Abstract
The literature on community-based environmental management is very extensive and the discussion of the pros and cons is continuing. Presented here is an example of a successful interaction between university-based entomologists and a local rural community, detailing the change in the attitude of the town of Millbank, Jamaica, from a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly collecting site to a model for community protection of a species and its environment. A review of some of the research work on community-based conservation efforts is included. These linkages take a considerable time to establish and the efforts spent by scientific personnel, governmental representatives and eco-tourists are itemized to emphasize how specific conservation activities have inspired confidence in the local community, thus engendering trust and mutual respect between the two groups. Reviews of the developed legislative support from both international and state entities also must be in place, and these are included in chronological detail as much as possible. Finally, a review of the long-term funding of educational and other local programs providing a level of stability to the conservation effort, until the local community can take over the protection of the species and/or habitat, is provided. Of utmost importance is a comprehensive educational campaign to not only sensitize the community, but the larger society, so that there can be buy-in from all stakeholders.
Highlights
Conservation success requires that local communities are engaged and shown how they can benefit from conservation efforts; this is the message that community-based conservation promotes [1]
Paramount to conservation success of community-based efforts is a full understanding of the interactions between and among indigenous ecological knowledge, community-based conservation, and adaptive capacity in changing environments [3]
The exchange of information with the Millbank community was considered essential; indigenous know-how and scientific knowledge were exchanged and the researchers gained an appreciation for the value of indigenous ecological understanding, such as ideal areas of maximum occurrence, the best times of the day and year for sightings, locations of local plants used as larval food-plants, and flowering plants preferred by adult insects
Summary
Conservation success requires that local communities are engaged and shown how they can benefit from conservation efforts; this is the message that community-based conservation promotes [1]. Initial visits by university entomologists to Millbank throughout 1984 eventually succeeded in establishing a working relationship with one of the local commercial butterfly collectors who was actively supplying international demand (mostly from the United States) for a variety of endemic butterfly species At this time there were no specific. The concept of community-based conservation was first introduced to the local community by discussions with local leaders highlighting the importance of maintaining the populations of important endemic species. This concept was nurtured and developed throughout the following decades. This paper should not be considered as such, but as a case for a community-based conservation effort that makes much of the research possible
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