Zambezia (2003), XXX (i)The Role of Communication in SocialForestry: The Case of Mwenezi1NETSAYIN. MUDEGE AND M. F. C. BOURDILLONSociology Department, University of ZimbabiveAbstractThis article, based on participant observation in two villages of Mwenezi District,Masvingo Province, Zimbabive, discusses the dissemination of knowledge aboutforestry. It looks at the role of the media, but points out that access to the media waslimited. More important were local channels of communication. People are, however,selective in their acceptance of information they receive, particularly on
environmental issues. Although technical knowledge is important to ensure the
best use of the resources of forestry, the article shozus how people interpret, modify,and respond to the information they receive according to how this information fitstheir perceived interests. Political issues, both at the national and the local levels,also affect the credibility of messages. Within a community, people responddifferently, according to their status and their particular interests in the community.The article concludes that the successful transfer of technical knowledge on forestryfor the use of local communities requires dialogue with the communities concerned.IntroductionAlthough communication studies is a rapidly growing discipline, attentionto its role in rural development rarely goes beyond mention in passing thatlack of communication is a reason for failure of some projects. This research
analyses the role of communication in, and its impact on, social forestryissues in the Mwenezi District in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe.We focus on how information is communicated through the mass mediaas well as through rural based communication systems. Rural-basedcommunication differs from the mass media because it spreads from person
to person, initiating from an official of an organisation or an individualwithin the village.This article discusses the role of communication in facilitating the use oftree resources, how various communication systems and networks are usedin order to influence the behaviour of various target groups as well as theWe wish to thank the Forestry Commission and German Development Co-operationfor supporting the research financially and otherwise. We wish to thank the peopleof Mwenezi who gave so much of their time and attention to answer our questions.52 The Role of Communication in Social Forestryeffectiveness of these tactics. It also discusses the perceptions of differentlyplaced individuals or groups of people on issues related to the use of treesand tree based resources.We show how economic, political and social forces affect the ways inwhich any information is disseminated to, and received by, the audience.The credibility of any disseminated information depends on thecreditworthiness of the source of the information. Whether the disseminatedinformation is acted upon or not also depends on the audience and theconditions that the audience is facing. People receive with ambivalenceenvironmental messages coming from the West, because people in the Westand South have different environmental problems, which lead to differentperspectives on the environment (Vivian 1994:186; Amanor 1994: 6; Banuri1993: 2).This study places communication in the historical and social contexts inwhich individuals and communities find themselves. It pays attention tothe different strategies people use, and how they process information,depending on social, economic or political circumstances (see Long 1989;1995). Contrary to the assumption in the mass media and by environmentalagencies that everyone, regardless of age, status and gender, will benefitequally from Natural Resource Management Projects, the reality is thatsome projects will benefit certain groups more than others. Therefore, it isimportant that those tasked with disseminating information should besensitive to this fact and make every effort to factor in gender in thedevelopment and marketing of their programmes.The study also takes note of Peluso's observation (1980:12) that 'Peasantpolitics often includes protests against losing resource access - peasantshave their own notions of morality, rights, criminality and subversion.'This approach is in harmony with a growing emphasis in communicationstudies on the social context in which communication takes place, as well asthe individual's capacity for active selection and active retention (Boyd-Barret 1992: 143). Apart from individual strategies, the study also looks athow political structures determine the use of resources and how differentmaterial interests relate to conflicting perceptions of conservation (followingMoore, 1993, on the Kaerezi resettlement scheme in Zimbabwe, andNadkarni, 1989, on the use and management of tree resources in India). Itplaces the uses of forests in the context of social relations, and, particularlywith reference to newspapers, it places the politics of tree use in a widersocial setting. The study also focuses on how cultural considerations canpermeate the economics and politics of resource use.Of importance is how different stakeholders signify the environmentand how this affects the acceptance or rejection of environmental messages.'People may invest in meanings as much as in the means of production andstruggles over meaning are as much a part of the process of resourceN. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 53allocation as are struggles over surplus or the labour process' (Berry 1988:66; see also Hall 1992: 70; Hall et al. 1978: 59).In many countries, forestry research is active in such areas as communityparticipation in forest conservation, tree tenure, gender factors in treegrowing and tree protection (Owino 1994: 3). Very little research has beendone on the role of communication in social forestry. Most communicationstudies look at the role of communication in politics, how information isdisseminated and how people in rural areas are persuaded to adhere tocertain ideological positions (Ugboajah 1985: 166). Other discussions focuson how communication, particularly the media, is linked to colonisationand domination of the Third World by the west (iMararike 1998: 211-220).This study also pays attention to how the messages are received in order toassess their relevance and validity.Mudege spent two months in Mwenezi, in December 2000 and January2001 focussing on the villages of Gudo and Chomuuyu. She spent a furtherthree weeks analysing the content of some mass-produced messages. Sheused non-random samples of 50 from each village, taking people who werephysically accessible and willing to talk about their perceptions of theenvironment and their sources of information. She also interviewed