D ep ar tm en t o f I n te rn at io n al E n vir o n m en t a n d D ev el o pm en t S tu d ie s, N o ra g ric N o rw eg ia n U n iv er sit y o f L if e S cie n ce s A n n u al R ep o rt 2 00 9
Contents
Message from Noragric’s Head of Department 4
Research 6
Agricultural development, livelihoods and environmental
change (ADLEC) 8
Conflict, human security and development (SHSD) 10 Environmental governance & protected areas (ENGOPA) 12
Governance and climate change (GOVCLIM) 14
Rights, accountabilities and power in development
(RAPID) 16
Resource, risks and governance (RRG-Net) 18
Projects in 2009 21
Education 24
PhD students at Noragric in 2009 26
Institutional collaboration 30
Library 33
Financial overview 34
Staff 35
Editor: Joanna Boddens-Hosang
Design: Berit Hopland, Information Department Printer: Zoom
Photo credits: Robert Hodosi (p. 1), Liv Ellingsen, (p.20), Evy Jørgensen, (p.20), Gry Synnevåg, (p.20), Ingrid Nyborg, (p.20), Bed Mani Dahal, (p.20)
Established in 1986 as a centre at the Agricultural University of Norway (NLH), Noragric became an academic department at the renamed Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in 2005.
Noragric is active in research, education, institutional collaboration and information/communication. With more than 40 years of collaboration between UMB and academic and professional institutions in Africa, Asia, the Americas and East/South East Europe, Noragric has established a broad network of worldwide contacts. Noragric is also increasingly engaged with academic institutions in the North.
Noragric carries the academic responsibility for international environment and development studies at UMB and is the
university’s department of interdisciplinarity and social sciences.
Noragric is responsible for the coordination of UMB’s institutional collaboration with countries in the South and Eastern Europe.
A new Strategic Plan was drafted in 2009 and finalized and
accepted by the Noragric Board in early 2010. The strategy includes planned activities under among others research, education, and institutional collaboration for the years 2010-2013. It is accessible on the Noragric website under ‘About Noragric’.
Noragric’s vision is a world where human inequality, conflicts, environmental degradation and poverty has been substantially and sustainably reduced.
Young Tanzanian child Photo: Lars Kåre Grimsby
Department of International Environment and
Development Studies, Noragric
The year 2009 can be regarded as the Year of Climate Change. The world witnessed the momentum building up towards the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Expectations were high – perhaps too high – for the outcome of the conference.
Indeed the Conference marked a major milestone since the Kyoto Protocol of 2005 in terms of the issues addressed and the debates and awareness generated worldwide.
Governments can no longer afford to ignore the subject despite disagreements over the interpretation of scientific findings.
Universities play an important role in producing solid and relevant scientific knowledge through research which policy makers may draw on to make informed decisions.
To Noragric, climate change is particularly relevant because of its implications for the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people in developing countries. The effects on natural resources, on which particularly the poor and marginalized depend, can be catastrophic if mitigation and adaptation strategies are not addressed seriously.
In 2009, climate change, land use changes, biodiversity loss, water use, energy, vulnerability, poverty and conflict were addressed in several of Noragric’s research projects.
Through our research and educational programmes we aim at a better understanding of local level realities and
how national and international policies help or hinder sustainable solutions.
Research on policies for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) has included analyses of the consequences of different policy measures at the local level and their capacity to reduce deforestation, protect biodiversity and secure access to alternative livelihoods for the rural population.
Interdisciplinary research on the societal implications of climate change has been strengthened addressing the link between climate and development, and smallholders’
vulnerability to climate change, particularly in risk prone areas of the Sahel. Extensive research is being carried out with a view to innovate climate robust agricultural technologies that result in environmentally friendly agricultural production systems and improved food security for smallholders. A project on coastal fisheries of Tanzania addresses important issues concerning fisheries management and governance, and problems due to increasing commercialisation of coastal fisheries and globalisation of trade in fish products. The link between climate change and conflicts has been examined in Mali.
In 2009 the large scale acquisition of land for international agro-investments in food and biofuel particularly in
From noragric’s head of department
Gry Synnevåg Photo: P.Murimi
Africa and Latin America provoked major debates. “Land grabbing” focused the debate on a contested topic, as large scale investments for biofuel production and agribusiness might have serious implications for the survival of small holders. Noragric has contributed to a better understanding of the local realities through research on land tenure and formalisation of land rights particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Political and legal accountability in relation to human rights and democratic participation remains a focus of our research.
Our educational programmes are increasingly in demand and our students, coming from several countries in the North and South, display a keen interest in understanding complex development problems and possible solutions in a globalising world. A new Master programme in International Relations was developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), to start in 2010, will further give the students an opportunity to understand and critically reflect over international relations today.
2009 was another busy and good year for the Noragric staff striving to balance their work between research, teaching and income generation activities. Both total publication points and production per man year were among the highest at UMB. Core activities during the year included the
reorganisation of research groups into six new clusters. A new Strategic Plan for 2010-2013 was drafted, reviewed and finalised during the year. Noragric’s focal areas and activities under research, education and institutional cooperation have been fine-tuned to better reflect the challenges related to environment and development in the coming three-year period.
Partnerships are key to how Noragric works and alliances with individuals and organisations including poor smallholders, indigenous people’s groups, NGOs, universities, international organisations and multilateral agencies are vital to our progress. The institutional collaboration with several universities in the South was evaluated and renewed in 2009. In this context the new
‘Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation’
(CCIAM) programme in Tanzania should be mentioned. The basis for the new programmes in Ethiopia with Hawassa and Mekelle universities and for the new programmes in Mali, the Balkans and Azerbaijan were also developed in 2009.
My appreciation for the hard work by Noragric staff throughout the year is deep. I am also grateful for the indispensible collaboration with our partners abroad and in Norway.
Research at Noragric has an interdisciplinary approach, linking social and natural sciences. Most research is carried out with partners in developing countries and in Eastern Europe.
In 2009, Noragric’s scientific staff and PhD students grouped in six cross-cutting thematic clusters.
These are Agricultural Development, Livelihoods and Environmental Change, Conflict, Human Security and Development, Environmental Governance & Protected Areas, Governance and Climate Change, Rights, Accountabilities and Power in Development and Resource, Risks and Governance (RRG-Net). The clusters address relevant themes linked to Noragric’s core research areas under the Strategic Plan and are intended to be flexible in nature, meaning that members and themes are liable to change according to needs.
Research
Meeting with village forest management committee in Duru-Haitemba, Babati District, Tanzania.
