Thematic Research

Research in the programme will be characterised by the assessment and synthesis rather of secondary material, rather than efforts to collect primary data in the field. There is a great wealth of material that already exists that can be used for the analytic and comparative purposes of the programme. Most analytic activities will compare conditions, issues and conclusions across different parts of Southern Africa and in some cases, between different resource sectors. Thematic research will aim to be rigorous in testing theories and hypotheses against reported reality. More importantly, there should be commitment to generation of user-friendly practical guideline papers and policy briefs.

Key Research Themes for Phase II

The programme’s central task is cross-national and cross-sectoral comparison and analysis, synthesis, conceptual innovation, together with the drawing out of policy and operational recommendations, with regard to enhanced and sustainable use of natural resources in Southern Africa. The following themes have been selected to pursue this goal.

• Elevated understanding of contemporary rural economies through research on the degree to which rural livelihoods continue to depend on natural resource use as opposed to other local and or more distant economic activities. Are individualised systems becoming more important than group- based systems? Issues of scale should aid a deeper understanding of these dynamics.
  
  
• What form has devolution taken in the region and what efforts have been made in enhancing local institutional development and capacity building for communities in the region? This should be looked at within the background of globalisation, the changing role of the state and the oscillatory nature of devolutionary policies. Further investigation should look at how these dynamics have affected the scope for local institutional development, capacity building, and transformation and evolution of community institutions and other structures as these are issues that are little understood in the region. (Effort should be made to examine the roles of various authorities without problematising the nature of the state in the current political and economic context).
  
  
• The impact of land and water reforms on natural resource management policy and practice in the region is likely to give impetus and renewed commitment to the equitable distribution of land and water resources, and to security of resource tenure. This has the potential to re-configure our understanding of CBNRM and related approaches, give greater significance for people-centred approaches, as well as present opportunities for expansion of these initiatives. It is important to understand the new patterns of resource tenure that emerge, and the economic and institutional feasibility of new resource management systems.
  
  
• Creating partnerships between the private sector, governments and communities for enhanced income generation and livelihood opportunities can expand the range of options for value-added activities that benefit local residents. The political economy of such partnerships, at a variety of scales, should be a key focus of analysis.
  
  
• Issues related to the distribution of benefits among community members, and incentives for community participation in natural resource-based conservation and development, will also be pursued in this phase Also important are the impacts of regimes of revenue sharing between communities and agents of central governments, and the market distortions caused by policies affecting forms of land use such as agriculture, as compared to the general policy and tenurial framework for wild resource utilization.
  
  
• The intersection between trans-boundary natural resources management (TBNRM) and community-based approaches is an issue that is becoming increasingly important. Understanding of the legal, policy and institutional implications of aggregating large parcels of land located in different countries under one management regime is very limited, nor has there been much emphasis on consulting and involving local communities who may be affected by the establishment of such areas. There is much that could be gained from examining the relevant lessons from two decades of CBNRM for TBNRM in these respects.
  
  
• Conflict management is a key issue for research and analysis given highly differential access to resources among community members. Research in this phase is expected to focus on how local institutions deal with conflict and their effects on the dynamics of collective decision-making, and the implications for resource management systems and institutional design.
  
  
• The monitoring and evaluation of the biophysical impacts of resource management systems and community conservation and development programmes have been somewhat neglected to date. Natural scientists will be asked to review and synthesize existing literature, and the potential utility of methods such as ecosystem and bio-diversity trend analysis.