School of People Environment and Planning

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    Rural livelihoods and natural resource sustainability : a case study of two communities on Chiloé Island : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Rural Development at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2005) Bannister Hepp, Alan
    This research examines the relationship between livelihood strategies of rural communities in Chile and local environmental sustainability. It determines livelihood options adopted by local communities and identifies their impact on the surrounding environment. Two case studies are presented using the sustainable livelihood approach as a framework to describe the livelihood strategies of two rural communities in Chiloé Island. Environmental sustainability is investigated using elements and concepts of the FESLM (Framework for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management) approach and of agroecosystem analysis. Both communities were selected because of their location close to extensive areas of native forests. One community is relatively isolated, has a “Huilliche” ethnic tradition, with a predominance of subsistence activities; the other is closer to markets and their livelihoods are primarily derived from farming-forestry systems. Data for the study was collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews with local leaders, relevant local government staff, NGOs, and community members. For the examined cases, results suggest that rural subsistence communities are highly diversified, using their resources in a non-sustainable way; generating livelihood strategies that fail to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions. Low productivity soils, steep slopes, and depleted fragile forest ecosystems create a complex natural resource base. The main causes for the community economic problems are the lack of road networks and markets to sell products to. Organisations in charge of development interventions are aware of the situation but find it difficult to start a sustainable development process, mostly due to a lack of human capital in the communities, notably education, organisational skills, and technology adoption. Future development interventions should tackle the issues that constrain development in these communities, consider rural communities’ context-specific characteristics, value local culture and tradition, facilitate to build social and human capital, ensure integrated management of natural resources, and assist with markets for existing and value-added products produced by local households.
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    Discursive dissection : this thesis questions the links between animal use in the West, genetic engineering and the patenting of living organisms : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2004) Dyson, Colleen Gaye
    Is another paradigm possible? A 21 st Century praxis where values are not based primarily on economics, but on the wider spiritual values that sustain and nurture all creatures and the natural world. Can we stop the commodification of everything, even the essence of life itself, the DNA, the cell-lines, stem cells, our genes and the genetic makeup of all life-forms? I wish to bring an eco-feminist analysis to these discussions which will provide the standpoint from which to critique patriarchy's oppression and perceptions of women, non-human animals and the environment. The patriarchal construction of knowledge is examined as it is situated in the colonial and post-colonial periods in Aotearoa New Zealand. Included also, is a critique of capitalism as the pervading global nee-liberal economic system, incorporating historic events such as colonisation, the Industrial Revolution and the rise of western reductionist science. This is positioned against the historical epistemological backdrop of the main prevailing attitudes to the natural world (the environment) and our relationships with other nonhuman animal species on earth. Included are the relevant aspects of the worldviews of indigenous peoples including Maori, the religious standpoints of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. The ideological discourses of neo-liberal capitalism, western reductionist science, modernist development and spiritual eco-feminism are also examined.
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    Social change and deforestation : a case study of Western Samoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1997) Kobayashi, Harumi
    Deforestation has caught much attention within wider concerns about the global environmental crisis. Though it is often large countries with rich forest resources which have caught most attention globally, forests in Western Samoa are worthy of attention as they have experienced some of the highest per capita rates of loss. The causes of deforestation reveal an intricate mix of social, cultural, economic and political factors within a specific local context. At the same time, external factors, which exist outside the national borders, also influence on the state of the forest. Deforestation in Western Samoa is an example of such complex relationships. It is not commercial logging operations which cause deforestation in Western Samoa, and most deforestation is occurring on communal land. Recent studies have claimed that the modification of land tenure system, caused by the influences of Western individualism and the cash economy, induces Samoans to cut down trees. However, this study has found that the main cause of deforestation is the land conversion for agricultural use by villagers who seek increased money income. At the same time, changes in the traditional Samoan society have had significant influences on deforestation. Factors, such as an increasing number of matai (chief) and the advent of nuclear families, have interacted to encourage villagers to clear forests. No society is constant. Forests in Western Samoa have been lost in the continuing friction between traditional and modern values in the society. Conservation of the forest depends on the views and values of Samoans themselves, seen through the lens of their culture, and on the decisions made based on such perceptions and attitudes.
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    The role of special economic zones in China's development : a research project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1997) Xu, Yan
    Most economies of East and Southeast Asia have used export processing zones (EPZs) or special economic zones (SEZs) in their first stage of economic liberation programs. Many authors believed that these EPZs generally decreased welfare or had only a limited welfare-raising effect on the host country. However, by examining the role of SEZs in China's development, this study has concluded that China's SEZs have taken on a leading role in the process of economic reform, and have been important bridges over which foreign capital, technology, goods, management and ideas have crossed into the hinterland of China and over which the products of the hinterland have gained access to world markets. SEZs have been important economic laboratories in which some of the features of Western Capitalism could be tried out and when found appropriate to Chinese conditions, allowed to cross the bridge into the rest of China. They have also had a long-term effect on growth and development. This study has shown that changes in ideology and human capital development are more important than technology and capital because effective utilization of physical resources depends on human resources. This study has also shown that SEZs will continue to play the role of economic laboratories since inner China still features a centrally controlled and managed system and experiments with market mechanism are still at a very early stage.
