Rethinking environment and development in an era of global norms: An exploration of forests and water in Nepal, Sudan and Uganda

Sikor, Thomas and Zeitoun, Mark (2019). Rethinking environment and development in an era of global norms: An exploration of forests and water in Nepal, Sudan and Uganda. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-851871

The data are from the household surveys of two villages (Khasur and Bhulbhule) in Lamjung district of Nepal and four settlements near Merowe Dam in Sudan. The data include social profile of these villages (including livelihood strategies) and information with regard to access to natural resources and project impacts. The household data arose from the research project on 'Rethinking Environment and Development in an Era of Global Norms: An Exploration of Forests and Water in Nepal, Sudan and Uganda'. The research responds to the unprecedented emergence of global environmental norms intended to reconcile natural resource management with poverty alleviation in a just manner. Prominent examples of such norms are the REDD+ safeguards under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the recommendations issued by the World Commission on Dams. The norms possess the potential to transform development practice, so long as they effectively support poor people’s claims on natural resources and rights to sustainable livelihoods. Their increasing significance also challenges research to develop new theory on the dynamics of environment and development that attends to cross-scale relationships between socio-environmental struggles in specific sites, higher-level mobilizations and global norms. The research project examines the effects of global environmental norms on marginalized people’s access to natural resources and livelihoods in the Global South. It employs a political ecology approach expanded through attention to notions of justice and cross-scale environmental politics. Notions of justice are at the core of many socio-environmental struggles, relating to issues of distribution, participation, recognition as well as human and ecological capabilities. They affect what people do, what claims they make on natural resources, how they perceive their own capabilities, and how they develop visions of a good life and desirable ecological capabilities. Ideas about justice are an integral element of environmental politics across scales, connecting local struggles to mobilizations at national and international levels as well as global norms – and causing frictions between them. Building on previous research, this project proceeds by way of four case studies from Nepal, Sudan and Uganda. The first two case studies situated in western Nepal focus on an analysis of people’s reactions to a hydropower project (in one site) and villagers’ participation in a REDD+ pilot project (in another). A third case study on the Merowe hydro-electric dam in Sudan looks at the displacement of people living in the dam site, and the reactions of exiled community members and international activists. The fourth case study compares two carbon forestry projects in Uganda, the Trees for Global Benefit project in Bushenyi and the FACE-UWA project at Mount Elgon.

Data description (abstract)

There are three Excel files containing data arising from household surveys of two villages in Lamjung district of Nepal and four settlements near Merowe Dam in Sudan. The data include social profile of these villages (including livelihood strategies) and information with regard to access to natural resources and project impacts. Data from Khasur village in Lamjung district of Nepal focus on villagers' access to forest resources and their participation on REDD+ pilot project whereas Bhulbhule data focus on household profile and people's reaction to the development of a hydropower project. The data from Merowe dam case study in Sudan focus on impacts of hydropower development, including issues of local people's displacement and access to land and water. Samples of information sheet/consent form and the questionnaires used for data collection in each of the case study sites are also provided.

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