Local attitudes toward community-based conservation policy and programmes in Nepal: a case study in the Makalu-Barun Conservation Area

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAI N. MEHTA ◽  
STEPHEN R. KELLERT

Community-based conservation (CBC) has been projected as the most practical approach to stem biodiversity loss in developing countries. Since CBC is 'people-centred' and experience with it is relatively new, it is important to know the views of local communities regarding implemented policies and programmes. This paper examines the attitudes of local communities toward policy and programmes implemented by a project under the CBC approach in the Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area of Nepal, based on a 1996 survey of 400 people living in it.Overall, respondents did not have a particularly favourable perception of the community development programmes implemented. Strong support existed for ecotourism development in the Conservation Area. Respondents overwhelmingly endorsed community forestry. Wildlife protection remained a low priority amongst a significant majority of respondents. Some demographic and socio-economic factors exerted important influences on the attitudes of respondents. This study suggests that the project should continue addressing local development needs, encourage women's participation in community forestry, work toward dispute settlement of community forest-user groups, and allow hunting of pest wild animals, if it wants to win the support of local communities for long-term biodiversity conservation goals.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani Abdel Rahim Kobbail

This paper examines the attitudes of local communities toward community forestry programmes implemented by a project under the CF approach in Kosti area, based on a survey of 100 people living there. The household was the basic unit of data collection; ten villages were selected as study localities. Ten respondents from each village were randomly chosen for the interview. Frequency distribution results showed that almost all the respondents have a particularly favourable perception of the community forestry programmes implemented and they perceive the best type of management for running these forests which is to be owned and managed by them. They participated in different programe activities and willing to further participation in tree planting activities. Women have possessed positive attitudes towards community forestry although they were not fully involved in community forestry Practices. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed a statistical significant relation between some selected variables (Respondents age, educational level, main occupation, respondents indigenous knowledge, family uses of different forestry products, awareness of causes of forest destruction and finally respondents awareness of environmental problems) exerted important influences on the attitudes and participation of respondents. This study suggests that the project and the forest services should continue addressing local development needs, encourage women's participation in community forestry, and work toward dispute settlement of community forest-user groups, if it wants to win the support of local communities for long-term environmental conservation goals.


Author(s):  
Michael D. Drake ◽  
Jonathan Salerno ◽  
Ryan E. Langendorf ◽  
Lin Cassidy ◽  
Andrea E. Gaughan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7557
Author(s):  
Juliette Claire Young ◽  
Justine Shanti Alexander ◽  
Ajay Bijoor ◽  
Deepshikha Sharma ◽  
Abhijit Dutta ◽  
...  

We explore the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in the sustainable management of conservation conflicts by examining the experiences of conservation practitioners trying to address conflicts between snow leopard conservation and pastoralism in Asian mountains. Practitioner experiences are examined through the lens of the PARTNERS principles for CBC (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Negotiation, Empathy, Responsiveness, and Strategic Support) that represent an inclusive conservation framework for effective and ethical engagement with local communities. Case studies from India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan show that resilient relationships arising from respectful engagement and negotiation with local communities can provide a strong platform for robust conflict management. We highlight the heuristic value of documenting practitioner experiences in on-the-ground conflict management and community-based conservation efforts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9420
Author(s):  
Nabin Baral ◽  
Joel T. Heinen

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.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA M. CAMPBELL

'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.


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIDDHARTHA B. BAJRACHARYA ◽  
PETER A. FURLEY ◽  
ADRIAN C. NEWTON

Community-based approaches to decision-making in the management of protected areas are increasingly being implemented in many areas. However information on the outcome of these approaches for conservation is often lacking. In this study, the effectiveness of community-based approaches for conservation of biodiversity was examined in Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) (Nepal) through a combination of ecological assessments and social surveys undertaken both within and outwith ACA. Forest basal area and tree species diversity were found to be significantly higher inside ACA than in neighbouring areas outside. The mean density of cut tree stumps was significantly lower inside ACA, associated with a decline in use of fuelwood as an energy source over the past decade. Social surveys also indicated that wild animal populations have increased inside ACA since the inception of community-based conservation. Observations of animal track counts, pellet counts and direct observations of selected species such as barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) and Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) indicated higher abundances within ACA. The community-based management has been successful in delivering conservation benefits in ACA, attributable to changing patterns of resource use and behaviour among local communities, increased control of local communities over their local resources, increased conservation awareness among local people resulting from environmental education, and the development and strengthening of local institutions such as Conservation Area Management Committees (CAMC). However, these positive achievements are threatened by the current political instability in Nepal.


2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTHUR R. MUGISHA ◽  
SUSAN K. JACOBSON

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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document