Navigating Trade-Offs: Working for Conservation and Development Outcomes

Abstract

In the early 1980s, the protectionist paradigm that had dominated conservation began losing ground. It was replaced by a notion, in the developing world especially, that poverty reduction and environmental protection should be tackled in an integrated manner (Adams 1990). Several approaches emerged, building on early attempts that can be traced back to the 1960s (Garnett et al. 2007). The promotion of commercial nontimber forest product (NTFP) production is one of those approaches (Kusters et al. 2006). At the landscape level, integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) gained favor. Integrated approaches appear to be at a crossroad (Adams et al. 2004, Sayer and Campbell 2004, Agrawal and Redford 2006). There are landscapes with vast natural assets where the local people remain deep in poverty (Fisher and Christopher 2007). This is well illustrated by the Malinau District in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which forms the focus of a number of studies in this Special Issue. Malinau District, which has significant biodiversity, timber, and mineral resources, has 56,000 people in an area larger than the Netherlands and yet a majority of the population experience poverty. Surely, the natural assets could form the basis for poverty alleviation without negatively affecting conservation values? Although there are many failures with integrated approaches, there are also some moderate successes, as is illustrated by the case study from Peru (Kilbane Gockel and Gray 2009). Therefore, in this special issue we have assembled a collection of studies that explore the options that might lead to at least a moderate level of development success in Malinau. In this introductory essay, we synthesize some lessons from integrated conservation-development initiatives in developing countries, drawing particularly on the case study material in this special issue. There is an emerging consensus that at the heart of achieving positive outcomes are a core of institutional issues involving landscape governance, trust building, empowerment, and good communication, all implying long-term commitment by, and flexibility of, external actors. Fundamental to success is the recognition of the significant trade-offs that occur between conservation and development goals. A variety of tools can be used to tackle the institutional issues and to confront the trade-offs. We close by reflecting on the resilience perspective to natural resource management, and what it has to offer integrated conservation and development initiatives in developing countries.