A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy for protecting biological resources, but they vary considerably in their effectiveness and are frequently reported as having negative impacts on local people. This has contributed to a divisive and unresolved debate concerning the compatibility of environmental and socioeconomic development goals. Elucidating the relationship between positive and negative social impacts and conservation outcomes of PAs is key for the development of more effective and socially just conservation. We conducted a global meta‐analysis on 165 PAs using data from 171 published studies. We assessed how PAs affect the well‐being of local people, the factors associated with these impacts, and crucially the relationship between PAs’ conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Protected areas associated with positive socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to report positive conservation outcomes. Positive conservation and socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to occur when PAs adopted comanagement regimes, empowered local people, reduced economic inequalities, and maintained cultural and livelihood benefits. Whereas the strictest regimes of PA management attempted to exclude anthropogenic influences to achieve biological conservation objectives, PAs that explicitly integrated local people as stakeholders tended to be more effective at achieving joint biological conservation and socioeconomic development outcomes. Strict protection may be needed in some circumstances, yet our results demonstrate that conservation and development objectives can be synergistic and highlight management strategies that increase the probability of maximizing both conservation performance and development outcomes of PAs.     

Integrating pattern-based modelling and political ecology in land-use change research: the case of Mexican dry tropics

ABSTRACT

Agricultural and extractive frontiers experiment rapid landscape transformation. Land-Use Sciences and Political Ecology are complementary approaches for analysing how landscape transformations are related to biophysical conditions, and socioeconomic, cultural and political processes developed at global, national and local scales. This study examines such relationships in a long-standing agrarian and resource frontier in southern Mexico for the 1986–2015 period. We combine insights from: (1) a quantitative land use/land cover change pattern-based model, involving a weights of evidence and cellular automata simulations, and (2) a qualitative content analysis of literature and of local actors’ perspectives. Two grand frontier processes have developed in this region: NAFTA-related agrarian transition toward intensification and the establishment of wind farms. Both were triggered by global forces and new forms of land and resources use, but mediated by national-to-local ecological, socioeconomic and political processes, producing particular landscape transformations.     

The impact of the Jonglei Canal on the economy of the local people

The idea of saving the water lost in the ‘Sudd’ swamp through evaporation was conceived by Egypt and Sudan for their own interests, but not for those of the Nilotic peoples living in the flood plain. Concern for the local development was only taken into consideration after the 1974 Juba riots, when three people were killed and 200 arrested. The canal has caused displacement of people from their settlements and is blocking the seasonal movement of livestock and wildlife. Conflict may arise over the use of land for grazing or irrigation. The Nilotics are concerned about the possible negative environmental impact, and the loss of their cultural identity. They maintain that Egypt should pay them monetary compensation for the disruption that the canal has caused to their livelihood.

This paper assesses the impact that the Jonglei canal project will have on the economy of the Nilotics; traces the historical development of the project; outlines the social, political and economic organization of the Nilotics; and assesses the impact the project will have on the local population. The paper concludes by casting doubt on the benefits the canal will bring to the Nilotics.     

