. There were double temporal (January 2018-July 2019) and geographical (Kassouala-Bérétou) comparisons based on data collected from health care registers. A population-based comparability survey of the two villages was conducted among 170 households in each village (experimental village, control village). A two-stage cluster sampling procedure was used to select the survey participants. Data were collected from heads of household by semi-structured questionnaire. We used Pearson or Mantel-Haenszel chi-square tests, as appropriate, and the “difference-in-difference” method to assess the effect. Results: In Kassouala, the proportion of households with access to safe drinking water had increased to 78.88%, whereas it was nil in 2018 before the well drilling, and the frequency of diarrheal diseases decreased significantly from January 2018 before drilling to July 2019 after drilling (57.11% to 44.64%;p Conclusion: Access to safe drinking water in Kassouala has a causal effect on the reduction of diarrheal diseases. However, for the supply of drinking water to be integrated into the community development plan of Tchaourou, it is necessary to support the scaling up of this intervention, which would be considered as a pilot, of a community participation program.

Full Empowerment and the Participatory Governance in Rural Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Two Cases

Participatory governance is a feasible method in the context of a need for effective governance.With the introduction of participatory governance,the focus has shifted to how to empower.A comparative study of two cases in this paper finds that full empowerment is the key to effective governance in participatory governance.Full empowerment can motivate a community to participate through the empower of rights and resources and can improve community participation capacity through the introduction of technical services.The full empowerment encourages a community to undertake its due responsibility and thus forms a mechanism of the simultaneous downward shift of right and responsibility;the refined technical services enhance community participation capacity and thus develop the mechanism of self-management and adaptation,and the interactions between multiple agents produces a coordinating mechanism for government empowerment and community acceptance.

Ecotourism in nature reserves in China:current situation,problems and solutions

Our presentation focuses on some important issues associated with ecotourism in nature reserves in China's Mainland. Conducting ecotourism in certain areas in nature reserves is important for its protection. However, some problems do exist because of special conditions in our society and in the current projects of nature reserves themselves, such as water and air pollution, unplanned construction of roads and facilities, damage of core zones and buffer zones, and confused ownership of nature reserves. These problems are discussed and solutions are proposed in detail, and we emphasize the participation of local communities in order to help residents fight against poverty.

Participation of Farmers,Community Organizationsand the Government

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Assessing resources for implementing a community directed intervention (CDI) strategy in delivering multiple health interventions in urban poor communities in Southwestern Nigeria: a qualitative study

Background:Many simple,affordable and effective disease control measures have had limited impact due to poor access especially by the poorer populations(urban and rural)and inadequate community participation.A proven strategy to address the problem of access to health interventions is the Community Directed Interventions(CDI)approach,which has been used successfully in rural areas.This study was carried out to assess resources for the use of a CDI strategy in delivering health interventions in poorly-served urban communities in Ibadan,Nigeria.Methods:A formative study was carried out in eight urban poor communities in the Ibadan metropolis in the Oyo State.Qualitative methods comprising 12 focus group discussions(FGDs)with community members and 73 key informant interviews(KIIs)with community leaders,programme managers,community-based organisations(CBOs),non-government organisations(NGOs)and other stakeholders at federal,state and local government levels were used to collect data to determine prevalent diseases and healthcare delivery services,as well as to explore the potential resources for a CDI strategy.All interviews were audio recorded.Content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results:Malaria,upper respiratory tract infection,diarrhoea and measles were found to be prevalent in children,while hypertension and diabetes topped the list of diseases among adults.Healthcare was financed mainly by out-of-pocket expenses.Cost and location were identified as hindrances to utilisation of health facilities;informal cooperatives(esusu)were available to support those who could not pay for care.Immunisation,nutrition,reproductive health,tuberculosis(TB)and leprosy,environmental health,malaria and HIV/AIDs control programmes were the ongoing interventions.Delivery strategies included house-to-house,home-based treatment,health education and campaigns.Community participation in the planning,implementation and monitoring of development projects was reported as common practice.The resources available for these activities and which constitute potential resources for the CDI process include community volunteers,CBOs and NGOs.Others are landlords;professional,women and youth associations;social clubs,religious organisations and the available health facilities.Conclusion:This study’s findings support the feasibility of using the CDI process in delivering health interventions in urban poor communities and show that potential resources for the strategy abound in the communities.