a varietyof officials and leaders, attended various forestry-related meetings, andorganised four group discussions of issues relating to the research. One ofthese was with youths, who were generally excluded by their elders fromdiscussions in the homesteads. Finally, she analysed the content of radio,television and newspaper messages and compared them with the felt needsof the people.Background to Study District and VillagesMwenezi District is located in the southern part of Masvingo Province. It ischaracterised by very low annual rainfall, periodic seasonal drought andsevere dry spells during the rainy season, making rain-fed crop cultivationunprofitable. Total annual rainfall in this region is usually between 450 and650mm and it is not unusual to get below 450mm of rain in some areas ofthis region. The natural woodlands in this region are characterised bydrought resistant tree species.Gudo VillageRelative to other villages in the district, Gudo village had the smallestpopulation comprising around 470 individuals. A large percentage of theyoung males were reported to be working in South Africa as illegal migrants.Recently there had been very little immigration because of the scarcity ofland for expansion and also because the area is agro-ecologically unfriendly.54 The Role of Communication in Social ForestryThe rivers, which supply the community with the much-needed water,are dry for part of the year. There are no dams in the area and there is oneborehole containing very salty water fit neither for human consumptionnor for irrigation. Many households find it difficult to meet their basicrequirements of water.The Christian ethic is very strong in the village. There is one dominantchurch in the village, the ZION church. The village head is also the head ofthe church. As a way of professing their faith, most men in the villageabstain from the consumption of alcohol. Those who drink are able topurchase the local brew (doro rendnri) only on Wednesdays (the chisi daywhere it is mandatory to rest), because that is the only day of the week onwhich people are allowed to sell the local brew.The level of education in this village is very low. In the sample of 50people, comprising ages between 18 and 72, only six people had attained'O' level education. However, this might have been biased because thehighly educated people had migrated out of the village in search of work.Draught power is also a problem in the village in that only a few peopleowned a significant number of cattle and donkeys.2 The majority of thevillagers owned small livestock like chickens, goats and sheep. On the otherhand, most people tended to under report the amount of livestock theyowned. Although the aims of the study were properly explained to thevillagers at a village meeting, the villagers still were convinced that thewhole exercise was to assess the relative wealth of individual householdsfor possible donor aid.Chomuuyu VillageChomuuyu village has a population of about 900 people or 158 households.Since land is available for expansion, immigration has been very highcompared to Gudo, although the flow is slowing. This has also led toconflicts between masvika (the incoming people) and the vana vemuno (theindigenous or rightful heirs of the land). Settling of people on the borderareas, such as in the Chiwi area, which had been a grazing area with lots oftrees until 1995, is regarded as a strategy to guard against encroachmentfrom other villages. Settling people in the Chiwi area has led to deforestation.In Chomuuyu Village, 15 people, out of a sample of 50 people, had an 'O'level education. Traditional beer is always on sale in the village and is alucrative source of income for Chomuuyu women. Women in this villagealso belong to rotating credit associations, which have provided womenwith some cash to invest in small livestock such as goats and sheep.Participatory Rural Appraisal Report (2000) produced by the Forestry Commissionon the six Social Forestry Project villages in Mwenezi.N. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 55The village is bound by the Runde river to the north and west, thePambe river to the east and Murawi river to the south. There are alternativeresources to farming in the area, such as rich (but declining) fishing groundsaround the Chiwi area. Wildlife is still found in this area.Mass Media Available in Gudo and ChomuuyuIn Zimbabwe, Government, non governmental organisations (NGOs), andothers have tried to influence public opinion through the mass media. InMvvenezi, the most common available forms of mass media are radios,television and newspapers. We analyse these media in relation to themanagement of trees as socially valued resources to meet human needs.RadiosDue to the illegal circulatory migrant labour into South Africa in the twovillages under study, many people owned radios. In their customary annualvisits home for Christmas, the migrants bring with them radios boughtcheaply in South Africa, which they then leave with their families or sellcheaply to other villagers on their return. Fifty-eight percent (29) ofChomuuyu residents and 42 percent (21) of Gudo residents owned radios.Most radio owners attested to listening to radio programmes relating totrees, the environment and natural resources, for example, the radio 2programme Mifi Llyemju (Trees are Life) and Zvisiknm Zvesango (Creaturesof the Forest).Eight people in Chomuuyu and 11 in Gudo did not listen to environmentalprogrammes on the radio. They claimed that, at night, when the programmeswere aired, they were usually tired from their daily chores and did nothave the energy to listen to the radio. The high cost of batteries alsomilitated against listening to environmental programmes as people listenedonly to news bulletins and select programmes, such as Mitambo yemadrama(featuring locally produced plays) and Chakafukidza Dzimba Matengn(discussing issues related to marital problems) in order to conserve batteries.Nevertheless, the majority of the villagers testified that they first heard ofthe Forestry Commission through the radio.3 Thus, the radio is a majorsource of information on the environment for the people of Gudo andChomuuyu villages.Those villagers who listened to environmental programmes on radiomaintained that they obtained the following information from theprogrammes.Uche (1987: 253) studied the diffusion of crisis information in Nigeria and found outthat the radio was the first primary source of information for rural opinion leadersand then information could be diffused to the general populace.56 The Role of Communication in Social ForestryThirty villagers were informed on the importance of trees includingtheir use value, as well as the importance of trees in protecting thenatural environment.Twenty-five villagers learned what is happening in other communitiesin terms of tree resource utilisation, getting new ideas in the process.