Avoiding Re‐Inventing the Wheel in a People‐Centered Approach to REDD+

One important debate regarding Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries concerns the manner in which its implementation might affect local and indigenous communities. New ways to implement this mechanism without harming the interests of local communities are emerging. To inform this debate, we conducted a qualitative research synthesis to identify best practices (BPs) from people‐centered approaches to conservation and rural development, developed indicators of BPs, and invited development practitioners and researchers in the field to assess how the identified BPs are being adopted by community‐level REDD+ projects in Latin America. BPs included: local participation in all phases of the project; project supported by a decentralized forest governance framework; project objectives matching community livelihood priorities; project addressing community development needs and expectations; project enhancing stakeholder collaboration and consensus building; project applying an adaptive management approach; and project developing national and local capacities. Most of the BPs were part of the evaluated projects. However, limitations of some of the projects related to decentralized forest governance, matching project objectives with community livelihood priorities, and addressing community development needs. Adaptive management and free and prior informed consent have been largely overlooked. These limitations could be addressed by integrating conservation outcomes and alternative livelihoods into longer‐term community development goals, testing nested forest governance approaches in which national policies support local institutions for forest management, gaining a better understanding of the factors that will make REDD+ more acceptable to local communities, and applying an adaptive management approach that allows for social learning and capacity building of relevant stakeholders. Our study provides a framework of BPs and indicators that could be used by stakeholders to improve REDD+ project design, monitoring, and evaluation, which may help reconcile national initiatives and local interests without reinventing the wheel. Evitar la Reinvención de la Rueda en un Acercamiento a REDD+ Centrado en Personas     

Governing intensification: the influence of state institutions on smallholder farming strategies in Calakmul,Mexico

ABSTRACT

In forest frontiers, smallholder agrarian livelihoods remain uneasily juxtaposed with conservation interests. Agricultural intensification is often considered a viable means of reconciling competing environmental and livelihood objectives given its potential to concentrate production on less land. However, intensification may have unintended consequences, including loss of resilient agricultural systems. The risks of smallholder agricultural intensification warrant a better understanding of its drivers. This study uses the case of Calakmul, Mexico, to examine the critical role of the state in intensification processes. Drawing on household surveys and key-informant interviews, it traces the linkages between state institutions and local farming practices. Statistical and qualitative analyses reveal how intensification is both incentivized and imposed by prevailing policies, the former via subsidies and the latter via regulations against field rotations. The outcome – increased external inputs and longer cultivation periods between fallows – may undermine the sustainability of smallholders’ agroecosystems, an undesirable consequence amid limited livelihood alternatives.     

Efficient and equitable design of marine protected areas in Fiji through inclusion of stakeholder‐specific objectives in conservation planning

The efficacy of protected areas varies, partly because socioeconomic factors are not sufficiently considered in planning and management. Although integrating socioeconomic factors into systematic conservation planning is increasingly advocated, research is needed to progress from recognition of these factors to incorporating them effectively in spatial prioritization of protected areas. We evaluated 2 key aspects of incorporating socioeconomic factors into spatial prioritization: treatment of socioeconomic factors as costs or objectives and treatment of stakeholders as a single group or multiple groups. Using as a case study the design of a system of no‐take marine protected areas (MPAs) in Kubulau, Fiji, we assessed how these aspects affected the configuration of no‐take MPAs in terms of trade‐offs between biodiversity objectives, fisheries objectives, and equity in catch losses among fisher stakeholder groups. The achievement of fisheries objectives and equity tended to trade‐off concavely with increasing biodiversity objectives, indicating that it is possible to achieve low to mid‐range biodiversity objectives with relatively small losses to fisheries and equity. Importantly, the extent of trade‐offs depended on the method used to incorporate socioeconomic data and was least severe when objectives were set for each fisher stakeholder group explicitly. We found that using different methods to incorporate socioeconomic factors that require similar data and expertise can result in plans with very different impacts on local stakeholders.     

Linkages among ecotourism,landscape and natural resource management,and livelihood diversification in the region of Suğla Lake,Turkey

The purpose of this study is to evaluate opportunities of the region of Su?la Lake located in Turkey for community-based ecotourism development that enable sustainable landscape and natural resource management as well as livelihood diversification. A participatory research approach was applied by participation of a diverse number of stakeholders (e.g. local communities, local and central governmental bodies and researchers). A set of participatory research tools (e.g. interviews and field surveys), SWOT analysis and the method of Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS) were used to collect and evaluate relevant data. The study consists of four sections. The first section focuses on SWOT analysis by which the advantages and disadvantages of the study area for ecotourism development were examined. In the second section, the most suitable villages for ecotourism development were examined by adapting the method of ECOS based on the 18 parameters by using 1–4 score system. Accordingly, the most suitable five villages for ecotourism development were determined. Major natural and cultural ecotourism resources (e.g. diversity of landforms, spectacular landscapes and traditional lifestyle) of the study area were examined in the third section. In the fourth section, the ecotourism-based livelihood and relevant core capitals were evaluated according to 1–4 score system for the five villages. We hope that the outcomes of this study can draw attention of planners and policymakers to the role of ecotourism for sustainable landscape and natural resource management as well as livelihood diversification in the region and elsewhere.     