Photo: Tor Arve Benjaminsen
Research themes under this cluster:
· Adaptation and mitigation of climate change in rural areas
· Livelihood security of rural households
· Improved farming methods
· Management of agricultural biodiversity
· Agricultural policies and trade
· Environmental impacts of agricultural production
Spotlight on a project
Development of integrated farming systems in the drylands of Africa Jens B. Aune
In collaboration with research institutes in Mali, Ethiopia and Sudan, Noragric has undertaken research on the development of integrated farming systems in the drylands of Africa.
This research has been organized through the Dryland Coordination Group which is a consortium on Norwegian NGOs working in the drylands of Africa.
The main objective of the project has been to develop integrated farming systems that can simultaneously increase farmers’ income, improve human nutrition and preserve the environment. The approach has been to introduce a new fertilizer application method, new crops, reduced tillage methods, improved feeding practices and cultivation of nutritious foods like fruits and leaf vegetables. The most successful project component in Mali and Sudan was the combination of seed priming (soaking seeds in water for 8 hours prior to sowing) and application of small amounts of mineral fertilizer in the planting pockets at the rate of 5 to 10 kg fertilizer per hectare (micro fertilization). Since the soils are deficient in phosphorous, the application of mineral fertilizer stimulated crop establishment and improved crop vigour during the growing season. The yield increased between 50 and 100 %. Mineral fertilizer has previously
been considered not relevant for farmers in the Sahel, but this research shows that combining seed priming with micro fertilization is a highly efficient way to apply fertilizer. In one of the major millet producing areas in Mali, the Senou area in Bankas, more than 50 % of the farmers are now using this method of fertilizer application without any support from the project. Fertilizers were not previously available in the area, but as a result of increased demand fertilizer is now available in the villages through the private sector.
An additional advantage of micro fertilization is that straw production is increased in the same order as grain production.
Straw is a highly valuable fodder resource in all dryland areas and micro fertilization will therefore increase the integration of crop and livestock production. Millet/cowpea intercropping is also integrated in the system, further strengthening the linkages between crop and livestock production. The project also introduced improved fodder rations for fattening sheep by using millet bran and cowpea haulms. As a result of higher grain yield, some farmers have reduced their cultivated areas because the same level of production can be achieved on a smaller area of land. This will contribute to carbon sequestration and to reduce pressure on the rangeland.
Research Clusters
Agricultural development, livelihoods and environmental change (ADLEC)
Contact person: Dr Jens B. Aune
Example of integrated farming in a field in Mali.
Photo: Gry Synnevåg
The project has promoted Moringa oleifera, a tree that produces leaves that are very rich in vitamins A and C and in iron. This tree was found in some localities in all countries prior to the project but the population was not aware of its nutritional values. Households now plant this tree either in communal gardens or in the homestead. Vitamin A deficiency is a major problem in human nutrition throughout the drylands of Africa and the cultivation of this tree can contribute to improving the situation. Households that have started to use Moringa in Mali report many benefits related to improved child nutrition and reduced night blindness.
The project has shown that it is possible to simultaneously
increase farmers’ income, improve human nutrition and preserve the environment by using low cost methods. Total farmer productivity has increased thereby reducing the pressure on rangeland resources. International development actors like the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), the Buffet Foundation and CARE are now using these methods in their development projects in the dryland areas of Africa.
Cheick Oumar Traoré, Jens B. Aune and Mamadou Malicky Sidibé.Rapport Final du Projet Ecoferme au Mali. Synthèse des quatre années 2005-2008. April 2010. GCoZA Rapport No. 57.
Research themes under this cluster:
· Human security in conflict/post conflict, war/post war situations
·
Conflict/post conflict institutional building
·
Human security and human rights
·
Health and conflict
·
Livelihood security and revival in conflict and post-conflict contexts, resettlement and reintegration
·
Resource conflicts, negotiations and human security
·
Seed systems and security in conflict/post-conflict and post-disaster situations
Spotlight on a project Spotlight on a project
Resettlement of returnees, resource conflicts and livelihood revival in Eastern Equatoria, Sudan N. Shangmugaratnam and Darley Kjosavik
This joint study is funded by Norad and the Norwegian University Cooperation Programme for Capacity Development in Sudan (NUCOOP). Fieldwork was carried out in Nimule and Magwi Payams of Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria, in autumn 2009. Nimule presents a highly complex situation as regards resettlement and reintegration. There is a major conflict over land rights between the Madis and the Dinkas.
Before the war it used to be ‘Madi land’. A large section of the Madi people fled to neighbouring Uganda during the war in 1989 and most of them have now returned following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 between the government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Front/Army (SPLM/A). Meanwhile, tens of thousands of internally displaced Dinka pastoralists from Bahr el Ghazal, Unity and Jonglei migrated into Equatoria in 1991.
A large number of these internally displaced people (IDPs) moved into Magwi County, and around 10-12,000 settled in Nimule in 1994, which by then was largely vacated by the native Madis. Many of the displaced Dinkas had also joined the SPLA to fight the Sudanese state’s armed forces. Thus the displaced Dinka population in Nimule consists of hundreds of SPLA soldiers and war veterans and their families. They
continue to remain in Nimule even after several attempts to help them return and resettle in their homelands. The Dinkas practice herding, and over the years, they have established themselves as residents of Nimule on lands belonging to Madis, who are traditionally farmers.
The returning Madis found their lands occupied by Dinkas, who were using local farmlands as grazing lands for their cattle. This led to serious conflicts over land rights which the local customary institutions and governmental agencies are trying to resolve. A major complaint against the Dinkas is that they disrespect the local customs and rules that govern land rights and social relations. Indeed, the Dinkas have reconstituted their own customary institutions with their own chiefs. The Madis further complain that the judiciary, police and the bureaucracy are often partial towards the Dinkas. The situation is clearly marked by asymmetric power relations as many Dinkas still wield their guns and the Madis feel insecure and dominated. Moreover, in general the Dinkas are economically more secure than the Madi returnees.
The gender dimension of this situation, given this post war context layered on to a patriarchal society, adds to the complexity of the problem. The Madis perceive that their
Research Clusters
Conflict, human security and development (CHSD)
Contact person: Dr Ingrid Nyborg
options for socio-economic mobility and redressal of grievances are limited in the current context. The Dinkas have been saying that they would return to their original homelands once peace and stability are restored there. It is true that there are major inter-communal clashes and, as a result, severe insecurity in Jonglei State. However, after moving into Nimule, many Dinkas have discovered that there are ways other than herding to make a living, such as shop keeping and other cross-border trade, as the Ugandan border is very close. The location of Nimule seems to offer them additional incentives stay on.
