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The attitudes and feelings of people concerning conservation policies and wildlife conflicts affect their behaviour, and understanding this is important in involving local people in conservation planning and decision-making processes. This paper examines these important issues in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, located in central Bhutan. A survey of 274 house-holds was carried out to assess farmers' perceptions of the influence of Park management policies and protection regimes on traditional resource uses, and their attitudes towards the Park and conservation policies set forth in the Forest and Nature Conservation Act of 1995, integrated conservation development programmes (ICDPs) and wildlife conservation, and determine how demographic and socioeconomic variables influence these attitudes. Among local farmers, 52.2% disliked the Park and the Conservation Act, and 67.5% supported exterminating problem wildlife. Negative attitudes were linked to loss of resource use rights, livestock depredation and crop damage, lack of compensation strategies and exclusion of farmers from the Park's planning processes. However, 76.3% of the respondents appreciated the Park's development programmes, the positive attitudes associated with an expectation that significant economic benefits would be available from ICDPs sponsored by the Park. Empowerment of local communities associated with monetary benefits from non-timber forest products and compensation for loss of crops and livestock were emphasized by more than 70% of the respondents. These attitudes were related to age and literacy of the respondents, number of livestock owned and size of land holdings. Though important to the future of Bhutan's parks, study results also have wider applicability to conservation professionals throughout the developing world for resolving human-land use conflicts and involving local farmers in the protection of nature.

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In the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, persistent poverty and hunger present linked challenges to rural development and biodiversity conservation. Both household coping strategies and larger-scale economic development efforts have caused severe natural resource degradation that limits future economic opportunities and endangers ecosystem services. A model based on a business infrastructure has been developed to promote and maintain sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices, leading to direct and indirect conservation outcomes. The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) model operates primarily with communities surrounding national parks, strengthening conservation benefits produced by these protected areas. COMACO first identifies the least food-secure households and trains them in sustainable agricultural practices that minimize threats to natural resources while meeting household needs. In addition, COMACO identifies people responsible for severe natural resource depletion and trains them to generate alternative income sources. In an effort to maintain compliance with these practices, COMACO provides extension support and access to high-value markets that would otherwise be inaccessible to participants. Because the model is continually evolving via adaptive management, success or failure of the model as a whole is difficult to quantify at this early stage. We therefore test specific hypotheses and present data documenting the stabilization of previously declining wildlife populations; the meeting of thresholds of productivity that give COMACO access to stable, high-value markets and progress toward economic self-sufficiency; and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by participants and other community members. Together, these findings describe a unique, business-oriented model for poverty alleviation, food production, and biodiversity conservation.conservation farming | food security | poaching | carbon | sustainability T he Luangwa Valley exhibits many characteristic linkages between poverty traps and risks to biodiversity. There is heavy reliance of households (HHs) on limited natural resources, shared vulnerability to yearly climatic variability, an absence of strong social/economic institutions, and unintended negative consequences of economic development efforts. The situation has been heading toward a new equilibrium impoverished in both human condition and biodiversity. Positive feedback stemming from trophic disruptions to wildlife populations and habitat, relatively recent shocks such as HIV/AIDS or fluctuations in cotton markets, and the continual shock of variations in rainfall all serve to hasten this change. Given the severity of these interrelated problems, a unique approach has been implemented to preserve biodiversity by focusing on improving livelihoods and food security. The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) model uses markets and an adaptive business approach to promote sustainable agricultural practices, rather than base development on natural re...

Grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has become one of the most important issues for ecological science and policy-making in China. Even though researchers have explained the process of grassland degradation in some sub-regions, they have failed to reach any consensus on the primary causes and underlying mechanisms, and strategies for restoration. In this article, the potential socioeconomic and natural causes of grassland degradation in this region are critically examined through an extensive literature review, including studies on population growth, overgrazing, socio-cultural transformations and climate change. It is concluded that there is no single primary factor acting alone to cause degradation of grasslands across the entire region. Rather, different major causes and different combinations of factors influencing grassland structure and function likely operate at different spatial and temporal scales. In this context, it becomes critical to analyse various natural, socioeconomic and historical factors in each specific region when choosing amelioration or restoration schemes for an area. It also is important to conduct careful and precisely targeted analysis before applying a single restoration method on a broad-scale to an ecologically and socially complex region.