The data not collected on community forestry

Conservation and development practitioners increasingly promote community forestry as a way to conserve ecosystem services, consolidate resource rights, and reduce poverty. However, outcomes of community forestry have been mixed; many initiatives failed to achieve intended objectives. There is a rich literature on institutional arrangements of community forestry, but there has been little effort to examine the role of socioeconomic, market, and biophysical factors in shaping both land‐cover change dynamics and individual and collective livelihood outcomes. We systematically reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature on community forestry to examine and quantify existing knowledge gaps in the community‐forestry literature relative to these factors. In examining 697 cases of community forest management (CFM), extracted from 267 peer‐reviewed publications, we found 3 key trends that limit understanding of community forestry. First, we found substantial data gaps linking population dynamics, market forces, and biophysical characteristics to both environmental and livelihood outcomes. Second, most studies focused on environmental outcomes, and the majority of studies that assessed socioeconomic outcomes relied on qualitative data, making comparisons across cases difficult. Finally, there was a heavy bias toward studies on South Asian forests, indicating that the literature on community forestry may not be representative of decentralization policies and CFM globally.     

Why did the project fail to achieve its objectives in some villages? The experience of the Upland Settlement Project (USP) in Bangladesh

By sampling an upland settlement project (USP) village, this study examined why the project failed to achieve the planned objectives in some villages, and what livelihood strategies villagers (planters) have adopted to sustain their livelihoods. The paper uses data obtained by qualitative and quantitative methods. The USP was formulated with the objectives of settling 50 landless and marginal tribal families in a project village and introducing agroforestry and rubber plantations for short- and long-term socioeconomic development of planters, in a participatory manner. There are now only 15 planters in the project village and, although agroforestry has progressed well, only 30 to 40% of poor quality rubber trees remain. Planter participation in project activities was limited to wage labour, indicating that the USP failed to adequately achieve all its proposed objectives. In the face of project failure, planters have adopted diversified strategies to maintain their livelihoods. Several shortcomings caused failure of the project, such as the inability of project staff members to organize planters, failure to create awareness among planters about project benefits, lack of regular project money disbursement, sociocultural ignorance, and lack of social capital among planters. Recommendations are made for securing effective participation of local people to assure successful and sustainable project outcomes. Lessons learned will be helpful in formulating future development programmes in this country and elsewhere.     

Protected areas as frontiers for human migration

Causes of human population growth near protected areas have been much debated. We conducted 821 interviews in 16 villages around Budongo Forest Reserve, Masindi district, Uganda, to explore the causes of human migration to protected areas and to identify differences in forest use between migrant and nonmigrant communities. We asked subjects for information about birthplace, migration, household assets, household activities, and forest use. Interview subjects were categorized as nonmigrants (born in one of the interview villages), socioeconomic migrants (chose to emigrate for economic or social reasons) from within Masindi district (i.e., local migrants) and from outside the Masindi district (i.e., regional migrants), or forced migrants (i.e., refugees or internally displaced individuals who emigrated as a result of conflict, human rights abuses, or natural disaster). Only 198 respondents were born in interview villages, indicating high rates of migration between 1998 and 2008. Migrants were drawn to Budongo Forest because they thought land was available (268 individuals) or had family in the area (161 individuals). A greater number of regional migrants settled in villages near Lake Albert than did forced and local migrants. Migration category was also associated with differences in sources of livelihood. Of forced migrants 40.5% earned wages through labor, whereas 25.5% of local and 14.5% of regional migrants engaged in wage labor. Migrant groups appeared to have different effects on the environment. Of respondents that hunted, 72.7% were regional migrants. Principal component analyses indicated households of regional migrants were more likely to be associated with deforestation. Our results revealed gaps in current models of human population growth around protected areas. By highlighting the importance of social networks and livelihood choices, our results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of causes of migration and of the environmental effects of different migrant groups.     

