Musings on Biodiversity by a Retired Park Manager

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Robert e. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Park Manager ◽  
Significant Effort

Biodiversity continues to decline in Australia despite significant effort by government, industry and concerned citizens. In this essay the author draws upon his >30 years of experience at the sharp end of natural resource management to consider some factors that may be contributing to the relative lack of progress. While national parks and reserves form a small part of the overall Australian landscape their importance in the battle to retain biodiversity is undeniable. However, rigidity of thinking on the part of park managers has limited the support base for parks and thus their potential in leading integrated landscape management at the all-important local level. The rise of animal libertarianism is further impacting on the ability of parks and wildlife managers to make rational decisions based on the best scientific advice. Animal libertarianism, influential in our western, primarily urban-based society, causes significant problems in wildlife conservation. Anthropomorphic concepts of rights have little application in the animal world and contribute even less to the conservation of species.

From “Project” to “Context”: Community Based Natural Resource Management in Botswana

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry A. Swatuk
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Community Based

Community based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs presently proliferate across the Global South. In Southern Africa, CBNRM overwhelmingly focuses on wildlife conservation in areas adjacent to national parks and game reserves. The objects of these development activities are remote communities that exhibit the highest levels of poverty in the region, the consequences of which are sometimes resource degradation. CBNRM seeks to empower and enrich the lives of these communities through the active co-management of their natural resource base. Almost without exception, however, CBNRM projects have had disappointing results. Common explanations lay blame at the feet of local people who are seen to lack capacity and will, among other things. This paper contests this explanation by subjecting the particular case of Botswana to a deeper, critical political ecology analysis. Drawing on insights from Homer-Dixon regarding resource capture and ecological marginalization, and from Acharya regarding the localization of global norms, the paper argues that CBNRM is better understood as a discursive site wherein diverse actors bring unequal power/knowledge to bear in the pursuit of particular interests. In Botswana this manifests at a local level as an on-going struggle over access to land and related resources. However, given that CBNRM is supported by a wide array of international actors, forming perhaps the thin edge of a wider wedge in support of democratization, good governance and biodiversity preservation, locally empowered actors are forced to adapt their interests to the strictures of emergent structures of global governance. The outcome is a complex interplay of activities whereby CBNRM is realized but not in a form anticipated by its primary supporters.

scholarly journals Decentralized Natural Resource Management: A Review of Devolution of Property Rights and People’s Participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-96
Author(s):  
Pratyusna Patnaik
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Natural Resources Management ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Over Exploitation

Recent decades have witnessed an increased attention towards emergence of decentralized strategies in natural resource management, as a solution to problems of over exploitation and degradation of natural resources. However, it is important to note that central to the processes of decentralisation in natural resource management is that of the concept of property rights. Successful decentralisation in natural resource management requires effective institutions be in place at local level with clearly defined property rights. In this context, the present paper analyses the process of changing property rights in decentralized natural resources management. It explores different forms of property rights and answers the question as to which type of property rights must be devolved to the user groups, if decentralized natural resource management is to be effective and sustainable.

scholarly journals Learning from Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Ghana and Zambia: lessons for integrated landscape approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-297
Author(s):  
S. Adeyanju ◽  
A. O'Connor ◽  
T. Addoah ◽  
E. Bayala ◽  
H. Djoudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sub Saharan

Land use in much of sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by legislative frameworks based on a strong colonial legacy, focusing strongly on state control and minimal devolution of management responsibilities to local communities. However, attempts to reconcile conservation and socio-economic development by increasing stakeholder engagement in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) have been undertaken since the late 1980s. Based on a review of published literature on historical land-use trajectories, the evolution of CBNRM, and key respondent interviews with NRM experts in Ghana and Zambia, this paper asks: What lessons can be learned from CBNRM to inform integrated landscape approaches for more equitable social and ecological outcomes? The paper discusses the positive characteristics and persistent challenges arising from CBNRM initiatives in both countries. The former being, improved rights and resource access, an established institutional structure at the local level, and a conservation approach tailored to the local context. The latter include the absence of multi-scale collaboration, inadequate inclusive and equitable local participation, and limited sustainability of CBNRM initiatives beyond short-term project funding timelines. The paper argues that integrated landscape approaches can address these challenges and improve natural resource management in Ghana and Zambia. We urge landscape practitioners to consider how the lessons learned from CBNRM are being addressed in practice, as they represent both challenges and opportunities for landscape approaches to improve natural resource management.

Management of natural resources in a decentralized

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (92) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
M. A. Khvesyk
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Government Institution

This article explores the concept and essence of power decentralization and subsidiarity in the provision of public ser-vices. Grounded economic aspects of natural resource management under decentralization as essential factors of social rights of citizens at the local level. Ways to strengthen local government institution and empower local communities and regions in the whole of the financial system by improving tax and budget legislation in the field of environmental management.

The conceptual evolution and practice of community-based natural resource management in southern Africa: past, present and future

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRIAN CHILD ◽  
GRENVILLE BARNES
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Resource Governance

SUMMARYThis paper reviews the concept and practice of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) as it has evolved in southern Africa, with a particular focus on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Zambia. It recognizes that, like democracy, CBNRM is both an imperfect process and a conceptual goal. The governance of economic processes, property rights and local political organization lie at the heart of CBNRM. The first challenge is to replace fiscal centralization, fees and bureaucracy (and the subsidization of alternative land uses) that have historically undervalued wild resources, so that CBNRM's comparative economic advantage is reflected in landholder and community incentives. Second, devolving property rights to communities shifts resource governance, responsibility and benefit appropriately to the local level. This necessitates accountable, transparent and equitable micro-governance, which in turn is linked to effective meso-level support and monitoring and cross-scale linkages between central government and local communities. This paper outlines the evolution of current models of CBNRM in the region and suggests core strategies for the next generation of CBNRM.

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