Community-based conservation as a potential source of conflict around a protected area in Sierra Leone

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
LINCOLN R. LARSON ◽  
APRIL L. CONWAY ◽  
KATHLEEN E. KRAFTE ◽  
SONIA M. HERNANDEZ ◽  
JOHN P. CARROLL
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Ecological Resources ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Residents Attitudes

SUMMARYCommunity-based conservation efforts are designed to foster local stewardship of important ecological resources. However, inequitable distribution of costs and benefits in communities surrounding protected areas can negatively impact livelihoods, increase wealth disparities and create conflict. To examine the potential for conflict between host communities involved in a community-based conservation program and neighbouring (non-host) communities, we explored local residents’ attitudes towards conservation at Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary (TIWS) in Sierra Leone. Intercept surveys (n = 368) were conducted in 18 villages (eight host, ten non-host) within 8 km of TIWS during 2010. Results revealed significant differences between residents of the host and non-host villages with respect to attitudes towards resource use and overall support for site protection. The most substantial discrepancies centred on perceived benefits associated with TIWS, and these drastically different perspectives generated a high potential for conflict. To minimize conflict and foster broader community support for conservation, managers must carefully consider how benefits associated with protected areas are communicated and distributed across protected area-proximate landscapes.

scholarly journals A mix of community-based conservation and protected forests is needed for the survival of the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-239
Author(s):  
Annika Hillers ◽  
Graeme M. Buchanan ◽  
Jerry C. Garteh ◽  
Solomon M. Tommy ◽  
Mohamed L. Fofana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Protected Forests

AbstractThe contribution of protected areas to biodiversity conservation is well attested but many taxa in many regions remain dependent on the unprotected wider landscape. To develop conservation plans for large mammals such as the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis of West Africa's Upper Guinea Forests it is critical to understand the importance of unprotected land. Despite being a conservation priority, little is known about the habitat associations of this species, or its distribution across its range. Through a combination of field surveys, species distribution models and community questionnaires we investigated the use of unprotected areas by the pygmy hippopotamus in the Sierra Leone–Liberia border region. We found signs of the species in 128 of 525 1-km2 cells surveyed. Our analysis suggested that the species is reasonably widespread in this region and is associated with major rivers. It occurred close to, but rarely within, large areas of intact forest, and 80.4% of pygmy hippopotamus signs were recorded outside protected areas. The expansion of the protected area network in this area is unrealistic in Sierra Leone and to some extent in Liberia, mainly because of anthropogenic pressure and the overlap of proposed protected areas with mining and logging concessions. Thus pygmy hippopotamus conservation activities in the region need to include programmes on community lands while maintaining a robust network of protected forests. Community-based conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus may prove valuable for other threatened and endemic species that are not confined to protected areas in this region.

scholarly journals Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9420
Author(s):  
Nabin Baral ◽  
Joel T. Heinen
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Annapurna Conservation Area ◽  
Conservation Organizations ◽  
Legally Binding Regulations

Community-based conservation in the developing world generally puts more emphasis on voluntary commitments and compliance rather than enforcement of formal laws and regulations for the governance of protected areas. However, as with other forms of organizational management, once institutions are established, they are required to comply with all relevant, legally binding regulations. Furthermore, it is broadly assumed that compliance with established regulations is critical for good governance. In this paper, we review these matters through an empirical study of Conservation Area Management Committees’ degree of compliance with regulations under Nepalese law, within the Annapurna Conservation Area—one of the best-known community-based protected areas worldwide—based on quantitative content analysis of the committees’ meeting minutes from 2008 to 2012. According to the established rules, two to four women and one to five minorities serve as committee members in each instance. On average, fewer members than expected attended meetings, and the number of decisions made per meeting showed a curvilinear relationship with the number of members present as well as their demographic diversity. Of the 13 committees selected for study, only two met the legal mandate of holding six regular meetings annually within two-month intervals. In all the other cases, non-compliance was noted for one to all five years of the committees’ terms. In general, compliance declined over the five-year terms, and some committees were significantly less-compliant than others. Although enforceable decisions were made within both compliant and non-compliant committees, several problems of non-compliance were identified that may affect conservation outcomes. We suggest several possible reasons for non-compliance and argue that these may be symptoms of institutional weaknesses. Organizations that fail to meet their commitments risk liability and may also lose the formal legal authority to govern. Regular monitoring is recommended to address compliance issues.

