LiveDiverse E-newsletter Vol.2

[Yumiko Yasuda]

LiveDiverse E-Newsletter Vol. 2
June 2011

Since the last newsletter in March, the LiveDiverse project team has
been actively engaged in further field work, and in disseminating
project results so far through direct discussions with stakeholders,
presentations at conferences, and publications.

A ‘chiefly’ visit!- South Africa-

Constant feedback and the dissemination of findings are an integral
part of philosophy of LiveDiverse. In an effort not only to make sure
that this philosophy is upheld, but also to fulfil the moral
obligation we as researchers have towards the people who have given
their time to participate in this project, the South African case
study team and the project coordinator embarked on an interim feedback
tour to the traditional leadership of the various villages who are
participating in the project in South Africa. More information from
http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#chiefly

Third Stakeholder Workshops in the Térraba River Basin – Costa Rica-

The LiveDiverse team in Costa Rica embarked on their third round of
stakeholder workshops together with colleagues from Dundee,
presenting, discussing and sharing the different drivers for change
and potential scenarios within the Térraba River Basin. The team
presented the main assessment results of biophysical, socio-economic
and cultural-spiritual drivers, used as a basis for development of
future scenarios of the river basin. Active discussion and feedback
took place. More information from http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#workshop

Field data collection and analysis- Vietnam-

More field data collection and their analysis took place in the
LiveDiverse case study area in Vietnam this spring. Field surveys on
cultural and spiritual vulnerability targeted 8 ethnic groups which
include: Tay, Dao, Muong, Nung, Kinh, Cao Lan, H’Mong and Hoa. The
survey covered a range of topics including: life cycle events;
traditional food patterns and changes; sacred entities; traditional
dressing; major deities; institutional issues; livelihoods and
livelihood resources; and changes. More information from
http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#fielddata

South African team works in Vietnam

Work Package 4 (WP4) lead by the CSIR team from South Africa joined
their Vietnamese counterparts and the project coordinator in Vietnam
for WP4 related fieldwork, with the aim of understanding public
beliefs, perceptions, attitudes and preferences. A number of semi-
structured interviews with household members, as well as
representatives of the Commune People’s Committee (CPC) were
conducted. More information from http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#wp4invietnam

Socio-economic experiment in Costa Rica

Socio-economic experiments took place in Costa Rica, as a tool to
understand individual behaviour in a group decision-making context,
specifically related to the use and conservation of natural resources
in protected areas and indigenous territories nearby. The experiments
consisted of a set of games in which villagers were asked to decide
how much they wanted to extract from a collective resource. More
information from http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#experiment

LiveDiverse results presented at the 2011 Conference on Earth System
Governance

Three members of LiveDiverse project attended the Conference on Earth
System Governance: crossing boundaries and building bridges, in Fort
Collins, Colorado from 17 to 20 May 2011. They presented three papers
showcasing the preliminary findings of their work during the project.
More information from http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#colorado

LiveDiverse partners in Scotland and Vietnam to sign an MOU for
further collaboration

The LiveDiverse project has resulted in a long-term formal partnership
between two of the participating institutions, The National Institute
of Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP), the LiveDiverse
partner from Vietnam, and the University of Dundee, Scotland. NIAPP
visited the University of Dundee, and the two parties signed the
Memorandum of Understanding on June 7, 2011. The MoU aims at
facilitating further collaboration in research, education and training
between the two LiveDiverse partners. As an initial step, a member of
staff from NIAPP will participate in the Water Law Water Leaders
course which will be held at the University of Dundee in August 2011.
http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=15#MOU

New Publications: First LiveDiverse Policy Brief and 2 Reports

The first LiveDiverse policy brief and two new project reports are now
published on LiveDiverse web site. The policy brief explains how to
use household survey methods as a way to assess biodiversity-
livelihood linkages. Two new reports include final output on
LiveDiverse GIS database, and revised future scenario in four case
study areas. All the publications are available from
http://www.livediverse.eu/?page_id=20