Tourism revenue-sharing around national parks in Western Uganda: early efforts to identify and reward local communities

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Archabald ◽  
Lisa Naughton-Treves

Throughout much of the tropics, human-wildlife conflict impedes local support for national parks. By channelling tourism revenue to local residents, conservationists hope to offset wildlife costs and improve local attitudes toward conservation. To date tourism revenue-sharing (TRS) programmes have met mixed success. Local conditions and national policies that shape the success of TRS programmes were identified by comparing the experiences of both implementers and beneficiaries of pilot TRS programmes at three parks in western Uganda. Between 1995 and 1998, communities around these parks used a total of US $83 000 of tourism revenue to build 21 schools, four clinics, one bridge, and one road. In 1996, the Ugandan parliament passed legislation that changed both the amount of money available for TRS and the institutions responsible for sharing the money. The programme was suspended at all three parks while the implementing agency (Uganda Wildlife Authority) struggled to design a programme that complied with the new legislation. TRS funds collected before 1996 were shared through 1998, but since then no revenue has been shared. However, a revised TRS programme is expected to resume in 2001. In semi-structured interviews, both implementers and beneficiaries evaluated local TRS programmes and compared them to other benefit-sharing projects, particularly those promoting sustainable use of non-timber products within park boundaries (n = 44). Both groups of respondents listed revenue-sharing as the most important advantage of living next to a national park. Seventy-two per cent of respondents indicated that they thought TRS had improved attitudes towards the protected areas, and 53% thought TRS was more important then sustainable use of non-timber forest products. Although respondents were generally positive about TRS, in informal discussions respondents repeatedly mentioned four potential obstacles to TRS success, namely poorly defined TRS policies and unsteady implementing institutions, corruption, inadequate funds, and numerous stakeholders with differing priorities. From this survey and literature from experiences in other African countries, there are four key components of successful revenue-sharing programmes: long-term institutional support, appropriate identification of the target community and project type, transparency and accountability, and adequate funding. With firm institutional support and realistic expectations, TRS can play an important role in improving local attitudes towards conservation.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Clare Morrison ◽  
Fran Humphries ◽  
Charles Lawson

Countries are increasingly using access and benefit sharing (ABS) as a legal mechanism to support the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s biological diversity. ABS regulates collection and/or use of genetic resources/traditional knowledge and sharing benefits from their use with the provider. The purpose of this review is to assess the trends, biases and gaps of ABS literature using a regional comparative approach about the key topics of concern between each region. It analyses four key topic groupings: (1) implementation of international, regional and national ABS policy and law; (2) intellectual property and ABS; (3) traditional knowledge; and (4) research, development and commercialisation. Findings included gaps in: (1) analysing effectiveness of national level implementation; (2) addressing apparent conflicts between support for intellectual property promoting exclusivity for traditional knowledge and challenges to intellectual property exclusivity for patents; (3) examining traditional knowledge of local communities (in contrast to Indigenous Peoples); and (4) lack of practical examples that quantify benefit sharing from research and commercialisation outcomes. We conclude that future research addressing the identified gaps and biases can promote more informed understanding among stakeholders about the ABS concept and whether it is capable of delivering concrete biological conservation, sustainable use and equity outcomes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Claudio Di Stasi

An integrated and interdisciplinary research programme with native medicinal plants from tropical forests has been performed in order to obtain new forest products for sustainable use in regional markets vis-à-vis ecosystem conservation. For the success of this programme ethnopharmacological studies are very important with respect to (i) identification of useful plants including medicinal and aromatic species; (ii) recuperation and preservation of traditional knowledge about native plants; and (iii) identification of potential plants with economic value. The plants are selected with a view to evaluate efficacy and safety (pharmacological and toxicological studies), and phytochemical profile and quality control (phytochemical and chromatographic characterization). These studies are very important to add value to plant products and also to mitigate unscrupulous exploitation of medicinal plants by local communities, since multiple use of plants represents an excellent strategy for sustaining the tropical ecosystem through ex situ and in situ conservation. Thus, conservation of tropical resources is possible in conjunction with improvements in the quality of life of the traditional communities and production of new products with therapeutic, cosmetic and ‘cosmeceutic’ value.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-283
Author(s):  
S. Kekeunou ◽  
P.S. Laïda ◽  
M.B. Achu-Loh ◽  
C.L. Djuideu Tchouamou ◽  
L. Simo-Guiadem ◽  
...  

