Tourism
opportunities assessment (Western Australia)
In Febuary 2009, BHP
Billeton announced the premature closure of its nickel mine at
Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. This sudden closure was expected to have a
profound social and economic effect on the communities of Hopetoun and
Ravensthorpe , where many of
the mine workers established their homes.
Drawing on previous experience of downsizing a defence facility
at
Exmouth, we worked with Tourism Western Australia to
identify and assess
potential
tourism development opportunities in the Hopetoun district to help
off-set the
social and economic impacts of the mine closure.
The effects on Australian communities of
invasive animals
The
Australian Government has concerns about the effects of invasive
(pest) animals on the Australian environment, economy, and community.
To research
and manage these effects, and to come up with more effective
pest controls, it established a
Cooperative Research Centre for Invasive Animals (IACRC). We have been
working with the IACRC since 2005 to understand
the social effects/impacts, and to assess how the
public and interest groups might respond to pest control efforts and
new control technologies.
Studies have included reviews of previous research, a case study of the
Upper
Hunter region in NSW, and an overall assessment of the social impacts
of pest animals.
Social safegurads for hydroelectric
development in North Korea
In
2004, the international community, through the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP, provided technical assistance to the
Government of the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK - or
North Korea) for the development of a medium sized hydroelectricity
generation scheme near Wonsan in Kangwan Province. This
necessitated an on-the ground assessment of the potential social
impacts of the project and a review of the social safeguards required
by the UN. We provided UNDP with the
in-country social
science technical expertise for the assessment and review and prepared
a report, with recommendations, for the UNDP and DPRK government.
China wetlands conservation programme review
In
2002-03 we were contracted by UNDP to undertake, as part of a joint
international and national team, a mid term review (evaluation) of the
China Wetlands Biodiversity and Sustainable Use programme, being funded
jointly by the UNDP Global Environment Facility and Government
of
China. Based on fieldwork investigations in 4
provinces, extensive
consultations with local people, NGOs, provincial, and central
government
participants, document analysis, and interviews with technical
specialists, our staff provided an evaluation of the
performance of the social and community components of the 5-year
programme,
including the contribution towards alternative livelihoods
development, capacity building, and recommendations for programme
redesign and
improvement in major wetlands mangement.
Conservation and livelihoods improvement in
India
The Sundarbans mangrove forest system is one of
the worlds largest and most significant mangrove forests, part of which
falls within the state of West Bengal State in India.
Conserving the Indian Sundarbans environment while meeting the
livelihoods and development needs of the people of the district is a
major challenge. The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
provided technical assistance to the state government to
develop
an integrated conservation and livelihoods improvement strategy for the
Sundarbans.
In 2003, FAS provided the international social science expertise to the
multidisciplinary ADB team charged with preparing the strategy. This
involved fieldwork investigations, managing and harmonising the inputs
of local social scientists, poverty and development needs assessments,
scenario analysis, participatory workshops, designing a
strategy
for sustainable livelihoods development, and report preparation.
Social assessment of river works in
Bangladesh
In
2000, we provided the World Bank with rural sociological and social
impact assessment expertise as part of a package of technical
assistance to the planning and feasibility assessment of a project to
restore the flow in the Gorai River in Bangladesh. This
involved reviewing and redesigning baseline socio-economic surveys
of the people of the Gorai catchment, analysing and interpreting
the findings, preparing a social impact assessment of the proposed
river engineering works and any required resettlement (with particular
attention to poor and landless people), conducting community an other
stakeholder consultations and preparing relevant reports.
Integrated environmental monitoring in
Bangladesh
Subsequent
to our work on the Gorai River restoration project, in 2002 the
Government of the Netherlands provided assistance to the Government of
Bangladesh to establish an integrated monitoring system for the Gorai
River-Bangladesh Sundarbans system. Working in a 3-person team
assembled by Delft Hydraulics, we provided the social science
input to the design of the monitoring programme, developed
the social indicators, and wrote the terms of reference for
the social monitoring contractor.
Forest management performance in Indonesia
Perum
Perhutani is a state-owned forestry company managing teak plantations
in Indonesia. In 1999, the company's teak-forest management
performance under its FSC forest management certificate needed
auditing. A FAS social scientist joined Smartwood's 3-person
international audit team and reviewed the social performance at 3
forests in Central and East Java, conducted consultations with local
communities and other stakeholders, made recommendations for
improvements, and co-authored the audit report.
Social and participatory planning for
agrofrestry in Tonga
From
1995 to 1997, FAS provided sociological and rural development expertise
to New Zealand's programme of bi-lateral aid to the forestry sector in
the Kingdom of Tonga. This included, in 1995, a feasibly study for
agroforestry development, for which we undertook a social and cultural
analysis of agriculture and forestry, an assessment of needs, and
helped prepare an agroforestry development strategy - based on
interviews and village-level participatory workshops throughout
the island group. In 1997, a detailed national agroforestry
implementation plan was required. In addition to co-authoring this
plan, we conducted over 30 village-level PRA workshops, interviewed and
consulted with NGOS and government agencies, compiled and analysed
background social and agricultural statistics, and prepared 2
background reports. In addition, between 1995 and 1997, we
assisted the Government of Tonga in the preparation of a management
plan for the Eua National Park. Working within a small
multi-disciplinary team we carried out an analysis of Tongan tourism, a
survey of Eua's residents, several rounds of local/village and national
level planning workshops, and co-authored the park management plan.
|
