Local community perceptions of conservation policy: rights, recognition and reactions

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation in post-colonial contexts typically takes the form of state-imposed protected areas. Such conservation strategies, especially when failing to involve local communities, have resulted in conflicts between protected area managers and local communities, thereby diminishing conservation effectiveness. This research examines local community institutions, perceptions, and involvement with regard to the management of Ranomafana National Park, South-Eastern Madagascar. Data was collected at the end of 2014 in five case study villages around the park. Our findings indicate that imposed protected area regulations have provoked a wide range of mostly negative reactions amongst local villagers, largely due to lack of communication and negotiation on the part of protected area managers. What few attempts have been made to involve local communities in conservation and development activities have been met with local skepticism and have only served to reinforce existing power asymmetries within local communities. We argue that increasing local autonomy would help to boost local villagers' self-esteem, and enable local communities to have a more equal playing field for future negotiations with conservation authorities. Furthermore, this would also likely trigger more local interest, initiative, and ownership with regards to conservation. Although the Ranomafana National Park area is currently regarded by many local villagers as illegitimate, there is widespread willingness across all five communities to collaborate with conservation authorities, presenting enormous potential for more successful conservation; potential that -at least to date -remains untapped. ARTICLE

Human-Bat Interactions in Rural Southwestern Madagascar through a Biocultural Lens

“…RNP is surrounded by < 150 villages with a population of more than 50,000 in an area of approximately 500 km 2 (Kari and Korhonen-Kurki 2013). Local communities in the area belong to two self-identified ethnic groups: the Betsileo and the Tanala (Vuola and Pyhälä 2016). The Betsileo inhabit the highlands to the west of RNP and the Tanala inhabit the lowlands to the east.…”

Managers' perceptions of protected area outcomes in Madagascar highlight the need for species monitoring and knowledge transfer

“…With the particular challenges for PA management that exist in developing countries, Madagascar provides an excellent setting with which to explore these questions. This, coupled with years of political instability, has placed further pressures on already threatened natural resources (Schwitzer et al, 2014) and led to considerable challenges for PA managers who struggle to balance the needs of local communities (Vuola & Pyhälä, 2016), with ensuring the viability of fragile ecosystems and species in the face of escalating human-induced pressures (Eklund et al, 2016;Gardner et al, 2018;Mayaux et al, 2013). This, coupled with years of political instability, has placed further pressures on already threatened natural resources (Schwitzer et al, 2014) and led to considerable challenges for PA managers who struggle to balance the needs of local communities (Vuola & Pyhälä, 2016), with ensuring the viability of fragile ecosystems and species in the face of escalating human-induced pressures (Eklund et al, 2016;Gardner et al, 2018;Mayaux et al, 2013).…”

“…Having repeatedly been identified as high priority for conservation (Brooks et al, 2006), Madagascar also ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world. This, coupled with years of political instability, has placed further pressures on already threatened natural resources (Schwitzer et al, 2014) and led to considerable challenges for PA managers who struggle to balance the needs of local communities (Vuola & Pyhälä, 2016), with ensuring the viability of fragile ecosystems and species in the face of escalating human-induced pressures (Eklund et al, 2016;Gardner et al, 2018;Mayaux et al, 2013). Despite the political turmoil, Madagascar´s PA system has quadrupled in recent years, with an increasing trend toward establishing PAs for multiple-use purposes and with shared governance arrangements with local communities and Non-Governmental Organizations, rather than more traditional centrally governed PAs (Gardner et al, 2018).…”