Š Twenty-two villagers received information on what trees to grow,especially those that are fast maturing for quick returns.Š Eighteen villagers were encouraged by accounts of other communitiesthat were benefiting from Social Forestry Projects.Š Nine respondents obtained information on what the law says aboututilisation of tree resources.Evidence suggests that, in these two villages, at least, radio programmeswere more relevant to the needs of the local people than were environmentalinformation disseminated in other media. Although some households didnot have radios, the radio was the most important of all the mass media instarting or stimulating discussions related to natural resources, partlybecause people from the villages working in the cities often had access toradios and often disseminated information they heard on the radio to theirfamilies in the village.However, there are problems with the information on forestry that isdisseminated by the radio. For instance, there is a major emphasis on thegrowing of exotic fruit trees and gum trees, at the expense of indigenoustrees. This is particularly worrying since it is not clear that these exoticspecies can withstand the severe droughts characteristic of this area.Pedzisayi Kure, a 65-year-old Chomuuyu resident, summarised the villagers'concerns by saying: 'Tiiwgona kupedzeia tsvimbo kuma kimguu'o idzo hangadziripo' [Lit. "We will finish all our throwing sticks trying to knock downcrows (which are not edible), instead of aiming at pigeons present (whichare edible) - in other words, this could be a misdirected and wasted effort].Some radio programmes on environmental issues were so poorlypresented and so unvaried that villagers shunned them, claiming that, afterlistening to one programme, there was nothing to be gained by listening toother programmes which were likely to be about the same issues. Ananalysis of the programmes confirmed the villagers' lack of enthusiasm forthem. For instance, all programmes aired between the beginning of October2000 and end of January 2001 were advertising the forthcoming NationalTree Planting Day and informing people in the various Districts andProvinces of where the Forestry Commission in their area would be plantingtrees on the first Saturday of December. Even when the tree planting dayhad come and gone, programmes were still advertising the various activitiesof the Forestry Commission on the official tree planting day. Such irrelevantrepetitions were obviously likely to put listeners off.N. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 57TelevisionTelevision was less available to the people of Mwenezi, as few households,five in Chomuuyu and seven in Gudo, owned television sets. These weremostly teachers, general dealer storeowners and retrenched urban workers.To minimise the cost of charging batteries, television viewing was in mostcases limited to news, Monday Shona Dramas and Mutinhimirn Wentimlimui(a local musical programme). Moreover, most programmes on environmentalissues carried by Zimbabwe television spoke to conditions from othercountries and not to the reality of the Zimbabwean people and were,therefore, of little appeal to them.The only programmes that were aired on ZBC TV1 that were of relevanceto the rural people of Zimbabwe were the series, 'Around Zimbabwe , covering,among other issues, causes of environmental degradation, such as treecutting and soil excavation. Moreover, the role of trees in the environmentwas being underplayed in the programmes aired. Thirty, out of 90,programmes aired focussed on animals, while only 16 focused on trees. Outof these, only six were relevant to Zimbabwean environmental problems.The general neglect of environmental issues was also evident in the airingschedules on ZTV1 as shown by the fact that, although the series, 'Farm amiecology' had 16 programmes, most of these were aired only as fillerprogrammes. This meant, therefore, that television was not a very importantmeans of disseminating information in these communities.NewspapersNewspapers were another source of information available to the people ofMwenezi. Although readership was very low for both villages (six peoplein Chomuuyu and four people in Gudo had access to newspapers), aninventory showed that the most widely read newspapers were Tlie Heraldand Vie Chronicle in the villages.As noted, very few people in the villages had attained an 'O' Leveleducation. Consequently, few could read English. This effectively limitedthe use of newspapers as a source of information for most people, sincemost of the newspapers were written in English.4 The few people whoreported occasionally reading the newspapers were all male.Mudege analysed the content of 110 newspaper articles on theenvironment! rom January 1999 to December 2000, from both government4. Hadebe (1998: 121-134) studied the use of language in the Zimbabwean ma** media.For Hadebe, the use of English obscures meaning. To facilitate communication bydeveloping infrastructure "in the form of more publishing houses, radio andtelevision stations is not the ultimate answer. While the multiplicity of these isnecessary, what is of essence is what these institutions produce."58 The Role of Communication in Social Forestryand independent papers, to assess whether the articles were congruentwith the needs of the rural people.5 Eighty-three articles were published in1999 and 27 in 2000. The results are presented in Table 1.Table 1: Content Analysis of Newspaper ArticlesTopicConferencesBillsNationalInternationalUrbanRuralSocial Forestry1999No.201039522176(N=83)%2412486272072000No.4i.122851(N=27)%15/37730194TotalNo.241251730227(N=110)%221146627206There were more environmental articles published in 1999 than in 2000because the Global Summit on the Environment held in 1999 triggeredmany conferences and workshops. These events were of little relevance tothe rural people because much of the discussion was on topics such asindustrial, ozone, water and air pollution, which were of no immediateenvironmental concern to the villagers and which they did not particularlycare about. The media were further stimulated in 1999 by the gazetting inZimbabwe of the Environmental Bill, which provoked much discussion onits potential effects and weaknesses.Moreover, of the 14 reports on the environment published in February1999 and the four articles in 2000, most were focusing on urban agricultureand the dangers of stream bank cultivation in urban areas. Very few articlesfocused on environmental problems in the rural areas and even fewerdiscussed the fate of trees. In addition, the media so politicised environmentalissues that it became harder to find objective reports in the media.Independent newspapers tended to blame environmental degradationcaused by the indiscriminate cutting down of trees by war veterans whohad occupied formerly white-owned farms as part of the ZimbabweGovernment's fast-track land resettlement programme that began in 2000.On the other hand, government-owned newspapers blamed environmentaldegradation on historic landholding inequities and argued that land reform5. We collected all articles on the environment in the months concerned from thefollowing newspapers: The Herald, The Sunday Mail, The Chronicle, Daihi News, TheStandard, The Independent, Tribune, Southern Star, together with Eland News Roomarticles.N. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 59was essential in arresting environmental degradation. The politicisation ofthe environment in the media meant that contradictory messages werebeing conveyed to the people. Most villagers in Gudo and Chomuuyurefused to comment on the environmental situation in the nearbyresettlement areas for fear of offending either the Government or the politicalopposition movement. Fear of falling afoul of the major political groupingsdiscouraged reporters from covering environmental issues and resulted ina noticeable drop in the number of articles dealing with the environmentfeatured in the media.Similarly, little was being done to promote environmental conservationas conservationists and officers of the Forestry Commission felt it wiser towait until the political tension in the country abated. Thus, in September2000, a Forestry extension officer in Mwenezi noted that, while it wasnecessary to assess the environmental situation on the invaded farms, littlecould be done since the situation was still politically tense.As shown above, a number of problems render newspapers a weaksource of information on environmental issues in the two villages understudy.Access to the Mass MediaTable 2: Major Sources of Social Forestry Related InformationVillage Radio TV Gvt. Depts NGO ColleaguesGudo(N=50) 10 7 50 45 50Chomuuyu (N=50) 21 5 50 38 50Although 90% of respondents said they owned radios, as Table 2 shows,only 31 of them said that the radio was one of their primary sources ofinformation on social forestry. Despite this, radios are still an importantsource of environmental communication, as radio messages are then spreadby word of mouth. This finding fits in with Wright's (1959:51 -52) hypothesisthat mass communication messages do not always reach all members oftheir targeted audience directly but may reach one layer of society who, inturn, either pass the message on by word of mouth to persons who consultthem or utilise the message in advice to others. In both Gudo and Chomuuyu,even those who did not have access to radios were well informed aboutenvironmental programmes that were broadcast on radio.In discussing the various sources of information on social forestry thatare available to the people of Gudo and Chomuuyu, it is important to pointout that gender sometimes influences who can access certain types ofsources. In the two villages under study, men tended to use governmentdepartments as sources of information more than women. This was because60The Role of Communication in Social Forestryof the distance between the villages and Neshuro Growth Point where theForestry Commission and Agritex were based. The distance betweenNeshuro and Chomuuyu and Gudo is 25 and 20 kilometres, respectively.Most women were unwilling or unable to walk the long distances to utilisethese departments because of the demands of domestic work.On the other hand, women used NGOs and their local networks more,partly because NGOs often went out of their way to involve women in theirprogrammes. For example, Care International had introduced a quota systemin which a certain number of positions had to be occupied by women if anyenvironmental project in the area was to be funded. Similarly, women alsoshared information on the environment in their social gatherings and day-to-day interactions with other women. Table 3 documents the major sourcesof information on the environment in Gudo and Chomuuyu and shows thatmeetings organised by the Forestry Commission were the major sources ofinformation on the environment in the two villages.Table 3: Sources of Environmental Information for VillagersRadioTelevisionNewspaperForestry Commission MeetingsAgritexOtherFirst heard ofForestrycommission34Š841Š17First heard ofimportanceof treesŠ204513Currentinformationsources651110757425A General Comment on the Mass MediaThe mass media does not have a powerful, direct, and automatic influenceon public opinion or behaviour as is usually assumed although it doesfacilitate inter-personal communication on environmental issues amongthe rural people. Furthermore, while the mass media plays a role in impartingvalues, people's behaviour and attitudes are mostly a result of livedexperiences. There is evident in the fact that, women in Gudo Village whowere interviewed for this study were knowledgeable about the danger ofcutting down trees, in general, and cutting down trees within 30 metres ofa river or stream, specifically. However, all the women admitted to cuttingdown trees and almost all of them had vegetable gardens within theprohibited thirty-metre range from the river. In year 2000, the NaturalResources Board arrested 18 out of the 20 women in the group for streambank cultivation and indiscriminate cutting down of trees. What this showsN. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 61is that the women of Gudo Village cut down trees, not because of lack ofinformation, but because of lack of viable alternatives. After all, the onlysource of water for watering vegetable gardens in Gudo Village was theriver. Thus rural people do not follow the advice they get from the massmedia blindly but act in ways that they believe will benefit them most.In any case, some of the advice given by the mass media has not alwaysbeen appropriate for the needs of the communities of Gudo and Chomuuyu.For instance, influenced by a radio programme entitled Muti Upem/u thatemphasised the planting of exotic fruit trees that mature quickly, such asMango, Pawpaw, and Orange trees, Esther Vanhaka, a 46-year-old traditionalhealer, established one of the largest fruit orchards in Chomuuyu and, in2000, was planning to convert part of one of her maize fields into anorchard. She also planned to start a gum plantation. She said her idea camefrom the radio programme. She had no interest in planting indigenous treesdespite the fact that she was facing increasing problems in accessing someof the medicines she required