Adaptation and evolution of institutions and governance in community‐based conservation

Abstract

Within conservation science and practice, community‐based conservation (CBC) includes policy and management interventions incorporating engagement or participation of local communities and resource users. Evidence across scales points to the importance of supporting local actors and management institutions for better social and ecological outcomes of CBC interventions. However, the institutional and governance processes underlying CBC outcomes remain poorly understood, specifically how institutions respond to opportunities and constraints posed by CBC. In response, this special issue of Conservation Science & Practice solicited contributions investigating adaptation and evolution of institutions and governance in CBC. In this paper, we introduce the special issue and its 13 contributions, representing cases from Africa, Asia, and the Americas across organizational scales and resource systems. We assess the state of knowledge of CBC, identify common themes and lessons learned, and suggest future priorities for research and practice.

Firefly tourism: Advancing a global phenomenon toward a brighter future

“…In addition to providing jobs and revenue, community-based tourism-where local voices, values and knowledge are included in tourism development and management-can promote stewardship and strengthen local institutions for managing natural resources (Salazar, 2012;Stronza et al, 2019;Stronza & Durham, 2008). Community-based conservation is enhanced when residents and local organizations are actively engaged in tourism planning and management (D'Souza et al, 2019;Honey, 2008;Salerno et al, 2021).…”

New land tenure fences are still cropping up in the Greater Mara

“…The community-based conservation (CBC) 14 , 15 institutions in the area work intensively on keeping the different regions free of fences and tearing down already raised fences, to promote wildlife protection. These actions are based on lease contracts with private landowners who receive a regular income for not fencing the land, as well as grazing agreements between pastoralists and conservancies 16 .…”

“…These actions are based on lease contracts with private landowners who receive a regular income for not fencing the land, as well as grazing agreements between pastoralists and conservancies 16 . Conservancies are thereby largely collaborative and community-driven initiatives with a goal of sustainable tourism, although recent studies question their actual community integration 14 , 15 and compatibility with pastoral livelihoods 16 . Understanding CBC collective action dynamics associated with eco-conservation, and their underlying paradoxes 13 , is necessary in order to address the fencing issue and why solutions to fragmentation remain unclear.…”

How community forest management performs when REDD+ payments fail

“…Brown 2013, Frewer 2021 and to compensate for costs to communities associated with reduced forest clearance (Duchelle et al 2017). Although there is no precise theory of change as to how social co-benefits are expected to yield reduced deforestation (and enhanced carbon storage (Martius et al 2018)), plausible pathways include users incentivized to protect their forests by security of property rights, control of elite capture, community engagement and empowerment, improved livelihoods and broader environmental justice (Lawlor et al 2013, Salerno et al 2021), acting, in Duchelle et al's (2017 sense, as 'carrots' , or positive incentives for behavioral and institutional change.…”