Perceived barriers to and drivers of community participation in protected-area governance (original) (raw)
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‘Participation’ in Madagascar’s rapidly Expanding Protected Areas System
Madagascar, well known for its unique biodiversity and culture, has been a major focus for the international conservation movement since the mid 1980’s. The islands terrestrial biodiversity exhibits high levels of endemism and is under anthropogenic pressure through activities such as forest clearance, logging and hunting. This situation led in the 1990’s to the promotion of participatory forestry policies, where local communities were ‘empowered’ to manage their own forest resources sustainably, these policies known as GELOSE and GCF were rolled out across many regions of the country. Subsequently in 2003 President Ravalomanana made a declaration of his governments’ intention to triple the coverage of Madagascar’s protected areas within 5 years. This declaration, known as the ‘Durban Vision’, has led to a rapid process of establishment of new protected areas across the island. However as there were almost no remaining ‘wilderness areas’ to be designated in Madagascar many of the New Protected Areas (NAP’s) contain significant human populations who both live within these areas and depend upon the use of the remaining resources. The different NGO and International Aid Donor promoters of the new protected areas have taken various stances on what the management objectives and governance systems for these areas should be. At the same time many of the NAPs, or at least parts of them, had already had management rights transferred to local communities using GELOSE and GCF policies, this situation has sparked an active debate on what form of participation the many and diverse stakeholders around these rural areas should be involved in governance and management. This paper tracks the process from the pre ‘Durban Vision’ lobbying by international NGO’s, through the declaration of the first waves of new protected areas, to the discussions and deliberations (which are still ongoing) about what forms the new protected areas management and governance system (SAPM) should adopt. The analysis combines information gained from participation in parts of the process, key stakeholder interviews, review of grey literature, and fieldwork conducted in Ifotaka and Ankodida protected areas. Preliminary reflections on the participatory approaches at both the national and local levels suggest that it is essential to provide more critical reflection on the reasons for, and modes of such participation. At the national level it is important to better understand the ways that NGO’s, Donors and the State collaborate, and how these modes of working influence the outcomes. At the local level it is suggested that the participatory approaches should be adopted where they genuinely have the potential to improve the legitimacy of management and governance domains. In this way participation with communities in protected areas should be seen as a tool to demonstrate empowerment through partnership and the transfer of responsibility, not as a tokenistic way of placating or manipulating (cf Arnstein, 1966).
Community participation is seen to be the building block for the efficiency of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) project. In order for local residents to cooperate with a reduction of deforestation and forest degradation, they must have a positive perception toward the forest conservation system and positive attitude toward the forest conservation project. This study examined the attitude and perception of the local community toward conservation of the Makira forest, from where carbon credits are intended to be sequestered under the REDD schema. The perception and attitude of the local people were studied in three dimensions: the perception toward the conservation of Makira, the perception of the forest and forest resources, and the perception of the community forestry including cost and benefit. It was assumed that regardless of the dependency of local residents on the forest, the reception of an incentive and participation in the local meetings or participation within the forest conservation and development activities would provide a positive perception toward the forest conservation project. Data were obtained from a random sample of 188 households living within the vicinity of the protected forest. Sixty percent of respondents were found to agree with the idea of Makira forest conservation; however, statistically significant differences were found between the villages in terms of supportive attitudes toward the forest conservation system (p = 0.03) and toward the conservation project (p = 0.04). Nearly half of the respondents held a positive attitude toward the conservation project. However, those highly dependent on the forest to generate income remained reluctant and unsupportive, suggesting that high levels of support toward a conservation project by sections of the community may not translate into conservation success, because the drivers of the deforestation and forest degradation are not supportive. A perception of direct benefits from the project was found to be the main factor of the respondents' attitudes and perceptions. This study then suggests that to change the perception and attitudes of indigenous people around protected areas, environmental education through sensitization should be encouraged, and then addressing local development needs, encourage broader participation in community forestry if the conservation project wants to win the support of local communities for long-term emission reduction through forest conservation goals.
PLOS ONE
The existence of multiple perspectives and representations of different stakeholders poses critical challenges to conservation initiatives worldwide. Thus, to foster more just and sustainable agendas in protected areas (PAs), this diversity of perspectives must be better understood, acknowledged, and tackled. In this article, we aimed to initiate this understanding for the Makay region in Madagascar, a poorly-known region where a ‘New Protected Area’ has been gazetted. In combining mental models and social representation theory, we explored different stakeholders’ perspectives about the Makay social-ecological system, and how differences in stakeholders’ viewpoints could challenge the success of an inclusive, just, and sustainable conservation program. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 32 respondents having different expertise on the Makay. During interviews, respondents were guided towards the elicitation of their individual cognitive map (ICM) of the Makay social-ecolog...
The aim of this study was to investigate resource use by rural communities surrounding a protected rain forest area in Madagascar, and understand the effects of these activities, and identify drivers of this behaviour. The study was undertaken in Manombo Forest, in south-eastern Madagascar. This last remaining fragment of lowland rainforest is classified into two protected areas, Manombo Special Reserve (which has two units, the Littoral Forest Reserve and Humid Forest Reserve), and the Manombo Classified Forest. There were a total of 19 main villages surrounding the Manombo forest. To examine resource use (including illegal extraction) in a sample of 15 villages, structured questionnaires were applied to 290 households. Through socio-economic questions it was found that farming was the dominant livelihood with others being fishing, weaving and trading. Education and income were low with income decreasing with distance from road. Number of meals per day varied throughout the year and livestock such as chicken, duck, pig and zebu were often owned. Resource consumption results revealed firewood and timber were illegally taken from all units in Manombo Forest. Extraction points within the forest differed according to village influence area. Villagers selected a sub-set of species for use primarily driven by preference but other factors, such as species availability, may have affected species use. The study also found evidence that wood extraction may have resulted in the forest structure observed, where larger trees were largely absent. Typically households which were furthest from forest officials, close to forest, were recorded as having fewer alternative resources of wood, and lower income and education levels, exhibited greater levels of dependency on protected area resources. This study provides baseline data that will help facilitate management plans at a local level and will further assist national and international conservation efforts.
