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Several studies have identified threats that originate in areas surrounding protected areas (PAs). While there have been various efforts to integrate PAs with their surroundings, considerable challenges remain. Here we summarize these efforts to date, discuss their effectiveness, and provide recommendations for future research. Based on a broad lit...
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Context 1
... shown in Figure 2, commencing from the 1850s, there were changes in the conception of the relationship between PAs and their surroundings. With the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in the USA in 1876, an ideology of strict and isolated conservation that excluded local people and all forms of local participation in PAs took shape. ...
Context 2
... shown in Figure 2, commencing from the 1850s, there were changes in the conception of the relationship between PAs and their surroundings. With the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in the USA in 1876, an ideology of strict and isolated conservation that excluded local people and all forms of local participation in PAs took shape. ...
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Citations
... Indigenous peoples (IPs) and local communities have been evicted from their traditional lands and coercively pushed from independent and self-sustained livelihoods based on Indigenous knowledge adopted for centuries to unsustainable livelihoods (Domínguez and Luoma 2020). The shift from area-oriented approaches (disassociation of local people from protected areas) to processoriented approaches (conservation through acceptable and adaptive processes reducing conflict between the protected area and local people) around the world has not been implemented in a synchronized manner (Du et al. 2015). The participatory approach to conservation has not recognized the guardianship of IPs for nature-conservation based on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). ...
Political ecology studies have mostly explored on the conflicts that arise between local communities' and Indigenous peoples' (IPs') vulnerability to sustainable livelihoods based on nature and conservation regimes. Even in the context of the change in conservation tactics towards active community involvement and socioeconomic development, which has reinforced the fortress conservation strategy, traditional ways of life and the lived traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of IPs are under jeopardy. Nevertheless, the studies give little consideration to the way in which TEK is (de)valued for bolstering fortress conservation at the expense of IPs' livelihoods unsustainability. This study investigates the (de)valuation of TEK of Bote embedded in their traditional livelihoods through conservation management, based on a critical ethnographic investigation carried out in two villages of Bote IPs (in the Buffer Zone area) of Nawalparasi district of Chitwan National Park (CNP)-southern lowlands of Nepal. We argue that TEK is paralyzed by conservation regime without acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between IPs and biodiversity. Therefore, in order to conserve biodiversity and support the mutual sustainability of biodiversity and local livelihoods, there needs to be active guardianship and stewardship of IPs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Scholarships on the political ecology of conservation have explored the tensions that arise between the lo-cal/Indigenous peoples (IPs) and the conservation regime, as well as the fragility of sustainable local livelihoods. Nevertheless, there hasn't been enough research done on the (de)valuation of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of IPs to strengthen fortress conservation. The study makes the case that the Bote IPs, who live on the edge of Chitwan National Park (CNP) in Nepal's central lowlands, have partial or specialised TEK that the CNP's authorities employ to further their goal through co-management of the Park. The research advances the still-emerging discourse of Indigenous self-management in conservation based on TEK. This is noteworthy in addition because it implies that, in the specific instance of Nepal and in some other contexts, state conservation policies and practices should take the Indigenous perspective into account.
... In part as a response to social justice and human rights concerns, policies and practices have shifted from a protectionist model of conservation to a participatory approach , with the institution of multipurpose buffer zones and a wider landscape approach (in the 2000s), improving recognition of the socio-economic needs of Indigenous peoples and local communities (Aryal et al., 2020). However, the shift from area-oriented PA conservation to community-based conservation for the purpose of reducing conflict and community development has not always been successfully implemented (Du et al., 2015). In some regions, community-based approaches have actually reinforced 'fortress' conservation, thereby weakening the link between conservation and Indigenous peoples' (IPs) traditional practices (Haller & Galvin, 2011). ...
Prior political ecology studies have explored the vulnerability of pastoralism and conflicts between protected areas and pastoralist livelihoods. Some conservation regimes regard Indigenous pastoralists’ institutions, knowledge, self-governance and self-determination as incompatible with contemporary conservation on the grounds that the associated practices are unsustainable. Based on critical ethnography, this paper examines the moral ecology of Indigenous Magar agro-pastoralism in the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve of mid-western Nepal. Traditional Magar management is in crisis due to reserve policies and practices. From a political ecology perspective, I show that the traditional moral ecology of agro-pastoralism sustains complex relationships with the rangelands. Traditional institutions uphold a moral ecology that is deeply rooted in spiritual practices and fosters a sense of responsibility for the preservation of biodiversity and nature. Current conservation policies inadequately recognise these Indigenous moral principles and weaken harmonious socio-ecological relations. In order to manage protected areas sustainably in high-altitude regions, it is crucial to manage agro-pastoralism within the framework of traditional moral ecology through Indigenous peoples’ self-governance and self-determination.