With the growth of the human population, non-timber forest products of animal origin, such as grasshoppers, could be an approach to the solution of food shortage. The variegated grasshopper is an edible insect and an agricultural pest in several African countries. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, the level and reasons of consumption and non-consumption of this grasshopper in different ethnic groups in the south part of Cameroon. An individual structured survey, conducted from January to February 2018, among ten ethnic groups revealed that 99% of the participants know the variegated grasshopper. It has 22 local names, with mba’assana as the most common name. This grasshopper is mainly used for consumption (93.7%) and the level of consumption is higher among the Mbamois, Bulu, Ntumu, Pygmies and Maka people. It is used as medicine (3.9%), to treat splenomegaly, umbilical hernia, and to prevent rheumatism and benign prostatic hypertrophy. It is also used in traditional rites (0.6%) (Eton) and as a source of income (0.6%) (Ewondo). People consume the variegated grasshopper mainly because of its good taste and high nutritional value (73.24%). The adult is the stage mostly consumed when fried. The Bassa also consume the larvae (6%). Those who refuse the insect mostly talk of its bad odour and that its consumption can lead to the appearance of various pathologies (3.6%) such as cramps, stomach pain, paralysis, allergy, diarrhoea, nerve pain, abdominal pain, poisoning, vomiting and death. The repellent gland could be involved in the toxicity related to the consumption of this grasshopper. For the Bulu people, poor cooking is a risk factor. Further studies are needed on the potential risks of the variegated grasshopper before it could be recommended for general human consumption.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 128-137
Author(s):  
Bharat Gotame

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in mountains are one of the enormously valued ecosystem services due to their contribution to the livelihood of people. Pine resin is one of the viable NTFP in middle mountain of Nepal which is tapped from Pinus roxbhurghii tree and can be used in paints, varnishes, stimulant, anti-spasmodic, astringent, diuretic and anti-pathogenic and so on. This piece of work is an attempt to review the current status of pine resin collection enterprise in Nepalese Community Forests and its contribution to the livelihood of Community forest users in mid-hill region. Typically, existing legislations and guidelines have high potential to endure the sustainable livelihood promotion by resin tapping enterprise but the endeavors of revitalizing the financial benefit sharing and governance system is still far. The valued contribution of resin enterprise to sustainable livelihood of users is not impossible but it needs greater effort of all stakeholders. For example, partial intervention to market, involvement of poorer households, improve the local and regional governance and so on. Participatory monitoring of collection work and proper enforcement of sustainable harvesting procedure both have to be improved in state of arts that could finally recognize the rational benefit sharing mechanism among various value chain actors from collector to international traders which is indispensable. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/init.v5i0.10262 The Initiation 2013 Vol.5; 128-137


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Schroeder ◽  
Thomas Pogge

Justice and the Convention on Biological DiversityDoris Schroeder and Thomas PoggeBenefit sharing as envisaged by the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a relatively new idea in international law. Within the context of non-human biological resources, it aims to guarantee the conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable use by ensuring that its custodians are adequately rewarded for its preservation.Prior to the adoption of the CBD, access to biological resources was frequently regarded as a free-for-all. Bioprospectors were able to take resources out of their natural habitat and develop commercial products without sharing benefits with states or local communities. This paper asks how CBD-style benefit-sharing fits into debates of justice. It is argued that the CBD is an example of a set of social rules designed to increase social utility. It is also argued that a common heritage of humankind principle with inbuilt benefit-sharing mechanisms would be preferable to assigning bureaucratic property rights to non-human biological resources. However, as long as the international economic order is characterized by serious distributive injustices, as reflected in the enormous poverty-related death toll in developing countries, any morally acceptable means toward redressing the balance in favor of the disadvantaged has to be welcomed. By legislating for a system of justice-in-exchange covering nonhuman biological resources in preference to a free-for-all situation, the CBD provides a small step forward in redressing the distributive justice balance. It therefore presents just legislation sensitive to the international relations context in the 21st century.


