Society for Conservation Biology 16th Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002
co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society


Abstracts for Economic and Social Context
Session Three

Thursday 18th July, 15.30 - 17.30, Grimond Lecture Theatre 2

Chair: Jane Dwasi



Conference Home Page | Session timetable


(BLOCK CAPITALS indicate the presenting author)


15.30 - 15.45
DWASI, JANE, Nancy Gelman, Judy Oglethorpe, and Kara Page. Consultant <jadwasi@yahoo.com> (JD), Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group, c/o Africa Division, Conservation International, 1919 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA (NG), World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA, (JO),and International Resources Group, Ltd.,1211 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036, USA (KP).

IMPACT OF THE HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC ON AFRICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE CONSERVATION WORKFORCE

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is affecting natural resources management and conservation in many ways in East and Southern Africa. This paper will describe the impacts of the disease on natural resource-dependent people and the effects on natural resources and biodiversity conservation in high infection areas. Case studies from Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda will be presented to discuss the direct and in-direct impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the use and management of natural resources. Changes in traditional resource management and new coping strategies by communities including harvesting of forest and wildlife resources will be presented. The conservation workforce in Africa has been particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Both the formal side of conservation, such as protected area authorities, university/research specialists, and non-governmental organizations, have been affected as well as partners from local communities. This study will describe how conservation authorities are implementing policies to protect their staff. It will examine how HIV/AIDS-impacted communities are adapting to this crisis. Actions and strategies to encourage more effective HIV/AIDS prevention, awareness, and mitigation efforts will be recommended to address the current challenges to natural resources, the conservation workforce, and community-based natural resource management in Africa.

15.45 - 16.00
HOYT, REGINALD A., Jill M. Frayne, and Alexander Peal. Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104-1196, USA, <hoyt.reg@phillyzoo.org> (RAH), Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA, (JMF), Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, Lakpazee, Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia (AP).

A CONSERVATION STRATEGY FOR LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA

Liberia is a high priority biodiversity "hotspot" in the Upper Guinea Forest block of West Africa. A seven-year civil war left Liberia in economic ruin, resulting in over-dependency on natural resources and reduced management capacity. While the causal relationship between political instability and unsustainable resource utilisation is universal, strategies to advance conservation goals during economic and political upheaval are not. A strategy that engages civil society, NGOs and government in effective partnerships working towards common goals promotes long-term success. While seeking to address the bushmeat trade in Liberia, a program is being developed that establishes alliances between communities, local businesses, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and academic institutions. This paper will report on how these alliances will work to build capacity, develop new training opportunities, measure public opinion, gather data, promote public awareness, and create long-term strategies. Although developed to address a specific issue (e.g. the bushmeat trade), the framework is conducive to the development of strategies for other issues of conservation concern. By forming working partnerships, creating jobs, and enhancing training, it is believed that this program will ultimately demonstrate that development and conservation goals are not mutually exclusive in a country that can ill afford to neglect its development needs.



16.00 - 16.15
LIN, YIH-REN and Huei-Chung Hsiao. School for Social Transformation Studies, Shih Shin University, Taipei, Taiwan. # 1, Lane 17, Sec. 1, Mu-Cha Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, <ylin@ms39.url.com.tw>.

CONTESTING ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY MAPPING: A CRITICAL VIEW ON PARTICIPATORY NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN TAIWAN

This paper aims to examine the socio-political meanings of aboriginal community mapping discourse from the participatory natural resource management aspect. Aboriginal community mapping is widely promoted as a means to achieve nature conservation and local community development. A discourse analysis is adopted to explore its emergence in Taiwan. Data is collected through participation observation, documentaries, workshops, and individual interviews from the events of launching a new national park (Maqaw) with aboriginal participation. Three significant factors are identified closely related to the emergence of aboriginal community mapping discourse: firstly, the tense relationship between local aboriginal communities and centralised protected areas management system; secondly, the "partnership relationship" between Taiwan’s aboriginals and the state, recently promised by the President’s aboriginal policy; and thirdly, the so-called "co-management" concept derived from the proposal of Maqaw National Park. Key agents including aboriginal activists, scholars, governmental officials, and local people are involved in the mapping process, but with different interests. Ironically, the local people are the weakest amongst them. In conclusion, we discuss whether the mapping will benefit local communities and nature conservation or exploit them, and we suggest this will depend on the balance of diverse interests. The mapping does not guarantee its claims automatically.



16.15 - 16.30
NAGLE, FIONA. Conservation Biology Program, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 180 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA. <finagle@fw.umn.edu>

HAWAII’S LAND USE LAW: PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING FOR CONFLICTING LAND USES IN ISLAND LANDSCAPES

A policy challenge of land scarcity, such as found in human-modified island landscapes, is the coordination of competing conservation and economic land uses so that all species–including humans–thrive over the long-term. My study examines the effectiveness of Hawaii’s Land Use Law, the first U.S. state law for large-scale land use planning that addresses both environmental and economic concern. My focus is on the robustness of the planning process in terms of: 1) Its adaptability to changing socio-environmental conditions; and 2) Its long-term effectiveness in planning implementation. Methods include archival research, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. Results show that, under the law, state planners have successfully coordinated land uses across the islands (45% conservation, 55% developed). However, boundary disputes reveal the planning process is undermined by structural vulnerability to political bias and by procedural alienation of local decision-makers and stakeholders. My twofold conclusion is: 1) Adequate stakeholder participation and conflict management arenas are vital to planning robustness and policy effectiveness; and 2) Hawaii’s Land Use Law continues to evolve through concerted efforts to achieve a socially acceptable and environmentally sustainable balance among land uses. This study offers lessons and raises questions for other policy-makers considering landscape-level land use planning.



