12       Appendix 1   R6849 – Barriers to the adoption of efficient energy strategies in Northern Ghana - - overview

 

The project demonstrates a new rapid assessment tool for use in any emergency or development intervention.  In this case the tool has been used to address the barriers to the adoption of specific domestic energy strategies within refugee communities.

 

The report considers the recent work of agencies such as UNHCR with refugees regarding energy and the environment.  The literature illustrates how much of the work is focused on the external context of the refugees.  Agencies see policy and technology as their main instruments for changing the behaviour of refugees.

 

Before moving on to the method and findings of this project, this section discusses some of the background to the problem, and notes some of the relevant literature. 

 

12.1     General discussion of the problem

12.1.1       Introduction

 

In the recent Rwandan crisis, fuelwood use by refugees for domestic energy has been a very significant problem.  The large numbers of people in Tanzania and Zaire have resulted in an environmental destruction that will impact the host countries for many years to come.   UNHCR, Care and Christian Outreach, among others, have undertaken action in Tanzania to address this critical need.  While Rwanda is foremost in our minds, the need of refugee communities for domestic fuelwood and the resulting negative impact on the surrounding environment is common to nearly all complex disasters with migrating populations (ITDG/UNEP 1995).    It is also a fact that environmental refugees are found throughout Africa and both environmental degradation has become a serious threat to the livelihood of the local populations and displaced person are considered a serious threat to the natural resource base (Broad 1994, Annis 1992).

 

In 1992 UNHCR set up an environmental unit which has invested heavily in acquiring understanding of the “refugee and environmental” question.  Perhaps the single most important and relevant document to appear in the last few years is “Refugee operations and environmental management - selected lessons learned”  June 1998.  This reference document summarises the lessons learnt from the TSEMPRAA activity - “Towards Sustainable Environmental Management Practices in Refugee Affected Areas” (UNHCR 1998).  This programme identified the lessons from ten case studies (see map).  This sourcebook hopes to encourage environmental considerations at all stages of activities with refugees, from the emergency phase through to rehabilitation.             

Nevertheless, actions by agencies have been limited in many situations by a lack of understanding of the socio-cognitive influences on decision making within the displaced communities.  For example, Christian Outreach were actively involved with solar cookers in Sudan with Eritrean refugees in the late 80’s early 90’s.  The cookers were able to cook food effectively, and yet they were never accepted by the refugees.  They now attribute the lack of adoption to socio-cultural and attitudinal factors.

 

In refugee situations it is necessary to identify these factors rapidly and effectively.  There are a number of established techniques used generally in poverty alleviation that allow sociologists and anthropologists to understand the decision making processes within a community.  However most of these techniques require considerable lengths of time.

 

This project, if successful, would demonstrate a method that could rapidly identify socio-cognitive barriers to the adoption of domestic energy alternatives.  This could open the way for agencies to introduce strategies for reducing fuelwood demand, and/or increasing fuelwood (biomass) supply and/or introducing alternative fuels.  As these alternative domestic energy strategies are implemented there would be a valuable and significant positive impact on both alleviation of poverty among refugees and protection of environment.

 

Finally, (UNHCR 1998) discusses the role of environmental education.

·      Targeted environmental awareness campaigns are useful in developing appropriate environmental practices.

·      Integrating environmental concepts in existing school curricula may be more readily accepted by teachers than adding a new subject

·      environmental education should be used to strengthen ongoing or planned environmental activities in associated projects

·      multiple entry points exist for environmental awareness raising

·      environmental awareness raising targeting local communities must be accompanied by appropriate capacity building measures for local resource management.

 

Regarding behaviour the section states:- “early targeted environmental awareness campaigns are valuable in setting the parameters for sound environmental behaviour.”  “Environmental education should build upon existing ecologically sustainable knowledge and skills”.

 

Here we catch a glimpse of the important role of dialogue with the refugees and local communities, and of the need for adequate knowledge of their priorities and socio-cognitive processes. 

 

The recommendations quoted above say that there are:-

·      Multiple entry points for awareness raising - how will the agencies know which is the most effective entry point - radio, extension agent, chief?  Which social referent is the most effective in influencing behaviour?

·      Build upon existing knowledge - what is the existing knowledge?  How will the agency capture the most important points quickly so as to develop relevant educational messages?

