Deviant Development? Lessons from the Rhino Poaching and Charcoal Trades in Mozambique

On 19th October 2016, the DSP unit organized a Development Policy Seminar on “Deviant Development? Lessons from the Rhino Poaching and Charcoal Trades in Mozambique”, presented by Dr. Julie Silva, Associate Professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences in the University of Maryland. The presentation delved on what has been defined as deviant development or the improvement of income and living standards from illegal activities. This research project illustrates the use of a very innovative methodology that investigates the linkages between perceptions of risk, changes in socio-economic wellbeing, land cover and land use change, including deforestation in the case of charcoal production, and shifting livelihood activities of the rural poor. Overall, the research advances approaches combining socio-economic and remote sensing techniques that can be applied to assess human wellbeing over time, improve understandings of factors driving participation in illegal activities, and enhance predictions of the growth in illegal sectors across Africa and potentially around the world. A lively discussion followed with the audience, mostly comprised by colleagues from UN/DESA.