Impacts of Community-Based Natural Resource Management on Wealth, Food Security and Child Health in Tanzania.

Sadie Jane Ryan,Sharon Pailler,Robin Naidoo,Olivia E Freeman,Neil D Burgess,Brendan Fisher

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133252

Abstract

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a major global strategy for enhancing conservation outcomes while also seeking to improve rural livelihoods; however, little evidence of socioeconomic outcomes exists. We present a national-level analysis that empirically estimates socioeconomic impacts of CBNRM across Tanzania, while systematically controlling for potential sources of bias. Specifically, we apply a difference-in-differences model to national-scale, cross-sectional data to estimate the impact of three different CBNRM governance regimes on wealth, food security and child health, considering differential impacts of CBNRM on wealthy and poor populations. We also explore whether or not longer-standing CBNRM efforts provide more benefits than recently-established CBNRM areas. Our results show significant improvements in household food security in CBNRM areas compared with non-CBNRM areas, but household wealth and health outcomes in children are generally not significantly different. No one CBNRM governance regime demonstrates consistently different welfare outcomes than the others. Wealthy households benefit more from CBNRM than poor households and CBNRM benefits appear to increase with longer periods of implementation. Perhaps evidence of CBNRM benefits is limited because CBNRM hasn’t been around long enough to yield demonstrable outcomes. Nonetheless, achieving demonstrable benefits to rural populations will be crucial for CBNRM’s future success in Tanzania.

Highlights

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been widely promoted as a strategy that aims to conserve biodiversity, while simultaneously enhancing rural livelihoods
Even if a variable is increasing over time, its difference-in-differences coefficient can be negative if it is increasing at a slower rate than the non-CBNRM comparison group
In JFM areas, household wealth index increased 0.16 between 2003 and 2012 and was not significantly different than the change that occurred in non

Summary

Introduction

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been widely promoted as a strategy that aims to conserve biodiversity, while simultaneously enhancing rural livelihoods. The underlying theory argues that devolving control of natural resources to local communities. CBNRM, Health, Wealth and Food Security improves households' access to and management of those resources, thereby improving the resource base and their benefits to communities [1,2]. Since the 1990s CBNRM has been implemented across the developing world [3,4] and continues to be an important and expanding conservation strategy [5]. CBNRM provides a potential platform that other conservation strategies, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and biodiversity offsets, can build from [5,6,7,8,9]. Despite the popularity of CBNRM there is limited evidence that it leads to improved conservation outcomes, and even less evidence of any socioeconomic benefits [5]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion