Rural Subsistence and Protected Areas: Community Use of the miombo woodlands of Lake Malawi National Park Joanne I. 0. Abbot Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London University of London February 1996 Abstract This study examines the utilisation of miombo woodland by fishing communities in Lake Malawi National Park (LMNP). Combining methodologies from the natural and social sciences, patterns of use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and the impact of harvesting practices on the resource base, are described. The main focus is the commercial and subsistence use of primary woodland resources including: fuelwood, construction materials and grass thatch. Aerial photographic analysis and a quadrat based vegetation survey are used to examine the impact of local utilisation practices on the miombo woodland. Multivariate analyses assess the importance of different environmental variables in explaining the floristic composition of the woodland vegetation. A range of NTFPs are used locally but market surveys indicate that few products are traded outside the villages. A marketing analysis suggests that urban trade is constrained by the low economic value of woodland resources compared to the high cost of rural transport. Specific patterns of collection and use are apparent for each resource. This thesis explores the impact of different harvesting practices on the miombo woodlands. Using household surveys and time allocation, the effects of children on patterns of wood collection and use are examined. The role of daughters in fuelwood collection is discussed in relation to theories of fertility and family size. Furthermore, behavioural ecology approaches are used to examine the decision making in wood collection. This research provides a useful framework for investigating resource use because it combines concurrent studies of village and woodland communities. The quantitative and rigorous approach enables the factors that influence resource use, and their impact, to be defined. This study contributes to theories of conservation and the practice of integrated management of natural resources. Furthermore, the research demonstrates the importance of woodland resources to the subsistence strategies of rural communities within a protected area system. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife (MDNPW) for proposing this project and providing logistical support and housing during my 18 months fieldwork at Lake Malawi National Park (LMNP). I extend my thanks to all the staff at the MDNPW Headquarters (especially Mrs. Warren and the Library Staff) for the warm welcome they gave me. I would particularly like to thank Matthew Matemba (a former student of UCL), Francis Mkanda (who made many useful comments on my research programme) and Simon Munthali (a fellow PhD researcher at the Lake) for the interest they showed in my study. At LMNP, I would like to thank everyone at Golden Sands, all of whom showed me great hospitality, including: my counterpart Pearson Chirambo, Sam Kimoto, Clement Mbota, George Banda, the Chirwa family and Eva. Permission for this study to be undertaken in Malawi was provided by the National Research Council of Malawi and local permission was provided by the village chiefs, particularly Chief Chembe, to whom I am grateful. The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Additional financial support for the fieldwork was provided by the Central Research Fund (University of London), the Parkes Foundation (University of Cambridge) and the Boise Fund (University of Oxford). Accommodation in Malawi was provided by the MDNPW. The Graduate School, University College London provided partial funding for me to attend a conference to present two papers from this thesis. I gratefully acknowledge the support of all these organisations. This study would not have been possible without the co-operation of the people from the enclave villages and I extend my thanks to everyone who participated in the research. The women, in particular, made the project an enjoyable experience and showed unfailing good humour in tolerating their houses being measured and fuelwood bundles weighed. This study would also not have been possible without my village research assistants, Nephat Break and the late Waterson Kazanje, who organised the logistics of the study. Both showed great patience, commitment and humour throughout the research. I acknowledge the assistance of Stanford Chigalu and Brains for their assistance in data collection in Msaka village. I would particularly like to thank all those who assisted in the vegetation survey which was a difficult and demanding task that required a team effort: Pearson Chirambo, Nephat Break, Lyton Gustinyu and Henry Kaiwala. All had a great knowledge of the local flora which they patiently shared with me. I acknowledge Hassan Patel at the National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens of Malawi for his remarkable skills in identifying trees from my specimens. Furthermore, I would like to thank all the staff at Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (particularly Jimmy Lowore, Patrick Abbot, Mark Lawrence and Ben Siddle) for many useful discussions on forestry but also for the mountain relief provided by Zomba after the heat of the lake. I would like to thank Mr. Kauwa at the Air Photo Interpretation Unit for his kind assistance in the aerial photographic analysis of LMNP. I extend my thanks to Scott Grenfell for his continual encouragement and to the Peace Corps volunteers Lance Smith and Joe Kemmer with whom I worked during my stay at Cape 3 Maclear. The participatory rural appraisal was greatly enhanced through assistance from Andy Sharpe, Julian Stanway and Jefferson Gulo. In Chembe, I would like to thank Rose, Mr. Stephens, Nephat's family and all the `makowedwe' and the children, especially William and Harry, who made my stay at the Lake very special. I would also like to thank a range of people in Malawi who provided me with accommodation and hospitality when I was in town: Nicola Byrne, Emma Richardson, Jason Scott, Nick Heyward, Bob Chesteen, David Foot, Mike Tiernan and Vincent Owen. Particular thanks are due to David Dowse for keeping my car in good condition in spite of the Cape Maclear road! I am especially grateful for the kind hospitality shown by Brian and June Walker, Dennis and Sharon Tweddle and Glen Forester, all of whom showed much interest in this study. There are many people at UCL who I would like to thank for their support and encouragement and who have provided interesting debate and constructive criticism. Primarily, I am grateful to Georgina Dasilva for encouraging me to undertake this project and deeply regret that she did not live to see the finished thesis. I would like to thank my two supervisors Katherine Homewood and Ruth Mace for providing continual support, interest and advice throughout this research. I also thank Katherine Homewood for reading this entire thesis one-handed and still providing excellent editorial advice. I am grateful to all the participants of the Human Ecology Group who, over the last three years, have provided many useful discussions and have helped me to formulate ideas. I thank all of the Anthropology staff at UCL who have assisted me including: Leslie Aiello, Sara Randall, Simon Strickland, Phil Burnham, Alan Abramson, Fred Brett, Robin Dunbar, Alena Kocourek and Eusebia Michel. I would like to extend specific thanks to all those people who provided essential assistance in terms of advising on methods, analyses or read earlier drafts of this document: Katherine Homewood, Ruth Mace, Tim Allott, Barrie Goldsmith, Tony Ribbink, Ray Lawton, Derek Eaton, Jason Scott, Louise Barrett, Adam Biran, Emmanuel de Merode, Paddy Abbot, Jimmy Lowore, Eanunon Ferguson, Francis Mkanda, Simon Munthali and Hillard Kaplan. The maps were created with assistance from Emmanuel de Merode to whom I am extremely grateful. My thanks are also extended to those who gave freely of their time and fieldwork anecodotes and provided much encouragement by virtue of having finished their PhDs: Dawn Hartley, Heidi Marriott, Craig Roberts, Guy Cowlishaw, Louise Barrett and Catherine Kenyatta. Particular thanks are due to those with whom I started this PhD and have shared so much of the last three years, especially the original Human Ecology Group members: Adam Biran, Yvette Evers and Pippa Trench. I would also like to thank all the postgrads in the Department who have provided support including: Dan Nettle, Alan Dangour, Hilda Kiwasila and Nilofer Ghaffar. From my Masters course, I thank Cris Edgell, Jem Owen and Rik Fox for their continual interest in my research and many interesting debates on conservation. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, particularly my parents and grandparents, who provided essential support for my study. I also thank friends who have encouraged me throughout this long task: Maya Twardzicka, Sonia Jackson, Jeff Wollen, Andy Fulton, Tim Buxton, Aidan Webster and Emmanuel de Merode. 4 Table of Contents TITLE PAGE 1 ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 LIST OF FIGURES 11 LIST OF TABLES 14 ACRONYMS 15 AUTHOR'S NOTE 15 CHAPTER 1 16 INTRODUCTION 16 SUMMARY 16 Historical Context and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Resource Use 17 Forestry Research and Development 18 Current thinking on people and forestry 20 An integrated approach to forestry 23 Non-timber forest products 24 Integrated