Use them or lose them? Conservation and the consumptive use of marine turtle eggs at Ostional, Costa Rica

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA M. CAMPBELL
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
And Control

'Sustainable use' of wildlife resources and 'community based conservation' are two themes recurrent in contemporary statements of wildlife conservation policy, and their use is in response to a perceived 'deep conservation crisis' which has in part arisen from exclusionary and restrictive conservation practices. The extent to which the legal harvest of marine turtle eggs in Ostional, Costa Rica, is an example of sustainable use and community based conservation is evaluated in this paper. Field research using in-depth interviewing and a household questionnaire was undertaken in Ostional during 1994 and 1995, to investigate local perceptions of the egg harvesting project, both positive and negative. Socio-economic benefits from, and legal and administrative structures supporting, the project were found to be fundamental to community support for a limited egg harvest and allowed for community participation in, and control of, resource use. Participation and control were key to local support for conservation of nesting marine turtles and their eggs. Attempts to use wildlife sustainably must be considered on a case by case basis, to account for the biological nature of the wildlife resource and environment in question and for local socio-economic, political and historical conditions. Nevertheless, some of the lessons learned from the attempt to implement sustainable use and community based conservation in Ostional may be more widely generalized, and may help inform other efforts to reconcile wildlife conservation objectives with local development needs.

Threat reduction assessment of conventional and community-based conservation approaches to managing protected areas in Uganda

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTHUR R. MUGISHA ◽  
SUSAN K. JACOBSON
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Management Approaches

Loss of wildlife, encroachment on wild lands and conflicts between protected areas and neighbouring communities continue to threaten the integrity of protected areas (PAs) in Uganda. To increase support from local communities and ensure long-term sustainability for Uganda's PAs, a policy of community-based conservation was introduced in 1988 as a management approach in seven PAs. The effectiveness of the community-based approach for reducing threats was compared to conventional PA management by conducting a threat reduction assessment at 16 PAs, seven with community-based approaches and nine without. Additional data collected using document reviews, interviews with government officials, and surveys of PA wardens were compared with the threat reduction assessments. Twenty-three primary threats were identified at PAs. Local game poaching was the most common threat. The threat reduction assessment indices of community-based PAs (mean=49.0±12) were not significantly different from those of conventional PAs (mean=37.96±21.6). Some specific threats, such as bush burning, logging, encroachment and unclear boundaries, seemed to be better mitigated at community-based PAs. Management approaches at all PAs mitigated fewer than half of the identified threats. Management approaches are needed that directly target PA threats, go beyond PA boundaries by involving additional government departments, link people's livelihoods to conservation efforts and strengthen PA institutions.

scholarly journals STRATEGI PENGELOLAAN KAWASAN LINDUNG MANUCOCO BERBASIS MASYARAKAT DI KOTA ADMINISTRATIF ATAURO, DILI TIMOR-LESTE

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ernesto Matos Soares ◽  
I Made Antara ◽  
I Made Adhika
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
The Public ◽  
Catchment Areas

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OF MANUCOCO PROTECTED AREA COMMUNITY BASED IN ADMINISTRATIVE CITY OF ATAURO, DILI TIMOR-LESTEManucoco Protected Area is a mountainous conservation area which is very important for Atauro community because it functions as water catchment areas, especially water sources, important habitat for birds and other biodiversity, but there are still problems that occur such as deforestation, shifting cultivation, system of slash-and-burn cultivation, area zoning is not clear, the expansion of settlements and forest fires, all of these problems can give a less impact on ecological functions of the forest. The aims of this study are 1) to describe the perception of the public about the conservation of natural resources Manucoco Protected Area as a conservation area 2) to formulate management strategies for community-based Manucoco Protected Area. The data collection techniques used questionnaires, interviews, documentation, and focus group discussions, whereas the determination of the respondents used a purposive sampling method. To formulate a management strategy, internal and external factors were identified by using SWOT analysis. The results showed that the public perception of the function of the forest was that the forests had multiple functions, the public perception related to management policies showed that people did not know the forestry legislations. Public perception regarding the rights and obligations in the management strategy namely the public has the perception that forests are common property. Based on the SWOT analysis produced several community-based management strategies that can be used in the management of Manucoco protected areas as follow 1) Maximizing the primary function of forests, (2) Increasing public knowledge through an intensive socialization (3) Increasing the involvement or participation of the community 4) Encouraging the community-based forests protection through HKM 5) Acceleration of area zoning 6) Increasing related department supervision 7) Performing the empowerment of communities around the protected areas 8) Preparing management plans which needs to involve all stakeholders 9) Establishing the management unit in the village/sub-district levels.