for her profession which were obtained fromindigenous tree barks, leaves and roots and had to walk long distances tofind such medicines.Indeed, when asked which type of trees they would choose to cut downif they were asked to choose between the Mango, and the two indigenousvarieties of the Mukamba and the Mukwakwa (wild fruit) trees, mostpeople indicated that they would cut the indigenous varieties because thefirst did not benefit them in any way, while the second was over-representedin the area. This suggests that, while the mass media has worked well toincrease the villagers' awareness of the importance of trees, the messagesthey received seem to suggest that exotic trees are more important thatindigenous ones and that conservation means, primarily, the protection ofexotic trees. Not surprisingly, forests of indigenous trees are disappearing,while villagers are busy planting exotics. Indeed, as an Agritex officiallamented, 'People have cleared indigenous forests and planted exotic trees,which they also fail to care for very well. The message has been to plantvery tall trees.' In Gudo, villagers cut down Mupane, Mupangara andMunanga indigenous trees in order to use the wood for fencing their new-plantation of exotic Gum trees. Clearly, such an approach threatens diversityof plant species in the area. Tables 4 and 5 document the types of trees thatvillagers in Gudo and Chomuuyu cut and grow, respectively.As Tables 4 and 5 show, villagers were destroying indigenous trees andreplacing them with exotics, but because they were planting a tree for everytree that they cut down, as they were urged to do by the mass media, theyfelt that they were practising good environmental conservation.62 The Role of Communication in Social ForestryTable 4: Variety of Trees CutTrees commonly cutMukambaMubherenga, MubhangareMupfuraMunangaMupane, MususuAll indigenous fruit treesMutondoMunyiiTableTrees commonly grownMangoPawpawGum treesReasons for cuttingWoodcarvings, making household furniture and cattleyokesFencingHousehold furniture, cooking sticks and platesBuilding; also the species is considered to be bad torcrops in the fields in which they standFor fencing and cattle kraalsFor negatively affecting crop growth or if notproducing edible fruitsMaking sleighsStools and hoe handles5: Varieties of Trees GrownReasonsFor fruits and cashFruits and cashBuilding poles and cashRural-based Communication SystemsRural-based communication systems also played a vital role in thedissemination of information. The villagers received environmentalinformation from various organisations based in their area as well as theseveral local groups that had been instituted to police resource use in thearea. In Chomuuyu village, there was a select group of people known asjengetaivhu (keepers of the soil). The villagers elected these people whowere essential for disseminating information and facilitating communicationwithin their villages. Their main role was to ensure that land was notdegraded any further and to encourage people to reclaim land wheredegradation has already taken place. They encouraged growing trees andenforced the restrictions on cutting down trees. They convened meetingsand acted as the eyes of the headmen and chiefs. They policed the area andreported any infringements of laws relating to tree use to the Chief.Jengetaivhus were, however, accused of favouratism and corruption bythe people of Chomuuyu. One villager maintained that, although trees inthe area were being cut indiscriminately, only a select few people wereprosecuted, as relatives of the jengetaivhus were allowed to go free. He alsocharged that the jengetivhus were also open to bribery. Several other villagersconfirmed these perceptions. Because villagers felt that they were beingN. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 63asked to make sacrifices that some sectors of the community were beingexempted from, they were discouraged from practising conservationwholeheartedly. Consequently, although information on the need to conserveresources was available, the lack of transparency in the manner in whichconservation laws were implemented undermined the villagers' confidencein the entire conservation project. Thus, social settings do influence theeffectiveness of any communicated information. Whether or not peoplechange their behaviour in accordance with the information they receivedepends on the socio-economic context within which they live and operate.In addition, the villagers' degree of motivation was crucial in determiningthe success or failure of agro-forestry projects. This was evident from thefact that, although Forestry Commission Field Officers had long beendisseminating information about the importance of trees in both Gudo andChomuuyu villages and made full use of the headmen to communicatewith the villagers, they seem to have had more success in Chomuuyu ratherthan Gudo. In Chomuuyu, the agro-forestry community project known asGutsaruzhinji and the gum-tree plantation started well. Villagers felt thatthe project was their own and ensured that grazing animals did not strayinto the woodlots and agro-forestry areas, even before they received a fencefrom the Forestry Commission. In contrast, Gudo villagers were notenthusiastic about their project and did not protect their woodlots fromstray animals until they received a fence from the Forestry Commission.The contrast in protection is the more remarkable in that the ChomuuyuGutsaruzhinji project is located at the boundaries of the village in the grazingareas, whereas the Gudo gum tree plantation is located at the headman'shomestead within the village.Part of the explanation for this difference would seem to be the fact thatthe people of Chomuuyu seem to have embraced the project and made ittheir own, while those of Gudo Village only reluctantly took part in theagro-forestry project. According to Chidawa, a 28-year old woman in Gudo,We joined the forestry gum tree project after the project was imposedupon us by forestry officers. We have been working for a year now andnothing has materialised out of the project. Initially we thought that wewere going to receive fruit trees or a vegetable garden and we discovereda little too late that this was not so.The apathy in Gudo may also have been the result of poor communicationbetween Forestry Commission Officers and the villagers, for, until the lastminute, Gudo villagers were not clear as to whether their project would bean orchard, a vegetable garden of a gum tree lot." Conservation projects could benefit from tapping in on the people'sbeliefs and traditional values and making use of the system of taboos andbye-laws that were used to protect the environment in the past and seem to64The Role of Communication in Social Forestrybe effective in some contexts even today. It is interesting/ for instance, thatMount Nyuni in Chomuuyu, believed to be the home of the ancestors, hasremained relatively unscathed, as people are not allowed to cut down treesfrom the mountain. These restrictions are reinforced by the general fear ofvengeance from the ancestors should rules be flouted.Sometimes, other considerations come into play. For example, trees werespared the axe in gold-panning sites along the Runde River in Chomuuyumainly because illegal panners needed cover for activities. This is not to
