Does anyone have names for the people who first created community-based conservation? I have seen (online) that it really started in the early 1980s, but no mention of who those first people were, or who coined the terms?
Wendee: I am an environment officer working for a development agency in Central America, managing regional conservation programs. I think it will be very difficult to peg down an exact date when community based conservation started. One thing is when they coined the phrase, another is when the practice actually started. This will be very hard to identify when around the world we can come up with multiple examples of local people living in harmony with their resources....from the complex agroforestry systems in Asia to the forest lands in feudal Europe to the indigenous practices in South America. Most commonly we hear the phrase used to describe a conservation management practice encouraged to get local buy-in to local parks. However, with a global economy we can expand that communities sphere from the local to the global market. We can generate resources at the local level for direct benefit of local people, we can work with private sector interests (which could include cooperatives and other local groups) that benefit from the natural capital (such as water and other natural resources) and have them participate in protecting the resource) or we can provide ownership through practices such as concessions in order to give local people a more tangible benefit from the resource...however conservation in practice...we are working out here with both local people who maintain that link ancestrally and local people who need help learning how they can use the resource or making the connection between their actions and conservation. For example, Guatemala set up forestry concessions and parks. We had more success with the local people in the forestry concessions becoming engaged in conservation because each tree that burned represented cash. In the parks we had endless problems with local communities whose composition changed cosntantly with migration. So to answer your question bluntly, if you take a wholistic global perspective on this...not sure your question can be answered with accuracy. Some cultures maintain a much closer link to the natural worlds that surround them, others have been displaced into areas they have no idea how to use. Others mine the resource without investing into preserving the source of their revenue. Communities living around natural areas can be ancestral or can be recent arrivals. All can benefit in a sustainable or unsustainable manner. On 6/29/07, Hamazaki, Hamachan (DFG) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Wendee > > Your description of community-based conservation sounds wonderful, but I > just can't escape feeling a scent of Western Cultural Imperialism (e.g., > We know better what is good for locals and conservation than they are.). One > way to recognize this attitude is ask yourself a question "Would you apply > the same conservation methods to you or our own people here in the US?" For > instance, do you think the same approach will work to farmers and ranchers > living adjacent to the Yellow Stone NP, so that bison, bears, wolves, etc > can wander outside the park boundaries and not being shot? If the same > approach does not work in the US, why do you think it will work in the 3rd > world countries? > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of WENDEE HOLTCAMP > Sent: Thursday, 28 June, 2007 07:31 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: community-based conservation > > > I guess I should better define what I meant by community-based > conservation. > I don't mean efforts going back to native peoples that live integrated > with the land/ecology etc. I was trying to get at the concept that I believe > started around the 1980s where Western conservationists recognized that to > make conservation (most) effective, efforts should explicitly consider the > livelihoods of the people living there (typically in 3rd world nations), and > get them invested in conservation and somehow increase their livelihood or > give them tangible reasons for wanting to conserve - usually monetary like > jobs in parks etc. So instead of just going into African countries and > setting aside a park and displacing people, to instead hire locals as > guides, naturalists, guards etc - they have to be able to make more money in > conservation than they were making poaching or ranching (cutting down > forets, degrading land) and I guess this also goes hand in hand with > teaching ranching methods that don't lead to desertification etc so even > though outside influences are comi! > ng into a locale, they're simultaneously needing to win the hearts and > minds of the local people and convince them that they are actually helping > them have better lives in the long run. It may also include teaching people > to appreciate rare, local, and unique/indigenous species for various reasons > - part of their history/culture, unique to their area of the world, etc. > This is what I think of as community-based conservation. I always thought of > it as starting in Africa but now I'm hearing of several efforts in South > America around the same time so that's why I was asking - who was the first? > Was there a single pioneer or a summit/conference where the conference > emerged, etc. Someone mentioned a 1991 Summit but that is too late for it to > be its origin. > > My sort of rough history is that in the 50s and 60s it was sort ofmore of > an imperialist sort of conservation - just go in and make a park. But > somewhere along the line, some pioneers recognized the above things should > be ultimately more effective. However I don't have any book that I know of > that outlines this history or has dates or people. I don't have time to do a > big great literature review because in all honesty this is just a single > sentence in a longer piece on a specific project. However I was sort of > interested in whether it was common knowledge among those working in > conservation (doesn't seem to be) or if anyone just knew offhand some person > who was a clear pioneer here (or a handful of people). > > Thanks! > Wendee > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Wendee Holtcamp * Freelance Writer * Photographer * Bohemian > http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com Bohemian AdventuresBlog* > http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com > The Fish Wars: A Christian Evolutionist http://thefishwars.blogspot.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Online Writing Course! Starting Aug 4. Sign Up Online! > > -----Original Message----- > From: Felix Martinez [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:20 AM > To: [email protected] > Cc: WENDEE HOLTCAMP > Subject: Re: community-based conservation > > Wendee, > > Community-based conservation as a concept has been around for a long > time. It was widely practiced throughout the Pacific Islands prior to > westernization of most of those societies. Some do still practice it at > some level. In Hawaii the concept was called ahupua'a and it comes the > closest I have seen to a true "integrated approach to ecosystem management." > > I would also venture to guess that the first modern organized attempt of > developing community-based approaches to solving anything most probably > could be traced to the development of the Peace Corps in the 1960s. > (Does anyone know when they started doing direct environmental > conservation work?) > > Felix > > WENDEE HOLTCAMP wrote: > > Does anyone have names for the people who first created > > community-based conservation? I have seen (online) that it really > > started in the early 1980s, but no mention of who those first people > > were, or who coined the terms? > > > > > > > > I am writing an article about Proyecto Titi in Colombia and was told > > it > was > > one of the first community-based conservation projects > > (http://www.proyectotiti.com). I just wanted to confirm that from an > outside > > source from the project. Anyone familiar with the project from an > > outsider perspective? > > > > > > > > Happy Summer! > > > > Wendee > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > > Wendee Holtcamp * Freelance Writer * Photographer * Bohemian > > > > <http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com/> > > http://www.wendeeholtcamp.com Bohemian Adventures Blog * > > <http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com/> > > http://bohemianadventures.blogspot.com > > > > The Fish Wars: A Christian Evolutionist > <http://thefishwars.blogspot.com/> > > http://thefishwars.blogspot.com > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Online Writing Course! Starting Aug 4. Sign Up Online! > > > > > > > > -- > <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< > > Felix A. Martinez, Ph.D. > > NOAA/NOS/NCCOS > Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research > N/SCI2, SSMC4 Rm. 8326 ph: 301-713-3338 x153 > 1305 East-West Hwy. fax: 301-713-4044 > Silver Spring, MD 20910 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Note: The content of this message does not reflect any position of the U.S > . > Government or of NOAA unless otherwise specified. The information therein > is only for the use of the individuals or entities for which it was intended > even if addressed incorrectly. If not the intended recipient, you may not > use, copy, disseminate, or distribute the message or its content unless > otherwise authorized. > > <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< >
