Browsing by Author "Rabinovich, Anna"

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Drivers of increased soil erosion in East Africa’s agro-pastoral systems: changing interactions between the social, economic and natural domains
(Springer, 2019-06-08) Wynants, Maarten; Kelly, Claire; Mtei, Kelvin; Munishi, Linus; Patrick, Aloyce; Rabinovich, Anna; Nasseri, Mona; Gilvear, David; Roberts, Neil; Boeckx, Pascal; Wilson, Geoff; Blake, William; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Increased soil erosion is one of the main drivers of land degradation in East Africa’s agricultural and pastoral landscapes. This wicked problem is rooted in historic disruptions to co-adapted agro-pastoral systems. Introduction of agricultural growth policies by centralised governance resulted in temporal and spatial scale mismatches with the complex and dynamic East African environment, which subsequently contributed to soil exhaustion, declining fertility and increased soil erosion. Coercive policies of land use, privatisation, sedentarisation, exclusion and marginalisation led to a gradual erosion of the indigenous social and economic structures. Combined with the inability of the new nation-states to provide many of the services necessary for (re)developing the social and economic domains, many communities are lacking key components enabling sustainable adaptation to changing internal and external shocks and pressures. Exemplary is the absence of growth in agricultural productivity and livelihood options outside of agriculture, which prohibits the absorption of an increasing population and pushes communities towards overexploitation of natural resources. This further increases social and economic pressures on ecosystems, locking agro-pastoral systems in a downward spiral of degradation. For the development and implementation of sustainable land management plans to be sustainable, authorities need to take the complex drivers of increased soil erosion into consideration. Examples from sustainable intensification responses to the demands of population increase, demonstrate that the integrity of locally adapted systems needs to be protected, but not isolated, from external pressures. Communities have to increase productivity and diversify their economy by building upon, not abandoning, existing linkages between the social, economic and natural domains. Locally adapted management practices need to be integrated in regional, national and supra-national institutions. A nested political and economic framework, wherein local communities are able to access agricultural technologies and state services, is a key prerequisite towards regional development of sustainable agro-pastoral systems that safeguard soil health, food and livelihood security.
Drivers of increased soil erosion in East Africa’s agro-pastoral systems: changing interactions between the social, economic and natural domains
(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 19-06-18) Wynants, Maarten; Kelly, Claire; Mtei, Kelvin; Munishi, Linus; Patrick, Aloyce; Rabinovich, Anna; Nasseri, Mona; Gilvear, David; Roberts, Neil; Boeckx, Pascal; Wilson, Geoff; Blake, William; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Increased soil erosion is one of the main drivers of land degradation in East Africa’s agricultural and pastoral landscapes. This wicked problem is rooted in historic disruptions to co-adapted agro-pastoral systems. Introduction of agricultural growth policies by centralised governance resulted in temporal and spatial scale mismatches with the complex and dynamic East African environment, which subsequently contributed to soil exhaustion, declining fertility and increased soil erosion. Coercive policies of land use, privatisation, sedentarisation, exclusion and marginalisation led to a gradual erosion of the indigenous social and economic structures. Combined with the inability of the new nation-states to provide many of the services necessary for (re)developing the social and economic domains, many communities are lacking key components enabling sustainable adaptation to changing internal and external shocks and pressures. Exemplary is the absence of growth in agricultural productivity and livelihood options outside of agriculture, which prohibits the absorption of an increasing population and pushes communities towards overexploitation of natural resources. This further increases social and economic pressures on ecosystems, locking agro-pastoral systems in a downward spiral of degradation. For the development and implementation of sustainable land management plans to be sustainable, authorities need to take the complex drivers of increased soil erosion into consideration. Examples from sustainable intensification responses to the demands of population increase, demonstrate that the integrity of locally adapted systems needs to be protected, but not isolated, from external pressures. Communities have to increase productivity and diversify their economy by building upon, not abandoning, existing linkages between the social, economic and natural domains. Locally adapted management practices need to be integrated in regional, national and supra-national institutions. A nested political and economic framework, wherein local communities are able to access agricultural technologies and state services, is a key prerequisite towards regional development of sustainable agro-pastoral systems that safeguard soil health, food and livelihood security.
Informing versus generating a discussion: Comparing two approaches to encouraging mitigation of soil erosion among Maasai pastoralists
(Elsevier, 2022-10-21) Rabinovich, Anna; Zhischenko, Vladimir; Nasseri, Mona; Stacey, Heath; Laizer, Alpha; Mkilema, Francis; Patrick, Aloyce; Wynants, Maarten; Blake, William; Mtei, Kelvin; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Soil erosion is a critical problem for pastoralist societies that rely on healthy grazing land for their livelihoods. Previous research suggests that unsustainable land management practice is one of the factors exacerbating soil erosion, and that willingness to adjust this practice is closely linked to community land protection norms. The present research explores approaches to building stronger community norms and intentions linked to mitigating soil erosion among Maasai pastoralists in Northern Tanzania. In particular, we compare two impact approaches based on the information deficit model (exposure to scientific information) and the social identity framework (a group-based discussion). The results demonstrate that the information deficit approach results in stronger perceived land protection norms and, indirectly, stronger intentions, as compared to the discussion-based approach. We discuss contextual features that should be taken into account when interpreting these findings and suggest these may be key for impact approach choices.