The study also focused on the interrelationships and
capacities of three sets of institutional actors that are involved in resettlement, reintegration and livelihood revival. These institutional actors are: a) the Government of South Sudan’s (GOSS) county, payam and boma level bodies; b) the customary institutions dealing with land rights, local conflicts and
resource management at payam and boma levels, and other community based organisations active at these levels; and c) the international aid (external) agencies in the field: multilateral, bilateral and INGOs. The study highlights the asymmetric relations between the external agencies and the local
institutions including customary institutions due to inequalities
in resources and capacities. It makes the point that in reality this asymmetry has turned into a form of trusteeship in which the external actors are playing the role of trustees and leading the process of resettlement, which is highly dependent on their financial and professional resources. Some officials appeared keen to change this asymmetry in ways that would enable the local agencies and communities to exercise full and effective ownership to the process.
The study argues that this cannot be achieved without raising the capacities of the local agencies and communities to play the roles expected of them and calls for well-designed training programmes to meet this need. The gender specific dimensions of resettlement and livelihood revival with reference to access to resources and income in the context of the prevailing tensions and asymmetric power relations between the Dinkas and the local communities highlight the complex nature of the conflict.
N. Shanmugaratnam. Resettlement, Resource Conflicts,
Livelihood Revival and Reintegration in South Sudan: A study of the processes and institutional issues at the local level in Magwi County. Report to NORAD, April 2010.
Madi returnees at a meeting Photo: N. Shangmugaratnam
Research themes under this cluster:
· Focus on global conventions and governance levels; links to regional-, trans-boundary and national/local levels
·
Governance structures, policy formulation and implementation·
Protection as a distinct policy measure and instrument package·
Power and elite captures of local resources·
Decentralization and participation·
Knowledge and power·
Rights-based and participatory development·
Institutions, attitudes, values and norms·
Poverty, livelihoods, resource dependence and conflictsPAPIA is a 5-year project funded by the Research Council of Norway (2007-2011). Partners include the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, NINA (project leader), the Faculty of Forestry & Nature Conservation, Makerere University, Uganda, the Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA), University of Dar-es-Salaam, and the Department of Forest Economics, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania.
The project’s goal is to develop a better understanding of the relationship between protected areas and poverty in Uganda and Tanzania, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in research and sustainable management and utilization of protected areas.
PAPIA focuses on protected areas in Africa which, in relation to poverty, generate much controversy. There is a need for critical contributions from independent researchers through multi- and interdisciplinarity and combinations of components at various levels (‘micro and macro’). PAPIA offers novel designs for producing research knowledge addressing crucial challenges confronting politicians and planners using political ecology, neo-institutional analysis and resilience research approaches.
The objectives of the project are to understand the
relationship between protected areas and poverty; identify factors that impact on poverty in and around protected areas; identify barriers to positive connections between protected areas and poverty alleviation; examine the extent to which protected areas contribute to poverty alleviation; and investigate the role of community projects in conservation and poverty reduction. Some 20 Master students have graduated within these fields of research over the last five years and some 10-12 PhD students are presently working under the programmes in the ENGOPA cluster.
PAPIA has project sites in Uganda and Tanzania. In Uganda, this is the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) located in south-western Uganda. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to many endemic species, amongst which half of the world’s population of Mountain Gorillas, the other half split between Zaire and Rwanda, and is well known for gorilla tracking.
Another research site in Uganda is Mount Elgon National Park. Covering 221,334 ha, Mt. Elgon National Park is a trans- boundary protected area between Kenya and Uganda. It is an ancient volcano mountain with a flat topped basalt column known as Koitobos.
Research themes under this cluster:
· Focus on global conventions and governance levels; links to regional-, trans-boundary and national/local levels
·
Governance structures, policy formulation and implementation
· Protection as a distinct policy measure and instrument package
· Power and elite captures of local resources
· Decentralization and participation
· Knowledge and power
· Rights-based and participatory development
· Institutions, attitudes, values and norms
· Poverty, livelihoods, resource dependence and conflicts Spotlight on a project
Protected Areas and Poverty in Africa (PAPIA) Paul Vedeld
Research Clusters
Environmental governance & protected areas (ENGOPA)
Contact person: Prof Paul Vedeld
In Tanzania, research is carried out in Kilimanjaro National Park, located in the north-eastern part of the country. The research area includes the Kilimanjaro Forest Reserve and spans an area of 388,500 ha. Kilimanjaro Mountain is encircled by montane forest. Numerous mammals, many of them endangered species, live in the park. In 1977 it was formally established as a national park and was listed as Natural World Heritage Site in 1989.
The second research site in Tanzania is Mikumi National Park, the fourth largest park in the country covering 3,230 square kilometres. The park borders the Selous Game Reserve and offers many tourist attractions like the Mikumi flood plain, mountain ranges, abundant wildlife and rich communities of woodland, forest, swamp and grassland.
It is still early to draw strong conclusions from the research programmes but there are certain common elements. People living around the park are generally very poor and depend substantially on environmental incomes. The relationship with the park as an institution and with the park staff is strained. Historically many people have suffered from
evictions and severe resource deprivation without receiving much compensation. Looking at the problems from an economic point of view, the costs of living close to the park are generally much higher than potential returns from various outreach activities for local people. More insight is needed on how park staff are trained and how their intrinsic management structures, practices and management culture are suited to conduct competent community based management. The unequal power relations in the present park models are a serious constraint in a real deliberation of power and authority, a move clearly needed if improved governance and legitimacy is to be achieved in the future.
Kamanga, P., P. Vedeld, E.Sjaastad. Forest incomes and rural livelihoods in Chiradzulu Districts, Malawi. 2009. Ecological Economics 68 (3): 613 - 624.
Other publications on ENGOPA webpage:
http://www.engopa.no/
Park warden, Mt Elgon, Uganda
Photo: Wayne Conradi Village child, Mt Elgon, Uganda.
Photo: Wayne Conradi
Research themes under this cluster:
· Environmental governance
(new governance structures and development models; linking the local and global levels; multilevel governance;
the dynamics of (local) governance structures; implications for and access to livelihoods, conflicts and human motivation; legitimacy – participation, access to decision making, accountability; robustness)
·
Governance and climate change
(mitigation and adaptation; deforestation/forest degradation – REDD; conflicts linked to climate change;
distribution of costs)
Spotlight on a project The REDD direction Arild Vatn
Reduced deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is a core topic in inter national climate negotiations. Reducing these emissions is, however, challenging. The project focuses on localizing these emissions and how they could be avoided.
