24755 ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT PAPERS PAPER NO. 85 TOWARD ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BIOVIVERSITY SERIES Biological Resource Management Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Robin Grimble Martyn Laidlaw January 2002 Prepared by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) for the Environment and Rural Departments of the World Bank, with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom. The World Bank  Om THE WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT Biological Resource Management Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Robin Grimble Martyn Laidlaw January 2002 Papers in this series are not formal publications of the World Bank. They are circulated to encourage thought and discussion. The use and citation of this paper should take this into account. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank. Copies are available from the Environment Department, The World Bank, Room MC-5-126. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. Manufactured in the United States of America First printing December 2001 FID Department for International D FID Development www.dfid.gov.uk enquiry@dfid.gov.uk Public Enquiry Point: 0845 300 4100 From outside the UK: +44 1355 84 312 Contents FOREWORD V PREFACE Vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iX ExEcuvE SuMmARY xi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The challenge 1 1.3 Human-centred perspective 2 1.4 Target audience and paper structure 3 Chapter 2 Conceptual Framework 5 2.1 Clarifying definitions 5 2.2 Disturbance and change 6 2.3 Bioresource values 7 2.4 The distribution of values 8 Chapter 3 Strategies and Approaches to Conservation 11 3.1 Historical trends 11 3.2 Fortress conservation 12 3.3 Community-based initiatives 12 3.4 Conservation outside protected areas 14 3.5 The current paradigm 16 Chapter 4 Improving Project Design 19 4.1 Summary of the argument 19 4.2 Barriers to progress 20 4.3 A framework for action 20 Biodiversity Series m Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Step 1. Analysing the system 20 Step 2. Developing a vision and rationale for action 22 Step 3. Implementation and feedback 22 A caveat 22 4.4 Concluding thoughts 23 Notes 25 References 27 BoxEs 1.1 The value of bioresources to local people 3 2.1 The science of biodiversity 5 2.2 An economic valuation of bioresources 7 2.3 Different local perceptions of the use value of bioresources 9 3.1 Uneven participation and success in CAMPFIRE 14 3.2 A successful example of community-based conservation 14 3.3 Current policies and procedures towards biodiversity in the World Bank 15 3.4 The effect of integrated pest management on biodiversity 16 3.5 Lake Tanganyika: An example of complex stakeholder interests and conflicts 17 3.6 Lessons for development from conservation experience in the U.K. 17 4.1 An example of good practice: Reconciling biodiversity and developmental interests in Ghana's wetlands 23 FIGURES 4.1 Process for identifying and understanding bioresource problems from local perspectives and preparing rural development projects with bioresource linkages 21 4.2 The people-ecosystem web: A simplified illustration of issues, questions, and interactions 22 TABLES 2.1 Three land-use models on the disturbance continuum 6 2.2 The economic values, benefits, and beneficiaries of bioresources 8 iv Environment Department Papers Foreword The idea for this study originated during my The primary focus of the study is the planning tenure as Chief of the Land, Water, and of rural development projects outside Natural Resources Division of the World protected areas but it also concerns questions Bank's Environment Department. It arose out of biodiversity management at strategic and of plans for a World Bank Handbook on policy levels removed from the front line. Thus, Natural Habitats and Ecosystem Management apart from new projects and programmes, the and long-standing collaboration between the study aims also to contribute to the develop- Bank's Environment Department and the ment of country assistance strategies (CASs), Natural Resources Institute (NRI). The study national environmental action plans (NEAPS), was generously funded by the Natural sectoral investment programmes, and policy Resources and Advisory Department of the development more generally, both inside and Department for International Development outside the Bank. (DFID) of the UK within the framework of its collaboration with multilateral agencies. Robin The first drafts of the papers were presented to Grimble of NRI managed the study throughout. the World Bank and DFID in June 1998. The main findings were later presented (January The study examines the challenges that need to 1999) at an Environmental Department be addressed if we are to control environmental workshop and subsequently reviewed by a damage in the development process and sustain multi-disciplinary peer review panel established the essential contributions of biodiversity to by the Bank (November 1999). The papers were ecosystem functioning and thereby people's further discussed and revised to constitute this livelihoods and rural development. The publication. purpose is to identify ways by which biodiversity conservation can be mainstreamed Coln Rees in the planning activities and processes of Chief, 1993-98 national governments and development Land, Water, and Natural Habitats Division agencies such as the World Bank. Environment Department Biodiversity Series v  Preface This study was commissioned by the 6. Participatory initiatives in biodiversity Environment Department of the World Bank conservation: lessons from experience and funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID). It arose out A study was also made of World Bank policies of plans for a World Bank Handbook on Natural and procedures relating to biodiversity Resources and Ecosystem Management and management and rural development together long-standing collaboration between the Bank's with three portfolio reviews. The findings of this Environment Department and the Natural were not published separately but incorporated Resources Institute (NRI) UK, including a into the main paper. contribution on Carrying Capacity (World Bank, 1996). The present paper is a distillation of findings from the various studies. It argues that The aim of the study is to improve bioresources and people's livelihood systems understanding of how biological resource are intricately interrelated, and opportunities conservation concerns can be better for intervention for development purposes must incorporated into projects and programs that start from good understanding of different primarily address the objective of rural people's access to and use and management of development rather than environmental these resources, and also the incentives, conservation. A multi-disciplinary study team constraints and institutional factors governing was assembled and six background papers the process. The paper identifies the necessary produced, along with the main overview paper. conditions and barriers to improvement, and The six papers were: develops an integrated framework for use in strategic development and the preparation of 1. Measuring biodiversity, predicting impacts, projects and programs. and monitoring change 2. Integrated pest management and The main findings of the study were presented biodiversity conservation by the NRI team at an Environent Department 3. Biodiversity conservation in agricultural seminar in January 1999. Following further landscapes in Britain: relevant issues for work the two volume draft report was peer developing countries reviewed by a multi-disciplinary panel 4. Reconciling biodiversity and development established by the Bank (November! December issues in practice: the search for a win-win 1999). This overview paper takes full account of situation in Ghana's coastal wetlands the detailed and valuable comments received 5. Strategies for biodiversity conservation: but the views expressed are those of the authors examples from Tanzania who take final responsibility for content. Biodiversity Series vii Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Life on earth has evolved into a unique, complex and beautiful phenomenon, in which there is both change and stability. The stability results from interlocking checks and balances, in which every species plays its role with little or no awareness of the true complexity of the biological, ecological and physical dynamics that constitute the system of which it is part. The rate and scale of human impact on the global ecology is such that it is now necessary to think about these system dynamics, and whether it is possible that our species could engineer its own decline or even demise. This is the challenge of sustainability. Changes in the global ecology indicate that we need to become more aware of the consequences of our actions, and to start to manage our affairs more consciously than has been the case in the past. This may mean that it will be necessary to evolve new political and economic structures and decision-making mechanisms in order to respond to these emerging global demands. - Anthony Clayton and Nicholas Radcliffe, Sustainability: A Systems Approach (1996) viii Environment Department Papers Acknowledgments The idea for this study came from Colin Rees, authors of six background papers: Tony then Chief of the Land, Water and Natural Russell-Smith, Keith Shawe, Richard Zanr6, Lia Habitats Division of the World Bank's Van Broekhoven, Monica Janowski, and Environment Department. We gratefully Richard Lamboll. Finally we would also like to acknowledge generous help and support given thank Mike Morris (NRI), Izabella Koziell by Colin himself, as well as, Gonzalo Castro (DFID), and Felicity Proctor (DFID's and Gunars Platais, both of the Environment representative in the Rural Development Department's biodiversity team. We should Department of the World Bank) for their also thank the members of the peer-review support and helpful contributions to the panel for insightful comments, and Bank staff paper's development. from the regional and technical departments with whom we consulted too numerous to The study was generously funded by the Rural mention individually. Livelihoods and Environment Division of the Department for International Development We have also enjoyed and benefited from (DFID) of the UK within the framework of its healthy debate with colleagues of the Natural collaborative programme in rural development Resources Institute (NRI) who sat on the with the World Bank. Without this support the advisory panel. We would like to thank the study would not have been possible. Biodiversity Series ix  Executive Summary The paper examines how to better The paper reviews the historical progression