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Regular electricity access is a key element for the economic development and social welfare of rural areas. Decentralized energy generation has the advantage of using local resources, increasing employment and reducing transmission and distribution losses. Brazil is a tropical country, endowed with vast arable land, plentiful precipitation levels, and a large supply of human labour. Furthermore, it has strong regional distinctions with geographical, cultural and economical differences. Forestry and agriculture, important activities in the Brazilian economy, are dependent on local people and are deeply connected to traditions, nature and culture. Furthermore, these activities generate a significant amount of residues that could be used in conversion technologies for biomass, based on type, availability and market demand. When biomass were used to generate energy locally, community members could have business opportunities, improving local economy and life quality of individuals while diversifying the Brazilian energy matrix, which is mostly based on hydropower. Alternatives for implementing small-scale decentralized biomass schemes are dependent on the screening of the existing biomass supply chains, the implementation of adapted technologies for local conditions and the exploration of local resources. The present research carried out a detailed field work in order to evaluate the potential of Brazilian biomass in different regions. The author identified crucial needs, usual constraints and possible challenges of rural electrification and economic development in Brazil. Several case studies and social groups were investigated in the Federal States of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Pará to identify different resource management strategies, which biomass technology was applied and the needs of the local population. It was concluded that the compaction of biomass to generate solid biofuels with uniform properties could be a cost-effective alternative for communities taking advantage of the resources available in the region to produce energy. Nevertheless, each case has to be considered on its own. It was concluded that energy supply and consumption should be addressed through integrated research. Scientific research should be focused on technological solutions for improving living standards and socio-economic development in rural areas. The implementation of new regulatory arrangements and a constant revision of the Brazilian energy policies are crucial for encouraging a national industry for renewables. It was also concluded that the cultural, geographical and socio-economic discrepancies of Brazil could involve challenges for the implementation of future projects, even when their development would provide benefits for Brazil as a whole.
Die “Energiewende” wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit als umfassender gesellschaftlicher Prozess aus soziologischer Perspektive untersucht. Da die Vorreiter der Entwicklung bisher in geographischen und damit auch sozialen Nischen zu finden sind, wurden sieben möglichst weit fortgeschrittene und ambitionierte „Energieregionen“ im ländlichen Raum als Fallstudien ausgewählt. Das Paradigma der Energieautarkie oder der 100% Region wurde dabei als Leitbild eines noch jungen Entwicklungspfades mit Hilfe qualitativer Methoden untersucht. Unter Energieautarkie (oder Energieautonomie) wird das Ziel verstanden, eine Region vollständig durch erneuerbare Energieproduktion mit Wärme und Elektrizität zu versorgen. Dies ist aufgrund der hohen Anforderungen bisher selten vollständig realisiert worden. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Hindernisse, Entwicklungsstufen und typischen Probleme sowie die Faktoren, welche ihre Bewältigung ermöglichen. Im Vergleich der Fallstudien wird ein theoretisches Modell entwickelt, um den Erfolg einzelner Initiativen erklären und in gewissem Umfang vorhersagen zu können. Daraus wird die These abgeleitet, dass sich die technische und ökonomische Infrastruktur erneuerbarer „Energieregionen“ langfristig der Sozialstruktur anpasst und die Diffusion weiterer „Energieregionen“ vom gegebenen Niveau des Sozialkapitals bedingt wird. Aufgrund der gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit sozialer und technischer Komplexitätsniveaus bedeutet die Energiewende für den ländlichen Raum in erster Linie eine soziale und organisatorische Herausforderung. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die verschiedenen Strategien der beteiligten Akteure und ihre Konstellationen.
The economic crises of the mid 1980s and 1990s due to a fall in economic productivity inflicted serious negative consequences on Cameroon’s forest ecosystems and forest resources which became the target of intense exploitation for multiple purposes. A forest policy reform at the behest of the World Bank was intended to regulate forest exploitation in a sustainable way. More than a decade since the inception of this policy, this study, through a three-tier methodological approach of survey, content analysis and observation, seeks to assess policy impacts per se, as well as the role of environmental communication in mitigating non-sustainable forest exploitation in Anglophone Cameroon. The study also investigates a valid and reliable option for the sustainable management of forest resources, by comparing and contrasting the two operational forest management paradigms. The outcome of the investigation reveals that both policy and environmental communication have a more positive impact in the community forest area than in the state-managed forest area, implying that the former is a better forest management option than the latter. However, forest sustainability is still at stake in both areas, due, generally, to bad forest governance such as corruption, minimal public participation, lack of transparency and accountability, as well as the ubiquitous presence of poverty, unemployment and inadequate public access to socio-economic development indicators. To this end, the study proffers some robust recommendations that if implemented will greatly enhance the badly needed forest sustainability.
Over the last decade or so, there has been an increasing need to acknowledge the role played by local resource users in environmental decision making and to incorporate their perceptions in the management of natural resources. This has led to the development of various methods of assessing environmental attitudes and of natural resource valuation. Most of these studies have been conducted in developed countries and have utilised economic methods of valuation. This study highlights the environmental attitudes and values of a very important group of stakeholders - women - and the significance of taking these into consideration in the management of local coastal natural resources. Using respondents from two Ghanaian coastal communities, Bortianor and Moree, the study also investigated poverty-coastal natural resource linkages and how this knowledge can be used to improve Natural Resource Management in Ghana. In proposing specific policy options for managing the coastal environment an examination of formal, informal institutional and legal framework was also done. Primary data was collected by means of focus group discussions, personal interviews and participant observations. A total of 304 women (151 from Bortianor and 153 from Moree) took part in the study. The results showed that the study communities had poor access to basic amenities such as potable water, schools, health facilities as well as basic sanitation services. Their livelihood patterns revolve around the availability of coastal natural resources such as fish and fuel wood. The attitudinal scale used to assess environmental attitudes achieved adequate internal consistency with Cronbach’s (1951) Alpha reliability coefficients of 0.729 in Bortianor and 0.735 in Moree. The environmental attitudes of respondents were overwhelmingly positive; this however did not match the state of affairs in the area. The study showed that positive attitudes do not always result in pro-environmental behaviour. In the study areas poverty, low educational levels and other social and cultural practices could also influence the ability of respondents to translate the generally positive environmental attitudes into positive environmental action. The section on environmental values assessed the environmental values of respondents through the relative importance they placed on the different benefits derived from coastal natural resources. It also prioritised environmental issues or concerns in the study areas from the perspectives of the respondents. Rather than use a simple ordinal ranking of all objects, the paired comparison approach was used. The study showed that in both areas respondents placed the greatest importance on the coastal natural resources as sources of wealth creation and food. When it came to environmental concerns, it was not surprising that issues of safe drinking water, available fish and good sanitation were most important to respondents. From the results it was argued that since coastal natural resources as sources of food and income ranked highest, developing activities and policies that add value to the fishery industry, generate income and improve the standard of living of respondents would be most effective. Improving their standard of living could shift their focus from more utilitarian values to that of more pro-natural resource values. After examining existing institutional capacities and respondents’ perceptions of who should manage local coastal natural resources, the study concludes by using the findings to make some practical policy recommendations.