Groundwork For Community Based Conservation

While ecological and biophysical sciences have dominated the theory and practice of conservation, practitioners and researchers worldwide know that conservation initiatives have profound social impacts and consequences for local communities and cultures. This concise and accessible book will give students and practitioners a solid introduction to important methods from ethnography and interviews to surveys and community mapping, always attending to the imperatives of local control and community partnerships.

Conservation initiatives have profound social impacts and consequences for local communities and cultures. This text offers an introduction to methods, from ethnography and interviews to surveys and community mapping, always attending the imperatives of local control and community partnerships.

Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts -- an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts. Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas. It represents the first systematic analysis of locally based efforts, and includes a comprehensive examination of cases from around the world where the community-based approach is used. The book provides: an overview of community-based conservation in the context of the debate over sustainable development, poverty, and environmental decline case studies from the developed and developing worlds -- Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom -- that present detailed examples of the locally based approach to conservation a review of the principal issues arising from community-based programs an agenda for future action

Our planet is witnessing the sixth mass extinction of species. We are trying to tackle this crisis almost on a war footing, with all the trappings and machinery of combat - fences, guns, protected areas, and a suite of top-down laws and policies.But we haven't been able to stop the bleeding. This book argues that we will not stanch the flow unless we are willing to change our fundamental attitude towards people - people who live in our last remaining natural areas, whose lives depend on these ecosystems, and who are most affected - negatively - by policies and actions designed to protect biodiversity. To conserve our natural ecosystems and species, we must gain the support of local people. Yet, this is more easily said than done.How does one engage with local communities and garner their support for conservation? Unlike protected areas, whose governance and management have been formalised worldwide, there are no clear-cut frameworks for community-based conservation, no universally accepted guidelines. This book is an attempt to fill that void. It should interest all who care about preserving the earth's wild species and ecosystems. This book is founded on two decades of experience working with local communities to conserve the high mountain habitats of the endangered snow leopard in various parts of Asia - the Himalayas, Altai, Tien Shan, Hindu Kush, Pamirs, and the Tibetan Plateau. Drawing from this wealth of experience, Dr. Charu Mishra and his colleagues at the Snow Leopard Trust distil eight principles of community-based conservation, discussing them with candor and pragmatism.These 'PARTNERS Principles' are a blend of the practical and the ethical.

Conducting Research in Conservation is the first textbook on social science research methods written specifically for use in the expanding and increasingly multidisciplinary field of environmental conservation. The first section on planning a research project includes chapters on the need for social science research in conservation, defining a research topic, methodology, and sampling. Section two focuses on practical issues in carrying out fieldwork with local communities, from fieldwork preparation and data collection to the relationships between the researcher and the study community. Section three provides an in-depth focus on a range of social science methods including standard qualitative and quantitative methods such as participant observation, interviewing and questionnaires, and more advanced methods, such as ethnobiological methods for documenting local environmental knowledge and change, and participatory methods such as the ‘PRA’ toolbox. Section four then demonstrates how to analyze social science data qualitatively and quantitatively; and the final section outlines the writing-up process and what should happen after the end of the formal research project. This book is a comprehensive and accessible guide to social science research methods for students of conservation related subjects and practitioners trained in the natural sciences. It features practical worldwide examples of conservation-related research in different ecosystems such as forests; grasslands; marine and riverine systems; and farmland. Boxes provide definitions of key terms, practical tips, and brief narratives from students and practitioners describe the practical issues that they have faced in the field.

Groundbreaking book that examines the essential contribution of the social sciences to understanding and conserving biodiversity across the globe Authored by leading scholars at the nexus of social science and biodiversity conservation, Conservation Social Science addresses the growing realization that biodiversity conservation is, at heart, a social phenomenon. Threats to biological diversity are influenced by a wide range of political, economic and cultural factors. The conservation of biodiversity is conceived and carried out by people. Biodiversity conservation is a manifestation of human beliefs and values. Choices about which species and habitats to conserve, how to prioritize efforts, and how to conserve them are inherently social − with consequences not just for wildlife but also human lives and livelihoods. Key topics covered in this thought-provoking text include: An introduction to key social science disciplines and how each field specifically relates to biodiversity conservation How to make social sciences an integral part of conservation strategies and initiatives How social science theories and analytic approaches can explain and help predict patterns of human behavior How biodiversity conservation as a ubiquitous societal phenomenon can provide insights into human society in general Conservation Social Science is an essential, one-of-a-kind survey of novel approaches to explaining and fostering more effective, just, and enduring conservation of biodiversity. It is academically rigorous and comprehensive in scope, yet sufficiently nontechnical and concise to be accessible to a global audience of students, faculty, and environmental professionals and policymakers.

Conservation Biology for All provides cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership. A series of authoritative chapters have been written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Important topics such as balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species are covered. Numerous textboxes describing additional relevant material or case studies are also included. The global biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency in both the developing and developed world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in developing countries, which is of special concern because it tends to be these locations where the greatest species diversity and richest centres of endemism are to be found. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is particularly ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. There is now an urgent need to educate the next generation of scientists in developing countries, so that they are in a better position to protect their natural resources.