... and unprotected Central African forests are under threat of conversion to small-and largescale agriculture to meet nutritional and economic needs, along with mining, forestry, and urban and rural infrastructure expansion [2,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. There are unresolved debates in the literature regarding whether area-based models of varying degrees of resource-use and access restriction are appropriate in such contexts of high land and resource needs from local populations and, more broadly, whether the protected areas model is effective for biodiversity conservation [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. ...
... Both protected and unprotected Central African forests are under threat of conversion to small-and largescale agriculture to meet nutritional and economic needs, along with mining, forestry, and urban and rural infrastructure expansion [2,[6][7][8][9][10][11]. There are unresolved debates in the literature regarding whether area-based models of varying degrees of resource-use and access restriction are appropriate in such contexts of high land and resource needs from local populations and, more broadly, whether the protected areas model is effective for biodiversity conservation [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. ...
... The age of the protected area, agricultural suitability of soils, and proximity to international borders or highly developed areas can also influence protected area effectiveness [18,[29][30][31]. Considering these factors and debates regarding protected area effectiveness in recent decades, a plurality of management approaches and models have been suggested [19,26]. For example, collaborative transboundary efforts present opportunities for the protection of ecosystems and landscapes that cross international boundaries [21,32]. ...
The forests of Central Africa constitute the continent’s largest continuous tract of forest, maintained in part by over 200 protected areas across six countries with varying levels of restriction and enforcement. Despite protection, these Central African forests are subject to a multitude of overlapping proximate and underlying drivers of deforestation and degradation, such as conversion to small-scale agriculture. This pilot study explored whether transboundary protected area complexes featuring mixed resource-use restriction categories are effective in reducing the predicted disturbance risk to intact forests attributed to small-scale agriculture. At two transboundary protected area complex sites in Central Africa, we used Google Earth Engine and a suite of earth observation (EO) data, including a dataset derived using a replicable, open-source methodology stemming from a regional collaboration, to predict the increased risk of deforestation and degradation of intact forests caused by small-scale agriculture. For each complex, we then statistically compared the predicted increased risk between protected and unprotected forests for a stratified random sample of 2 km sites (n = 4000). We found varied effectiveness of protected areas for reducing the predicted risk of deforestation and degradation to intact forests attributed to agriculture by both the site and category of protected areas within the complex. Our early results have implications for sustainable agriculture development, forest conservation, and protected areas management and provide a direction for future research into spatial planning. Spatial planning could optimize the configuration of protected area types within transboundary complexes to achieve both forest conservation and sustainable agricultural production outcomes.
... Indigenous peoples (IPs) and local communities have been evicted from their traditional lands and coercively pushed from independent and self-sustained livelihoods based on Indigenous knowledge adopted for centuries to unsustainable livelihoods (Domínguez and Luoma 2020). The shift from area-oriented approaches (disassociation of local people from protected areas) to processoriented approaches (conservation through acceptable and adaptive processes reducing conflict between the protected area and local people) around the world has not been implemented in a synchronized manner (Du et al. 2015). The participatory approach to conservation has not recognized the guardianship of IPs for nature-conservation based on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). ...
Political ecology studies have mostly explored the conflicts that arise between local communities and Indigenous peoples' (IPs') vulnerability to sustainable livelihoods based on nature and conservation regimes. Even in the context of the change in conservation tactics towards active community involvement and socioeconomic development, which has reinforced the fortress conservation strategy, traditional ways of life and the lived traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of IPs are under jeopardy. Nevertheless, the studies give little consideration to the way in which TEK is (de)valued for bolstering fortress conservation at the expense of IPs' livelihoods unsustainability. This study investigates the (de)valuation of TEK of Bote embedded in their traditional livelihoods through conservation management, based on a critical ethnographic investigation carried out in two villages of Bote IPs (in the Buffer Zone area) of Nawalparasi district of Chitwan National Park (CNP) –southern lowlands of Nepal. We argue that TEK is paralyzed by a conservation regime without acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between IPs and biodiversity. Therefore, in order to conserve biodiversity and support the mutual sustainability of biodiversity and local livelihoods, there needs to be active guardianship and stewardship of IPs.