minimise the damage done to the environment through siltation and thedestruction of younger trees by the panners or to claim that villagers are notaware of the damage they cause. The point is that gold panning is a majoreconomic activity in Chomuuyu and provides the money for children'sschool fees and to meet other family expenses and, therefore, villagerscontinue to practise this economic activity even though they know that thisdamages the environment. This finding lends support to Robinson's (1998:11) assertion that forests are being destroyed not out of ignorance or stupiditybut out of poverty and greed.Also protected from deforestation were places popularly known asKumobase or Kumabuyer, where the gold panners and their illegal buyers
needed cover from prying police eyes. Villagers did not, of course, admit tothe linkage between their illicit trade and the conservation of forests and
these and other sites, but claimed that this was the result of the fact that
they were now working hard to protect their environment because theynow were aware that miti upenyu (trees are life). What this demonstrates isthat the preservation of trees in the villages depends more on the social andeconomic value attached to them rather than appreciation of the need for
conservation for its own sake.The emphasis on planting exotic trees, such as gum trees, as has beenhighlighted above, stems from the fact that, while villagers can exploit
these trees commercially, they cannot cut down some indigenous trees thatare protected by custom. For instance, traditionally, it is a taboo to cutdown any wild fruit. Anyone caught cutting down a Mukwakwa tree inGudo and Chomuuyu, without the headman's authorisation, is liable to a
fine of a goat or its monetary equivalent as determined by the village court.All the villagers police each other to guard against unwanted behaviourand are quick to report any infringement to the headman.In addition, the success or failure of conservation projects can depend onthe reputation of the agencies that are promoting the projects. In other
words, collective memory of past experiences can influence howenthusiastically the villagers receive new conservation ideas and proposals.
Failure to deliver on promises in the past by an organisation would mean
that it would not be taken seriously in future. According to Mukamba, anofficial of South Eastern Dry Areas Project (SEDAP) in Zimbabwe, anN N Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 65organisation which co-ordinates environmental projects of differentorganisations, his organisation's past failure to fulfil its promise to top upGudo villagers' financial contributions to enable them to procure cattlemeant that when he returned to the village later with another project, hefound that no-one was interested because, the villagers said, Vnnhu veSEDAPvanonyeba (the SEDAP people are liars).In rural based communication, social dynamics can determine who hasaccess to information and who has not. According to Makamba, if NGOsand governmental organisations inform the villagers of meetings, the poormay not attend, not because they feel they will gain nothing by attending,but because their immediate needs often conflict with the long-term goalsof environmental conservation. Moreover, the poor are sometimes notinvited, apart from the fact that they often do not contribute to thediscussions. In any case, when they do, their views are not taken seriously.Villagers also have their own traditional ways of protesting and makingthemselves heard by the various external agencies. In one of the villages,for example, when some women were faced with imminent arrest from theNatural Resources Board for cutting trees, they stripped off their clothes inprotest. The women were not arrested and the Natural Resources Boardlater moderated its approach to allow people to cut a few branches onlyfrom the trees.Gender IssuesWith regard to the role of gender in social forestry, it would seem thatconservation projects have had varied impacts on women and men. Inorchard projects, men comprised the majority of members, althoughcollecting fruit was traditionally an activity of women. All benefited fromimproved nutrition in the households, but there was a price for women topay. Women often found themselves burdened with extra labour dutieswithout participating in the decision-making and unsure of who wouldreap the benefits. This made them resentful. The few women who weremembers of the projects in their own right claimed that they operated on anequal footing with their male counterparts and gained significantly in self-confidence, to the extent that women began to initiate their own projects.Nevertheless, men still overwhelmingly dominated the social forestryprojects. For example, in all the social forestry projects in Gudo, only onewoman had a position in a committee, as vice secretary, while in Chomuuyu,there were only three female committee members, occupying the positionsof vice secretary, treasurer and committee member. Because the substantiveoffice holders were rarely away from the villages, the deputies never hadany opportunity to exercise any authority. The consolation posts awardedto women in the committees only served to maintain the illusion that menand women were operating on an equal footing.66 The Role of Communication in Social ForestryHowever/by 2000, women had begun.to assert themselves moreforcefully, refusing to provide labour for their husbands in the communityprojects and setting up instead their own orchards at their homesteads.Meanwhile, the ability to communicate with Agritex and Forestry Officers,as well as growing access to the radio and growing use of women's networkshad enabled them to strengthen their knowledge about tree growing, treemaintenance, and possible markets. On their part, men had also benefitedfrom the information they receive on gum tree plantation and had started
to grow gum trees around their fields to ensure a future supply of building