16.30 - 16.45
GROSSMAN, DENNIS H. and John Hoffnagle. NatureServe, 1101 Wilson Boulevard 15th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209, USA, <dgrossman@natureserve.org > (DHG), The Land Trust of Napa County, 1040 Main St, Suite 203, Napa, CA 94559, USA, <john@napalandtrust.org>(JH).

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND REGIONAL PLANNING: A DECISION SUPPORT TOOL FOR DECISION MAKERS

Most conservation and land-use planning decisions are completed without sufficient understanding of the relevant biodiversity and conservation issues. Though many planning processes are development-oriented, an increasing number of communities want to build conservation and other "smart growth" objectives into their planning future. To address the long-term impacts that result from these uninformed planning decisions, NatureServe is building a decision support tool that better integrates biodiversity and conservation information into the planning process. Most of the biological and ecological data are incorporated from NatureServe and its member network of Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation Data Centres. NatureServe is currently implementing a pilot application of this tool with the Land Trust of Napa County to help identify important sites for biodiversity protection in a ten year planning horizon. The County of Napa will begin a periodic update of its County General Plan next year and hope to incorporate this biodiversity and conservation information in the Conservation and Open Space Elements of the General Plan. This presentation will report on the conservation targets and protection goals, the economic and development factors, and the integration of these factors in an interactive process to derive compatible future conservation scenarios.



16.45 - 17.00
LANDELL-MILLS, NATASHA. International Institute for Environment and Development, 3 Endsleigh St., London WC1H 0DD, UK. (Natasha.landell-mills@iied.org)

DEVELOPING MARKETS FOR FOREST ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES — AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROMOTING EQUITY WHILST SECURING EFFICIENCY?

Market approaches to environmental management are all the rage. Claims that market mechanisms can encourage environmental protection, promote greater economic efficiency, whilst saving tax payers money are tantalising. In the forestry sector, policy-makers are widely heeding this advice. In such times of change, there is a urgent need for guidance. In the rush to introduce market solutions to environmental problems a particular concern is how markets are impacting on the poor. This paper draws on a review of markets for four forest environmental services (biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, watershed protection and landscape beauty) to offer insights on this issue. The evidence suggests a need for caution. While the potential benefits are significant, the poor face a number of hurdles, including: a lack of property rights over forest environmental services; inadequate skills and education; poor market information; lack of market contacts; inadequate communication infrastructure; inappropriate contract design; and lack of finance. To tackle these, this paper recommends that governments formalise property rights in ways that respect customary arrangements and poor people’s tenure; strengthen capacity for market participation; improve market information and advice for buyers and sellers - perhaps through the establishment of a "Market Support Centre"; and improve access to finance.



17.00 - 17.15
SCHWIND, KIRSTEN, School of Natural Resources and Environment, Dana Building, University of Michigan, 430 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (schwindk@umich.edu).

FOCUS ON FARMERS: ADDRESSING THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CAUSES OF DEFORESTATION IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO.

Political and economic marginalization of subsistence farmers drives the deforestation of Mexico’s largest remaining rainforest. Conservation policy for Chiapas’ Lacondon Forest does not address the political and economic causes of agricultural conversion by subsistence farmers. Political transition in Chiapas presents opportunities to shape conservation policy to address farmers’ values and policy preferences. Subsistence farmers’ conservation values and policy preferences were investigated to shape more effective conservation policies for the Lacondon Forest. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with subsistence farmers in two regions of the Lacondon Forest, as well as with urban professionals and farmers in a nearby region to provide reference points. Results indicate that subsistence farmers in the Lacondon Forest value the forest for ecosystem function and habitat, yet see few economic alternatives for themselves and their children other than agricultural conversion for subsistence agriculture. The farmers’ preferred conservation policies emphasize providing greater educational opportunities, development of small businesses, financial support for community conservation efforts, and strengthening local markets. These policy preferences conflict with the Mexican government’s proposed regional development program, which emphasizes centralized corporate development of Chiapas’ natural resources and labor pool. Regional development should address conservation challenges by promoting community-level education and alternatives for rural income.



17.15 - 17.30
BARDSLEY, DOUGLAS KENNETH. School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales Bangor, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK, <d.k.bardsley@bangor.ac.uk>.

IN SITU AGROBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE SWISS INNER ALPINE ZONE

This paper considers the Swiss experiences of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation and examines the opportunities for extending these programmes. The Swiss recognise the multifunctionality of agriculture, particularly within the marginal, mountainous areas of the country and are spending public and private funds to maintain agroecosystems, agricultural practices, landscapes and rural communities. To continue to justify government expenditures to a public that is ever more distanced from agricultural activities, and to an international community that is increasing pressure to remove agricultural subsidies, state assistance for agriculture must continue to target support for social and environmental outcomes. Government programmes in marginal agricultural regions are linking economic assistance to biodiversity conservation practices, via direct payment systems. Other in situ conservation ideas being pursued include the establishment of diversity gardens, community-based programmes and marketing initiatives involving farmers, retailers and conservation groups. Any extension of the in situ agrobiodiversity conservation programmes could have substantial implications, not only for conservation, but also for agro-ecological risk alleviation and regional development.

The SCB2002 pages are maintained by Christine Eagle
email: C.M.Eagle@ukc.ac.uk
Conference email: scb2002@ukc.ac.uk
Last updated: 30.06.02