Perception of local communities on protected areas: lessons drawn from the Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Gulte, Endaylallu; Tadele, Hadis; Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria, Wolde

doi:10.1080/26395916.2023.2227282

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…In some populous countries and regions with high per-capita use of natural resource usage, top-down mandatory management strategies have been implemented by the government which, to some extent, disrupt the sustainability of NPAs [76,115]. While such strategies may achieve the "Unified, Standardized, Efficient" management objectives of NPs [116], they also come with drawbacks.…”

Section: Environmental Issues Challenges Faced By National Park Commu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Main Determinants of National Park Community Management: Evidence from Bibliometric Analysis

Zhang,

Wang,

Shrestha

et al. 2023

Forests

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The establishment of protected areas such as national parks (NPs) is a key policy in response to numerous challenges such as biodiversity loss, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change, and environmental education. Globally, the number and area of NPs have steadily increased over the years, although the management models of NPs vary across different countries and regions. However, the sustainability of NPs necessitates not only effective national policy systems but also the active involvement and support of the local community and indigenous people, presenting a complex, multifaceted challenge. Although the availability of literature on community-based conservation and NPs has increased over the years, there is a lack of research analyzing trends, existing and emerging research themes, and impacts. Hence, in this study, we employed bibliometric methods to conduct a quantitative review of the scientific literature concerning community management of NPs on a global scale. By analyzing data from published articles, we identified research hotspots and trends as well as the quantity, time, and country distribution of relevant research. We developed a framework to illustrate the main research hotspot relationships relevant to NPs and community management, then summarized these findings. Based on the literature from 1989 to 2022, utilizing 2156 research papers from the Web of Science Core Collection database as the data source, visualizations were conducted using the VOSviewer software (1.6.18). Based on the results of network co-occurrence analysis, the initial focus of this field was on aspects of resource conservation. However, with the convergence of interdisciplinary approaches, attention has gradually shifted towards human societal well-being, emphasizing the “social-ecological” system. Furthermore, the current research hotspots in this field mainly revolve around issues such as “natural resources, sustainable development, stakeholder involvement, community management, sustainable tourism, and residents’ livelihoods”. Effectively addressing the interplay of interests among these research hotspot issues has become an urgent topic for current and future research efforts. This exploration necessitates finding an appropriate balance between environmental conservation, economic development, and human welfare to promote the realization of long-term goals for sustainable development in NPs.

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Section: Environmental Issues Challenges Faced By National Park Commu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Main Determinants of National Park Community Management: Evidence from Bibliometric Analysis

Zhang,

Wang,

Shrestha

et al. 2023

Forests

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“…Collaborative efforts and proactive engagement between stakeholders in PAs, including local communities, have a beneficial impact on the formulation and implementation of regional development policies, plans, and activities [18,19].…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies to Manage Ecotourism Sustainably: Insights from a SWOT-ANP Analysis and IUCN Guidelines

et al. 2023

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Protected areas are prime areas for ecotourism development, attracting large numbers of visitors to an abundance of ecologically significant and often sensitive flora and fauna. The current study identified adverse impacts of ecotourism in four prominent tourist hotspots in Iran, namely Lar National Park, Jajrud Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Tangeh Vashi National Natural Monument, and Kavdeh Wildlife Refuge. Impacts were compared against the IUCN guidelines according to the degree of ecological sensitivity and multiple managerial objectives. In addition, an analytic network process (ANP) was applied within a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis to identify optimal strategies for reducing threats and weaknesses and improving opportunities and strengths for sustainable ecotourism management. We found the greatest negative impacts of ecotourism in a Jajrud that was exposed to rapidly expanding urbanisation and the corresponding development of economic and physical activities. Conversely, the least negative impact occurred in a national park (Lar) that was managed based on conservation approaches, accounting for high ecological sensitivities, and adapting legal prohibitions. The SWOT-ANP analysis demonstrates that certain strategies can minimise impacts and should be adopted as conservation tools by protected area managers and land planners.

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“…In both cases, the protagonists are the Ethiopian wildlife and their protectors (e.g., elites in Addis Ababa, foreign scientists, and NGOs), and the antagonists are the park's inhabitants and surrounding communities (e.g., mostly Oromo agropastoralists). The staying power of this vision helps to explain why—despite the official shift away from “fortress” conservation—top-down governance remains predominant, as park and government authorities use their power to decide how local communities should participate in BMNP management (Gulte et al, 2023). Limited economic benefits from the park, insecure land tenure and the constant threat of relocation, as well as the lack of formal support of customary institutions and management systems, have all contributed to local communities lacking incentives to invest in regulated resource use, while simultaneously lacking the power to prevent others from doing so (Flintan et al, 2017; Gulte et al, 2023; Tadesse et al, 2011).…”

Section: Biophysical Homogenization Via the Category Of The “Highlands”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The staying power of this vision helps to explain why—despite the official shift away from “fortress” conservation—top-down governance remains predominant, as park and government authorities use their power to decide how local communities should participate in BMNP management (Gulte et al, 2023). Limited economic benefits from the park, insecure land tenure and the constant threat of relocation, as well as the lack of formal support of customary institutions and management systems, have all contributed to local communities lacking incentives to invest in regulated resource use, while simultaneously lacking the power to prevent others from doing so (Flintan et al, 2017; Gulte et al, 2023; Tadesse et al, 2011). In this light, it is not surprising that BMNP has seen near-constant conflict and resentment among local communities and park management since its creation (Fial, 2011; Flintan et al, 2017; Woldegebriel, 1996).…”

Section: Biophysical Homogenization Via the Category Of The “Highlands”mentioning

confidence: 99%

One size fits all: How the “Ethiopian Highlands” made Bale Mountains National Park inscrutable

Chignell,

Ramachandran,

Satterfield

2023

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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The categories we use to make sense of a place are never neutral. Scientific classifications can maintain ignorance about some aspects of a landscape, even as they create knowledge about others. This article considers this in the context of Ethiopia's Bale Mountains National Park, a landscape whose hydrologic and socio-cultural characteristics have been made inscrutable through the convergence of imperial legacies, processes of knowledge production, and complex biophysical properties. We use the example to conduct a genealogy of the notion of the “Ethiopian Highlands” and its associated metaphors, tracing the political-economic, biophysical, and epistemic factors by which this category came into use, and how these intersected to maintain a particular yet partial vision of the region. By critically analyzing bibliometric data, historical sources, and chains of reasoning in the scientific literature, we show how a small group of foreign experts erroneously conflated the landscapes, peoples, and environmental concerns of one area with those of another. Together these forces reify imperial gazes, perpetuate degraded wilderness narratives, and overlook significant geologic, (paleo)climatic, sociocultural, and land use differences. The result is a simplistic understanding of a distinct hydrosocial landscape, the perpetuation of conflict and resentment, and poorer conservation outcomes.

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Perception of local communities on protected areas: lessons drawn from the Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Cited by 9 publications

References 52 publications

Exploring the Main Determinants of National Park Community Management: Evidence from Bibliometric Analysis

Exploring the Main Determinants of National Park Community Management: Evidence from Bibliometric Analysis

Strategies to Manage Ecotourism Sustainably: Insights from a SWOT-ANP Analysis and IUCN Guidelines

One size fits all: How the “Ethiopian Highlands” made Bale Mountains National Park inscrutable

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