Impacts of land use intensification on human wellbeing: Evidence from rural Mozambique |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom;2. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP, United Kingdom;3. Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TB, United Kingdom;4. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, 3453 Avenida Julius Nyerere, Maputo, Mozambique;5. Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe;6. BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom;7. Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grandee, Lisbon, Portugal;8. Icatalist, S.L., Calle Real, 22, 28231 Laz Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain |
| |
| Abstract: | Intensifying land use is often seen as a corollary of improving rural livelihoods in developing countries. However, land use intensification (LUI) frequently has unintended impacts on ecosystem services (ES), which may undermine the livelihoods of the same people who could benefit from intensification. Poorer households are disproportionately dependent on ES, so inequalities may also rise. A disaggregated analysis of LUI is thus fundamental to better understand how LUI can progress in an equitable manner. Using a suite of multi-scale, multidisciplinary social-ecological methods and operationalising multidimensional concepts of land use intensity and wellbeing, we examine three case studies in rural Mozambique. Drawing on interviews, focus group discussions, 1576 household surveys and geospatial data from 27 Mozambican villages, we assess how wellbeing and inequality change with three common LUI pathways: transitions to smallholder commercial crop production, charcoal production, and subsistence expansion. Wellbeing improved with intensification of smallholder commercial and subsistence agriculture, inequality did not change. Unsustainable intensification of charcoal production showed no overall effect on either wellbeing or inequality. Improvements in wellbeing amongst the poorest households were only found with intensification of commercial crop production, where villages had better access to markets. Our findings suggest that socioeconomic benefits from agricultural intensification and expansion may overcome localised environmental trade-offs, at least in the short term. However, unsustainable charcoal resource management and limited productive investment opportunities for rural households resulted in both reduced market access and limited wellbeing improvements. Sustainable and inclusive markets are therefore crucial developments alongside LUI to sustain wellbeing improvements for all households, to ensure that no one is left behind. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
