Abstract
Community Reserves and Conservation Reserves illustrate a community-based co-management model, a first of its kind within the protected area (PA) network of India. Such reserves mark a shift towards an inclusive and decentralised approach within PAs in the country. Three such reserves in southern India: the Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve, Kadalundi-Vallikunnu Community Reserve and Thirupaddaimaradur Conservation Reserve, were selected to examine the reasons for their creation, management and stakeholder dynamics, with an aim to review their productivity and potential replicability. The study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with Forest Department officials, local community members and researchers working in the three reserves. Insufficient interaction between the stakeholders appeared to be a common issue in two reserves. The functioning of the reserves was also influenced, and in some cases negatively affected, by local politics. Financial stability was crucial in the functioning of reserves, as was consistency in interaction and appropriate monitoring of management plans. These elements are recommended for sustaining such reserves and creating community-based management systems for conservation, to support an inclusive approach to PA management.
Highlights
Protected areas (PA) for biodiversity conservation based on the preservationist principle have affected millions of people and their livelihoods in India over the past 40 years (Madhusudan & Raman 2003; Wani & Kothari 2007)
Interviews were conducted with local communities, conservation researchers and Forest Department (FD) officials in three reserves located in different states in southern India, viz., the Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve (ACR) in Karnataka, Kadalundi-Vallikunnu Community Reserve (KCR) in Kerala and Thirupaddaimaradur Conservation Reserve (TCR) in Tamil Nadu (Fig. 1)
In 2008, a plan was submitted to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Department of Forest and Wildlife, Karnataka, and the Western Ghats Task Force Committee to declare the area as a Conservation Reserve (Kumara 2011)
Summary
Protected areas (PA) for biodiversity conservation based on the preservationist principle have affected millions of people and their livelihoods in India over the past 40 years (Madhusudan & Raman 2003; Wani & Kothari 2007). The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling communities and empowers them with land-entitlement, utilisation of natural resources within PAs and informed consent during resettlement procedures. The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the Wildlife Action Plan (2002–2016) strengthen the role of communities in the utilisation and management of biodiversity both within and outside PAs. The most promising of these official initiatives is the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002, which allows for the creation of Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves as a third type of formal PA other than National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries (MoEF 2010c; Kanagavel et al 2013)
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