... With recent advances in spatial econometrics and other techniques of causal inference that account for spatial considerations, context and scale are being treated with increasing nuance in on-the-ground land use planning (Cuaresma Heger, 2019;Busch Ferretti-Gallon 2017;Ferraro Pressey 2015;Ferrer Velasco et al. 2020;Scrieciu 2007;Oliveira Meyfroidt 2021). This heightened sensitivity to scale and context is particularly notable in the literature on protected area effectiveness, which has increasingly identified the need to consider the broader landscape in conservation of critical ecosystems (Ferraro Pressey 2015;Sayer et al. 2013;Matthews Selman 2006;Du et al. 2015;Gu Subramanian 2014;Millington 2022;Newman et al. 2019). The landscape approach (Sayer et al. 2013) considers protected or unprotected forests not as "pristine" or as "islands" distinct from their surroundings, but as socio-ecological systems connected bio-geophysically and through social and human geographical landscapes (Cumming Allen 2017). ...
Recent studies identifying underlying and proximate drivers of tropical deforestation and forest degradation have applied a multitude of methodologies, with varying and sometimes conflicting results. Divergent results can have implications for evidence-informed programs, policy action, and land use planning since these differences can lead to controversy as to which drivers should be addressed by deforestation and emissions-reduction or conservation programs, in addition to mismatch between the scale of study results and the scale of policy and program implementation. To identify and reconcile divergences between results among different scales and methodological approaches, we systematically reviewed 231 articles in the drivers of deforestation literature and found inconsistency in scale applied within studies (e.g., differences between the stated scale of analysis and scale of article recommendations), and variation in the number and type of drivers identified between studies by methodology. Additionally, global and regional studies tended to feature recommendations that would be difficult to implement, or that targeted large-scale problems lacking specificity. This study clarifies common themes in driver identification and what is needed for drawing contextualized, scale-appropriate conclusions relevant to forest conservation policy and sustainable land use planning. We suggest improvements to recommendations drawn from drivers of deforestation studies and avenues to reconcile divergences in approaches and results, which will support efforts to advance forest conservation and sustainable forest management outcomes.
... The preservation of protected areas is acknowledged as a strategy for combating climate change through carbon sequestration (Anderson, Mammides, 2020;Analiz, Joaquin, 2015;Du et al., 2015). However, with the increasing global human population, these ecologically vital resources are facing threats from overexploitation (Butchart et al., 2010;Watson et al., 2016;Venter et al., 2016b). ...
Protected areas play a crucial role in preserving biological diversity, providing ecosystem services, and regulating hydroclimatic processes. However, the environmental balance of these areas is increasingly under threat due to rapid population growth, high demand for natural resources, and the effects of global warming. To address this, sustainable management of protected areas is essential. This study aims to develop a methodology for monitoring and assessing levels of nocturnal anthropogenic aggression in the Comoé National Park (CNP) in Côte d’Ivoire. By using geospatial data from the Day/Night Band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS/DNB), the study characterizes the nocturnal anthropization of CNP through the use of several indices. First, light reflectance density is used to identify nighttime light emission foci. Second, the lighted area density index (LADI) is employed to understand the nature of nocturnal activities taking place within CNP, as indicated by artificial light at night (ALAN). Finally, the light intensity index (LII) is used to evaluate the degree of influence of nocturnal anthropogenic activities on biodiversity. The study also found important activities through LADI and observed a high level of light pollution in CNP. Ultimately, the findings of this study indicate that there is a significant level of nocturnal anthropization within CNP, highlighting the need for effective management and conservation efforts in the area.
... Examples of the latter approach can be found in National Park management (Bruggeman et al., 2015). However, zoning is widely used, even within Protected areas, for example, to evaluate the effectiveness of core areas in integrated National Parks (Chung et al., 2023), or to demonstrate the need to integrate the surroundings of National Parks (Du et al., 2015). Some authors point to the question of the scale of analysis. ...
Multifunctional forest management is a strategy increasingly shared by forest managers. In the drive towards multifunctionality, different policies are widely being developed to integrate timber production and biodiversity conservation into forest management. To achieve this aim, both segregated and integrated approaches have been used. Segregated approaches aim to provide different ecosystem services (ES) separately in stratified forest areas based on land-use zoning, whereas integrated or integrative approaches promote land-use sharing management. This type of approach has also led to the design of close-to-nature silvicultural alternatives, where different ES can be satisfied simultaneously. In the context of this new paradigm, we carried out a study to compare segregated versus integrated management strategies in Valsaín forest in Central Spain. Part of Valsaín forest was declared a protected area in 2013 and the whole forest could be declared a National Park in 50 years’ time. For the purposes of the study, we analyzed new biodiversity indicators and compared them to the traditional forest management indicators. The scenario modelling was resolved using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making techniques. Our results showed greater trade-offs between the two types of indicators when considering the forest as a whole rather than a zoning approach. Therefore, a shift from segregated to integrated management will be proposed once the whole area of Valsaín forest is declared as National Park.