‘Mind the Gap’: Reconnecting Local Actions and Multi-Level Policies to Bridge the Governance Gap. An Example of Soil Erosion Action from East Africa
(MDPI, 2020-09-25) Kelly, Claire; Wynants, Maarten; Munishi, Linus; Nasseri, Mona; Patrick, Aloyce; Mtei, Kelvin; Mkilema, Francis; Rabinovich, Anna; Gilvear, David; Wilson, Geoff; Blake, William; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Achieving change to address soil erosion has been a global yet elusive goal for decades. Efforts to implement effective solutions have often fallen short due to a lack of sustained, context-appropriate and multi-disciplinary engagement with the problem. Issues include prevalence of short-term funding for ‘quick-fix’ solutions; a lack of nuanced understandings of institutional, socio-economic or cultural drivers of erosion problems; little community engagement in design and testing solutions; and, critically, a lack of traction in integrating locally designed solutions into policy and institutional processes. This paper focusses on the latter issue of local action for policy integration, drawing on experiences from a Tanzanian context to highlight the practical and institutional disjuncts that exist; and the governance challenges that can hamper efforts to address and build resilience to soil erosion. By understanding context-specific governance processes, and joining them with realistic, locally designed actions, positive change has occurred, strengthening local-regional resilience to complex and seemingly intractable soil erosion challenges.
Protecting the commons: Predictors of willingness to mitigate communal land degradation among Maasai pastoralists
(Elsevier Ltd., 2020-12) Rabinovich, Anna; Heath, Stacey; Zhischenko, Vladimir; Mkilema, Francis; Patrick, Aloyce; Nasseri, Mona; Wynants, Maarten; Blake, William; Mtei, Kelvin; Munishi, Linus; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Extensive land degradation is a global problem that presents a critical threat to pastoralists’ welfare in East Africa and beyond. Although the reasons for this environmental problem are complex, it is likely to be exacerbated by communal land management practices that have become suboptimal due to changes in land access and population growth. In the present paper we make initial steps towards addressing the problem by exploring socio-psychological predictors of willingness to protect communal land from degradation among Maasai pastoralists in Northern Tanzania. Based on the social identity approach and existing evidence for the role of group processes in pro-environmental action, we have developed and tested a path model predicting willingness to protect communal land. The results demonstrate that community identification is linked to willingness to act via perceived development of action-consistent group and personal norms. In addition, multiple groups analysis demonstrated a number of gender differences within the model. The results are broadly consistent with the existing social identity models of pro-environmental action, extending them into a novel context, and offering practical implications for addressing the issue of pastoralist land degradation.
Soil erosion in East Africa: an interdisciplinary approach to realising pastoral land management change
(IOP Publishing Ltd, 2018-12-03) Blake, William; Rabinovich, Anna; Wynants, Maarten; Kelly, Claire; Nasseri, Mona; Ngondya, Issakwisa; Patrick, Aloyce; Mtei, Kelvin; Munishi, Linus; Boeckx, Pascal; Navas, Ana; Smith, Hugh; Gilvear, David; Wilson, Geoff; Roberts, Neil; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Implementation of socially acceptable and environmentally desirable solutions to soil erosion challenges is often limited by (1) fundamental gaps between the evidence bases of different disciplines and (2) an implementation gap between science-based recommendations, policy makers and practitioners.Wepresent an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to support co-design of land management policy tailored to the needs of specific communities and places in degraded pastoral land in the East African Rift System. In a northern Tanzanian case study site, hydrological and sedimentary evidence shows that, over the past two decades, severe drought and increased livestock have reduced grass cover, leading to surface crusting, loss of soil aggregate stability, and lower infiltration capacity. Infiltration excess overland flow has driven (a) sheet wash erosion, (b) incision along convergence pathways and livestock tracks, and (c) gully development, leading to increased hydrological connectivity. Stakeholder interviews in associated sedenterising Maasai communities identified significant barriers to adoption of soil conservation measures, despite local awareness of problems. Barriers were rooted in specific pathways of vulnerability, such as a strong cattle-based cultural identity, weak governance structures, and a lack of resources and motivation for community action to protect shared land. At the same time, opportunities for overcoming such barriers exist, through openness to change and appetite for education and participatory decision-making. Guided by specialist knowledge from natural and social sciences, we used a participatory approach that enabled practitioners to start co-designing potential solutions, increasing their sense of efficacy and willingness to change practice. This approach, tested in East Africa, provides a valuable conceptual model around which other soil erosion challenges in the Global South might be addressed.
We will change whether we want it or not”: Soil erosion in Maasai land as a social dilemma and a challenge to community resilience
(Elsevier, 2019-10-31) Rabinovich, Anna; Kelly, Claire; Wilson, Geoff; Nasseri, Mona; Ngondya, Issakwisa; Patrick, Aloyce; Blake, William; Mtei, Kelvin; Munishi, Linus; Ndakidemi, Patrick
Soil erosion is a major environmental challenge that undermines economic development in many regions of the world. While much previous work explored physical processes behind this problem, less attention has been paid to social, cultural, and psychological parameters that make a significant impact on soil erosion through the land use practices that they support. The present paper addresses this gap by conducting a qualitative exploration of agro-pastoralist stakeholders' experiences of soil erosion in northern Tanzania, using the community resilience framework and the social dilemmas approach as theoretical lenses. Interview data suggests that the factors that make communities vulnerable to soil erosion challenges include the centrality of cattle keeping practice to pastoralists’ cultural identity, lack of social cohesion, lack of alternative livelihood opportunities, and weak governance structures. We argue that the ways towards resolving the dilemma lie in addressing relevant cultural norms, building cohesive and open communities, and strengthening local governance.