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"Commercialisation
of Non timber forest products (NTFP) in Mexico and Bolivia:
factors influencing success" is a DFID funded research
project which aims to evaluate the contribution that NTFPs
make to the livelihoods of forest dependent rural poor. We
have undertaken research with local NGO partners in 18 communities
in Mexico and Bolivia, and have generated data at household
& community level, and along the value chain for 10 different
NTFPs.
We
are pulling together our findings around our 6 research hypotheses,
and also via the development of a Bayesian Belief Network,
which is a model structured around the relationships between
different factors which influence sets of outcomes. It works
rather like a decision tree. Whilst one network has been structured
around livelihood impacts of NTFP commercialisation (using
CIFOR Global Study indicators), the other network is structured
around the five capitals, for each stage along the commercialisation
chain (production/collection, processing, storage, transport,
marketing, sale). We are training the network with our data
as to how important different variables appear to be from
our case study data. Ultimately, we hope that the network
will be able to illustrate (via an interactive model) the
relative importance of different factors on overall success.
This
brings me to my question. I understand that natural capital
represents a battery pack, if you like, for many rural livelihoods
systems, and conversion of natural capital into financial
capital is necessary in order for rural communities to engage
with local, regional, national economies. However, without
good physical capital, for example, it may mean that the potential
of natural capital is not realised. This highlights the importance
of the availability of all five capitals and their respective
interactions.
However,
for the model to function to its full ability, we need to
give "weighting" to the five capitals. This could
be done by supplying equal weighting to all of them. What
we would like to ask is if anyone would like to share any
thinking on how you think we may best going about attributing
"weighting" to the different capitals. Do all five
have the same potential to influence success? Or is any one
of them always going to be of overriding importance?
Any
thoughts would be of enormous value.
Kind
Regards
Elaine
Marshall
Elaine
Marshall - Senior Forest Programme Officer
DFID / FRP funded research project co-ordinator
UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Programme
219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge
CB3 0DL, U.K
Tel: +44 1223 277314
Fax: +44 1223 277136
Email: Elaine.Marshall@unep-wcmc.org
Web site: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/NTFP
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