 

12.1.2       The need for another tool.

 

So why then does this project talk about “barriers to adoption”?  And why does it suggest the need for a new rapid assessment tool?

 

The agencies working with the refugees in Eastern Zaire and Tanzania found a number of difficulties in their work on energy saving technologies.  The paper Umlas 1996 summarises some of these experiences.  These have been reduced to the following table:-

 

Action taken

Stated Difficulty

Potential value of knowing more socio-cognitive details

Organising the refugees collection of wood

unexpected increase in numbers,  higher-than-estimated consumption rate, collection of building materials.

Why do refugees not value the wood, why the higher than estimated consumption rate.

Alternative fuels - coffee bean husks, cotton seed residue, sawdust, charcoal briquettes

exist in limited quantities, are seasonal, costly to produce, located far from the camps.

None

Alternative fuel - Peat

produces more smoke, unhealthy working conditions for extraction, transportation difficult, limited locality, water levels during the rains.

None

Improved Stove construction and dissemination

results difficult if built by implementing partners, need for awareness-raising programme, no information on the use of stoves (only distribution and construction figures available)

Why do the partners find difficulty in implementing, barriers to marketing stoves?  What do people not know about energy saving?   What are the critical awareness messages?  How do people use stoves?  What do they value in a stove?

training in fuel efficient cooking methods (pre soaking beans, covering pots, extinguishing fires)

strategies often take time to be adopted as they are not always part of traditional food preparations techniques.

What are the main features of traditional cooking?  Who are the main social referents for deciding how things are cooked?

Supply of fuelwood (Zaire)

in some cases increased supply actually leads to increased consumption as refugees continue to collect a “free” resource

Is the collection of wood for purely economic reasons or is social contact critical?  What messages could be used to change collection behaviour?

Firewood drying (Zaire)

None stated.

None

Improved stoves (Zaire)

breakage, need regular maintenance, where wood is easily available the stove has little impact on wood consumption

What features of the Stove are most critical?  Why do people not do regular maintenance?  What factors influence wood usage?

Communal cooking (Zaire)

for cultural and economic reasons communal cooking is not easily accepted by refugee families.

Why is communal cooking not acceptable?

 

It should be noted that each of these strategies produced some energy saving, and had some impact as intended.  However, the honest paper details many of the difficulties associated with each intervention.  It is at this point we can evaluate what is required to address these difficulties.  The final column of the table suggests some questions that if answered would have helped the planners address the difficulties.  Most of the questions concern the decision making processes of the refugees.  What factors, cognitive, cultural and social, are influencing the decision to adopt the proposed behaviour?  Agencies are offering alternatives to traditional cooking methods, firewood collection, etc. - yet what are the socio-cognitive barriers that caused difficulties in these programmes?

 

It is important to note that these questions and their answers would not have solved all the difficulties.  The Peat extraction had a measure of success, and its greater use was hampered by technical and external factors.  The dried peat offered to the refugees was used, and their seemed to be no particular cultural barriers to its adoption.  The difficulties stated in the paper are to do with its extraction and its availability.  No amount of understanding of the refugees will overcome these difficulties.

 

However there are difficulties encountered where a greater understanding of the socio cognitive decision making processes of the refugees would have helped.

 

PRA methods such as wealth ranking, mapping, seasonal calendars have helped a lot in the understanding of agencies of their clients.    In Energy Strategy for Refugee Affected Areas of Kagera and Kigoma Regions (UNHCR 1997) Owen presents Intake surveys and Household Surveys.  The data is based on a combination of joint UNHCR-EU research and surveys carried out by the Care Environment Programme.  While these surveys relied on the co-operation of the subjects, they are not presented as participatory per se.  However in terms of wood collection, either an enumerated survey or a participatory mapping exercise by a community, can clearly illustrate the what, where, when, who, how of collecting fuelwood.   In terms of kitchen behaviour, either observation of cooking practice or  focus group exercise to generate a typical timetable of women’s work can greatly inform external agencies about the behaviour of the clients.

 

However the surveys as conducted or PRA exercises as they are currently used (in refugee situations), rarely reveals why things are done.  This may come out in conversation, but even when it does the external agency has no measure as to how important the stated reason is to the current behaviour.  For instance in a focus group discussion someone may say (as they did in Ghana) that they believed that God would never let all the trees be cut down.  This comment by an elderly man received a general murmur of acceptance.  However without actually stopping the flow of the meeting and attempting some sort of vote on this comment, the agency has no idea whether this represents a commonly held view, or whether this is an isolated comment which people are too polite to contradict.