in accommodate biological resource concerns in strategies and approaches to conservation up to rural development projects where poverty the present day. Most development agencies alleviation and welfare improvement are the have moved well beyond protectionist primary aims and considerations. It notes that approaches to conservation and, at least at a habitat change and land-use intensification theoretical level, recognise the need for outside Protected Areas (in their various forms) community participation in bioresource are to an extent inevitable given population and management. However, there is limited economic growth, human value systems, and understanding of the operational means of the demands of the market. The challenges it achieving participation in large rural addresses are to ensure that change and development projects and programmes or for development occur without unnecessary loss of representing the economic and livelihood bioresources, that sustainable as well as interests of key stakeholder groups in these. To productive systems are established, and that the help overcome this, the paper develops a broad social groups most dependent on biological planning framework that incorporates detailed resources do not suffer. analysis of the perspectives and economic interests of different stakeholders, and the The term biodiversity is used in different ways, representation of these interests in project and often to describe the wider values of nature programme design. associated with abundance as well as its variability and variety. To avoid confusion, the In conclusion the paper reinforces two paper uses the term biological resources in overlapping themes: considering the totality of economic goods and services that nature provides and reserves the That every rural development project, term biodiversity for use in its strict or scientific including agricultural projects, is location- sense. It also considers the distribution of use specific and it is critical to appreciate the and non-use values and the way these benefit importance of local realities, particularly the different groups in society, differentiating detailed interactions between local people between those who suffer and those who gain and biological resources. from bioresource loss and habitat change (or indeed conservation). While there are That while every project must be assessed at undoubted synergies between development and an overall (macro) level, it is equally critical conservation, there are also trade-offs and to consider micro-economic incentives, and conflicts of interest between stakeholders that particularly the cost-benefit distributions of are important to identify and understand at an projed impact and biological resource early stage in project development, change. Biodiversity Series xi Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs The paper suggests that failure to attend to undermine the broader goals of poverty these issues in the preparation and design of alleviation). It is hoped that application of the interventions can lead to resistance to project methodology put forward will contribute to the activities, poor uptake of messages and design of effective interventions and increase technologies, and unforeseen negative impacts the likelihood of project success. on groups of stakeholders (which may xn Environment Department Papers 1 Introduction 1.1 Background up with conservation and the sustained use of The critical role that biological resources play in mareortunite a e in th sustaining human life has in the last two conver ofntura sysestto te decades received considerable if belated attention. In 1992 a broad framework for the agriculture. conservation and use of the world's biological Biological resources, their management, and resources-the Convention on Biological people's livelihood systems are thus complex Diversity (CBD)-was agreed by the United and intricately inter-connected. In this paper we Nations Conference on Environment and develop the argument that opportunities for Development (the Earth Summit). Despite intervention designed for the purpose of rural increasing recognition, however, the world's development must start from a knowledge and biological resources continue to be lost at an understanding of what these resources alarming rate, and particularly so in developing contribute to different sets of people, the countries where many of the remaining economic incentives and institutional factors resources are concentrated. governing the process, and the costs and The easns or ossare ompex nd ocaly-benefits of change. We suggest that failure to The reasons for loss are complex and locally-taecoutfmirlvleoni- specific but frequently relate to the processes of eviront irons antec- habitat conversion and agricultural dirons oftprctior prorame imt intensification brought about by demographic cnsriosy tret tr prormae ad and market-driven pressures (Pagiola and lad tol than tipeeonc bn Kellenberg, 1997). Pressures are inflated by the ad unneessar bogical esorce 'public good' characteristics of biological adan. resources and difficulties of internalising values in land-use management. The immediate land- 1.2 The challenge managers in the developing world are commonly the many millions of farmers, A central challenge facing development livestock keepers, forest dwellers and other sets agencies is how to better accommodate of rural people, both men and women, whose ecological concerns in rural development livelihoods are closely dependent upon the projects and programs where the fundamental availability and productivity of biological and aims are poverty reduction and economic other natural resources. Their situations may development, particularly raising the living not be identical, however, and different standards of poor rural people. Associated with stakeholder groups have different interests in this is the notion of sustainability and the the way the resources are exploited and assurance that future generations will not suffer managed. Some have livelihoods closely bound from today's 'short-termist' decisions and Biodiversity Series Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs actions. Development and conservation have particularly the wild resources and niche much in common and it is imperative to seek habitats of modified landscapes, together with convergence whenever this is possible. the natural ecological functions and services However the two are not always mutually such as plant pollination and nutrient cycling supportive and trade-offs between development that they support.' As discussed in section 2.1, and conservation sometimes occur, perhaps the term biological resources is used to increasingly with population growth and other encompass not just biodiversity but also the pressures for change. Unfortunately these trade- totality and abundance of living organisms (see offs are often ignored or downplayed in project section 2.1). 2 and programme preparation and seldom form a considered and costed part of development 1.3 Human-centred perspective planning. There are two distinct ways of considering the The focus of the study is on rural developmentbiological resources and the case for in landscapes already modified or converted by direnein ndersanig re 1994; human activity, where socio-economic Grimbie, 1996). The ecocentric paradigm suggests development rather than ecosystem that all living species have a moral and equal conservation is the primary concern of local right to exist. In this argument all species are people and development planners alike. It is deemed to have an intrinsic value irrespective of worth a reminder that few if any landscapes are any value thai humans derive from or attribute untouched by human activity and most- to them. The anthropocentric paradigm, on the perhaps 80 percent or more of the globe-are other hand, views biological resources as a largely a product of it. Unlike national parks collection of goods and services that support the and other protected areas, modified landscapes maintenance and enhancement of human life. are managed primarily for productive purposes Conservation is necessary where their loss such as agriculture in its various forms, reduces the stock of natural capital and the livestock rearing or commercial forestry. By resource base available for current or potential global standards, these areas are not generally' future use. Their loss may also endanger local seen as biologically rich or diverse and and global life-support systems and ultimately biological resource management takes a back threaten the future of humankind. seat. The importance of biological resources in these areas should not be minimised, however, For both theoretical and practical reasons we and they form an integral part of the livelihood take an anthropocentric position in this study: systems and diets of many of the world's poorest people (see Box 1.1). The ecocentric concept of intrinsic value is unmeasurable or even unknowable, and In this context the study examines the issues to seemingly has little utility for practical be addressed to minimise environmental management. Without some assessment of damage and retain wherever possible the relative importance there is no rational way essential contributions that biological resources for choosing or prioritising between actions3 make to rural livelihoods and social and economic development. The study covers both Rural development is itself anthropocentric, agricultural biodiversity-the range of soil, aimed at reducing poverty and improving plant and animal organisms, species and the welfare of people, particularly the poor. ecological functions that contribute to If this is the case, and with the proviso that agricultural productivity-and more development should be sustainable, people- 2 Environment Department Papers Introduction Box 1.1 The value of bioresources to local people Though many bioresources do not enter markets or provide financial income, they contribute significantly to many people's nutrition and livelihoods. They are particularly important in times of hardship and in marginal areas, especially for the very poor, women and children. The IIED document "The Hidden Harvest" (1992) identifies some examples: * wild foods from common property are estimated to contribute some 20% of the nutrition of the poor in the dry season in parts of India * in 1973, the Berti tribe in Sudan survived a famine in large part by collecting wild grass seeds * unmarried and divorced women in Usambara in Tanzania support themselves by the collection and selling wild leaves and berries * some 41 percent of the Karimojong population in Uganda subsisted largely off wild foods in a famine in 1980. The following uncultivated products are of value: * wild foods such as fruit, berries, nuts, fungi, bush-meat and