Societal change and the control of deforestation in Thailand

Thailand underwent a major shift in forest policy in the second half of the 1980s to promote sustainable management and control of deforestation. This paper puts this in the context of earlier changes in forest policy and analyses the underlying causes of the shift by analysing changes in the relative strength of different interest groups within the framework of a policy pressures model. Internal pressures had a stronger impact on Thai forest policy than external pressures. Protectionist groups became more numerous and more powerful in Thailand in the 1980s in relation to exploitative groups, and their rise in influence was facilitated by continuing progress in democratization and pluralization, linked to the consequences of economic development. Such political change could help to explain the apparent link between better environmental management and economic development shown in the Environmental Kuznets Curve.     

Reframing the concept of alternative livelihoods

Alternative livelihood project (ALP) is a widely used term for interventions that aim to reduce the prevalence of activities deemed to be environmentally damaging by substituting them with lower impact livelihood activities that provide at least equivalent benefits. ALPs are widely implemented in conservation, but in 2012, an International Union for Conservation of Nature resolution called for a critical review of such projects based on concern that their effectiveness was unproven. We focused on the conceptual design of ALPs by considering their underlying assumptions. We placed ALPs within a broad category of livelihood‐focused interventions to better understand their role in conservation and their intended impacts. We dissected 3 flawed assumptions about ALPs based on the notions of substitution, the homogenous community, and impact scalability. Interventions based on flawed assumptions about people's needs, aspirations, and the factors that influence livelihood choice are unlikely to achieve conservation objectives. We therefore recommend use of a sustainable livelihoods approach to understand the role and function of environmentally damaging behaviors within livelihood strategies; differentiate between households in a community that have the greatest environmental impact and those most vulnerable to resource access restrictions to improve intervention targeting; and learn more about the social–ecological system within which household livelihood strategies are embedded. Rather than using livelihood‐focused interventions as a direct behavior‐change tool, it may be more appropriate to focus on either enhancing the existing livelihood strategies of those most vulnerable to conservation‐imposed resource access restrictions or on use of livelihood‐focused interventions that establish a clear link to conservation as a means of building good community relations. However, we recommend that the term ALP be replaced by the broader term livelihood‐focused intervention. This avoids the implicit assumption that alternatives can fully substitute for natural resource‐based livelihood activities.     

Social and Ecological Change over a Decade in a Village Hunting System,Central Gabon

Despite widespread recognition of the major threat to tropical forest biological diversity and local food security posed by unsustainable bushmeat hunting, virtually no long‐term studies tracking the socioecological dynamics of hunting systems have been conducted. We interviewed local hunters and collected detailed hunting data to investigate changes in offtake and hunter characteristics over 10 years (2001–2010) in Dibouka and Kouagna villages, central Gabon, in the context of hunter recollections of longer term trends since the 1950s. To control for changes in hunter behavior, such as trap location and characteristics, we report hunting offtake data per trap. Our results suggest the hunting area was already highly depleted by 2001; local hunters reported that 16 large‐bodied prey species had become rare or locally extirpated over the last 60 years. Overall, we observed no significant declines in hunting offtake or changes in species composition from 2001 to 2010, and offtakes per trap increased slightly between 2004 and 2010. However, trapping distance from the villages increased, and there was a switch in hunting techniques; a larger proportion of the catch was hunted with guns in 2010. The number of hunters declined by 20% from 2004 to 2010, and male livelihood activities shifted away from hunting. Hunters with the lowest hunting incomes in 2004 were more likely than successful hunters to have moved away from the village by 2010 (often in response to alternative employment opportunities). Therefore, changes in trap success (potentially related to biological factors) were interacting with system‐level changes in hunter number and composition (related to external socioeconomic factors) to produce a relatively static overall offtake. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the small‐scale context of hunting to correctly interpret changes or apparent stasis in hunting effort and offtake over time. Cambio Social y Ecológico a lo Largo de Una Década en un Sistema de Cacería Aldeana, Gabón Central     