An analysis of local stakeholder values for tropical protected areas in Madagascar
2009
The continued delivery of ecosystem services produced in tropical areas is essential to economic prosperity and human welfare. The success of tropical land protection strategies may depend on the input and support of local people, who often have an intimate and dependent relationship with the land. This study uses conjoint analytic techniques to assess and analyze local stakeholder values with respect to establishment and regulation of two large protected areas in Madagascar. The primary focus is on survey design and analytical methods. Preliminary analyses indicate that watershed protection was the most important attribute for local stakeholders and that there are regional differences in the preferences of local stakeholders.
Community participation in the management of South Africa's protected areas
2018
This study seeks to examine how South African communities can be involved in the management of protected areas. Protected areas have witnessed a number of conflicts between stakeholders. The establishment of the majority of these natural protected areas was accompanied by forced removals of indigenous people into remote areas. Local communities have not seen the direct benefits from the KwaZulu-Natal protected areas. The planning, management and execution or implementation of integrated management planning (IMP) processes can be an important mechanism for offering nature-based resources and services for local communities around protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal. A mixed method of data collection in the form of in-depth interviews and a survey technique was adopted in this study. Interviews were conducted with the managers of the three protected areas as well as with local business owners. Community members had to respond to structured questionnaires. The results indicated that commun...
Barriers and triggers to community participation across different stages of conservation management
Local community involvement in natural resource management can be critical to conservation success. Community participation in conservation efforts varies widely, reflecting a continuum from protectionist conservation mechanisms to programmes driven by local communities. Conservation is not one event, but an iterative process with many steps (planning, implementation, monitoring) each with an opportunity for different levels of participation. Barriers and triggers to more community involvement in management of the Cordillera Azul National Park (Peru) were examined. Eleven conservation officials and 73 community members provided information on levels of participation achieved at three management stages: Park establishment, management plan development, and management implementation. Park establishment was not a participatory process, owing to the expediency of the conservation agenda and a narrow window of political opportunity. Community involvement increased during the management plan development and its implementation, with communities eager to participate and a public-private partnership introducing new participatory management tools. However, a perceived lack of capacity in terms of community skills, funding availability, time and sufficient conservation personnel, and the definitions of participation used by different stakeholders, limited community involvement in decision-making processes. If conservation is to achieve more effective community involvement, long-term adaptive comanagement approaches are needed that clearly define local participation, build capacity of all stakeholders and monitor levels of participation across all stages of project management.
2015
Lack of collaboration amongst resource user groups in protected areas undermines effective community participation in protected area management. Currently, collaborative approaches are recognised as a planning tool and less of a management tool. However practice reveals that utmost, participatory approaches are recognised in management plans, but fail in the actual implementation. With this study an attempt was made to identify a possible means of enhancing community participation in protected area management by evaluating the extent to which the community of stakeholders in Lake Malawi National Park effectively engage in the management of the protected area. To achieve this aim, the research identified the stakeholders; their relationships with the park; and their relationships with each other. It further evaluated the present level of collaboration on whether it was adequate to enhance community participation in the sustainable management of the park. This research followed a descriptive-qualitative approach because the researcher was interested in exploring wider perceptions of people. It took the form of a case study to allow for an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon through understanding the participants" point of view in their natural setting. A critical review of related literature and a field research were conducted where data was collected from park documents and seven representatives from three stakeholder groups through the use of semi-structured interviews in English and Chichewa (official and national languages respectively); supported by note taking. The study has four findings. Firstly, that the primary stakeholders were the park authority management, lodge operators and indigenous people (villagers). Secondly, that stakeholders were found to have a special relationship with the park as it provided business opportunities, a source of livelihood, a sense of empowerment, relaxation space and employment. Thirdly, that stakeholders were not satisfied with the level of relationships in the park especially towards park authority management. This is a deviation from the expected in that for a long time relations in the park were seen to be faulted by the indigenous people and especially towards lodge operators, yet in this research, the relationship between these two stakeholder groups were found to be satisfactory. Fourthly, the research found that whilst there were reduced levels of conflict and that stakeholders related as and when need arose, the general Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Dadirai for her physical and mental effort in this project; Department of National Parks and Wildlife for granting me research access, and Mr Young Chiwindo, Mangochi District Tourism Officer for accepting to be a co-researcher. My daughter Nina Tayamika-Yahweh…my white rose in the heavenly gardens, you saw me through this Master of Philosophy programme, Mama loves you babe! I shall forever remain grateful to Yahweh (He who is) for my cup which never runs empty. My prayer is that the same one bless you all abundantly!
Managing community-based conservation in Bobaomby, Madagascar
Ateliers d'Anthropologie, 2023
Conservation and development projects that prescribe the participation of local stakeholders in decision-making around the sustainable management of their own ecosystems have become commonplace in Madagascar in recent decades, as have scholarly critiques questioning the likelihood that such "community-based conservation" (CBC) efforts can achieve the win-win scenarios they purport to offer Malagasy communities and ecosystems. This article, co-authored by differently positioned collaborators, documents the history of exchanges that have proven fundamental to the development and maintenance of one CBC project in northern Madagascar, focusing especially on the value of ongoing interpersonal relations among community members and external partners.