The project has two parts. The first entailed a study on the general aspects of REDD, including potential conflicts/
synergies between carbon mitigation, poverty reduction and bio div ersity preservation; but also transaction costs, motivation and behavioural changes. The second part specifically addressed the challenges of introducing REDD in Tanzania and Uganda and offered recom mend ations for a REDD architecture in these countries. As REDD is still ‘in the making’, the research is based on a review of literature on policies similar to REDD.
The project identifies many potential synergies between REDD and biodiversity protection. Problems concern the way forest degradation is halted. Regarding poverty reduction, the challenges are substantial. Especially important are the lack of protected land rights/land grabbing, lack of substitutes for forest products and changes in land prices. A specific pro-poor policy is found to be a necessary part of REDD in order to avoid this.
Concerning transaction costs, the focus has been on how they
vary across different systems of payment. Based on data from Payments for Environmental Services (PES) programmes and agri-environmental schemes, the project documents high costs of establishing markets for environmental goods.
The conclusion is that under many circumstances the use of existing public administrative systems offers good opportunities to keep transaction costs down compared to establishing new markets.
Concerning motivational aspects, the project emphasizes the key role of intermediaries in REDD and the danger that the power of these agents will attract people who are motivated more by the access to large monetary resources than making REDD a success. The role of local norms and values concerning the use and protection of forests and the existing local power relations are also crucial and must be taken into account when instituting REDD.
Adaption to national and local contexts is hence vital. This is also well illustrated by the second part of the project – focusing on instituting REDD in Tanzania and Uganda.
Deforestation is a substantial problem in both countries, largest in Tanzania. While 70% of the forests in Uganda are privately owned, all forest land in Tanzania is controlled by
Research Clusters
Governance and climate change (GOVCLIM)
Contact person: Prof Arild Vatn
the state. Parts of the forests in Tanzania are, however, de facto under open access. Two sets of advice are developed for each of the two countries:
· The way REDD is organized. We propose a national system in both countries including a REDD fund as an intermediary between the international funding agencies and the national state administration, establishing a separate process for the use of REDD money. Compared to a private fund this offers the opportunity to combine policies across sectors – especially including both the forest and agricultural sectors. We also propose an institutional divide between those administrations putting REDD into practice and those having responsibility for monitoring and control.
· The choice of measures for REDD. While direct payments for reduced deforestation will play an important role in REDD, we emphasize that for REDD to be successful, national and local policies must also be focused on establishing substitutes for local forest resources. This concerns first of all alternative energy and alternatives to expanding agricultural production with less use of (forest) land.
Several country specific measures are being discussed.
Forest degradation on the slopes of Mt Elgon, Uganda Photo: Wayne Conradi
Department of Environment and Development Studies
NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES
Multi-level governance: REDD as a case
Photo: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Local/private projects
Market intermediaries
National programs International funding (international carbon markets, global funds)
Separate
national fund National fund in
state adm. State
budgets
Sector policies
Project based National funds Budget support
These different alternative systems will have different capacities to deliver on REDD and co-benefits
Source: Arild Vatn
Vatn, A., P. Vedeld, J.G. Petursson and E. Stenslie, 2009. The REDD direction. The potential for reduced carbon emissions, biodiversity protection and increased development. A desk study with special focus on the situation in Uganda and Tanzania.
Noragric Report no 51, 127 pp.
Research themes under this cluster:
· Formalisation of land and resource rights in developing countries
· Equal rights vs. asymmetric power relationships in developing countries
· Competing claims to resources under different development models
· Normative principles in development processes
· Political and legal accountabilities in relation to human rights and democratic participation
· Knowledge, power and accountability in development processes
Spotlight on a project
In the Shadow of a Conflict: Impacts of Zimbabwe’s Land Reform on Rural Poverty and Development in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia
Bill Derman, Randi Kaarhus, Espen Sjaastad and Poul Wisborg
The main objectives of this study were to investigate the consequences for the southern African region of Zimbabwe’s complex crises since 2000. We found that each nation handled the influx of large (but undetermined and uneven) numbers of refugees and migrants quite differently. In parallel fashion the scale of impacts in ‘receiving countries’ varied, with South Africa having the most far-reaching. Many farm owners left Zimbabwe to take up farming and other businesses in the region. Some farm workers also left for new opportunities.
But the greatest consequence was the vast migration of Zimbabweans looking for jobs, food, and security from violence, crossing the borders to neighbouring countries in the region.
Background
Following the defeat of a constitutional referendum in February 2000 and building on local frustrations, a series of orchestrated land occupations were initiated throughout Zimbabwe in the lead-up to the 2000 parliamentary elections. Zimbabwe’s economy rested upon commercial farming and tourism with a growing mining sector. The largest formal employer was
commercial agriculture with approximately 350,000 workers fully or partly employed in the sector. During the next decade the government implemented what has become known as the Fast Track Land Reform Program which saw most farm owners lose their farms and most workers lose their employment.
The scale of the crisis, the potentials for violence, the rapid immigration by Zimbabweans to neighbouring countries, etc.
led us to research the regional consequences.
The three countries selected for comparison The three countries – Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia - represent quite different points of departure in terms of land availability, existing infrastructure, agricultural policy, and the manner in which these affect the reception and assimilation of a large influx of immigrants including farmers and farm workers. The lessons learned in terms of successful settlement and naturalisation differed. Common to these countries is, however, substantial rural poverty, an emphasis on the need for improvements in the agricultural sector, and high unemployment not helped by large numbers of Zimbabweans fleeing their own country. We focused on
Research Clusters
Rights, accountabilities and power in development (RAPID)
Contact person: Dr Randi Kaarhus
what happened to those dislocated from commercial farms and relocated in the region, and those who began working on farms elsewhere. In the latter case we learned quickly that most Zimbabwean immigrants were not farm workers in Zimbabwe but that many were compelled to take up such work. This was particularly the case for Zimbabweans in South Africa. Farm work provided short term income benefits to farm workers and enabled some to support families left behind in Zimbabwe.
A few findings
1. Zimbabweans coming to South Africa produced a human rights crisis. They have also overwhelmed the capacity to cope with the medical, social, educational and economic needs of the migrants.
2. All three countries have policies that restrict employment of Zimbabweans despite their need for jobs.
3. The debate about Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans has been broadest in South Africa, followed by Zambia and has been highly restricted in Mozambique.
4. Fast Track Land Reform has produced an enormous debate about land reform in South Africa followed by Zambia,
while in Mozambique this has not been an issue.