Attitudes and perceptions of indigenous fishermen towards marine resource management in Kuna Yala,Panama

The Kuna are a strong and independent culture, however outside influences are imposing growing pressure on their people. Overpopulation and large-scale overfishing are among the most severe threats. The Kuna have developed their own management strategies to address these pressing issues. This study presents local perceptions and attitudes towards marine resource management of six indigenous fishing communities in Kuna Yala, Panama. Results highlight significant general and comparative differences in fishermen's attitudes and perceptions based on socio-cultural structures of communities, occupation and role in local decision-making. The level of cultural survival in communities was a strong indicator for different priorities and attitudes. Differences were also evident based on the level of marine resources used for income generation. Participation in local decision-making processes had positive impacts on levels of knowledge and information, and fostered critical thinking among participants. In addition, the results also denoted that conservation and development were more effective in the long term if the host population could develop strategies and plans for biodiversity conservation. Ownership and empowerment were strong indicators that influenced local livelihood to promote sustainable use of marine resources.     

Rethinking the Effectiveness of Public Protected Areas in Southwestern China

Abstract:  It is internationally recognized that conservation policies should respect indigenous cultures and consider the livelihoods of people affected by conservation restrictions. Countering this are concerns that human occupation and use of natural reserves is incompatible with conservation aims. But in China today the continued use and management of natural areas by local communities is likely to deliver better conservation outcomes than the current drive to establish public protected areas. The effectiveness of many protected areas in China is compromised by institutional conflicts, lack of ongoing financial and technical support, confusion between the objectives of generating revenue and conservation, dubious scientific definitions, lack of community trust in policies, and obscure user rights and land tenures. Southwestern China—one of the most biologically and ethnologically diverse areas on Earth—is a good illustration of a place where culture and biological diversity are closely linked. The indigenous people in this area have shown that local livelihood practices can be advantageous for the long-term maintenance of conservation goals. Rather than creating new protected areas, we argue that China is better advised to support ongoing sustainable use of natural areas by the people who have lived and nurtured these environments for generations .     

Non-timber forest products and village livelihoods in Rajasthan,India: adaptation in a changing environment

This paper presents the results of research conducted between 2009 and 2014 in the village of Khanda Sharol in the state of Rajasthan, India. Our research objective was to determine how the livelihoods of village residents have been affected by the intensification of forest use, and the resulting loss of domestic access to traditionally used forest resources. Results indicate that changes in forest cover have resulted in a loss of livelihood options for village residents. Yet rather than being victimized by environmental change processes, this paper shows how villagers have responded by partnering with public and private actors to develop a community protected forest area that is now helping villagers to meet their livelihood needs. These findings suggest that sustainable livelihoods in rural regions of India require committed and scaled approaches involving local, public, and private actors.     

