Analysis of environmental communication and its implication for sustainable development in Ethiopia

Assessing the roles of stakeholders in community projects on environmental security and livelihood of impoverished rural society: A nongovernmental organization implementation strategy in focus

The current study investigates how stakeholders' participation was used to improve environmental security and the livelihoods of the poor in rural community of Ethiopia. In particular, the study attempts to identify models of stakeholder participation and the factors that influence participation using qualitative methods. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, organizational documents and observation used to collect the data. Thematic analysis of the data highlights consultation, collaboration, and partnership as key organizing constructs. The study offers a distinctive viewpoint on the literature and on rural community practice through the participation of stakeholders. We suggest nongovernmental organizations thoroughly utilize grassroots approach to gain acceptance, trust and sustainability of community projects.

Constraints to agroforestry diffusion under the Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP), Pakistan: policy recommendations for 10-BTAP

Effective agroforestry diffusion under the newly started 10-Billion Trees Afforestation Project (10-BTAP) needs a thorough understanding of the policy and implementation shortfalls of the already completed BTAP. This study examines the factors that affected the diffusion of the agroforestry in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region of Pakistan under BTAP. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews with Village Development Committee (VDC) members, Forest Department (FD) officials, and local farmers. Important factors positively affecting agroforestry diffusion included locations of crop fields on the river sides, community dependency on firewood, and market value of agroforestry timber. The logistic regression model shows that household head's age, access to information, and area under cropland positively affected household level adoption of agroforestry under BTAP; forest cover was negatively related. In-depth interviews show that key barriers to FD in diffusion of agroforestry included provision of false information by farmers to monitoring teams, non-availability of extension staff, lack of communication among project staff and community, as well as a lack of sufficient budget for activities. Primary barriers to community adoption of agroforestry included no participation of VDCs in planning and monitoring of agroforestry programs, lack of plant need assessments on the part of the project staff, poor quality of plants distributed by FD, farmers' poor know-how of plantations, lack of trust among community and project staff, as well as the waste of plants by farming community. Thus, this study recommends that policy-makers and project designers should consider these factors when planning agroforestry diffusion under 10-BTAP to improve its success.

Empowering rural society through non-formal environmental education: An empirical study of environment and forest development community projects in Ethiopia

This study examined non-formal Environmental Education (EE) is employed in interventions aimed at empowering rural society in Ethiopia. The study focused on a relatively less explored area of how non-formal EE in the form of project-based learning and how it was used to equip the community with skills and knowledge. Using qualitative data collection methods and thematic analysis was employed as an analytical strategy, the study produced evidence of the importance of community programs to out-of-school youths and adults in the acquisition of fundamental skills and knowledge. Greening campaigns were found to be essential in sustaining the lives of the rural communities. As demonstrated in the study, community projects aimed at enhancing learning are in sync with theory of project-based learning. Assisted by relevant conceptualization, the organization which motivated this study, develops insights for knowledge management for further implementation strategies. Its major focus is on empowering poor communities and their institutions by ensuring environmental security and livelihoods. As crucial stakeholders, communities received knowledge and technical skills through experience sharing, training, and workshops. Findings further indicated that most of the project community members were illiterate prior to their engagement in the project activities, which demonstrated that they needed to acquire basic knowledge and skills enact agency. Many community members became part of the project because of the mobilization and awareness creation campaign by the local development organization. However, there have been several roadblocks to the implementation of the community projects. But most importantly the study shows, skills and knowledge imparted through EE were important to implement community projects, helping to enhance community participation in raising environmental quality, thereby improving environmental performance, farming methods, and livelihood situations. We suggest project-based learning be used as a tool for community empowerment initiatives aimed at responding to environmental problems.