5. All three countries have failed to respond in any systematic way to the specific protection needs and vulnerability of humanitarian migrants from Zimbabwe. They have failed to recognize and address the needs of complex vulnerabilities in the host country and, at worst deport migrants for whom migration is the sole means of survival, returning them to a state which is unwilling or unable to sustain their lives. Thus they may also be forced to seek refuge or opportunities in another country in the region.
6. Politically this has meant that there has been a supreme indifference to the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans in order to continue the fiction that normality prevails, that there has been no crisis, neither in Zimbabwe nor in SADC – the Southern Africa Development Community.
The project will result in a book “In the Shadow of a
Conflict: Crisis in Zimbabwe and its Effects in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia”, edited by Bill Derman and Randi Kaarhus, expected to be published in 2011.
Zimbabweans receiving an interim permit to stay in Musina, South Africa Photo: Bill Derman
Research themes under this cluster:
· Resources (the potential for adaptation; different natural systems’ resilience and variability and the goals of the users)
· Risk (bridging the gaps between resource adaptations and social demands in the face of external and internal drivers of risks. How different natural systems exposed to comparable environmental variability respond to systems management)
· Governance (socio-political perspectives of management, drivers of policy, formal and informal systems. Governance and risk reduction in management of natural systems with reference to risks such as those caused by insecurity of tenure).
Spotlight on two PhD projects
Two PhD students are connected to this cluster, Waktole Tiki Uma (Ethiopia) and Zeinabu Qabale Khalif (Kenya). A description of their research projects follows below.
Environmental and social history of ancient tula wells, 1700-2008 Waktole Tiki Uma
This PhD project examines the environmental and social history of ancient tula wells in southern Ethiopia using pastoralists’ indigenous knowledge and oral narrations. Tula wells have sustainably supplied water in the region for the last 500 years. The wells are the only permanent source of water in the Borana plateau that supports a human population of about one million and more than two million livestock.
The Borana Oromo indigenous time reckoning system is used to reconstruct the impact of environmental and societal perturbations on the cultural landscape of the crucial tula well system. Natural disasters such as epidemics, droughts and flooding threaten the operation of tula wells either through the collapse of the wells (flooding) or through disruption of important inputs needed to sustain the wells (cattle economy and human labour). One of the natural disasters that affected the operation of the tula wells was the rinderpest epizootic in the 1880s. The research examines the indigenous knowledge of ancient water engineers and how the disruption of indigenous water management systems (aadaa seeraa)
impacted on the tula well systems, as well as the relationships Cattle at watering trough in one of the tula wells Photo: Waktole Tiki
Research Clusters
Resource, risks and governance (RRG-Net)
Contact person: Prof Gufu Oba
between the status of pastoral economy, the functional social system, and the operation of the wells. The study also focuses on the impact of recent development interventions that weakened the indigenous management system, resulting in changes of land use and settlement patterns on which the Borana have little control. Using the Borana concepts of laaf aadaa seeraa (translated as ‘human stewardship’) and laaf bade (translated as ‘ruined land’), the research project examines the impact of recent development interventions on tula wells. Parallel with the change of settlement patterns, the intervention promoted crop cultivation in the well zones that was previously reserved exclusively for livestock grazing during the dry season. The perceptions of the pastoralists are used to understand the impact of land use changes
on the sustainability of tula wells and the surrounding cultural landscapes. Research focuses on the impacts of transformation on water yield and raises some sustainability questions in the phase of the transformations. The project has completed four research studies, all being submitted to peer reviewed journals.
Tiki, W. & G. Oba (2009). ‘Ciinna-The Borana Oromo narration of the 1890s Great Rinderpest epizootic in North Eastern Africa’.
Journal of Eastern African Studies 3 (3): 479-508
Tiki, W., G. Oba & T. Tvedt (In press). ‘Human stewardship or ruining of cultural landscape of ancient tula wells, southern Ethiopia’ Geographical Journal.
Relief distribution to pastoral women, merti kenya
Photo: Zeinabu Kabale Khalif
Pastoral Transformation Zeinabu Kabale Khalif
Research in this project investigates the transformation of the pastoral economy of the Waso Borana in response to the secessionist shifta war of the 1960s and 1970s that was responsible for the collapse of the pastoral economy.
Over forty years after the war ended the pastoral recovery is dismal and communities are forced to diversify to other livelihoods. The processes of recovery however depend on site specific conditions and individual strategies. The households’ diversification strategies were highly influenced by their wealth status, gender and age of the household heads.
The study showed that despite diversification by pastoral households, pastoral production continues to be a major
economic base. Diversification to non-pastoral livelihoods did not undermine pastoral production since in almost all cases the households sold livestock to raise capital for businesses and also used the profits from the businesses to purchase more livestock. Thus, diversification to a non- pastoral livelihood should not be considered as a replacement of pastoral production but as an added opportunity to spread risks and maximise benefits. The study comprises four main studies, the greater majority of them being finalized for submission to peer reviewed articles. (A paper on the research on pastoral diversification strategy is prepared for submission to the Journal of Development Studies)
Facilitating the Adoption of Conservation Agriculture by Resource Poor Smallholder Farmers in Malawi
Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy, Malawi
Partners: Agriculture Research and Development Program (ARDEP), Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi Project period: 2007-2011
Noragric contact: Jens B. Aune
Impacts of conservation agriculture in Zambia
Funded by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Zambia National Farmers Union (Conservation Farming Unit) Project period: 2007-2011
Noragric contacts: Fred H. Johnsen and Jens B. Aune Intensification of cereal crop production in semi-arid highlands of Ethiopia through conservation tillage, micro-fertilising and seed priming: An eco-farm system approach
Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Partner: Hawassa University, Ethiopia
Project period: 2009-2012 Noragric contact: Jens B. Aune
Postwar Livelihood and Environment Studies Funded by: The Norwegian University Cooperation
Programme for Capacity Development in Sudan (NUCOOP) through the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU)
Project period: 2007-2011 Noragric contact: Trygve Berg
Protected Areas and Poverty in Africa (PAPIA) – Uganda and Tanzania
Funded by: Research Council of Norway
Partners: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Faculty of Forestry & Nature Conservation, Makerere University (Uganda)
Project period: 2008-2012 Noragric contact: Paul Vedeld
EKOSIASA: The political ecology of wildlife and forest governance in Tanzania
Funded by: Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU) through the Norwegian
Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU)
Partners: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA), University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Project period: 2007-2011
Noragric contact: Tor A. Benjaminsen
Coastal fisheries of Tanzania: the challenges of globalisation to resources management, livelihoods and governance
Funded by: Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU) through the Norwegian
Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU) Partner: University of Dar es Salaam
Project period: 2007-2011 Noragric contact: Ian Bryceson
Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in India
Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, India Partner: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, India
Project period: 2007-2011 Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Property, possession and conflict in re/building settlement (South Africa component in St Lucia, Northern Natal)
Partners: Oslo School of Architecture; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Funded by: Research Council of Norway and the Oslo School of Architecture
Project period: 2007-2009 Noragric contact: Knut Nustad
Projects in 2009
Poverty and sustainable development impacts of REDD architecture: options for equity, growth and the environment
Funded by: Norad
Partners: UMB departments INA and IØR, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and 5 international partners in Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam
Project period: 2009-2010 Noragric contact: Arild Vatn
Learning from REDD: A Global Comparative Analysis Funded by: CIFOR (via UMB Dept. of Economics and Resource Management)
Partner: CIFOR
Project period: 2009 - 2012 Noragric contact: Arild Vatn
Environment policy and human action Funded by: Research Council of Norway Project period: 2008-2012
Noragric contact: Arild Vatn
In the Shadow of a Conflict: Impacts of Zimbabwe’s land reform on rural poverty and development in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia
Funded by: Research Council of Norway Period: 2007-2009
Noragric contact: Bill Derman
Land rights and agrarian change in rural South Africa Funded by: Norad
Partners: University of Oslo (Norwegian Centre of Human Rights) and the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of Western Cape, South Africa
Project period: 2008-2010 Noragric contact: Bill Derman FK Norway (Fredskorpset)
Funded by: FK Norway (through Norwegian government) Project period: ongoing
Noragric contacts: Bishal Sitaula, Simon Pahle, Lars Olav Eik Scientific advisory services to the CGIAR
Funded by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Project period: ongoing
Noragric contact: Ruth Haug
Developing the Science, Economics and Governance of Ecosystem Service Payments. A Contribution to Norway’s Support of REDD
Partners: Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA),
Tanzania, University of Florida/Center for African Studies &
Department of Geography Funded by: Norad
Project period: workshop 31 August – 3 September Noragric contact: Thor S. Larsen
Agricultural intensification impacts on soil, water and socio-economic development, Nepal
Funded by: Norad Project period: 2003-2009 Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Education, research and training in global environmental change and natural resource management in the Western Balkans
Funded by: Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU)
Project period: 2006-2010 Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Education, research and training for sustainable management of natural resources in Nepal
Funded by: Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU) through the Norwegian
Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU)
Project period: 2007-2011 Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Norwegian South Eastern Europe (SEE/WB) Programme in Agriculture
9 projects, 17 partner institutions in Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro.
Partners: 6 UMB departments; Bioforsk; Forest & Norwegian Landscape Institute; Norwegian School of Veterinary Medicine Funded by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Project period: 2006-2010 Noragric contact: Mensur Vegara
Important new projects in 2009
The 5-year ‘Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation’ (CCIAM) programme with Tanzania was
launched (in Tanzania) on 30 November and started in 2010.
The programme includes research, capacity building and student exchange and is orchestrated by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) with Noragric as the main Norwegian partner. The programme follows a pledge by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on a visit to Tanzania in 2008 granting NOK 500 million to the country for a five- year partnership agreement to strengthen forest and climate efforts, of which 94 million is intended for research. A Call for Concept Notes under CCIAM was announced in March 2010. Research grants for the approved proposals will be made known in early September. Information on CCIAM can be found on the Noragric website under ‘Institutional cooperation’. Contact: Lars Olav Eik.
Funds were received from Norad for a project called “Poverty and sustainable development impacts of REDD architecture:
options for equity, growth and the environment”. The project is planned as a 3,5-year project with funding from Norad.
Partners include UMB departments INA and IØR, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and 5 international partners from Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam. In 2009 the project focused
on two sets of issues: a) Modelling of REDD scenarios:
focusing on land use, opportunity costs, implementation and transaction costs in four partner countries; b) Development of research instruments for baseline surveys in one or two REDD pilot sites in the five participating countries in the South. These will be undertaken in 2010. This second part is led by Noragric. Contact: Prof. Arild Vatn.
Noragric was invited by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send a letter of intent to continue collaboration under the West Balkan programme, HERD (Higher Education, Research and Development). A 3-year follow-up phase with support funds of approx. 8 million NOK was approved and call for proposals went out in April 2010.
Noragric contact: Mensur Vegara
A pilot study to plan for a cooperation programme with academic institutions in animal husbandry and agriculture in Azerbaijan was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September with a sum of 480,000 Norwegian kroner. A delegation of three UMB staff
members, including Noragric’s Dr Mensur Vegara, travelled to Azerbaijan 6-14 November to carry out the pilot study. In April 2010, a team from Azerbaijan visited Norway to discuss detailed plans for the 3-5 year cooperation programme.
Noragric contact: Mensur Vegara
Prof. Senija Grbic-Alibegovic with assistants Muamer Bezdrob and Ervin Zecevic, University of Sarajevo. Photo: Bishal Sitaula
In 2009, Noragric had approximately 240 students enrolled in its Bachelor and Master programmes. After an 80% increase in the student credit earning from 2005 to 2008, the sum of student credits levelled off in 2009. With an average number of students per course at about 30, the current resource use in education is considered to be satisfactory in
comparison with the credit-based UMB funding of the department.
Introduction day for new students, August 2009 Photo: Evy Jørgensen
Education
Bachelor programme
The programme was streamlined in 2009 by a small increase in the number of compulsory courses. Bachelor students appear to appreciate a programme focus despite the loss of elective options.
In 2009, 25 students graduated from the Bachelor programme.
The allotted number of new admissions in 2009 was 40. The total number of applicants was 282; 74 students arrived in August. By early 2010 the number of active Bachelor students was 108 (49 international).
During 2009, 24 Bachelor students took part in the exchange programme by attending universities abroad for one semester, i.e. Earth University (Costa Rica), University of Alberta (Canada), Lincoln University (New Zealand), AgroParisTech (France), Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil), Sokoine
University of Agriculture (Tanzania), University of East Anglia (U.K.), University of Hyderabad (Pakistan), Montana State University (USA), University of Canberra (Australia), and Birzeit University (Palestine).
Master programmes
The two Master programmes, International Environmental Studies (IES) and Development Studies (DS), remained popular. Each received about 350 international and 50 national applicants. Applications from under-represented countries continued to increase in 2009.
After consultations with the Norwegian Institute of
International Affairs (NUPI), Noragric proposed a new Master of Science in International Relations to be offered jointly with NUPI. The programme was approved by the UMB University Board in December. Students will be admitted to the programme in August 2010. Collaboration with NUPI is also seen as a strengthening of the two existing Master programmes.