 

This is where the projects rapid assessment tool comes into play.  The TORA as a tool quantifies the strength of opinion (belief, values, attitudes and intentions) to overcome the “main reason for “wrong” decisions in environmental management” i.e. lack of communication and insufficient “right” information for decision makers.  With the TORA rapid assessment tool, the agencies have the means to gather the right information in a participatory way and with sufficient statistical validity to ensure decision making that fits the socio-cognitive status of the refugee and local community clients.

 

12.1.3       Gathering opinions and reasons why.

 

The TORA tool is not unique in attempting to answer the question why do people behave as they do.  Some recent work has attempted to look at the perception of clients to energy saving strategies. 

 

In the surveys conducted by Wallmo and Jacobson (1997) they looked at improved stoves found in Uganda.  They conducted adoption and impact survey (AS) and a Kitchen performance test (KPT).  The survey included 81 users and 84 non users in the AS.  This adoption survey used informal interviews to find out data on :-

1.    the source of hearing about the stoves

2.    the reasons for adopting the stove

The analysis of the data was by frequency of response.

 

Black & Sessay (1996) present a similar study.  Looking at the forced migration in the Senegal River valley, they conducted household survey and direct measurement of woodfuel use.  From these surveys they conclude that “little or no evidence is found to support the expectation that refugees use more wood for fuel than local people, or that they are more destructive in their collection or use of wood.”   The survey of open ended interviews elicited various opinions.

 

Here we see two studies that begin to answer the question why.  The opinion about animal dung is supported by a reason.  However in Black and Sessays study there were identified behaviours for which there were no reasons given.  “It was interesting to note that in the village of Koundel, ‘improved’ mud stoves had been promoted by a development agency linked to an association of migrants from that village living in France, but that, in this case, virtually all these mud stoves had fallen into disuse as they cracked and collapsed and had not been replaced.”   

 

These surveys which are based on open ended interviews certainly gather important information, and such a general dialogue should always take place prior to planning an intervention.  However the added value of the TORA rapid assessment tool is its use of the second more formal survey to define the influence of the salient beliefs stated in the open interviews on the decision to adopt particular behaviours.  By examining the beliefs, values, intentions and social referents, the tool goes that one step further to offer answers as to why people behave in a certain way and how they will act (a predictive element).  It can therefore be used to provide guidance for appropriate environmental awareness campaigns.

 

12.2     Rapid Assessment Tool

 

Much of the following discussion on the tool has been drawn from the research carried out by K McKemey in Central America on response of the forcibly displaced to forest management (McKemey 1996)

 

The new rapid assessment tool is based on an application of  the Theory of Reasoned Action.  Prior to this project the Theory has been applied to a wide variety of issues in Northern Countries (e.g. politics and voting intentions, birth control, consumer food choices, career choices, as well as land management practices within the agricultural and forestry sectors in North America).   In the last few years it has been applied to environmental and natural resource management decisions in South America.   Its use in this project is believed to be its first application to an “emergency and development”  situation.  It is used as an innovative “transfer of technology” applying it to the problem of refugee energy management.

 

12.2.1       Difference between policy and peoples decisions

 

As we have seen above - most actions that have addressed the challenge of improving energy strategies in poor domestic households have focused on the external aspects impinging on the refugee’s behavioural context.   Sometimes the immediate action on the context is at the expense of attention being given to the refugee’s own rationalisation within their context.

 

McKemey (1996) notes that this attention to the external structural context as opposed to the individual psycho-social reality of the refugee has tended to:

 

·      Group the refugees into socio-economic homogenous strata that predict the expected degree of degrading behaviour (Annis 1992);

·      Identify the ‘poor’ refugee as a ‘foe rather than friend’ of the environment incapable of positive response (Broad 1994);

·      Exclude the refugee from active participation in the remedial process (Cox 1992);

·      Neglect  their potential as spontaneous conservationists ( Broad 1994);

·      Overlook the impact and persistence of traditional culture within new environments (Jones 1990); 

·      Impose external evaluative assumptions which may not represent the values, attitudes and interests of the refugee or equate to their own knowledge systems (Redclift 1992:24);

·      Neglect the individual’s historical context (Broad 1994);

·      Lead to a reliance on explanatory generalisations moulded by theoretical and ideological stances, which  neglect the complexity of the individuals’ own rationalisation of  their behavioural context (Blaikie and Brookfield 1987; Long and Ploeg 1994; Utting 1994).   