insects such as grasshoppers * housing construction and roofing materials, such as poles and grasses * raw materials (e.g.,rattan, raffia, reeds) for manufacture of furniture, tools & ropes * traditional herbal medicines * clothing and bedding (e.g. bark cloth and kapok) * fuel for cooking and heating (e.g. firewood and charcoal) * animal feed, fodder and litter. In agriculture, bioresources provide: * inputs such as manure, compost and mulch. * crop and livestock varieties, cultivars and landraces (including wild relatives) * wild and domesticated pollinators and associated products (honey and wax) * soil organisms that contribute to soil fertility and nutrient recycling * predators of important pests that damage cultivated crops * coppiced poles and other products * livestock feed and forage. More generally, bioresources provide: * protection against the adverse effects of climatic variability and extremes * resilience and maintenance of a healthy agro-ecosystem * new potential crops and livestock types * genetic material for breeding improved yields and pest/ disease/ drought resistance * culturally and spiritually preferred environments for human habitat and leisure. centred objectives logically take precedence vital to ensure that the social groups most over other considerations. dependent upon biological resources are not harmed by development or habitat change, or In taking our people-centred position, we give are properly compensated where they are. central consideration to distributional as well as global aspects of biological resources, and 1.4 Target audience and paper structure particularly the values ascribed to them by The paper is targeted at the following sets of different sets of local people. These people, people: many of whom are directly dependent on biological resources for their livelihoods, are Task managers, desk officers, and others in commonly under-represented in society both development agencies such as the World economically and politically. In both Bank and national government with front development and conservation planning, it is line responsibility for planning and Biodiversity Series 3 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs managing rural development projects and The paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter programmes 2 outlines the conceptual basis of the study, discussing the values and relevance of * Staff in development agencies with higher- biological resources in their various forms to level responsibilities, able to determine or different sets of people. Chapter 3 reviews influence policy direction, strategic different approaches to nature and biodiversity thinking, operational procedures, and 'good conservation over the years and the thinking practice' and strategies guiding practice today. Chapter 4 brings the paper to a practical conclusion by * While not the primary target audience, the identifying the necessary conditions and paper will also benefit specialists and barriers for improvement, and developing a technicians who conduct professional broad framework for planning rural studies and contribute to project and development. programme design and management. 4 Environment Department Papers 2 Conceptual Framework 2.1 Clarifying definitions millions of them. Moreover, the variability focus Biodiversity is a concept open to multipleattributes interpretations and meanings and as such is theal a ssad w iess angibl vaguely defined and understood. The most fu s asoi atin aniure widely accepted definition is set out in the cyclin anco aswideriscale, its cotribnt Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) watershed on a d eco triline. in terms of the variety and variability of life. This is broken down into its genetic, species and These dilemmas move us from biology into the (generally) its ecosystem components with world of social science and the values and secondary reference to the ecological complexes benefits derived by humankind from nature. of which they are part (see Box 2.1). In everyday Some authors have argued the need to separate parlance this may be simplified to refer to rare the value of diversity from the wider attributes and threatened habitats and animals of global of biological resources (Aylward, 1991). Others importance. have stretched the concept of biodiversity in such a way to encompass not only diversity but The emphasis on variety and variability in to include ideas not associated with variability scientific interpretations leads to questions alone. Indeed, increasingly commonly the term concerning its local (as well as global) validity, is used more or less as a synonym for nature in and at what place and scale diversity is general, and the terms nature and biodiversity necessary and should be assessed. The focus on conservation are used interchangeably. variability also underplays the practical importance of quantity and abundance. One bee We believe it is important to reduce confusion is hardly important by itself; its value to by distinguishing between biodiversity, defined pollination is the fact that there are many in its scientific sense as the variability and Box 2.1 The science of biodiversity As noted above, the scientific definition of biodiversity focuses on the variety and variability of biological life considered in terms of its hierarchical composition at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. All species and differences between them are the result of evolutionary change caused by the effect of natural selection on genetic variability within the ancestral heritage. Levels in the hierarchy are not discrete, however, and there is overlap and connectivity between them all. In effect, they are ways of looking at the same thing at different scales. Many genes are found within species, many species are found within ecosystems, and many ecosystems are found within the biosphere. Thus ulti- mately all levels can be defined by their genes. Biodiversity Series 5 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs variety of life, and the abundance of living end of, the spectrum lie highly-specialised resources and ecological functions found in all. commercial farms and plantations practising landscapes throughout the world. We suggest industrial agricultural and animal-rearing that biodiversity and bioabundance are two systems, using artificial chemicals, heavy distinct qualities associated with biological mechanisation and purchased inputs, creations resources, each of which are of potential major that in the future can be expected to importance to local people and others. In this increasingly incorporate genetically modified study we use the term biological resources, or organisms (GMOs). bioresources, to encapsulate diversity and abundance when taken together, and reserve the In between le a vast array of partially term biodiversity for use in its narrower sense.! converted agricultural landscapes whose In Table 2.2 we distinguish between the two sets position along the disturbance continuum can of value (diversity and abundance) and give be assessed in terms of input or output intensity. examples of likely beneficiaries of each. A movement from subsistence to market based examlesof e eniciaiesventures and a rise in resource productivity 2.2 Disturbance and changemay parallel this disturbance. Land extensive changesystems include shifting or slash and burn In bioresource terms, the world's landscapes can systems barely discernible from natural forests, be viewed along a 'disturbance' continuum, traditional mixed crop systems producing a from purely natural states to the artificial variety of food for domestic consumption or creations of man (Table 2.1). At one end lie sale, and numerous systems incorporating tree pristine ecosystems, though apart from the crops and livestock combinations. tundra it would be difficult to find completely natural landscapes untouched by local people There are always changes, and frequently losses, (e.g. even remote tropical forests are used by in both biodiversity and bioabundance across pygmies and others for hunting and gathering). the disturbance continuum, as intensification Disregarding the built environment, at the other and specialisation continues (Table 2.1). With Table 2. 1. Three land-use models on the disturbance continuum Natural state Partial conversion Total conversion Land system Pristine natural Multiple types and degrees Predominantly man- landscapes and of conversion and made systems and habitats intensification mono-crop production Bioresources Generally diverse Diversity & abundance Intensification leads to and abundant dependent upon the losses in diversity and intensity and nature of abundance management Market values Low, but under- Values dependent upon High, but may be estimated because nature and degree of overestimated and functions & values change disregard external costs unknown/ unpriced Sustainability. Al states may managed sustainability but threats and uncertainties to both biodiversity and abundance greatly increase across the continuum 6 Environment Department Papers Conceptual Framework the arguable exception of industrial agriculture, While this framework is helpful for however, losses are not absolute and many conceptualising the total economic value of managed as well as natural landscapes can bioresources, there are many theoretical and incorporate a great deal of environmental value. practical difficulties in its use. These values are The ecological values of these landscapes is generally extremely difficult to measure and often only recognised with development. In apply, including contingency valuation Britain, for example, conservation is seen to techniques that assess people's willingness-to- require the return to the relatively-extensive pay for conservation. Moreover the values farming systems of the recent past-now seen to assigned are not 'socially neutral' and may be contain much biodiversity and to provide many reckoned differenty by different stakeholder valuable ecological services-rather than to the groups. International comparison poses a natural state and vegetation of the area. particular dilemma; for example, it would hardly seem ethical for (inevitably) vague 2.3 Bioresource values 2.3 ioreoure vauesestimates of the existence value of the North to We earlier alluded to the fact that bott dominate the direct-use values of poor local biodiversity and bioabundance provide a range people in marginal parts of developing of goods and services of value to humans and it countries. is these that drive anthropocentric arguments for conservation. A number of analytical We mentioned above that some of the values of frameworks for the economic valuation of the bioresources relate to the abundance of the environment have been developed which we resource while others are derived from diversity