The circumstances under which communities, acting independently and without external help, contribute to conservation outcomes remains poorly understood. One of the challenges is that most of their activities go either assumed or unrecognized. In either case the processes are undocumented. When contributions are detailed in the literature it is often not central to the account and can be hard to find. I would welcome any suggestions with links to source material.
I am looking for accounts of what a community did (or does) to address threats to conservation values. I suspect that field workers often observe these things and sometimes document them. I am particularly keen to find examples in the terrestrial tropics. (A summary of what I have already found, and of some observations by my colleagues and myself can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279758180_Unseen_sentinels_Local_monitoring_and_control_in_conservation%27s_blind_spots ). Thanks for any leads!
Article Unseen sentinels: Local monitoring and control in conservati...
1. Laverack, G. and Thangphet, S. (2009) Building community capacity for locally managed ecotourism in Northern Thailand. Community Development Journal. 44 (2): 172-185.
This is economic value of customary forest in water service in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Capacity and social capital is important to conserve forest
https://ejurnal.unilak.ac.id/index.php/forestra/article/view/165/112
thanks ... I adjusted the wording of the question a little to make it clearer. I am looking for accounts of what a community did (or does) to address threats to conservation values (without any help or guidance from outside). Ideally both the activity and the outcome would be noted. How do the communities enforce their control against internal or external threats?
Here is an example from my own work:
"In the territory of Langap Village in Malinau in East Kalimantan in a forested region of Indonesia, a company began to cut timber within 1 km of a series of caves where locals collected the nests of swiftlets (Aerodramus spp.) to sell for bird nest soup and other delicacies. The logging broke previously established agreements. The villagers took the law into their own hands and forcibly confiscated the company’s vehicles and heavy machinery, refusing to return them until a fine was paid. This cost the company revenue and authority, and acted as a deterrent to other companies in the region (DS, personal observation and various discussions with villagers and local officials)."
Or another example in marine conservation: this from Johannes, R. 1998. Government-supported, village-based management of marine resources in Vanuatu. Ocean & Coastal Management 40:165-186.
My summary " 27 out of 27 villages interviewed in Vanuatu prohibited exploitation of local marine resources by outsiders without permission, and many had established local bans on exploiting specific sites, or species, or using certain harvest methods (Johannes 1998)." Though this details many rules it doesn't explain how these are enforced.
thanks Dawit -- what I was looking for are examples where outside agencies and NGOs etc. are not playing a role (either suggesting what to do or facilitating). The problem is that without these outside roles the wholly community led examples are less likely to get documented (or to be documented only occasionally)
In Tanzania it is quite common for schools to plant trees as a sustainable village/school resource and/or source of revenue. Unfortunately the species planted are usually exotics but this presumably reduces pressure on native species nearby.
Very interesting subject. I know many examples of monitoring and conservation (as well as management) by indigenous and peasant communities in the Bolivian Amazon, and have tried to write down some examples to be able to alert regional and national policy makers about what you call the “tragedy of unseen sentinels”. However, I’m afraid most documentation is very superficial, and mostly just a small part of publications with much broader focusses. But anyway, I’ll try and suggest some publications that may be of interest to you.
In the ForLive project (Manejo Forestal por Pequeños Productores en la Amazonía) we identified several examples of practices of management of forests and valuable species. The following publications present some of these practices, while suggesting corresponding adaptations in forest policies for the Amazon.
Pokorny, B., J. Godar, L. Hoch, J. Johnson, J. de Koning, G. Medina, R. Steinbrenner, V. Vos & J. Weigelt. 2010. La Producción Familiar como Alternativa de un desarrollo sostenible para la Amazonía: lecciones aprendidas de iniciativas de uso forestal por productores familiares en la Amazonía boliviana, brasilera, ecuatoriana y peruana. CIFOR, Brasil. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49908448_La_produccion_familiar_como_alternativa_de_un_desarrollo_sostenible_para_la_Amazonia_Lecciones_aprendidas_de_iniciativas_de_uso_forestal_por_productores_familiares_en_la_Amazonia_boliviana_brasilera_e
Although the PROMAB Project had a more applied focus, the publication summarizing most of the findings of this Project (in the form of a proposal for community forestry) includes some information on local practices, and the need for their consideration:
Llanque A., & V. Vos (Eds.). 2011. Manejo Forestal Comunitario; Una propuesta para el norte Amazónico Boliviano. Programa Manejo de Bosques de la Amazonía Boliviana. Riberalta, Bolivia. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315114820_Manejo_Forestal_Comunitario_una_propuesta_para_el_norte_amazonico_boliviano
You may also be interested in a study we published with CIPCA. Although it’s more on agroforestery systems promoted by a national NGO, it also includes some information on local practices and the adaptation of the original technical proposal by local producers, while also entering a bit more into the motivations for the managment of these agroforestry systems.
Vos, V.A., O. Vaca Ruiz & A.Cruz. 2015. Sistemas agroforestales en la Amazonía Boliviana, Una valoración de sus múltiples beneficios. Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado en coordinación con IIFA-UAB. Riberalta, Bolivia. 198 Pp. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280805298_Sistemas_Agroforestales_en_la_Amazonia_Boliviana_una_valorizacion_de_sus_multiples_funciones
Another publication I’d like to suggest is the proposal we elaborated in relation to the brazil nut crisis. This document includes a chapter on local proposals to improve the sustainability of brazil nut populations.
Vos. V.A. 2017. Propuesta para el componente productivo de los planes de mitigación de la crisis de la castaña de la Amazonía boliviana, Aporte técnico como insumo para los planes de emergencia. Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado Regional Norte Amazónico. Riberalta, Bolivia. Pp. 79. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316120830_Propuesta_para_el_componente_productivo_de_los_planes_de_mitigacion_de_la_crisis_de_la_castana_de_la_Amazonia_boliviana_-_aporte_tecnico_como_insumo_para_los_planes_de_emergencia
A more popular description of some of the local practices for Brazil nut managment and conservation can be found in: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320420919_La_Castana_-_reporte_informativo_CIPCA_NA
Finally I’d like to suggest the article lead by Carolina Levis on domesticated species in the Amazon. Although it doesn’t really enter into the practices that could have shaped the amazon forests, it gives a good idea of the potential long-term impact these activities may have had on shaping the composition of these forests.
Levis, C et al. 2017. Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition. Science 355, Pp. 925-931. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314338566_Persistent_effects_of_pre-Columbian_plant_domestication_on_Amazonian_forest_composition
These are just some suggestions, and there is a lot more written and even more non-written information I'd be interested in sharing. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
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