The victims of unsustainability: a challenge to sustainable development goals

Environmental unsustainability is due to both structural features and historically specific characteristics of industrial capitalism resulting in specific patterns of production and consumption, as well as population growth. Sustainability literature criticises the established corporate and political power hegemonies, interested in maintaining economic growth, as well as inability or unwillingness of citizen-consumers to counteract these hegemonic tendencies. Yet, official policies are still targeted at social and economic ‘development’ as a panacea for unsustainability challenges. Instead, renewed accent on social and economic objectives are outlined by a set of sustainable development goals (SDG) that include objectives of fighting poverty, promoting better health, reducing mortality, and stimulating equitable economic growth. What is less commonly critiqued is the underlying morality of unsustainability and ethical questions concerned with the ‘victims of unsustainability’ outside of socioeconomic discourse. The achievement of SDG goals, as will be further elaborated on in this article, is unlikely to lead to greater social equality and economic prosperity, but to a greater spread of unsustainable production and consumption, continuous economic as well as population growth that has caused environmental problems in the first place and further objectification of environment and its elements. This article argues that an invocation of ethical duty toward environment and its elements is required in order to move beyond the current status quo. Such ethical approach to unsustainability can effectively address the shortcomings of the mainstream sustainability discourse that is mainly anthropocentric and therefore fails to identify the correct locus of unsustainability.     

Trees and rural households’ adaptation to local environmental change in the central highlands of Ethiopia

This study assesses the role of trees in adaptation strategies of rural households to local environmental change in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Change in tree cover was assessed by producing Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) maps using satellite remote sensing images, and household survey was conducted to generate socioeconomic data. The results show that tree cover has increased over the last 30 years, mostly in the form of eucalyptus woodlots around homesteads. Eucalyptus reportedly helps households pass through livelihood shocks and provide protection against negative effects of climate change and variability. Despite some concerns on the part of local agricultural experts that planting eucalyptus may affect future food production, farmers are converting their croplands into eucalyptus woodlots. We conclude that land use planning and proper allocation of land resource is important to improve local livelihoods while also supporting adaptation of communities to local environmental change in general and climate change in particular.     

Environmental implications of tropical deforestation

SUMMARY

Forests are fundamental and vital components of the world ecosystems. The essential links between forest and man are now receiving renewed and urgent attention, and there is increasing awareness that the value of forests to life on Earth is beyond economic value, and should be above political considerations. Tropical forests, generally marked out by richness in species, are found in more than 80 countries and account for roughly one-third of the world's forest cover. They encompass a wide variety of forest types found under diverse environmental conditions — from lush, constantly wet rain forests to arid thorn woodlands. These forests have been estimated to cover about 1715 million hectares in Africa alone. They have provided habitats for wildlife and wood, fibre, food and many other products to generations of mankind and are invaluable genetic resources of plants. Rapid population growth has, however, resulted in increasing the pressure on these forests, with a consequent decline in their qualitative and quantitative values. Throughout the world, forest lands have been cleared extensively for agriculture, and deforestation continues today. In the tropics, 10–25 million ha are being lost each year, with Africa alone losing 4–5 million ha annually. It has been estimated that, at this rate, the remaining tropical forest would disappear in 60–80 years; thereby leading to catastrophic environmental changes. The serious impact of these changes on the environment and on human needs is awakening world attention, and alarming consequences have sometimes been suggested. This paper highlights the major causes of tropical deforestation and its environmental consequences. Possible efforts to arrest the unpleasant trend are discussed.     

Can Extractive Reserves Save the Rain Forest? An Ecological and Socioeconomic Comparison of Nontimber Forest Product Extraction Systems in Petén,Guatemala, and West Kalimantan,Indonesia

We compare existing nontimber forest product extraction systems in Petén, Guatemala, and West Kalimantan, Indonesia, to identify key ecological, socioeconomic, and political factors in the design and implementation of extractive reserves. Ecological parameters include the spatial and temporal availability of harvested products and the sustainability of harvesting practices from both a population and an ecosystem perspective. Socioeconomic and political factors include the presence or absence of well-defined resource tenure rights, physical and social infrastructure, markets, and alternative land uses. We conclude that although extractive reserves can play a significant role in preserving tropical forests as a part of a broader land-use spectrum, their effectiveness is highly dependent on prevailing local ecological, socioeconomic, and political conditions. Ultimately, extractive reserves should be regarded as one component of an overall approach to the problem of tropical deforestation.