have applied to bioresources. These are itself. The utility of fuelwood collected by rural described in Box 2.2 and developed further in people is likely to be more dependent on its Table 2.2. availability and abundance than its diversity, Box 2.2 An economic valuation of bioresources The primary distinction in valuing bioresources is between use and non-use values. Use values refer to the purposeful use of bioresources to gain some economic benefit or utility Goods can be consumed by the house- hold that hunts, collects or grows them, used as raw materials, or traded and sold. Other use values relate to activities such as trophy hunting, ecotourism, and bird-watching. Indirect use values are associated with the ecological functions that maintain the stability and productivity of the environment. Locally, wild pollinators such as bees and insects are vital for crop production as are soil organisms for nutrient cycling and fertility maintenance. On a wider scale values include the protection bioresources afford water catchments and hydro- logical regimes, and the contribution of forests and vegetation to atmospheric balance and climate regulation. Bioresources can also be valued for the aesthetic, cultural, spiritual or recreational benefits they provide. Bioresources also provide intangible non-use benefits relating to their potential future use or to their very existence. Species that currently have no known use, or are themselves unknown, may yet become important foodstuffs or provide valuable medicinal compounds or genetic resources in the future. Similarly, species that are currently unimportant to an ecological complex could in future be critical. Acknowledgement of present uncertainty and the potential for future values suggests that society may be willing to pay for the option of maintaining diversity. Existence values represent the satisfaction that an individual derives from the knowledge that a given element of biodiversity exists, irrespective of whether that individual ever expects to use or benefit from it direct y. Such value may be associated with ethical, moral, or cultural beliefs, reflecting, for example, the concern that many feel for endangered species such as whales or tigers, or threatened ecosystems such as rainforests. Biodiversity Series 7 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs though people will also be aware of critical rural development lies the vexed question of differences in the burning and heating qualities cost/benefit distributions. Most but not all local of different species. In other situations it is the values are direct use values, which provide diversity which is of direct value: for example, a immediate and practical benefits to local people. farmer may plant a range of different crops and At a regional level direct use values are less in varieties so as to minimise damage from pest evidence and the contributions made by indirect attack or weather extremes, or to take functions and services become more important. At advantage of local micro-climate and soil-types. the international and global scale, the The way farmers deliberately select and grow a importance of non-use existence value becomes large number of local varieties of beans in the paramount, though retaining options for Tanzanian central highlands is discussed in potential future use can also be critical (Table Lamboll and Van Broekhoven (1999). 2.2). Generally, then, biodiversity is used to reduce risk and improve sustainabilty and productivity, It is now accepted that structural and and forms an essential part of many poor institutional matters such as property rights, people's livelihood systems. local culture and resource access are likely to 2.4 The distribution of values govern the distribution of values in any particular situation (Hanna and Munasinghe, At the heart of the debate about the 1995). For example, indigenous people with conservation of bioresources and its relevance to long-standing access rights to a forest may Table 2.2. The economic values, benefits, and beneficiadries of bioresources Use values Non-use values Direct use valuesarlesi Consumptve Nonconsumptive I Indirect use values a Optiio values Existence values Definition: goods for Non-tradable or Ecological functions Possible future Satisfaction from home consumption, subtractive for maintaining use or knowledge of manufacture or sustainability and serendipity existence trade productivity Example values from diversity: Aesthetic value Diversity of Gene pool; Special conce r mixed crop varieties; of diverse species assists potential for diverse mixed food landscapes; some ecosystem medicines and species and combinations birdwatching resilience and drugs ecosystems stability Example values from abundance: Birdwatching and Carbon storage, None identified Cultural and food, fuel, fodder, recreation nutrient cycling, spiritual assets raw materials photosynthesis, waste assimilation Example beneficiaries: Visitors and Downstream users The young and Environment poor rural people tourists of of land, water, and future lobbies and including women various kinds energy; the world generations concerned people community Source: Developed from Barbier, 1992; Pearce and Moran, 1994; Blaikie and Jeanrenaud, 1996; and Hodge, 1997. 8 Environment Department Papers Conceptual Framework utilise a variety of non-timber forest products, Box 2.3 both animal and vegetable. Similarly, forest- margin groups may supplement their Dfe lale of he livelihoods with wild products and retain sacred areas (forest groves) for spiritual While wild foods may be an important part of the purposes (see Box 2.3). Collecting and gathering diets and livelihoods of some rural people, others wild products from common land is frequently may consider them weeds or pests of agricultural the task of women and it is they who are often crops. For example: most affected by their loss. In contrast, farmers ar a are of m an as cot with secure cultivation rights are likely to - Green leafy plants are extracted as weeds from benefit more from the agricultural service agricultural fields but provide valuable addi- attributes of bioresources such as the mulching tions to the diets of many people and domestic and composting properties of microbes and soil animals -Termites can be an important food supplement organisms. in many parts of southern Africa but reduce yields and handicap cultivation in other situa- As the values of bioresources are unevenly tions. distributed in society, it follows that the costs In circumstances such as these, different stake- and benefits of loss or conservation are also holders may view the same bioresource quite dif- unevenly spread. It is now well-established that ferently, a cost to one being a benefit to another. attempts to conserve a habitat by evicting, The complexity of dealing with such issues is il- restictng aces, o preentng ertan uagelustrated on a wider scale by different sets of in- restricting access, or preventing certain usageor conversion of has an opportunity cost borne by those directly forest land. In the Himalayan foothills, for ex- dependent on the area. Similarly, developmental ample, livestock keepers practising seasonal tran- activities such as road construction or shumance may clash at certain times of the year groundwater development schemes impact in with those groups and government departments groudwatr deelopentwith an economic interest in maintaining forest various ways on the economic interests of plantations. different rural populations. As stakeholders themselves, development agencies and conservation bodies make policy choices that implicitly make trade-offs between different therefore, to identify ways to minimise trade- objectives. Despite increasing use of project offs between environmental, economic and designations designed to encompass the twin equity objectives, and where at all possible objectives of conservation and development develop win-win-win situations. We return to (such as 'sustainable development' or this question later but at this point can indicate 'community-based conservation', not all two needs. Firstly, to give priority to protecting activities are beneficial to all and difficult those elements of biodiversity that provide most judgements have to be made between short and benefits to local rural populations, especially the long-term objectives. poor; and secondly, to ensure that the benefits obtained from conserving bioresources With the rise in global populations and the outweigh the full operational and opportunity scarcity value of natural resources, there is an costs of conservation. It is important that this is increasing demand for the goods and services done not just as a project-level calculation but that bioresources provide and especial concern also from the viewpoints of the stakeholder for unnecessary loss. A key policy objective is, groups most directly concerned. Biodiversity Series 9  Strategies and Approaches 3 to Conservation The word 'biodiversity' is a relatively recent one good began in the 1860s when legislation was that has become widely used only since the passed to widen public access to common lands mid-1980s; prior to this most of the approaches (e.g. the London parks such as Clapham to bioresource conservation referred to nature or Common). Running parallel to this was a wildlife conservation. Though many of the growing romantic interest in nature and also a issues and challenges remain the same, the scientific concern. In 1869 the philosopher and considerations have moved well-beyond the economist J S Mill advanced arguments for the scope of earlier approaches. This chapter briefly preservation of species for their own sake, reviews historical developments that have led to independent of their economic utility (Western the current situation and considers the issues and Wright, 1994). Out of this developed the that guide conservation practice today. notion of a nature reserve managed for its wild and diverse species. 