scholarly journals Species Diversity, Growth, Status, and Biovolume of Taia River Riparian Forest in Southern Sierra Leone: Implications for Community-Based Conservation

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Moses Fayiah ◽  
Baimba F. Kallon ◽  
Shikui Dong ◽  
Mathew S. James ◽  
Sanjay Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Charcoal Production ◽  
Growth Trend ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Growth Status ◽  
Community Based Conservation

Riparian forest inventory is essential in understanding the floristic biodiversity and provides necessary information on the growth trend and status of plant diversity along forest ecosystem, especially the riparian forests. This study was undertaken to assess the species diversity, growth status, and bio-volume of Taia riparian forest for community-based conservation intervention. In this study, we enumerated 602 individual trees, which comprised 49 species that belong to 37 genera in 25 families. In total, 14 rectangular plots of dimension 20 × 50 m2 were demarcated. All trees species within the sampled plots having diameter at breast height [Dbh] ≥7 cm were identified and height measured using the Haga altimeter, girth and measuring tape to determine the growth status. The result shows that 83% of the trees enumerated have [Dbh] that range from 7 to 30 cm, whereas 17% had [Dbh] greater than 30 cm. Funtumia africana and Trichilia heudelotii were the dominant species in almost all aspects in the study area. Meliaceae, Apocynaceae, and Mimosaceae were the dominant families with the highest species. The Shannon diversity index was 3.094, whereas the Simpson and Evenness diversity was 0.9303 and 0.4502, respectively. Other diversity indices estimated were Margalef 7.544, Equitability 0.7949, and Fisher_alpha 12.77. The overall biovolume was 283.05 m,3 with a total basal cover of 12.54 m2. Height and [Dbh] were not significantly correlated with the biovolume. Biotic pressure such as fuelwood collection, unsustainable charcoal production, pole harvesting, bushfires, and other traditional and cultural functions contributes greatly to the exploitation of the riparian forest. Therefore, urgent strategic conservation and protection measures should be adopted to prevent further degradation of forest ecosystems along river banks in the district and other ecologies in Sierra Leone.

scholarly journals Wildlife snaring – an indicator of community response to a community-based conservation project

Oryx ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale M. Lewis ◽  
Andrew Phiri
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Community Response ◽  
External Donor ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Management Project ◽  
Real Community ◽  
Project Data

The use of wire snares for catching wildlife to support household needs was treated as an indicator to evaluate community support and understanding for a community-based resource management project. Data were based on snare counts in areas surrounding the targeted community as well as from interviews with individuals purported to have had a history of snaring. The high use of snares conflicted with expected behaviour for a community benefiting from the project. Snaring levels were high enough to threaten the viability of the safari industry and the derived revenues that were meant to be shared with the community. These contradictions suggested flaws in the project: an overdependence on external donor-supported management and lack of real community involvement and leadership in management of the resource. This study underscores the critical importance for monitoring land-use behaviour as an indicator of the success of community-based management projects.

scholarly journals Assessing Local Indigenous Knowledge and Information Sources on Biodiversity, Conservation and Protected Area Management at Khuvsgol Lake National Park, Mongolia

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher McCarthy ◽  
Hitoshi Shinjo ◽  
Buho Hoshino ◽  
Erdenebuyan Enkhjargal
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
National Park ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Protected Area Management ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Area Management

Indigenous knowledge about biodiversity and conservation is valuable and can be used to sustainably manage protected areas; however, indigenous communities continue to be marginalized due to the belief that their values and behaviors do not align with the overarching mission of conservation. This paper explores the extent of local knowledge and awareness of biodiversity, conservation and protected area management of indigenous communities at Khuvsgol Lake National Park, Mongolia. We investigate current levels of biodiversity awareness and explore perceptions toward conservation values and park management governance. Most respondents had a high awareness of existing biodiversity and held positive attitudes toward nature conservation and protected areas; however, insufficient knowledge of park rules and low levels of trust between local residents and park authorities may undermine conservation objectives in the long run. We identify an unequal share of economic benefits from tourism and preferential treatment toward elite business owners as a source of conflict. Limited information channels and poor communication between local residents and park authorities are also a source for low-level participation in conservation activities. Leveraging the increasing use of information communication technology, such as mobile phones, can serve as a new mechanism for improved information sharing and transparent reporting between local communities, conservationists and protected area authorities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document