DIGITALNA ARHIVA ŠUMARSKOG LISTA
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ŠUMARSKI LIST 9-10/2010 str. 69 <-- 69 --> PDF |
J. Tomićević, M. A. Shannon, D. Vuletić: DEVELOPING LOCAL CAPACITY FOR PARTICIPATORY ... Šumarski list br. 9–10, CXXXIV (2010), 503-515 lyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)and the collected data were processed using descriptive statistics. Fortheanalysistodeterminewhich demographicandsocio-economicvariablescould help toexplainwhysomerespondentsholdmorepositiveattitudestowardsconservationin NPTara, thenonparametrictestofrankcorrelationwasappliedtogether with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Expert interviews were also conducted, but these were a problem- centered interview. By this we mean, the respondent does not stand as an individual case, but provided expertise in the context of his/her institutional or organization context (Meuser andNagel 1991).These expert interviews were open and semi-structured around key problems regarding participation of local people in the management of national parks, including conflicts between the local people and their utilization of natural resources, and their opinions regarding the future ofTara National Park. In addition to the household and expert interviews, numerous documents were analyzed. Most importantly, reports and programs of the Tara National Park Public Enterprise, a spatial plan ofTara NP, reports by the Institutes for Nature Protection of Serbia and by the then Ministry of the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment, and the population census compiled the Republic of Serbia’s Institute for Statistics. This material provided an important background for understanding the institutional linkages in protected area management as well as understanding how these linkages are related to our research sites. In addition, historical information helped to understand how changes in the political, social, cultural, and economic context may have affected people’s livelihoods and the institutions that can help to sustain them. This analysis provided part of the framework for developing the household questionnaire. Using basic methodology of triangulation, these data were analyzed with respect to one another and together provided a strong basis for understanding the past, current, and potential future household livelihood strategies, relationships between local people and the Park administration, and the larger geographic and institutional environment affecting the capacity for nature protection within Tara National Park. Methodological triangulation: involves using more than one method to gather data, such as interviews, observations, questionnaires, and documents.The purpose of triangulation in qualitative research is to increase the credibility and validity of the results.Altrichter et al. (2008) contend that triangulation ‘gives a more detailed and balanced picture of the situation’. RESULTS – Rezultati Results of Household Interviews –Rezultati intervjua u domaćinstvima In the period 1948-1981, the population of theTara region decreased to 5,000 people, of which 900 or 17%, live within the newly designated national park. The main occupations of the inhabitants of this region are agriculture and forestry.Asmall number of inhabitants of the region are employed outside the household, mainly in forestry working with National ParkTara Public Enterprise.The possibility of employment in other activities is limited, leading to a population drain, which along with a low birth rate means that the population is in decline (Gajić 1989).Acharacteristic of both villages is permanent out-migration (Tomićević 2005). Furthermore, the population is aging, the number of single men is increasing, and there is a decreasing number of educated people.All of these are very important factors leading to the low levels of human capital (Messer and Townsley,2003: 9). Based on the goal of the Biosphere Reserve Programme of enhancing forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, including by improving the living conditions of forest dependent people, the sustainability of the livelihoods of people living inTara region is at risk.The agricultural sector, which has deep cultural roots in the community, has become inefficient and ineffective as a result of the low capacity of human resources (low education and labour capacity as young people leave due to their lack of positive expectations for future opportunities). Of special emotional and practical concern was the loss of access to land, because private property holdings had been reduced to a maximum of 10 ha in communist times where wealthy peasants – especially those considered to be enemies of the nation – had their land confiscated and placed in a communal fund or given to a landless poor peasant. Furthermore, natural resources now controlled by the ParkAdministration are generally not accessible to local people. But, perhaps most important for the present and future prospects of these villages is the limited access to markets and capital due to poor roads and lack of knowledge. Even with these limitations, agricultural remains central to the local economy as a major source of food and income for the local community and as defining factor of the regional landscape. However, our survey results indicated that local people would be willing to invest in the agricultural sector, if there was the potential for realizing greater economic benefits (Tomićević 2005).Willingness to invest is a strong indicator for positive social capacity for participatory management and governance. Social action theory (Giddens 1979) conceives of individuals as exercising agency (the ability to change the rules), voluntarism, giving meaning to objects and events and acting with intent. However, as |