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    Biodiversity and sustainable development : research exercise 31.499 in partial fulfilment of an M.Phil (Development Studies)
    (Massey University, 1997) Cowen, Justin
    Economic development has had an increasingly detrimental effect on the environment. The current level of environmental impact by humans has been unprecedented for a single species in the history of the earth. In recent years there has been an increased realisation of the detrimental impact of our actions. Along with this realisation there has been an improvement in the understanding of the fundamental importance of the environment to the human society. The aim of this thesis is to examine the possibility of sustainable development, a concept which has arisen out of this increased awareness of the dynamic interconnectedness of the environment and development. A more environmentally destmctive development path will reduce the quality of the environment not just for today but in the future. This thesis will endeavoux to show that, if we are to achieve sustainability, we need to change our attitude towards the environment. To do this I will look at two broad perspectives of what is meant by sustainable development: technocentric and ecocentric (O'Riordan 1981: 1 ). Their primary difference is in their attitude towards the environment. This thesis will highlight the technocentric perspective as it has become the dominant development throughout the globe. It will primarily focus on critiquing technocentrism, demonstrating how this approach has resulted in widespread environmental degredation. In looking at the technocentric and ecocentric perspectives I shall attempt to show the significant role that knowledge systems can have in shaping the attitudes of a society. [From Introduction]
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    Journeys into exile : Tibetan women refugees and the migration experience : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2001) Roy, Leesa Rachael
    Focusing on refugee theories and concepts, this study utilises a qualitative research approach to analyse the migration experiences of a group of Tibetan refugee women living in exile in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India. The study examines the reasons why the women left Tibet, risking their lives to make the arduous journey across the Himalayan Mountains into exile, and explores their past, present and future hopes, the difficulties they have faced, and those that they are facing today. Data for the study were collected through various methods, including in-depth interviews, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis (CVA), stimulus pictures, informal conversations and personal observations while in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India. The Tibetan refugee movement is examined within its own socio-political context through an exploration of the historical background of the Tibetan refugee situation, including China's presence in Tibet, and the ways in which this presence has affected Tibetan refugee movements. The Literature Review examines the various migration and refugee theories and concepts that have emerged within academia, and assesses the conceptual gaps that are present within the existing literature. Focusing on contemporary Tibetan refugee movements, this thesis considers the question of why, after more than fifty years of Chinese occupation, Tibetans are still leaving Tibet to live in exile in India. The study then puts forward two models of refugee migration based on the patterns of migration expressed in the data.
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    Indigenous tourism in Australia, a development tool? : a research report presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters Degree in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Penfold, Leysha Monica
    This research Report examines tourism and its potential role in the development of Australia's Indigenous peoples, namely Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders. It begins by examining the current situation of the Indigenous people to establish that there is indeed a need for development. This is followed by a general examination of both tourism and development, and how the two might interact. The current state of Indigenous tourism, particularly cultural tourism, in Australia is then explored, with an emphasis on the role of Government and possible modes of Indigenous involvement. The next sections, which constitute the main thrust of this Report, examine: • barriers to Indigenous involvement in tourism, • the negative impacts of tourism involvement • the role of education and training in circumventing some of these problems It is hoped that this document can provide a counterpoint to the predominantly positive material which has been produced by the Australian Government and the tourism industry. Finally, this Report seeks to place Indigenous tourism in the wider context of economic and social developments, and changing Government policy. [Executive summary]
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    The economic and environmental policy evaluation of inland water transport development in Bangladesh : M.Phil. Development Studies project, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1998) Brooks, John F
    Throughout Asia, transport and water resources have followed generally separate paths of development and policy. This is particularly clear in Bangladesh where abstraction of surface water for irrigation, both higher in the international basin and within Bangladesh, contributed significantly to reduced channel depths for navigation. Similarly, dredging for channel improvements has had lower priority than embankment construction for flood protection and all weather road and rail services. These have impeded drainage and have constrained the significant informal inland water transport services. Other constraints include a weak legislatory and policy framework, and policy implementation and enforcement are weak in both sectors. Also, dredging is split under two public sector entities, with little incentive or encouragement of private sector involvement. In Europe and the USA, flood protection improvements, both by river training and dredging, have gone hand in hand over 200 years, and river user management is integrated and controlled under comprehensive legislation, policy, and institutional and user systems. The study has found that some initiatives along these lines are being taken in Bangladesh, especially under an ongoing National Water Management Plan due for completion by 2001, and some project initiatives are being considered. However, concerted effort is needed to recognize the economic and environmental benefits of inland water transport vis-a-vis other transport modes, and to design water resources development projects which also cater to this potential, and allow for inland water transport to make a significant contribution to cost recovery of the waterways improvement. Several potential projects have been identified which will help to address the situation. In parallel, further efforts to build international cooperation among the riparian states and measures to mitigate the potential pollution impacts of inland water transport need to be put into place quickly.