material. There was also a growing realisation that a good supply of gumtrees might be essential, in the long term, to save indigenous trees. \What is evident from the above, therefore, is that, contrary to theassumption in the mass media and by environmental agencies that everyone,regardless of age, status and gender, will benefit equally from NaturalResource Management Projects, the reality is that some projects will benefitcertain groups more than others. Therefore, it is important that those taskedwith disseminating information should be sensitive to this fact and makeevery effort to factor in gender in the development and marketing of theirprogrammes.AttitudesBy the year 2000, technical advice on forestry issues was changing. In thepast, Agritex used to urge people to cut down trees in their fields because ofthe belief that trees interfered with crop growth. Rural people followed thisadvice for years and only ignored the advice where wild fruit trees likeMukwakwa that benefited them directly were concerned. Now, the ForestryCommission promoted the idea of an agro-forestry garden in which trees
and vegetables grow side by side. Villagers were, however, sceptical of this
new wisdom.There has also been a change in the villagers' attitudes to the role playedby trees in their lives. In the past, people in both villages regarded trees asa source of fuel, building material and fruit. Any tree that failed to meetthese requirements could be cut down without any remorse. At the end of
the research, however, people were aware of other uses of trees such asusing ingredients from trees in soap and jam making. This has increased
the value of trees in people's minds but it was not clear whether this wouldresult in positive behavioural changes.With regard to the planting of indigenous trees, little had changed. Mostpeople still believed that indigenous trees are zvisikwa zvaMwari (God's
creation) and so should be left to self propagate. In both Gudo andChomuuyu villages, the most frequently requested tree species for plantingwere Gum and Mango trees. Very few villagers have requested seedlings ofindigenous tree species from the Forestry Commission. The ForestryN. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 67Commission delivered less than 20 Mutohwe and 20 Mutondo trees to bothGudo and Chomuuyu combined. In Chomuuyu, however, the MukambaNursery Project (still in its formative stages at the time of the research andcomposed of only five members), focused on growing indigenous trees likethe Mukamba. People's attitudes also varied depending on where they arelocated on the social structure. This is exemplified by the differentperceptions on how the controversial Cliiwi area should be utilised. Theheadman started to settle people in this area, which was once reserved forgrazing. A section of the Chomuuyu residents was opposed to settlingpeople in the area because it was becoming deforested. The acting Councillorvisited the District Administrator's office in an effort to convince him toorder the headman to stop settling people in this area and to evict thosewho were already living there. These people cited the fact that the clearingof trees for settlement would lead to deforestation and to the siltation ofRunde and Pambe. This group, however, was composed mainly of largecattle owners who were concerned about the shrinking size of grazing land.Those without cattle were not concerned with the settlement of people inthe Cliizm area and sometimes even supported it, although they complainedthat the process was not sufficiently transparent. Although environmentalinformation was being disseminated, people's behaviour is often determinedby personal interests.DiscussionThis study has examined the role of communication in facilitating the use oftree resources and how the various communication systems and networksare used in order to influence the behaviour of various target groups. It hascommented on the effectiveness of these tactics and also analysed theperceptions of differently placed individuals and groups of issues relatedto the use of trees and tree based resources, paying attention to economicand political factors that affect their decisions.The study has argued that villagers strategised in their dealings withoutsiders to influence decisions on tree utilisation and that peasants normallyorganised opposition or resisted individually if the outcomes of decisionsdid not favour them. Villagers continued to pan for gold, for instance,although this was against government policy and they knew that panningfor gold was detrimental to plant life along the river.Local social relations and economics of resource use determined howvillagers received environmental messages. Previous association betweenthe village and external environmental organisations can affect the credibilityof the organisations, as shown by the reluctance of the people of GudoVillage to trust any SEDAP official.Villagers accepted environmental messages when they could derive directeconomic benefits from changing their forestry related behaviour, but if no68 The Role of Communication in Social Forestrybenefit was imminent, and worse still, if access to forest products wascurtailed, villagers either simply ignored the message or resisted. In orderto facilitate gold panning activities, they did not cut down trees alongrivers, yet they cut down trees in areas such as Chhoi to facilitate settlement,or to expand their fields.Although communication does not have an automatic and direct influenceon people's behaviour, it still plays a pivotal role in facilitating the use oftrees. People and groups do not necessarily adopt any information theyreceive from outside, but they retrieve information and act on it accordingto their perceptions on what is beneficial. Local relations are linked towider geographical and social settings. However, these linkages are notsimply relations of power in which certain people are able to dictate theactions of others. Behaviour is not determined by structures but by theperceptions of the concerned individuals. Peasants offer resistance againstunpopular policy interventions and, in some cases, can even modify thepolicies during implementation to suit their own ends. Thus, information'.hit comes from outside cannot be regarded as superior to any locallygenerated environmental information.Community based social relations, like those based on gender, can havean impact on both mass communication and rural-based communicationsystems. In situations where women are marginalised from environmentaldiscourse and only take part as labourers in resultant programmes, theprogrammes are likely to fail. If women do not perceive any benefits, theymight withdraw their labour. Consequently, all environmental messagesshould show gender sensitivity or at least recognise the differentiatingeffects of development programmes.In the