Natural Resources and the Rural Poor Project

The African Great Lakes Region and Central Mozambique

More than one billion people, some twenty percent of the world population, survive on less than one dollar a day. Many of these families live in rural areas where natural resources—soil, water, and timber, among others—provide a tenuous but vital lifeline.

In many developing countries, the lack of financial or other buffers exaggerates the effects of system “shocks”. These shocks can be political (e.g. wars or poor governance), environmental (e.g. droughts or floods), or health-related (e.g. HIV or malaria)

Such shocks can have severe consequences for families struggling with poverty. Rural households may migrate, flee, or search for alternative means by which to satisfy their basic subsistence needs. Under conditions of extreme scarcity, temporary access to natural resources from either common property or protected areas can make the difference between survival and starvation.

The Woods Hole Research Center is part of a multidisciplinary effort that aims to assess the role of natural resources in mitigating system shocks in extremely poor households. As part of this endeavor, we will design resource protection plans for parks and protected areas with the aim of maximizing the benefits of resource utilization for all stakeholders. We are currently focusing in two regions of the Rift Valley of Southeastern Africa—Central Mozambique and the border area of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—where poverty is ubiquitous and where natural resources play a vital role in household subsistence and decision strategies.

Broader Impacts of the Natural Resources and Poverty Project

By uniting researchers from a broad array of fields and by working with in-country organizations and universities, the members of our project team are using research to better understand the underlying causes of extreme poverty, and searching for creative solutions. Our goal is to create a practical link between science and policy such that results may be disseminated in both popular and scientific outlets in order to affect the greatest good. By engaging students from United States universities and from local African universities in field activities and data analysis, we hope to extend the educational impacts of the project beyond the scope of the immediate project goals. Finally, we hope this project will be fundamental in the design of policies that bring an end to the suffering of extreme poverty.

For more information concerning the Natural Resources and Poverty Project in the African Great Lakes region and Central Mozambique, please see the Natural Resources and Poverty--Background page.

Collaboration and Funding

Researchers at the WHRC are collaborating with scientists, economists, medical doctors, historians, government offices, non-governmental organizations and resource managers from the United States, Mozambique, and Uganda on this project. Matching parts funding for the Mozambique component of the project have been generously provided by the National Science Foundation (Award #0624168), the Gregory C. Carr Foundation, and the Department for the Coordination of Environmental Action (Province of Sofala, Mozambique). Collaborators for our work in Mozambique include:

Carr Foundation (Beira, Mozambique)

Cruzeiro do Sul (Maputo, Mozambique)

Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire; USA)

Dept. for the Coordination of Environmental Action-DPCAA (Sofala Province, Mozambique)

District Administration of Cheringoma (Cheringoma, Mozambique)

District Administration of Gorongosa (Gorongosa, Mozambique)

District Administration of Muanza (Muanza, Mozambique)

District Administration of Nhamatanda (Nhamatanda, Mozambique)

Gorongosa National Park Research Station (Gorongosa, Mozambique)

Harvard University Medical School (Boston, Massachusetts; USA)

Judiciary Center-CFJJ (Beira and Maputo, Mozambique)

Pedagogic University (Beira, Mozambique)

Rural Organization for Mutual Help-ORAM (Beira, Mozambique)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University