3.1 Historical trends References to environmental degradation go On a much grander scale conservation back to Egyptian and Grecian times, notably movements developed in the United States, led Plato's description of an over-grazed landscape by John Muir founder of the Sierra Club, and in Attica as being "like the skeleton of a sick other spiritualists and romantics. The dominant man, all the fat and soft earth having been theme was the attempt to reserve nature for its wasted away, and only the bare framework of intrinsic value and in separation from humans. the land being left" (Rhodes and Odell, 1992). The fact that most environments are shaped by Early attempts by authorities to protect the environment were generally undertaken for economic interests of local communities were utilitarian or recreational reasons, particularly entirely discounted. Thus Yellowstone, the first for use by the powerful. In Lower Egypt, for in a series of national parks, was established in example, the Pharoes retained areas for 1872 to preserve the pristine wilderness, hawking and hunting and in England William evicting the native Shoshone, Crow and the Conqueror extended forest law to large tracts Blackfoot Indians in the process. Only later were of land (including the present day New Forest) developing tensions, such as those between "to protect and provide for sport and the preservationists and forest logging interests, provision of game" for his retinue. publicly acknowledged. In the Roosevelt era, stand-offs arose over plans to flood a valley in The rise of modern conservation consciousness the Yosemite National Park for the provision of in Britain gathered momentum in the late 19th water to San Francisco, followed in the post century with urbanisation and the World War II period by a series of water disappearance of wildlands. State involvement conflicts. The split later widened when the in the regulation of natural areas for the public animal rights and deep ecology movements Biodiversity Seriesssh Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs surfaced and began to champion the interests of living within the park were evicted and species and nature on ethical and moral excluded from use of the natural resources on grounds (Western and Wright, 1994). which they had previously been dependent. 3.2 Fortress conservation The outcome of this was often ongoing In developing countries, early conservationists confrontation between the PA authorities and were similarly motivated by the desire to local people. In East Africa the Maasai and other protect wildlife and nature in their pristine and pastoralists continued to graze their livestock, undisturbed condition. The main focus was the hunt game (or poach, depending on establishment and management of protected perspective) and cultivate land within newly areas (PAs) in the form of forest reserves, nature established park boundaries. In an effort to reserves and national parks. Early initiatives prevent such practices, the authorities were included the establishment of forest reserves in forced to commit greater resources to the West Indies and a botanical garden in South maintaining and patrolling boundaries and Africa (1820). The momentum to preserve forest enforcing regulations. Problems became more and game in various parts of the colonial serious over time, brought about by increasing empires built up towards the turn of the population pressure on PAs and surrounding century, and there was renewed activity after areas, and the escalating cost of protection. The World War II (e.g. in East Africa). During this fencing of areas sometimes also had a period the colonial focus on hunting and game deleterious effect on the wildlife for which the management merged with a growing PAs had been established, particularly where international interest in wildlife conservation, fences crossed migratory routes. and many controlled hunting areas and game reserves were reclassified as national parks The problems of fortress conservation with its (Adams and Hulme, 1997). top down and centralised approach to PA management generally failed to protect the The process of identification, establishment and wildlife as fully as intended and often caused management of all such areas was top-down hardship to local communities. The attempt to and politically-led, with selection taking place separate conservation from development centrally and implementation by government concerns was increasingly challenged and the ministries. Emphasis was given to protecting approach was ultimately overtaken by another areas of high species-diversity or those where discourse often termed community-based high-profile animals or natural habitats were conservation (Western and Wright, 1994; Adams threatened. Selection criteria were based on the and Hulme, 1997). need to protect features of global (or Northern?) 3.3 Community-based initiatives importance and local interests were barely recognized or taken into account. The In contrast to fortress conservation, management aim was to minimize human community-based conservation (CBC) is based disturbance within PA boundaries so that on an improved understanding of the linkages natural, ecological processes would maintain and mutual dependence between conservation the environment and continue to provide and local people, and the need for people to habitat suitable for wildlife. As in the early participate in conservation activities. It is the years of conservation experience in the USA, decisions and actions of local people that this followed a protectionist or 'fortress commonly bring about bioresource loss and the conservation' approach in which local people approach sees working with them, and getting 12 Environment Department Papers Strategies and Approaches to Conservation them on management's side, as being of key programs, there is only limited evidence of importance to conservation. Development of local people's views being assessed and the CBC narrative runs alongside improved incorporated in the planning, management understanding of the economic rationality of and implementation of projects (IIED, 1994; poor rural people and growing recognition of Brandon, 1993; Little, 1994). Moreover there is the depth and value of indigenous knowledge. little recognition of the complexities of participation and methodological difficulties This linking of conservation and development are often swept under the carpet (Amstein, interests was developed and reiterated in 1969). Many programs still fail to fully analyse many documents important to biodiversity problems from stakeholder perspectives or conservation, most notably the Biodiversity properly consider who bears the cost of Convention, signed by some 170 nations at the conservation (see the example in Box 3.1). This United Nations Conference on Environment is especially critical when what is to be and Development in 1992. Numerous attempts conserved is of national or global value but of have been made to operationalise the approach limited relevance to poor local people. including UNESCO's Man and Biosphere program (which promoted buffer zones 3.4 Conservation outside protected areas around PAs in an attempt to meet the needs of Though conservation practice has moved on a both local communities and the PAs themselves), and integrated conservation and longeway foteleacy fufortress development projects. Understanding the conatin consation nd interdependence of nature and local people has mna t by the A ent Ad since been taken further: for example, the manaementrof P o Aras (PAs c n theme of the African Regional Biodiversity forthei contriputin diversity and Forum held in Mombassa in February 2000 was "Using Biodiversity to Strengthen endemic habitats under threat (World Bank, Livelihoods". The aim of the forum was to 2000). Even where project activities are "explore ways to integrate poverty alleviation classified as relating to conservation outside considerations into local, national and regional PAs, this often means the management of actions aimed at conserving, using sustainably, and sharing equitably, the benefits of connection to PAs at all. Such a continued biodiversity." focus on PAs reflects the continued nature or wildlife conservation mindset and the The positive legacy of community-based- emphasis this places on the protection of conservation is thus now widely recognised, natural habitats and rare and threatened including the need to involve local people in species (see Box 3.2). the planning and implementation of projects. The jury is out, however, as to whether the As more and more natural ecosystems are structural shift has been as successful in reality converted or heavily modified, exclusive as in rhetoric. The overarching aim remains reliance on a PA network becomes less viable. one of bioresource conservation with the Examination of environmental policy and unwritten assumption that, when done in the practice in developed countries demonstrates right way, conservation is of automatic benefit that managed areas, as well as natural to local people. While most if not all landscapes, contain much of environmental conservation practitioners now advocate the value and should be considered as important involvement of local communities in their for conservation (see the UK case study, Box Biodiversity Series 13 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Box 3.1 Uneven participation and success in CAMPFIRE The structure of the well-known CAMPFIRE initiative in Zimbabwe provides for decentralisation of decision- making and the devolution of resource management responsibilities, passing incentives for conservation man- agement down to local communities. The devolution of power has had considerable success in changing atti- tudes from dependency on central institutions to self-reliance and self-sufficiency. In the process, local institutions have also been strengthened in terms of project management and accountability. However, whilst community participation has been effectively implemented in some areas, in others this has been much less successful. The problem has usually concerned the nature and effectiveness of the devolution process. In some cases devolution has gone no further than the district councils, leaving local communities frustrated and powerless, let alone the individual households where resource management decisions are com- monly made. This has led to misunderstanding and sometimes hostility towards CAMPFIRE, increasing mis- trust of district councils, lack of effective environmental controls, and intolerance of wildlife that cause dam- age and provide no local benefit. Environmentally the result has been negative, with continued illegal poaching and further encroachment into wildlife areas. The problems of participatory conservation management have been more acute in marginal areas with fewer elephants or other wildlife valued by tourists and hunters, and thereby attracting less finance. Source: Janowsky and Zanr6, 1999. 