Addressing vulnerability,building resilience:community-based adaptation to vectorborne diseases in the context of global change

Background:The threat of a rapidly changing planet-of coupled social,environmental and climatic change-pose new conceptual and practical challenges in responding to vector-borne diseases.These include non-linear and uncertain spatial-temporal change dynamics associated with climate,animals,land,water,food,settlement,conflict,ecology and human socio-cultural,economic and political-institutional systems.To date,research efforts have been dominated by disease modeling,which has provided limited practical advice to policymakers and practitioners in developing policies and programmes on the ground.Main body:In this paper,we provide an alternative biosocial perspective grounded in social science insights,drawing upon concepts of vulnerability,resilience,participation and community-based adaptation.Our analysis was informed by a realist review(provided in the Additional file 2)focused on seven major climate-sensitive vectorborne diseases:malaria,schistosomiasis,dengue,leishmaniasis,sleeping sickness,chagas disease,and rift valley fever.Here,we situate our analysis of existing community-based interventions within the context of global change processes and the wider social science literature.We identify and discuss best practices and conceptual principles that should guide future community-based efforts to mitigate human vulnerability to vector-borne diseases.We argue that more focused attention and investments are needed in meaningful public participation,appropriate technologies,the strengthening of health systems,sustainable development,wider institutional changes and attention to the social determinants of health,including the drivers of co-infection.Conclusion:In order to respond effectively to uncertain future scenarios for vector-borne disease in a changing world,more attention needs to be given to building resilient and equitable systems in the present.

Sustainable Tourism Development of Landscape Heritage in a Rural Community: A Case Study of Azheke Village at China Hani Rice Terraces

According to the World Heritage Convention,rural landscapes are evolving cultural landscapes and their heritage and management is a major international concern.The proposal of‘UNESCO World Heritage Sustainable Tourism(WH+ST)’has enlightened different arguments about protection and utilisation of the value of rural landscape heritage.The Outstanding Universal Value(OUV)of rural landscapes results from the interaction of nature and humankind.Local community residents are critical for the sustainable tourism development of rural landscape heritage.Landscapes would lose their authenticity and integrity without participation of community residents.At the same time tourism is promoting the economic development of communities,tourism will affect its natural environment and social culture in varying extents.Because of such impacts,rural landscapes are subject to the risk of becoming overly commercialised.In this sense,the discussion will focus on how to achieve balance among the various forces stemming from protection of the OUV of rural heritage,economic development and sustainable community-based tourism.This paper is based on field research at the World Heritage Hani Rice Terraces at Azheke Village(Yunnan Province,China).At this site,the agricultural landscape,architectural design,rural culture,and social traditions have confronted challenges because of the rapid development of the tourism industry soon after designation as a World Heritage Site in 2013.The planning was carried out in respect of three key problems:(1)How to motivate community residents’sense of recognition and honour of the heritage value?(2)How to create the manner and approach for the community residents to participate in rural sustainable tourism?and(3)How to improve the social residents’interests in the course of developing rural heritage tourism?Specific planning measures and suggestions have also been proposed in hopes that community residents take the initiative to protect,utilise and undertake the OUV of the Hani Rice Terraces.

Global aspirations, local realities: the role of social science research in controlling neglected tropical diseases

Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs)are both drivers and manifestations of poverty and social inequality.Increased advocacy efforts since the mid-2000s have led to ambitious new control and elimination targets set for 2020 by the World Health Organisation.While these global aspirations represent significant policy momentum,there are multifaceted challenges in controlling infectious diseases in resource-poor local contexts that need to be acknowledged,understood and engaged.However a number of recent publications have emphasised the“neglected”status of applied social science research on NTDs.In light of the 2020 targets,this paper explores the social science/NTD literature and unpacks some of the ways in which social inquiry can help support effective and sustainable interventions.Five priority areas are discussed,including on policy processes,health systems capacity,compliance and resistance to interventions,education and behaviour change,and community participation.The paper shows that despite the multifaceted value of having anthropological and sociological perspectives integrated into NTD programmes,contemporary efforts underutilise this potential.This is reflective of the dominance of top-down information flows and technocratic approaches in global health.To counter this tendency,social research needs to be more than an afterthought;integrating social inquiry into the planning,monitoring and evaluating process will help ensure that flexibility and adaptability to local realities are built into interventions.More emphasis on social science perspectives can also help link NTD control to broader social determinants of health,especially important given the major social and economic inequalities that continue to underpin transmission in endemic countries.