 

The TORA is summarised in the diagram, Figure 1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Figure 1  The Theory of Reasoned Action  (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980)

 

The TORA according to Fishbein and Manfredo (1992) is best understood as a series of hypotheses linking (1) behaviour to intentions, (2) intentions to a weighted combination of attitudes and subjective norms, and (3) attitudes and subjective norms to behavioural and normative beliefs. These hypotheses are represented in the figure above by the solid arrows between the adjoining columns. Therefore if one accepts the causal chain illustrated in the diagram, it follows that behaviour is ultimately determined by one’s underlying beliefs. Therefore changing behaviour is primarily a function of changing this underlying cognitive structure.   

 

The theory asserts that the likelihood of an individual performing a behaviour depends on the strength of their intention.  Intention, in turn, depends on two independent factors – their own attitude, and the subjective norm (their perception of social pressures on them).  Attitudes depend on beliefs regarding the outcome of performing this behaviour, and a value attribute to this outcome.  A person’s subjective norm is a function both of their normative beliefs regarding how they feel others (e.g. mother-in-law, chief, extension workers, radio) would expect them to behave, and of their motivation to comply with these “others”.  In order to change behaviour it is necessary to change either attitudes or subjective norms by changing the underlying beliefs. 

 

12.3     Ghana - Internally Displaced People and Methodology

 

The project was conducted in Ghana. The study has focused principally on communities with large numbers of internally displaced (IDPs) by conflict as opposed to ‘camp bound refugees’. The ethnic conflict in Northern Ghana of 1994 resulted in over 2000 deaths and displacement of an estimated 135,000 of the population.  The interviews were taken in an area that is still restricted access because of the potential of ethnic conflict.  Over 60% of those interviewed (randomly chosen from the general population) had been forcibly displaced in the last 10 years and over half of these in the last 5 years. These displaced are not international refugees (they did not cross an international border) and are not in camps.  Nevertheless they present many of the same threats to the environment as the camp bound refugees in Tanzania - displacement, new and/or temporary settlement, increasing environmental pressure on dryland resources.

Text Box:

 

 

Figure 2 Map of Northern Ghana.  Study area marked by black outline

 

It is suggested that through this non camp focus, the study has in fact addressed the more significant group, or social category, regarding the posed threat to the environment and consequently fuel wood resources in the developing world. The number of IDPs, driven out by conflict or environmental degradation, is increasing rapidly and is considered one of the greatest future threats to the environment. Therefore this research has pertinence for both the management of the ‘camp bound refugee’ education and the education and enablement of the IDPs.

 

Communities included urban, peri urban and rural areas.   Each community had been approached with alternative energy strategies from Government and Non-Government agencies in the area.  The Government has designated the area as one of the most environmentally sensitive in Ghana, and is undertaking projects to alleviate pressure on the environment. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the University of Ghana.  The development of the tool and data collection involved experienced local extension agents working in the targeted area from a number of agencies.

 

The method for the TORA assessment tool is a series of open ended interviews with approximately 50 interviewees (individuals and groups) followed by a more formal questionnaire.  In this case the questionnaire was split in two to make each interview more manageable, so 440 interviews were conducted.

 

Seven behaviours were identified and data gathered for all seven.   From a preliminary analysis three behaviours were identified for detailed analysis.   The report presents the findings regarding three of the seven behaviours identified as critical to fuel wood management within the research area, namely,

 

·      firewood collection,

·      improved stove adoption.

·      wood lot planting,

 

The other behaviours studied but not reported below are alternative fuel adoption, fuel efficient cooking methods, cooking utensil selection and fire management.

 

The study particularly seeks to identify differences between members of the population regarding the TORA variables and their relationships:-

 

·      those who have, or have not, been forcibly displaced due to war or civil unrest. 

 

As well as exploring the influence of displacement, other social groupings are also identified and compared:-

 

·      differences between Dagbani and Gonja language groups and

·      urban and rural residents. 