International Environmental Studies (IES)
In May twelve students graduated as the first class in the IES programme. In addition, five students graduated from the earlier version of the programme, the MNRSA. The thesis research conducted by the students included climate change, water supply, forest and wildlife management, energy policy and land degradation.
The allotted student seats for the IES programme for the 2009 admission remained at 30. Although the number of qualified
Hanne Haaland Jawad Ali
applicants was high, a delay in the admission process led to the number of students who started the programme in August to a total of 21, which was below the target.
Development Studies (DS)
Twenty-three students graduated in 2009. With a focus on developing countries, the research topics included health issues, livelihoods, child nutrition, migration, participation in elections, fair trade, agribusiness and effects of hydroplants.
The Development Studies programme remains relevant and popular. The number of allotted student seats was kept at 30 as in previous years, and Noragric was pleased to receive 29 new students to the programme in August. The programme’s interdisciplinary perspectives of development with emphasis on peace, conflict, land rights, natural resources and ecology, attracts a very broad range of students.
PhD programme in development studies
Noragric offers a PhD programme in Development Studies that is closely linked to the scientific themes grouped in the six clusters (see page 6). The programme places particular emphasis on environment-development relations. At the end of 2009, Noragric had 29 PhD students. 16 have obtained their degrees since 1999.
Two PhD students successfully defended their dissertations in 2009: Hanne Haaland (February) and Jawad Ali (June). Noragric admitted six new students to the PhD programme in 2009: Marit Heller, Kjersti Thorkildsen, Kashif Saeed Khan, Sunetro Ghosal, Sayuni Mariki en Joseph Perfect Mrema.
Photo: Evy Jørgensen
Title/Student Supervisor(s) Cluster link
Deforestation in the Himalayas: Mainstream Views, Institutional Failure and
‘Alternative Systems’. A case study from Northern Pakistan.
Jawad Ali (Pakistan) Defended in June
Tor A. Benjaminsen/ Ingrid Nyborg Not applicable
Narrating History, Negotiating Rights. A Discussion of Knowledge, Land Rights and Matters of Identity in Madjadjane, Mozambique.
Hanne Haaland (Norway) Defended in February
Kjersti Larsen Not applicable
Impacts of Agricultural Intensification on Socio-economic Conditions and Implications for Soil and Water Quality in Kavre district, Nepal.
Bed Mani Dahal (Nepal)
Bishal Sitaula / Ingrid Nyborg/ Roshan M.
Bajracharya (Kathmandu University) ADLEC Transgressing Economic Boundaries: Gender, Commodification and Social Change
in Zanzibar.
Hege Wallevik (Norway)
Kjersti Larsen / Ian Bryceson Not applicable
Perceptions of Landscape Changes Among Stock Farmers in Namaqualand, South Africa.
Eirin Hongslo (Norway)
Tor A. Benjaminsen / Randi Kaarhus ENGOPA
Politics, Property Rights and Production in Arsi and East Shewa Zones, Ethiopia (1941-2004).
Hussein Jemma Sheymo (Ethiopia).
N. Shanmugaratnam CHSD
Carbon Sequestration Schemes: Effects on Management of Tree Resources and Rural Poverty in Uganda.
Charlotte Nakakaawa (Uganda)
Paul Vedeld/Jens Aune ENGOPA
Conflicts and Decentralized Forest Management in Ethiopia: The case of Shahemene Forest Industry Enterprise.
Abebe Seifu Welde Tsadik (Ethiopia)
Paul Vedeld ENGOPA
Institutional Analyses of Transboundary Biodiversity Management: Protected Areas on Mt. Elgon, Uganda and Kenya.
Jon Geir Petursson (Iceland)
Paul Vedeld / Arild Vatn ENGOPA
Environmental and Social History of the Ancient Tula Wells, 1700- 2008: Dynamics and Human Responses
Waktole Tiki Uma (Ethiopia)
Gufu Oba/Terje Tvedt (University in
Bergen) RRG-Net
The Transformation of Waso Booran Pastoral Production, Crisis and Recovery: An Assessment of Gender Roles, Land Rights and Poverty Alleviation.
Zeinabu Khalif (Kenya)
Gufu Oba / Gudrun Dahl (Stockholm
University) RRG-Net
After Doha: Bringing the Workers’ Rights Back In? Discourses and Politics of Fortifying Core Labour Standards Through an ILO-WTO Social Clause.
Simon Pahle (Norway)
Bill Derman / N. Shanmugaratnam RAPID
The Shifting Sands of the Horn of Africa Politics: Evolution and Securitization of Islamism in Somalia.
Mohamed Ali Guyo (Kenya)
N. Shanmugaratnam / Knut Nustad CHSD
PhD students at Noragric 2009
Title/Student Supervisor(s) Cluster link
Health Consequences of Civil War.
Christin Ormhaug (Norway) Espen Sjaastad/
Håvard Hegre (PRIO) CHSD
Environmental and Health Impacts of Pesticide use in Mid-hill Watershed of Central Nepal.
Kishor Atreya (Nepal)
Bishal K. Sitaula/Fred H. Johnsen/
Cassandra Bergstrøm/Hans Overgaard/
Roshan Man Bajracharya (Kathmandu University)/ Subodh Sharma (Kathmandu University)
ADLEC
The Political Ecology of Conservation of the Mountain Gorilla at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
David Tumusiime (Uganda)
Tor A. Benjaminsen / Espen Sjaastad /
Paul Vedeld / Hanne Svarstad ENGOPA Actors & Discourses: Conflicting Claims to the Dukuduku Forest,Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Frode Sundnes (Norway) Knut Nustad / Tor A. Benjaminsen / Espen
Sjaastad ENGOPA
State Formation and the Impact of Foreign Aid.
Øyvind Eggen (Norway) Knut Nustad / Stein S. Eriksen (NUPI) RAPID
Reversing Household Food Insecurity through Conservation Agriculture: Socio-economic Impact of Conservation Farming Practices among Small scale Farmers in Zambia.
Progress H. Nyanga (Zambia)
Fred H. Johnsen/ Jens Aune ADLEC
From Maize Monocropping to Conservation Agriculture: A Multi-perspective Analysis of Smallholder Conservation Agriculture in Southern, Central and Eastern Zambia.
Bridget Bwalya Umar (Zambia)
Jens Aune/ Fred H. Johnsen ADLEC
Social-ecological Changes affecting the Livelihoods of Fishing Communities in the Current Epoch of Globalization: A Case Study in Mafia Island, Tanzania.
Victoria Moshy (Tanzania)
Ian Bryceson / Rose Mwaipopo (University
of Dar es Salaam) ENGOPA
The Effects of Increased Fishing Pressure on the Ecological Resilience of Targeted Groupers (Serranidae) and Analysis of Impacts on Livelihoods in Fishing Communities of Mafia Island, Tanzania.