3.6). Many highly modified and fragmented Many of the world's poor live in such landscapes in developed and developing agricultural landscapes greatly changed from nations alike provide habitats for a large variety their natural state and where natural resources of adaptable and new species and for the are exploited for productive purposes.4 The numerous ecological functions that sustain agriculture (Srivastava et al, 1996). Exclusive of d n tion in thseareasis concentration on global concerns for their rarity p or diversity is no longer appropriate and it is and, though sustainability concerns are also necessary to widen our appreciation and considered important, bioresource consider the value of bioresources in all areas conservation as such usually takes a back seat. and to all people. This is despite the recognition of the role wild Box 3.2 A successful example of community-based conservation The sal forests of West Bengal in India had traditionally provided an important resource for local people. However the assumption of state ownership and control underained traditional property management re- gimes, and the forest became badly degraded with no standing trees outside village environs, and in some areas even tree roots were extracted for fuelwood. Local people were aware of the negative changes arising from forest degradation, and reported impacts such as temperature increase, lower rainfall, drier earth, diffi- culty in finding wood for tools and fuel, and drying up of water sources. The subsequent establishment of Forest Protection Committees returned a degree of local control over forest use to the villagers and re-established incentives for local people to protect forest areas. This has reportedly resulted in forest regeneration with local people citing benefits such as reduced insect attack on rice crops (due to increased bird populations), improved water infiltration and less runoff, and cleaner air. Villagers say the forest is important in cleansing the air of disease and generally contributing to a healthy environment. Sgres Janowky and Zanr , volume 2. 14 Environment Department Papers Strategies and Approaches to Conservation Box 3.3 Current policies and procedures towards biodiversity in the.World Bank World Bank recognition of the importance and contributions;of biodiversity for many years has focused on PAs and the global values of rare and threatened species and habitats. In screening projects for Environmental Assessment purposes, current Bank guidance highlights the need to identify "the potential for significant conver- sion or degradation of critical or other natural habitats" (OP/BP 4.04). Natural habitats are described as those where "(i) the ecosystem's biological communities are formed largely by native plant and animal species and (ii) human activity has not essentially modified the area's primary ecological functions." Critical natural habitats are those se- lected on the basis of "species richness; degree of endemism ,rarity, and vulnerability of component species; representa- tiveness; and the integrity of ecosystem processes." The emphasis on natural and critical habitats is acknowledged in the Bank's second Environment Assessment (EA) review (World Bank, 1996) which states that: "many EAs appear to be biased towards non-degraded forest habitats as the principal concern, even though other habitats can be important for biodiversity and its conservation. Few of the EAs exploited opportunities within the project to conserve or increase biodiversity even where this would be benefi- cial for people in the project area." It is important to note, however, that there is an ongoing shift in the Bank to correct these distortions, including the consideration of biodiversity issues in modified habitats and improv- ing the integration of conservation with mainstream developmental activities. bioresources play in the livelihoods of rural impacts of activities undertaken; for example, communities, and especially of the poor.5 agroforestry and PM activities are rated as having positive effects on biodiversity, whilst In the case of the World Bank, an examination pesticide use and plantation cropping of cash of biodiversity in the agricultural sector crops are rated as negative activities. The portfolio (Jana and Cooke, 1996) shows that danger of such simplification is recognised by only 40 out of 402 (less than 10%) projects authors: while IPM may generally have a explicitly involved the conservation and favourable or neutral effect on biodiversity, in management of biodiversity, and even in these some instances it may impact negatively on biodiversity is generally treated as a separate local livelihoods (See box 3.4 and Russell- issue rather than integrated with other project Smith, volume 2). activities. The paper also indicates that environmental assessment of agriculture- sector projects rarely directly discuss During the 1980s the notion of sustainable biodiversity issues, and where they do, it is development developed, centred on the 'wise usually in the context of the likely effect of use' of natural resources.6 The work project activities on PAs, or the establishment culminated in the Rio Declaration (1992), a set of conservation areas as mitigation for certain of 27 principles for sustainable development, negative environmental impacts of the project. and Agenda 21, a global action plan for their Rarely is there any discussion of the impor- implementation. A number of different tance of biodiversity within the agricultural approaches to integrating environmental and lands themselves. developmental goals have since been developed which fall within the framework of Despite this apparently bleak position, the sustainable development. At the country level, paper does provide some evidence of positive comprehensive development fraMeworks, national trends towards more environmentally strategies for sustainable development, and sustainable agricultural activities. The analysis poverty reduction strategy papers are designed is based on a broad characterisation of the to provide strategic guidance. Biodiversity Series 15 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Box 3.4 The effect of integrated pest management on biodiversity In recent decades a variety of agro-ecological approaches including agro-forestry and integrated pest manage- ment (IPM) have been developed to minimise the environmental impacts of agricultural activities and protect biodiversity. IPM was developed in response to the enormous damage inflicted on the environment by the widespread and intensive use of chemicals in the control of harmful insects and pests. The fact that it aims to reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts has led to the assumption that IPM techniques and pro- grams are necessarily environmentally benign. Though it is undeniable that IPM is preferable to the heavy and prescriptive use of chemical inputs (pesticides, herbicides and fungicides), there has been little or no research to assess its actual impacts on biodiversity (Russell-Smith, volume 2). But it is perfectly clear that IPM pro- grams will adversely affect specific taxonomic groups, if only the pests they are designed to control. If IPM affects some taxonomic pest groups it is quite possible that some of the technologies used in an IPM program will also affect - directly or indirectly - other forms of life, including those deemed to be non-harmful or even useful. While these impacts may appear negligible or unimportant, a huge variety of pests (such as termites and caterpillars) and weeds are utilised by local communities, especially in hardship periods. Impacts on biological systems may or not be significant but we cannot assume without study that IPM technologies have no negative impacts or are necessarily technically and economically appropriate for all groups of local people or in every situation. Condensed within these are approaches that jurisdictional and other boundaries. While aim to balance economic, social, and essentially aimed at maintaining ecosystem environmental objectives in an integrated way. integrity and productivity over the long term, The sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) is a the approach emphasises the importance of way of thinking about poverty elimination and local people and acknowledges a place for the needs of the poor that rests on core "appropriate human modification" of these principles stressing people-centred, responsive systems (World Resources Institute, 2000). and multi-level approaches to development. Like other sustainable development concepts, Neither the SLA nor the Ecosystem Approach the SLA has multiple interpretations but is are strictly new but rather syntheses of lessons essentially a holistic and systems-based learnt from earlier approaches. In effect they approach to development-that incorporates the represent a convergence of development and key ideas of participation, wise-use of natural conservation ideals, with both adopting the resources, and economic stability. The SLA thus lookingatie fro s ite sdsthe aims to meet the developmental needs and coin. The current challenge is to find ways to aspirations of the poor in a socially and operationalise these approaches that take full environmentally sensitive way (Scoones, 1998; account of practical realities. While it is Ashley and Carney, 1999). relatively easy to deal with situations where multiple goals converge, in most situations Whereas the SLA is first and foremost people- there are trade-offs between short and long- centred, the ecosystem approach (EA) works term.objectives and conflicts of interest from the opposite side of the coin, addressing between multiple stakeholders (Grimble and conservation issues and ecosystem integrity in a Wellard, 1997). For example, decisions way that is sensitive to local communities. The regarding matters such as the clearance or central idea is the need to manage ecosystems protection of forested land often have to be as entities, but recognising that they cut across made where development or conservation 16 Environment Department Papers Strategies and Approaches to Conservation Box 3.5 Lake Tanganyika: an example of complex stakeholder interests and conflicts Lake Tanganyika is a globally important biodiversity site with 300 endemic fish-species and over 1,200 in total, the second highest species count of any lake. The lake's global importance prompted the establishment of a major UNDP/GEF funded biodiversity conservation project aimed at identifying major threats and prevent- ing biodiversity loss. The project reflects the high non-use (existence and option) value placed on it by the international community. However the lake's fisheries are also an important local bioresource with high use values to local people. These differing values have led to a number of conflicts between stakeholders. Local people have little or no appreciation of global biodiversity concerns and why outsiders deem conservation so important, nor apparently do outsiders appreciate the livelihood concerns of local people. - When one area was designated as a National Park, changes in fishing regulations gave rise to conflict over fishing rights between the National Park Authorities and neighbouring villages. Traditionally, fishermen had followed the movement of fish into the newly designated exclusion zone but with the changed status this was no longer permitted. The problem was magnified by the absence of markers or buoys indicating the boundary leading to unintentional