study area, some groups of people were marginalised from bothmass communication and rural-based communication systems and networks,limiting the ability of these to influence behaviour. Those with access toradios usually do not listen to environmental programmes. Sometimes, thepoorest in the communities are not invited to meetings, although they arethe ones who usually have to eke a living out of the environment.Political issues have a pervasive impact on communication, especiallyrelating to environmental ideologies and propaganda. Politicalconsiderations affect how disseminated information is received at thegrassroots as well as how it is acted upon. If people at the grassroots do notappreciate the environmental messages they receive, they might claim thatthe information is biased or that it is representing the interests of foreigners.Therefore communicating information about the environment is not onlyabout disseminating facts, but also about insuring that information appearsas legitimate.Local-level politics should also be taken into consideration whendesigning communication strategies. If people do not trust the bearer of theN. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon 69message (for instance, where Jengetaivhus are regarded as corrupt), then themessage is likely to be ignored by people. Local-level politics can lead to thedistortion of messages because, at the local level, people do not consideronly the communicated information but also who is communicating it. Foreffective communication, therefore, external organisations have to identifyopinion leaders who garner the support of the majority in every village andutilise them in disseminating information. Because villagers also look intothe history of the message bearer, environmental organisations shouldavoid forging alliances with people who have in the past failed to meettheir obligations.People in the two villages are differentially placed in terms of socialstatus and gender, and consequently have different perceptions on the useof trees. The perceptions of villagers sometimes run parallel, sometimescontradict and are sometimes not related to the official messages on theenvironment. This means that before any messages are communicated therehas to be extensive consultation with the target groups so that programmesand projects are designed to address the needs of a variety of people.Differential placement in the social and economic sphere may mean thatpeople retrieve information to support whatever stance they are taking atany particular time. People are not only acted upon but also act upon theinformation they receive and sometimes modify it to suit their ends. Thosewho did not support environmental efforts in one area might supportconservation efforts in areas that were of social and economic significanceto them. Environmentalists must realise that the same programme cannotbe used successfully in all rural areas regardless of context. They shouldeffectively open lines of communication within the rural areas to facilitateconsultation before a project is implemented. The same project might havedifferential implications for different villages or different people within thesame village. Therefore, communities need to be involved in the collectionand analysis of data. The provision of external environmental informationand advice should be based on dialogue with the community.BibliographyAMANOR K. S. 1994 The Nezv Frontier. Farmers' Response to Land Degradation: AWest African Study, London: Zed Books.BANUKI T. AND MARGLIN F. A. 1993 Who Will Save the Forests? Knowledge, Powerand Environmental Destruction, London: Zed Books.BERRY L. 1988 'Concentration without privatisation? Some consequences forchanging patterns of rural land control in Africa', in Reyna S. and DownsR. eds Lnnd and Society in Contemporary Africa, Hanover: University Press ofNew England.BOYP-BARRI T J .0.1992 'Cultural dependency and the mass media', in CurevitchM et al. eds Culture, Society and the Media, London: Routledge.70 The Role of Communication in Social ForestryHADEBE S. 1998 'Sociolinguistic issues and Human Factor Development inAfrica', in Chivaura V. G. and Mararike C. G. eds The Human Factor Approachto Development in Africa, Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications.HALL S. et al. 1978 Policing the Crisis: Mugging the State and Law and Order,London: MacMillan.HALL S. 1992 'Rediscovery of "ideology" return of the repressed in the mediastudies', in Gurevitch M. et al eds Culture, Society and the Media, London:Routledge.LONG N. 1989 Encounters at the Interface. A Perspective on Social Discontinuities inRural Development, The Netherlands: Wageningen University.Š 1995 Battlefields of Knowledge, London: Tavistock.MARARIKE C. G. 1998 'The Human factor, media and politics in SouthernRhodesia (Zimbabwe)', in Chivaura V. G. and Mararike C. G. eds TheHuman Factor Approach to Development in Africa, Harare: University of
Zimbabwe Publications. ' ' Ł .MOORE D. 1993 'Contesting terrain in Zimbabwe: Political ecology, ethnographyand peasant resources struggles', in Economic Geography, 69 (iv): 380-401.NADKARNI M. V. et al 1989 The Political Economy of Forest Use and Management,New Delhi: Sage Publications.NHIRA C. et al 1998 Contesting Inequality in Access to Forests, UK: InternationalInstitute for Environment and Development.OWINO 1993 'Research guidelines for social forestry research in Africa', inAdamowicz W. L. et al eds Forestry and Environment: Economic Perspectives,
UK: CAR International. ;PELUSO R. 1980 Rich Forests, Poor People. Resource Control in Java, Berkeley:University of California Press. 'ROBINSON M. H. 1988 'Beyond destruction, success', in Gradwolh J. andGreenberg R. Saving the Tropical Forests, London: Earthscan.Uche L. 1985 'Diffusion of major crisis infprmation among urban and ruralopinion leaders in Nigeria', in Ugboajah F. O. ed Mass CommunicationCulture and Society in West Africa, London: Hans Zell Publishers.Ugboajah F. O. 1985 'Oramedia in Africa', in Ugboajah F. O. ed MassŁ Communication Culture and Society in West Africa, London: Hans ZellPublishers.Vivian 1994 'NGOs and sustainable development in Zimbabwe. No magicbullets', Development and Change, 21 (i): 167-194.Wright R. C. 1959 Mass Communication. A Sociological Perspective, New York:Random House.N. N. Mudege and M. F. C. Bourdillon71ShonaAppendix: Shona and Scientific Names of Trees MentionedScientificIndigenous TreesMukambaMukwakwaMupfuraMunangaMunyiiMutondoMupaneMususuMubhangareMubherengaExotic TreesMumangoMupawpawMupurangaAfzelia quanzansisStn/dinos umdagascariensisSclewcaroa berriaBercliemia discolorCordi/k africanaColophospcnnumTeiviinalia scriceaMangifera indicnCarica pnpai/nEucalyptus camaldiilensis