Lydia Gaspare (Tanzania)
Ian Bryceson / Knut Nustad / Albogat
Kamukuru (University of Dar es Salaam) ENGOPA
Biofuel Production in Africa.
Lars Kåre Grimsby (Norway) Jens Aune / Fred H. Johnsen ADLEC
Can a Combination of Policy Instruments Increase the Effectiveness and Public Acceptability of Environmental Policies?
Marianne Aasen (Norway)
Arild Vatn/ Hege Westskog (CICERO) GOVCLIM
Agricultural Intensification and Grazing: Linking Farmers’ Practices and Greenhouse Gases Emission with Implication for Policy.
Nani Raut (Nepal)
Bishal Sitaula / Arild Vatn / Jens Aune ADLEC
Environmental Policy and Human Action.
Marit Heller (Norway) Arild Vatn / Frode Alfnes (IØR) / Randi
Kaarhus GOVCLIM
Participatory Aspects of Enduimet Wildlife Management Area and Kilimanjaro National Park in Villages on the Western Slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Sayuni Marirki (Tanzania)
Tor A. Benjaminsen/ Hanne Svarstad
(NINA) ENGOPA
Opportunities and Challenges of Linking Forest Conservation and Livelihoods in community based Forest Management: The case of Duru- Haitemba Forest Reserve.
Joseph Perfect Mrema (Tanzania)
Tor A. Benjaminsen ENGOPA
Development Narratives, Security and Livelihood Realities in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province.
Kashif Saeed Khan (Pakistan)
Ingrid Nyborg/ N. Shanmugaratnam,
Darley Kjosavik CHSD
Probing Human-Wildlife Interaction in Human-Dominated Multi-Use Landscapes in Rural India.
Sunetro Ghosal (india)
Darley Kjosavik / Paul Vedeld ENGOPA
Between Conservation and Development: Quilombola Communities’ Struggle over Resources in the Ribeira Valley, Brazil.
Kjersti Thorkildsen (Norway)
Randi Kaarhus / Tor A. Benjaminsen RAPID
Master programme in Environment Education and Sustainable Development
With experience from the Postgraduate Diploma in Environment and Sustainable Development already running at Kathmandu University (KU), the Master programme will develop teacher education programmes in subjects which are cross-cutting, and help fulfil the demand of teachers and teacher educators in the areas of environment and sustainable development
Partners: Noragric, Kathmandu University (Nepal), University of Dhaka (Bangladesh), Oslo University College Project period: 2008-2012
Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Master programme in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies
The overall objective of this programme is to contribute to higher level capacity building in conflict management, peace building and development as an integrated field with a view to assist the rebuilding and long-term development of war-torn communities and regions in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Partners: Noragric, Tribhuvan University (Nepal), University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka) Project period: 2006-2012
Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Master programme in Sustainable Water and Sanitation, Health and Development
The programme will educate and train professionals in the field of sustainable water and sanitation to facilitate improved access to a healthy environment. This will be achieved through offering courses in water and sanitation as well as community development and public health related to water and sanitation.
Partners: UMB Dept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Tribhuvan University (Nepal), Noragric Project period: 2007-2011
Noragric contacts: Bishal Sitaula and Ingrid Nyborg
Norad Programme for Master Studies (NOMA)
NOMA provides financial support to develop and run Master degree programmes at universities in the South through collaboration with Norwegian institutions of higher education. The NOMA programme is funded through the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU). Noragric is the main partner in two NOMA programmes and partner in a third.
Noragric has agreements with more than 30 partners in Africa, Asia and Europe. Most of these are with universities; some are with civil society organisations, research foundations and public institutions.
The activities include joint research and education as well as support to institutional development.
Institutional collaboration activities in 2009 are linked to the universi- ties and institutions listed below.
Africa
Hawassa University, Ethiopia Mekelle University, Ethiopia
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of Western Cape, South Africa
Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi
Catholic University of Mozambique Upper Nile University, Sudan Juba University, Sudan
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Makerere University, Uganda
Conservation Farming Unit of Zambia National Farmers Union, Zambia University of Zambia
Asia
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Kathmandu University, Nepal COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan
University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Eastern University, Sri Lanka
Americas
Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Brazil EARTH University, Costa Rica
University of British Columbia, Canada
Europe
Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania Azerbaijan State Agrarian University,
Azerbaijan
University of Banja Luka, Bosnia &
Herzegovina
University of Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina University of Sarajevo, Bosnia &
Herzegovina
University of Dz. B. of Mostar, Bosnia &
Herzegovina
University of Osijek, Croatia University of Zadar, Croatia University of Pristina, Kosovo
University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Macedonia
University of Belgrade, Serbia University of Novi Sad, Serbia
University of Montenegro, Montenegro University of East Anglia, United Kingdom
Development organisations in Norway Dryland Coordination Group
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
An overview of a wide range of networks and partners can be found on the Noragric website. Many of these are involved in ongoing or short-term collaboration projects.
Institutional cooperation
Left to right: Enquebaher Kassaye (Mekelle University), Stein Moe (Noragric), Mrs Tsegaye, Gry Synnevåg (Noragric), Dr Admasu Tsegaye (Hawassa University), Prof Mitiku Haile (Me-
kelle University), Andargachew Gedebo (Mekelle University) Photo: Evy Jørgensen
Major institutional collaboration activities in 2009
Institutional collaboration between academic institutions in agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine in Norway and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia & Montenegro - West Balkan
Funded by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Period: 2006-2009
Noragric contact: Mensur Vegara
Programme for Agricultural and Natural Resources Transformation for Improved Livelihood (PANTIL), collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
Six sub-projects under PANTIL at Noragric
Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Period: 2005-2010 (a new programme phase, EPINAV, starts in 2010).
Noragric contact: Lars Olav Eik
Agricultural Research and Development Programme – ARDEP, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Project period: 2006-2010
Noragric contacts: Fred Johnsen/Poul Wisborg
Bunda Capacity Building Programme – BCDP, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Project period: 2006-2010
Noragric contact: Fred Johnsen/Poul Wisborg
ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) collaboration Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, India
Project period: 2007-2011 Noragric contact: Bishal Sitaula
Institutional collaboration between Mekelle and Hawassa universities (Ethiopia) and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. An academic partnership for improving livelihoods.
Funded by: Royal Norwegian Embassy/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Project period: 2002-2009 (phases I and II; phase III from 2010-2015)
Noragric contact: Stein R. Moe