entering of the park and the confiscation and destruction of equipment. While the new status has led to widespread and unforeseen problems, the fishermen from one village have apparently benefited from the exclusion, as the sanctuary acts as a reservoir for the particular type of fish they catch. To offset the loss of fishing rights, compensation payments have been made in the form of building materials for classrooms and teacher's offices. While the provision of improved educational facilities is welcome and potentially beneficial to the communities, the impact is seen as indirect and long term. The villagers do not consider such help as sufficient compensation for the loss of fishing rights, which has severely affected their livelihood-sustaining activities. Nor does it provide any incentive for fishermen to reduce their fishing inten- sity. To maintain their livelihoods, the fishermen must either continue to fish (illegally) in the exclusion zone or increase their catch from other parts of the lake. Source: Lamboll and Van Broekhoven, in press. initiatives are contemplated. Addressing these assigning economic values to unmarketed matters is no small challenge given the major goods and services, and locally-variable gaps in our understanding of people-ecosystem political, social, and institutional barriers to interactions, the methodological difficulties of truly participatory approaches. Box 3.6 Lessons for development from conservation experience in the U.K. For many generations the vast majority of land in Britain was managed for agriculture, forestry or other pro- ductive purpose, and today virtually no areas remain that could be described as truly natural. Until recent decades these agricultural environments were both bioresource rich and attractive places much valued by the general public. With incentives provided by the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), changes be- came more radical since the 1960's and traditional extensive agricultural systems were replaced by highly- productive systems and technologies characterised by heavy mechanisation and chemical usage. Until re- cently all state assistance was designed to raise input productivity and no mechanism existed whereby farmers could profit by reducing production or promoting the existence of biodiversity on his or her land. Two major agro-environmental schemes have been introduced in the last decade to reverse this process. The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) schemes provide mechanisms by which farmers receive payments for managing their land in environmentally-positive ways, including the (continued) Biodiversity Series 17 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Box 3.6 (continued) Lessons for development from conservation experience in the U.K. enhancement of biodiversity. Neither scheme sets out to restore virgin habitats untouched by man, or to reduce people's dependence on a particularly valuable piece of land. Rather the aim is to return to a more extensive and perhaps idealised form of agriculture where externalities are minimal and man and nature live in har- mony. In both schemes carefully-calculated payments are made to land managers to provide an incentive to join and compensation for income foregone. These are enacted through management agreements or contracts made by the Ministry of Agriculture with individual farmers. Studies have indicated that the British public values the protection of the rural countryside for its aesthetic beauty, the opportunities for recreation it offers, and for the flora and fauna it attracts. Under the ESA and CS schemes farmers are paid for the provision of these goods and services by the government which acts as a surrogate consumer for the general public. However the establishment of these schemes has been prompted by fears of over production as much as biodiversity loss. In developing countries priorities differ and food production and economic development are at the top of the list. In no way would most developing countries give the same priority to conservation con- cerns, or without outside funding have the capacity or afford the cost of running equivalent schemes. The value of the UK comparison is not that similar schemes should be promoted at this stage of development but rather as evidence that poor people cannot be expected to pay for conservation out of their own pocket when livelihood considerations and price signals reflect other priorities. If we wish to give encouragement to poor people to conserve their biodiversity and abundance then economic incentives and institutional structures must reflect these priorities. Source: Grimble and Laidlaw, in press. 18 Environment Department Papers 4 Improving Project Design In this final chapter we start by summarising bioresources to describe the values of diversity some of the main conclusions and arguments and abundance when taken together. The study presented in the earlier chapters before considers the way bioresources are valued, discussing the means of achieving the goal of distinguishing between those derived from integrating bioresource conservation into the diversity and those from abundance. It also policies, plans and processes for rural considers the distribution of these values and development. We identify barriers to integration the way they benefit different groups in society, and discuss how these affect the treatment of differentiating between those who suffer or gain bioresources at the project level. Finally, we from bioresource loss and environmental propose a broad framework for action and point change. While there are undoubted synergies to the need for more thorough assessment of the between development and conservation, there impacts of rural development projects on the are also trade-offs and conflicts that are interacting processes of environmental change important to identify and understand at an and stakeholder livelihoods, early stage in project development. 4.1 Summary of the argument Most development agencies have moved well beyond protectionist approaches to The study sets out to examine how to better conservation and, at least at a theoretical level, accommodate biological and ecological concerns recognise the need for community involvement in rural development where poverty alleviation and participation in bioresource management. and welfare improvement are the primary aims However, there is less appreciation of the and considerations. It suggests that habitat operational means of achieving this ideal in change and land-use intensification outside PAs large rural development projects or the are to an extent inevitable given population and methodological difficulties of people- economic growth, human value systems, and participation in project design and the demands of the market. The challenge is to management. Many initiatives fail to analyse ensure that change and development occur with problems from stakeholder perspectives or minimum loss of bioresources, that sustainable properly consider who bears the cost of as well as productive systems are established, environmental change or conservation. The and that the social groups most dependent on unwritten assumption remains that biological resources do not suffer. conservation and development are mutually supporting and, when done in the right way, The term biodiversity is used in different ways, benefit all stakeholders alike. We believe this is often to describe the wider values of nature as an oversimplification that lies at the root of well as its variability and variety. To avoid many problems, and of special concern when confusion, we use the term in its strict or there are differences in perception between local scientific sense, and apply the word and global interests. Biodiversity Series 19 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs 4.2 Barriers to progress The problem of in-country institutional Although much progress has been made in the capacity can be a significant barrier to treatment of bioresources in the context of rural intensive appoc.nttional development, it is useful to ask ourselves why ienie ma Inuie x t the problems outlined above still exist and to inficreconmiclanalisithd syste consider a number of institutional barriers and perec nd t nabiit o govem challenges:or local NGOs to adequately represent stakeholder interests. * There is a continuing emphasis on global values of biodiversity associated with rare, The large scale of most donor-assisted projects threatened and endemic species and means that taking account of locally-specific habitats and the establishment of protected variation and cost-benefit distributions is areas (of various types) to conserve them. A difficult and costly This problem can in part broadening of the way policies and be addressed through the adoption of a procedures currently address biodiversity process approach that allows for non- and wider bioresources concerns in structured and flexible management, and a productive and degraded landscapes would decentralsation of decision-making where facilitate the incorporation of local possible to grassroots level. bioresource values into project and programme development. 4.3 A framework for action * The demand for an in-depth understanding In this paper we have considered the of local interactions has a high information importance of understanding people's requirement. The collection and analysis of interactions with bioresources in project information represents a potential increase planning and management and the need for in project preparation costs. This can at least representing the interests and perspectives of partallybe ddresed y uing proesslocal people in, the process. The challenge now is partially be addressed by using a process PP approach designed to facilitate the to develop operational systems for taking ideas incorporation of newly-acquired knowledge forward and incorporating these ideas into and understanding into the work of the mainstream developmental activities. To this project. end we have developed a broad framework for planning (Fig 4.1) to assist the process of * The influence of environmental assessments preparing speciic local actions from broadly- (EA) on project design remains problematic. A stated strategic goals. An essential element of more thorough integration of EA into this framework is the adoption of a stakeholder project cycle activities, and a widening of approach that incorporates detailed analysis of the cyce aces, the perspectives and economic interests of economic/ environmental interactions, different stakeholders, and the representation of econodmc!v envromenta deineatos these interests in project and programme design would improve project design.1997). * The identification of negative impacts of projects Step 1. Analysing the system and the mitigatory measures