Master Thesis
Local participation in natural resource management initiatives
Local participation in natural resource management initiatives: A case study of the Gola REDD+ project in Sierra Leone The United Nation’s programme, Reducing Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is an international policy mechanism to mitigate global climate change. REDD+ has a significant global impact that is changing how forests are managed around the…
Burning the woods and flooding the slums
Burning the woods and flooding the slums: examining the socio-economic and environmental burden of wood charcoal in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Wood charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking in urban Sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely known that charcoal production causes numerous environmental impacts, such as deforestation and environmental degradation. Interventions aimed at…
Participation of women with disabilities in local government decision making structures
Participation of women with disabilities in local government decision making structures: Unpacking the Silent Voice. A qualitative study conducted in Lusaka, Zambia Participation of each and every person in governance system is a fundamental human right and a basic condition for democratic tenets in society regardless of their physical and socio-economic status in society. Persons…
Understanding corruption through social norms
Understanding corruption through social norms – A field study about corrupt behaviour in local institutions in Lusaka Research shows that conventional policy interventions aiming to reduce corruption have yielded little success. Shifting the focus from macro level aspects of corruption to focus on micro-level aspects, such as social norms and individual decision-making processes, has recently…
To grip or to slip: smallholder inclusion in sustainable palm oil certifications in Riau, Indonesia
Increasing global focus on sustainable palm oil (SPO) initiatives has led to discussions of smallholder integration at the bottom of the supply chain. In 2019, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) introduced a new standard for independent smallholders. Meanwhile, through Presidential Regulation no. 44 of 2020, the President of Indonesia recently made Indonesian Sustainable…
Onsite greywater treatment for reuse at Zandspruit informal settlement in Johannesburg
The urban landscape in South Africa is marred by informal settlements. Nearly a quarter of its population lives in shacks and do not have access to sufficient clean water and improved sanitation. The aim of the present study was to ascertain household daily water consumption and quantify the amount of greywater generated at Zandspruit slums.…
Assessing the awareness, adoptability and sustainability of improved pellet cook stoves of low income households in Lusaka, Zambia.
In order to attain sustainable development, there is need for clean and reliable energy. Woodfuel (charcoal and firewood) make up over 70 percent of the national energy consumption in Zambia as only about 25 percent of the population has access to electricity. It is among the most important domestic fuels for low income households in…
“Having the freedom to having freedom”. Youth Participatory Assessment of Accessibility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
This study explores the subjective definitions of access to the city in a group of young people in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Through semi-structured interviews, workshops, and participative observation those definitions emerged. Departing from the concept of perceived accessibility, it came apparent that those definitions gravitate around three essential elements: availability of safe and affordable…
Peace in the peaks? Changes in water and land distribution in Colombia’s southern highlands during the Post-Peace Agreement phase
Governance of environmental resources plays a key role in enhancing or hindering progress towards peace in post-conflict societies. Two years after the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government of Colombia, new dynamics on natural resource and land-use are leading to environmental harm in some regions.…
The Elite Choice – ‘Unpacking the Elite’ in Mukungule Chiefdom, Zambia
Community-based natural resource management has been advocated for by many scholar and environmentalists to improve natural resourcesmanagement, equity, and justice for local people. However, its implementation on the ground does not always reach the intended goal. This is because poor policies have led to unaccountable leaders that empower elite control and capture. Studies perceive elites…