Planning for people and parks: Design dilemmas

Abstract

Integrated Conservation-Development Projects (ICDPs) attempt to link biodiversity conservation in protected areas with social and economic development in surrounding communities. The performance of ICDPs thus far has been hampered by numerous difficulties, many of which are strikingly similar to those encountered in rural development efforts. While many of these difficulties can be traced to specific design or implementation flaws, more fundamental conceptual issues pose a challenge for the approach. This paper highlights the evolution and performance of these projects thus far, and the conceptual tradeoffs inherent in linking conservation and development.