Social Change ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 173-191

In an era of a rapidly shrinking biological resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a historic landmark, being the first global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The CBD is one of the few international agreements in the area of natural resource conservation in which sustainability and equitable benefit-sharing are central concerns. The CBD links traditional conservation efforts to the economic goal of using biological resources sustainably and sets forth principles for the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, notably those destined for commercial use. Importantly, the CBD also gives traditional knowledge its due place in the sustainable use of genetic resources. The CBD also covers the rapidly expanding field of biotechnology, addressing technology development and transfer, benefit-sharing and biosafety, in an equitable framework. In the coming years, the CBD is likely to have major repercussions on the way biodiversity is conserved and benefits thereof, shared between the developing and developed worlds. The following commentary on the CBD has drawn heavily from a document produced by Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the United Nations Environment Programme. Articles 1 to 21 of the CBD have also been reproduced here in order to disseminate knowledge regarding the principles of the CBD-Editor.


Koedoe ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Snyman

In southern Africa, many early conservation efforts from the late 1800s and early 1900s either displaced local communities or restricted their access to natural resources. This naturally affected community attitudes towards protected areas and efforts were later made to rectify growing tensions. In the last few decades of the 20th century, these efforts led to conservation and ecotourism models that increasingly included communities in the decision-making and benefit-sharing process in order to garner their support. Although the results of these policies were mixed, it is clear that the future success of conservation and, consequently, ecotourism in many areas will depend on the attitudes and behaviour of communities living in or adjacent to protected areas. Managing and understanding community expectations and attitudes under varying socio-economic circumstances will lead to more efficient, equitable and sustainable community-based conservation and ecotourism models. This study was based on 1400 community interview schedules conducted in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, allowing for an accurate comparison of attitudes across countries, protected areas and communities. The results highlighted important demographic and socio-economic factors to consider in terms of understanding the attitudes of those living in and around protected areas. Suggestions were put forward for managing community relationships and garnering long-term support for protected areas and ecotourism. Conservation implications: It was observed that, in general, community members living in or adjacent to conservation areas in southern Africa have an understanding and appreciation of the importance of conservation. Formal education was found to positively impact attitudes and human–wildlife conflict negatively impacted attitudes, highlighting important policy focus areas.


2014 ◽  
pp. 25-49
Author(s):  
Milorad Danilovic ◽  
Dragan Gacic

This paper presents the issue of the use of forest and hunting resources in Serbia, with special emphasis on their sustainability. The use of modern technological solutions in terms of sustainable use of forest and hunting resources should be seen through an analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts. The existing machinery used in Serbian forestry cannot respond to the current demands of forestry production. However, the current unfavourable conditions can be significantly improved with appropriate measures. The planning of a network of roads including a number of factors that directly and indirectly affect sustainable use is of great importance for the development of forestry and hunting. Wood biomass in Serbian forests should be used in the manner and to the extent that ensures the sustainability of ecosystems and the production of large quantities of energy. In recent years, non-timber forest products have gained importance, so that the income generated from their use is growing. The impact of newly adopted laws and bylaws in the field of forestry, hunting and the protection of nature and environment will depend primarily on their application, control, execution and possible amendments and adjustments.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Augusto Leitão Drummond ◽  
José Luiz De Andrade Franco ◽  
Daniela De Oliveira

This is a second overview of the Brazilian conservation unit system for mid-2010. It updates author et al, 2009. It examines six dimensions of federal and state protected areas – age, numbers, types of units, absolute and average sizes, distribution by states and biomes, and degree of compliance with CBD-inspired goals. Major findings: (i) the system maintained a rapid growth rate; (ii) national parks and national forests are the most prominent units; (iii) distribution of units by region and biome remains unbalanced; (iv) state units grew remarkably over the last five years; (v) state units are biased towards sustainable use; (vi) sustainable use units grew more than fully protected units; (vii) Amazonia remains the most extensively protected biome; and (viii) quantitative goals of biome protection are closer to being reached. In 2010 Brazil held the fourth position globally in protected areas; it created the largest number of units between 2000 and 2010; it has the largest combined area of protected tropical formations. However, several regions and biomes remain under protected. 


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