Stakeholders’ Participation in Agricultural Farmers’ Extension Services Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Programme in Uganda

The paper presents findings from a study carried out to assess the contribution of stakeholders’participation on the performance of the national agricultural farmers’extension services programme in Uganda known as Operation Wealth Creation(OWEC).Specifically,the study sought to establish how participatory planning,budgeting,monitoring and evaluation(M&E)respectively contributed to the performance of OWC in selected district in central Uganda.The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design using both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques and employed both questionnaires and interview guides on key participants in the programme.Findings of the study indicated positive relationships between stakeholders’participation and programme performance with participatory planning,budgeting and M&E all having positive significant effects on the performance of OWC programme.The study concluded that indeed stakeholders’participation contributed to improved performance of the OWC programme.The study recommends increased funding and M&E of the agricultural extension programmes for improved performance.

Integrated Futures for Europe’s Mountain Regions: Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Human Livelihoods

Europe＇s mountains cover nearly half of the continent＇s area and are home to one fifth of the European population. Mountain areas are hotspots of biodiversity and agriculture has played a multifunctional role in defining and sustaining mountain biodiversity. Ongoing trends of agricultural decline are having negative impacts on mountain biodiversity. This paper presents results from an interdisciplinary European research project, BioScene, which investigated the relationship between agriculture and biodiversity in six mountain study areas across Europe to provide recommendations for reconciling biodiversity conservation with social and economic activities through an integrated rural development strategy. BioScene used scenario analysis and stakeholder participation as tools for structuring the analysis of alternative mountain futures. Three main BioScene scenarios were evaluated： Business as Usual （BAIT）, Agricultural Liberalisation （Lib）, Managed Change for Biodiversity （MCB）. BioScene brought together ecologists, economists, sociologists and rural geogra- phers, to carry out interdisciplinary analysis of the scenarios： identifying key drivers of change, assessing the biodiversity consequences and evaluating costeffectiveness. BioScene used a sustainability assessment to integrate the research outputs across natural and social science disciplines to assess the broader sustainability of the scenarios in terms of biodiversity, natural resources, rural development, social development, economic development and institutional capacity. The sustainability assessment showed that the MCB scenario was potentially the most sustainable of the three BioScene scenarios. Through the reconciliation of potentially conflicting objectives, such as conservation, economic development and human livelihoods, and with a strong participatory planning approach, the MCB scenario could represent an alternative approach to BaU for sustainable rural development in Europe＇s mountains. BioScene confirms the necessity for natural and social scientists to work together to seek solutions to environmental problems. Interdisciplinary research can assist with the definition of integrated strategies with the potential to reconcile the ecological, social and economic parameters that determine a sustainable future for European mountain areas.

Integrated river basin management in rapidly urbanizing areas:a case of Shenzhen,China

The rapid urbanization of China is causing a burden on their water resources and hindering their sustainable development.This paper analyzes effective methods to integrated river basin management(IRBM)using Longgang River basin of Shenzhen as an example,which is the city with the fastest rate of urbanization in China and even the whole world.Over the past 20 years,China has undergone a population boom due to the increase of immigrant workers and rapid development of laborintensive industries,which led to the sharp increase of water consumption and sewage discharge.However,the construction of the water infrastructure is still lagging far behind the environmental and social development,with only 32.7%of sewage in the district being treated.Currently,every water quality indicator of the Longgang River basin was unable to meet the required corresponding environmental standards,which further aggravated the water shortages of the region.Thus,an analytical framework is proposed to address the IRBM of the study area.The problems with the current management system include the lack of decentralization in decision-making,lack of enforcement with redundant plans,weak management capacity,financial inadequacy,and a poor system of stakeholder participation.In light of the principles of IRBM and the situation of the region,corresponding measures are put forward,including an increase of power given to sub-district offices,fewer but more feasible plans,capacity building among stakeholders,a combination of planning and marketing for overcoming financial inadequacy,and profound reform in the public participation system.The framework and institutional suggestions could inform similar processes in other representative river basins.