·      those that had been exposed to extension demonstrations regarding improved practice of the different behaviours under review

·      those who are exposed to radio messages. 

 

The interviewees score each belief on a 5 point bipolar scale between “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.  To inculcate this scoring into Northern Ghana the interviewees were asked to use scooped holes in the ground and stones (similar to the traditional African game).   

 

·      Examples of behaviour statements (Firewood collection) :-  “Buying wood cut or gathered by others”  “Pruning trees without killing them” “Have been forced to cut down or ring bark live trees with taboos”. 

·      Example of Intentions (Firewood collection):- “How strongly do you intend to collect only dry wood during this year?”

·      Example of Attitudes  (Firewood collection):- “How good or bad is it to only collect dry wood next year”.

·      Example of Belief (Firewood Collection):- “There will be no punishment of people in this area if they ring bark live trees to produce future dry wood or fuel”

 

12.4     Key Finding

 

The key finding is that against what might be logically expected, the displaced are more likely than non displaced to adopt more sustainable fuel wood management practices if the conditions are favourable. This may reflect their greater awareness of the limitations of fuel wood resources. It may also reflect a greater value placed on this resource due to the experience of having their access threatened or removed.

 

Other observations include:-

·      The normative consideration is more influential among the displaced ie the decision regarding adoption will be influenced more by perceived correct social behaviour than their own reasoned attitude.  (This suggests a higher degree of insecurity - which is logical given their current status).

·      The influence of individual social referents differs between the displaced and stable respondents.  It appears that the displaced are less open to external social referents regarding improved stoves and firewood collection.  However, the displaced are more open to external referent regarding woodlot planting.  This suggests that for behaviours that are household bound, stoves and firewood, the displaced are more closed to external influence.  With woodlot planting, an external activity, the change may be explained by the need for greater security, ie a social referent which is seen to carry the authority needed to protect their interests and the investment implied by the adoption of the recommended practice.  This observation is reinforced by the predominance of concerns regarding the possible abuse of their interests in the displaced’s decision making.  In contrast, these issues or barriers are not prominent among those not displaced.

·      The implications of these general findings are that both the content of the educational message and the channel for these will need to differ depending on whether the objective population is displaced or stable.  Also, if the educational strategy takes these issues into account the displaced are likely to respond positively to the adoption of more fuel efficient practices.   In fact these findings suggest that the displaced may prove to be primary agents of change regarding the adoption of improved natural resource management if addressed correctly.  This could have significant implications of the future management of the internally displaced (currently recognised as one of the future threats to the environment in ecologically fragile areas).

 

12.4.1        Key barriers and messages regarding the firewood collection

 

The key barriers to more sustainable fuel wood management (collection) behaviour are related to:

-         The overriding perception that there will not be a problem with future access to firewood;

-         The existing social pressure to continue current practices;

-         The low self-perception amongst women regarding their tree harvesting capabilities;

-         The rejection of many of the traditional taboos and beliefs regarding the effect of certain types of wood on their health;

 

Messages aimed at encouraging more sustainable practice therefore will need to:

-         Raise the awareness of the possible destruction of the fuel wood resource;

-         Build a positive self-perception regarding tree harvesting via demonstrating and reinforcing good practice, i.e. the appropriateness of women’s involvement;

-         Reinforce some of the traditional taboos that have an actual physical basis for their existence, e.g. the effects of some types of wood smoke on the health of the family.

-         Regarding those not displaced, messages emphasising and reinforcing appropriate collection behaviours, i.e.  appropriate management of live tree harvesting such as pruning should be received.

 

Channels that need to be used for encouraging more sustainable practice of firewood collection:-

-         it will be important that education should be done through groups, which included local friendship networks, with little emphasis on individuals

-         involve the appropriate social referents and gain their endorsement of the messages proposed.

-         With respect to the whole group these are the local extension agents and the local chief.

 

The most influential beliefs supporting firewood collection decisions, regarding the whole sample, are related to the strongly held opinion that God will not permit the destruction of the trees and that they will always be able to gain access to areas with firewood.  In constructing messages aimed at encouraging more sustainable firewood collection behaviour, the messages should seek to make the subjects more aware of the possible loss of both trees and therefore limited future access.  T