Letting Wood Rot: A Case Study on Local Perceptions of Global Conservation Initiatives (Boumba, Niger)

Abstract

Although there is a pressing need for conservation in Africa and a push for such actions to be directed by the community, there is still much conflict both in academia and on the ground regarding the success and methods of community-based conservation. Employing key-informant interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation, we look at how one community has perceived the conservation actions in their village, Boumba, Niger, and the neighbouring national park, Park-W. This study examines local perceptions of the goals, priorities and methods of conservation in Park-W and the Boumba region. We demonstrate that while participants expressed positive alignment with perceived conservation goals, they did not agree with conservation priorities and felt strongly against the methods. Reframing conservation discourse in the terms of sustainable-use or adaptive management may serve to help translate much of the conservation ethic to local realities. We argue that for local conservation to be culturally sustainable, programmers of conservation must engage the community on their own terms, and recognize the value of local perceptions.

The “How” and “Why” of Including Gender and Age in Ethnobotanical Research and Community-Based Resource Management

“…Recent changes in Park W conservation strategy led by the EU-funded conservation and development programs have promoted community-based conservation initiatives within Boumba and other park border towns. The success of local community conservation efforts depends on the programs' alignment with the community's needs, wants, and skill sets (Müller and Guimbo 2011).…”

Himalayan Alpine Vegetation, Climate Change and Mitigation

“…Our previous work in the eastern Himalaya has shown that biodiversity is well conserved in sacred areas (Anderson et al 2005;Salick and Moseley 2012;). We know that conservation strategies not supported by local populations do not work (e.g., Liu et al 2001;Mu ¨ller and Guimbo 2011). Sacred mountains are culturally supported and relevant to local ethnic populations (Salick in prep.…”

Ethnobiology, Political Ecology, and Conservation

“…However, although in global discourses of conservation sustainable management plays a large role in the conservation of economically valuable species (Robinson 2011), this discourse is not well represented in the SGBR, despite recent attempts to provide community members with direct benefits and to implement management programs for some valuable species. Moreover, not only is the implementation of non-consumptive conservation in the SGBR still the major paradigm (Müller and Guimbo 2011), but, at present, the villagers are in fact disempowered and trapped between different moral imperatives and a contradictory incentive/institutional framework for tackling conflict with both wildlife and wildlife managers. A historical tolerance between wildlife and traditional villagers has been disrupted by the return of wildlife and the restrictions imposed on local human response to HWC.…”

“…Thus, to create this baseline, we conducted extensive fieldwork in the area. The interest of GESGIAP and the government in learning more about HWC grew when HWC incidents began changing people's perception and attitudes towards the benefits and purpose of nature conservation and management (see Müller and Guimbo 2011;Postigo 2014). For several years, the problems people claimed to have with wildlife were overlooked.…”

“…At this point, most local villagers were conscious of the SGBR prohibition on killing wild animals, but believed that GESGIAP had imposed this law on them. People perceived the ban as strong and rigid for the offender but too weak in offering practical alternatives, support, or compensation (see Müller and Guimbo 2011).…”