Suchergebnisse

Decisions on land use in Vietnam are often only based on biophysical and economical assessments, with little consideration for the local people's opinions or perspectives. This can lead to conflicts over natural resources management, unsustainable land use and decisions that are unfair to local people. In the landscape surrounding Khe Tran, a village in Central Vietnam lives a Pahy minority group. The driving force in this area has been different land use policies, resulting mainly from a government 'top down' approach, and the consequent changes in local forest status. The major activities for local livelihoods have shifted from swidden agriculture and high dependency on natural forests, to more sedentary activities. Khe Tran is now situated in the buffer zone of a planned nature reserve and the government has encouraged the villagers to plant economic crops in the bare hills around the village. The people's dependence on forest resources has significantly decreased, and most of the local knowledge about natural forests may soon be lost. The main land covers around the village are now Acacia and rubber plantations, bare lands, and lands for agriculture. Local knowledge and perspectives are rarely taken into account by state institutions when implementing land allocation projects or making decisions on natural resource management and land use at the landscape level. There is opportunity to better inform development agencies and involve local level stakeholders so that more sustainable decisions can be made. This book reports on what Khe Tran villagers find important in terms of environmental services and resources in their landscape. Our approach integrates multidisciplinary activities - through human and natural sciences- and explains the relative importance of landscape components, products and species for local people. It aims to better articulate local people's priorities for the future, their hopes and values as well as their relationship with the conservation area.

Background Health Examination Surveys (HESs) can provide essential information on the health and health determinants of a population, which is not available from other data sources. Nevertheless, only some European countries have systems of national HESs. A study conducted in 2006-2008 concluded that it is feasible to organize national HESs using standardized measurement procedures in nearly all EU countries. The feasibility study also outlined a structure for a European Health Examination Survey (EHES), which is a collaboration to organize standardized HESs in countries across Europe. To facilitate setting up national surveys and to gain experience in applying the EHES methods in different cultures, EHES Joint Action (2010-2011) planned and piloted standardized HESs in the working age population in 12 countries. This included countries with earlier national HESs and countries which were planning their first national HES. The core measurements included in all surveys were weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure, and blood samples were taken to measure lipid profiles and glucose or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). These are modifiable determinants of major chronic diseases not identified in health interview surveys. There was a questionnaire to complement the data on the examination measurements. Methods Evaluation of the pilot surveys was based on review of national manuals and evaluation reports of survey organizers; observations and discussions of survey procedures during site visits and training seminars; and other communication with the survey organizers. Results Despite unavoidable differences in the ways HESs are organized in the various countries, high quality and comparability of the data seems achievable. The biggest challenge in each country was obtaining high participation rate. Most of the pilot countries are now ready to start their full-size national HES, and six of them have already started. Conclusions The EHES Pilot Project has set up the structure for obtaining comparable high quality health indicators on health and important modifiable risk factors of major non-communicable diseases from the European countries. The European Union is now in a key position to make this structure sustainable. The EHES core survey can be expanded to cover other measurements.