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Vulnerability is the main construct in flood risk management
. One of the most significant aims of flood vulnerability assessment is to make a clear association between the theoretical conceptions of flood vulnerability and the daily administrative process. Variety of approaches has been introduced to assess vulnerability therefore selection of more appropriate methodology is vital for authorities. The more accepted assessing methods can be categorized in four groups: curve method, disaster loos data method, computer modeling methods and indicator based methods. The purpose of this study is to review these methods and compare their benefits and drawbacks. The article concluded that the indicator-based approach gives more precise vision of overall flood vulnerability in each area rather than other approaches
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Pakistan is among those countries, which have very high deforestation rate
. The remaining forests are very diverse in nature and of significant importance for the country’s economy and livelihoods of the local people. This present paper attempts to analyze myths and realities regarding deforestation in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. It presents the perceptions of forest dependent people of the province regarding the forest use patterns, condition of forests, change in forest cover, factors responsible for the forest depletion and increase of illegal cutting. The intensive use of forest wood for household needs (cooking, heating, timber etc.) and ineffective forest management strategies by the forest department were some of the key reasons of deforestation in the study area. Policy guidelines (implications) are suggested for improving the effectiveness of forestry extension services
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Stakeholders play role and interact at multiple levels – from local to global level and their role and interaction determine the effectiveness of a development intervention
. Therefore, analysis and exploration of stakeholder interaction, their role in decision making process according to their relative position and power relations is obligatory for the success of any extension project. This piece of research reports the findings of a research project conducted in the forest rich districts viz. Mansehra, Abotabad and Haripur in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. The main objective of the study is to identify the interaction among main stakeholders at the local level – and analyse their extent of participation in decision-making in the context of three forest related extension projects. Beneficiaries (local communities) of three randomly selected forest related project’s areas served as the respondents of the study. The quantitative data were collected through a structured interview schedule while qualitative data were collected though focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Poor interaction between forest department and local communities was perceived due to supremacy of forest department in decision-making regarding forest management at local level. It was recommended that implementing agencies should involve local communities simultaneously in decision-making and implementation process, local communities should work with implementing agencies to accelerate project activities and donor agencies should develop consensus among involved stakeholders before project’s implementation
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The process of institutional changes in the forestry sector of Pakistan was initiated by the Government of Pakistan with support from different donor agencies during the mid-1990s
. This paper analyses a participatory forest management initiative in the milieu of local social realities (such as customary forest use, power relations and livelihood concerns) and the actors who are part of these realities. The paper shows that the donor-driven decentralisation of forest management did not consider traditional practices of forest use, nor did it attempt to engage customary institutions and local civil society in the process. Though new institutions (joint forest management and Village Development Committees) have been established for implementation of participatory forest management and land use plans at the village level, the paper shows that responsibility delegated by the state to these institutions concerns protection of the forests rather than management. A mismatch between local livelihood concerns and the institutional change process is also revealed. The paper identifies historically rooted mistrust between local actors and state authorities as one of the key factors hindering the success of the participatory approach, and recommends that the village-level institutions should be accorded both empowerment and incentives to ensure sustainable participatory forest management
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This article describes the process of refining a participatory method to investigate the poverty dynamics of the extreme poor in Bangladesh
. Based on a baseline wealth ranking exercise conducted in three districts of Bangladesh in 2002, we wanted to do a repeat wealth ranking to identify the households that have moved up or down the ranks, and why
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Pakistan is among those countries which have a very high deforestation rate
. The remaining forests are very diverse in nature and of significant impotance for the country's economy and livelihoods of local people. This present paper attempts to analyse myths and realisities regarding deforestation in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. It presents the perceptions of forest dependent people of the province regarding the forest use patterns, consition of the forests, change in forest cover, factors responsible for the forest depletion and increase of illegal cutting. The intensive use of forest wood for household needs (cooking, heating, timber etc.) and ineffective forest management strategies by the forest department were some of the key reasons of deforestation in the study area. Policy guidelines (implications) are suggested for improving the effectiveness of forestry extension services
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The increasing rate of forests depletion in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan has brought into focus the shortfall of traditional state controlled systems of forest management in sustaining the forest resource base
. The participatory approach of forest management in NWFP was started in the early 1990s through Asian Development Bank funded Forestry Sector Project. The forest reforms seek to initiate a process of eliminating the fundamental causes of the depletion of forest resources through participation of various stakeholders. In this context this paper presents the findings from an empirical study conducted in the two case study villages, one each in Mansehra and Swat districts of NWFP, respectively. The objective of the study was to analyze the forest use pattern, livelihood strategies, and the extent of participation/degree of trust of local people on various local level institutions
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