necessary to offset them is important but should not take The starting point in the process is the precedence over the need to seek positive development of an understanding of the local management options for the use of biological environment and people's interaction with it. resources to sustain local livelihoods. This includes: 20 Environment Department Papers Improving Project Design * The identification of stakeholder groups * The impacts of project activities on with different sets of interest in project environment-people interactions, including activities and environmental change who bears the cost or gets the benefit from * The economic value and role of goods and change services provided by bioresources, including 0 The trade-offs between short and long term both their diversity and abundance management ideals and practices * The importance of these to different * The potential conflicts of interest between stakeholder groups in livelihood and stakeholders at different scales and levels. functional terms * An appreciation of what is happening to the A partial illustration of the web of issues, system in the absence of intervention, questions and interactions concerned is given in including the impact of shocks and stresses Fig 4.2. Figure 4.1 Process for identifying and understanding bioresource problems from local perspectives and preparing rural development projects with bioresource linkages Analyse system *tThe linkages between Step Ibioresources and people Identify Assess affect of stakeholders and social, economic, their perceptions and environmental ofinterest trends impacting Analyse system Step 2 Prioritise problems to be andese dee obdentifysssess affcoecto Asesistkeholr an Asal, ps enomice thir and options for Iterative S ot aints antrens tion Bdoj citi/d ter mes r 2 systems for stakeholder intervention in representation I - broad terms I Step 3 Plan and implement local actions based on local understanding and knowledge Biodiversity Series 21 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs Figure 4.2 The people-ecosystem web: A simplified illustration of issues, questions, and interactions What ecological functions and services What species and are provided? Are there global habitats are found and or option values in what quanities? to be considered? What stakeholders What current need to be identified exogenous trends and their differing and changes interests understood? Stakeholder are underway? and ecosystem interactions Who benefits and in What are the local what way from the environmental and bioresource stakeholder impacts conservation? of ongoing changes? What are the How are biodiversity perspectives, needs and and bioabundance used aspirations of different and valued by local and stakeholder groups? other stakeholders Step 2. Developing a vision and rationale foradaen boxe in arfic action Tetidsaeo h rcs steato tg In light of the above, the second stage in theinwchfedlvlatiisarpandad process is to consider the options for ipeetd hssaenest ehgl intervention, draw on lessons from paststepstverap, ite nduinf a c experience, and consider the institutional andte fra e throre n policy context impacting on the system andd ate ae influencing the room for manoeuvre.avibl,ndlstorpndoney The information from various sources is thenofaefctvfedcklpfrinrmgad drawn together to determine the scope and epcal rtcl form of intervention. An important element in the process is the effective representation of Acva stakeholder interests in decision-making, Teei agrta h bv rmwr particularly those groups with little influence or mgtb nesodadue ehnsial power. This follows from properly conductedwhrainfcteeisludybtente stakeholder analysis but is also likely to require stpanprcse.Tedtitonb twn mechanisms for direct participation (e.g. localadaetbxsiFg4.isrifclinhtte committees and forums, consensus building, sesoelp neatadifuneec and~~~Th cofitrslto)thr sTaothe processr is thoe actio ag implemeted.nTisra en eeds ten ghly Improving Project Design Box 4.1 An example of good practice: Reconciling biodiversity and developmental interests in Ghana's wetlands Ghana's 550 km coastline includes over 50 lagoons, river deltas and estuaries which range in size from a few dozen hectares to over 300-km2. Five of these sites have been recognised under the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance because of their function as over-wintering points for a large number of migratory birds. The sites are Muni-Pomadze, a small wetland just west of Winneba; Densu Delta, a wetland close to Accra with a major salt. panning concession; Sakumo, a small wetland bordering Tema under the authority of the Tema Development Corporation; Songor, a lagoon complex forming the western part of the Volta delta; and Keta, a large wetland forming the eastern side of the delta. The sites encompass shallow lagoons of fresh and saline water and their immediate catchments. Besides functioning as bird habitats, the sites are used by local people for a range of livelihood-sustaining activities such as fishing, agriculture, man- grove exploitation, pottery and brick manufacture, and salt production. Economic activities have been con- ducted at an increasing degree of intensity and commercialisation which in some cases present a significant threat to these fragile ecosystems. Under the Ramsar Convention the principal management objective of the five sites is wise use of resources intended to "safeguard their ecological integrity as wildlife habitats". Investigations carried out under World Bank/GEF Coastal Management Project, part of the Ghana Environmental Resources Management (GERM) Project, showed that local people value the wetlands not so much for their bird life or scenery but for the livelihood-supporting resources and services they provide. The potential trade-off between wetland conserva- tion and micro-economic interests was recognised and a Study of Development Options was commissioned by Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency, funded by IDA. The aim of the study was to identify ways that the five Ramsar wetlands in their present largely-undisturbed form could contribute to the livelihoods and eco- nomic well-being of local communities. A team from NRI was commissioned to conduct a detailed study of wetland-people interactions and identify a range of prospective development options compatible with the environmental objectives. The overriding prin- ciple they followed was the need to identify initiatives that benefited local stakeholders in a practical way, with particular emphasis given to the provision of economic incentives and mechanisms for local people to benefit from resource conservation. Enterprises identified included the development of improved small-scale aquaculture, agriculture, livestock, agro-forestry, salt harvesting, low-impact tourism and the establishment of a field centre for environmental education and management. To support these enterprises, vocational training was to be provided in technical subjects and business management, including business plan development, wherever possible making use of existing facilities. Particular emphasis was given to the identification of initiatives that would provide economic incentives for local people to conserve and sustainably-manage the wetlands. Source: Grimble, Ellenbmek and Willoughby, 1998. prescriptive tool but should be considered as a specific and it is critical to appreciate the system for guiding the process of developing importance of local realities, particularly the locally-specific and environmentally-sensitive detailed interactions between local people interventions. and bioresources. 4.4 Concluding thoughts That while every project must be assessed at In conclusion we would like to reinforce two an overall (macro) level, it is equally overlapping themes of this paper: important to consider micro-economic incentives and particularly the cost-benefit * That every rural development project, distributions of project impact and including agricultural projects, is location- bioresource change. Biodiversity Series 23 Biological Resource Management - Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs We suggest that failure to attend to these issues marginal, that may undermine the broader in the preparation and design of projects will goal of poverty alleviation. The aim of the continue to lead to resistance to project paper is to develop a broad methodology for activities, or poor uptake of messages and countering these problems. We hope that its technologies, that result in less than optimal application will help build effective projects project performance. It can also give rise to and programmes and increase the likelihood of unforeseen negative impacts on groups of them achieving what they set out to do. stakeholders, including the poorest and most 24 Environment Department Papers Notes 1. Wild resources may be found both on and activity (Hannah and others, 1994). off farm and include uncultivable rocky and Though in developing countries large marginal areas, forests and woodlands, field unbroken wildlands remain, fragmentation headlands and boundaries, and water- and disturbance have already given rise to courses and wetlands. While often species extinction and ecological damage associated with common land, they are also over wide areas. found on land that is held privately. 5. We should also bear in mind that, from the 2. It would be wrong to assume that only perspective of local people, the contribution natural landscapes are of value for of nature is not entirely positive. Local conservation and, indeed, some of the most farmers may seetheir management task as a valuable landscapes are largely man-made. struggle to 'control' nature, or at least to The Norfolk Broads in Britain, for example, utilise it to best advantage. Over time this is a wetland area of special conservation struggle normally leads to human attention today that only exists because of domination. peat mining activities in medieval times. 6. The ideas were set out in three key 3. For example, consider the question of publications-the World Conservation whether or not to destroy the remaining Strategy (IUCN, 1980), the Brundtland samples of a smallpox virus that no longer Report (WCED, 1987) and Caring for the exists in the wild. Earth (IUCN, 1991)-and developed at the 4. Most of the world's surface (73 percent United Nations Conference on Environment other than rock, ice, or barren land) has and Development in 1992 (the Rio Earth been significantly modified by man's Summit). Biodiversity Series du  References Arnstein SR (1969), A Ladder of Citizen Management: a Review of Principles, Participation, Journal of the American Institute Contexts, Experiences and Opportunities, of Planners, 35, 2166-224. 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