Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
monetise people's perceptions of the value of the environment to themselves and to
society (e.g. Bann 1998; Hanley
et al
. 2001).
3.2.5.2 Analysis strategy
As we have seen, there is a huge range of analyses available to the researcher. The kind
of analyses that are appropriate depend on the type of data available, and the ques-
tions that need to be answered. In the case studies section we make suggestions about
how to analyse data on particular topics. In general, it is important to have a feel for
the data before ploughing into analyses. Meaningful analyses that lead to under-
standing are based on testing particular hypotheses and focusing on particular
research questions. Hence it is not recommended simply to test a long list of poten-
tial explanatory variables for their relationship with a dependent variable. Instead,
formulate hypotheses based on your understanding of the system, plot the depen-
dent variable against potential explanatory variables, look for patterns, think about
relationships that might exist between variables. And then construct models based on
this understanding, which can ideally be validated against independent data. This
theme is taken up again in Chapters 4 and 5.
In this section, we have chosen a selection of studies for critical analysis. We high-
light the questions that the studies aimed to answer, the data collection and ana-
lysis methods that they used, and briefly mention their results (which are not the
main focus here). We also give a few ideas for future work that could build on the
analyses conducted in the studies. Of course a few case studies will not provide a
complete overview of all the possible approaches that could be taken to studying
people who use natural resources. Neither do we suggest that you should follow
exactly the research protocols used by a particular study. Instead we wish to empha-
sise the wide range of tools that people use, give some examples of good practice,
and start you off on your pre-study literature review.
Much development attention focuses on communities. But in the end, it is indi-
viduals who make the decisions about their natural resource use. These decisions
range from whether to go hunting, fishing or collecting at all, through what equip-
ment to use, to whether to take a particular animal or plant that they encounter.
The first two case studies concentrate on resource user behaviour in a narrow con-
text, looking at how they choose where to go, and whether to use resources legally
or illegally.
3.3.1.1 Impact of hunting on wildlife in the Dja reserve, Cameroon
Muchaal and Ngandjui's (1999) paper had two aspects. It recorded hunter behav-
iour and movement patterns, and it also estimated prey abundance. By combining