... In a recent study by Ward et al. (2020), the authors indicated that, on average, only 11 % of the PAs in each country could be considered connected by land. Creating buffer zones around PAs might be a way to ensure the protection of biodiversity inside PAs while guiding the sustainable use of their surrounding areas and increasing connectivity (Du et al., 2015). However, current buffer zones included in some management plans act more like recommendations than specific rules for using natural resources (Coelho Junior et al., 2020;Freitas Lima and Ranieri, 2018). ...
Establishing Protected areas (PAs) could displace or cause ‘leakage’ of deforestation into adjacent areas. Such leakage would potentially offset PAs' conservation effort by jeopardizing forest conservation goals and impeding financial mechanisms such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation - REDD+. Here we investigate forest loss inside PAs' borders and whether leakage occurred following the establishment of new PAs (n = 425) within the Amazon and the Atlantic forests in Brazil between 2004 and 2017. We applied a Before-After-Control-Intervention statistical design with a matching approach to evaluate deforestation leakage from PAs' establishment using a spatial (inside and outside PAs)– temporal (before and after PA establishment) measure of deforestation rates. We also used “Random Forest” to investigate the drivers of the effect of PAs' establishment on their surrounding areas. We found that when PAs' establishment led to reducing deforestation inside their boundaries, their surrounding also experienced a reduction in deforestation (“blockage”). Similarly, when PAs' establishment could not reduce deforestation inside their boundaries, their surroundings also experienced increased deforestation. Such a pattern was most common for Indigenous territories, especially in the deforestation arch in the Amazon. However, we did not find significant evidence for leakage as PAs' surroundings with a significant increase in deforestation were associated with PAs unable to significantly reduce deforestation within their boundaries. Therefore, “leakage” should not limit the establishment of new PAs. Instead, greater investments into reinforcement are needed for existing PAs, with high priority given to Indigenous Territories.
... Protected areas have been estimated to cover 14.7% of the world's land (Jones et al. 2018). Arguments for protected areas have assumed that local people are a threat to biodiversity, so that nature can only be preserved if they are excluded (Du et al. 2015). When protected areas were designated for nature conservation, many local populations traditionally reliant on forest resources had their livelihoods disrupted. ...
As an alternative livelihood approach to improve forest conservation and reduce dependency on non-wood forest products (NWFPs), the government of Vietnam has implemented community-based ecotourism (CBE) in the relation to protected area management. One such initiative is the Talai Ecotourism Venture for the ethnic groups living in the buffer zone of the Cat Tien National Park. This study through household survey (n = 150), and key informant interviews (n = 23), identi-fied the impacts of the ecotourism venture on local people’s livelihood and explored whether these impacts have reduced economic livelihood reliance on NWFPs, and increased awareness of forest conservation importance. Among households partici-pating in the initiative, their level of NWFP dependency was 66% lower than those households not employed. In addition to the reduced dependency on NWFPs, the beneficiaries of the initiative also taking advantages of other benefits namely higher household income, access to benefit sharing mechanism, and heightened awareness of forest conservation. To scale out these benefits to similar livelihood interventions for forest conservation and community development goals, they need to be implemented equitably, and to attain an understanding of social-cultural norms in the area of the intervention, particularly local institutions, power structures, and differentiation of ethnic groups.
... These potential benefits can lead to higher income and better quality of life for disadvantaged communities around those areas. But the establishment of protected areas is also associated with forced eviction, restriction to local communities' use of natural resources, and other limitations to extractive activities [9][10][11][12]. The possibility of these negative effects has fueled opposition to protected areas in countries as varied as Australia, Germany, Thailand, and the United States [13,14]. ...
In this paper, we estimate the causal relationship between protected areas and poverty in Chile from 1982 to 2002. Chile is part of the coalition of countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet by 2030; a decision that implies increasing the number of protected areas in the country. As a result of this decision, grows the national debate about the potential impacts of protected areas on the economy and society. By estimating the causal effect of protected areas on poverty, we aim to contribute to this debate in Chile. We use panel data and a quasi-experimental approach to estimate the causal effect. We find that establishing a protected area covering at least 17% of a unit’s terrestrial area causes a reduction of 0.216 standard deviations in the poverty index. This result is not sensitive to arbitrary implementation choices. Additionally, we show that the effect is driven by the Patagonia region, the part of Chile with the largest amount of new protected areas during the time frame of this study. Besides showing the benefits of protected areas to society, we hope the findings presented here might also be used to attract new investments and financial support to protected areas currently underfunded in Chile.
