The paper entitled “Designing Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPS): Illegal Hunting, Wildlife Conservation and the Welfare of the Local People” offers to the reader a bio-economic model that the authors have developed in order to analyze effects of ICDPs on the wildlife, illegal hunting, and general human welfare. The analyzed data was collected from Serengeti, Tanzania. The study has revealed that increasing work opportunities promote conservation, however if the transfers of money and distribution of game meat to the locals are not supported by objective of conservation, these measures fail to perform their purpose. The model presented in this article consists of bio-economical aspect of hunter-agrarian community that resides on the border of a national park. State holds the wildlife property rights however the park agency is responsible for protecting the area of the natural reserve. Although locals have no right to hunt, there are still cases of poaching, as the park agency does not have strict enough rules that would eliminate illegal hunting, and protect the State property. The authors summarize that a certain plan that includes benefit-sharing instruments between the local people and park authorities should be designed in order to provide efficient wildlife conservation. The plan must also indicate the duties and rights of both parties, as well as rational penalties that would make those parties comply with the law.
The second article reviewed was called “Investing in Biodiversity, a Review of Indonesia’s Integrated Conservation and Development Projects”. It conducted an assessment of ICDP effectiveness in Indonesia, however due to lack of well organized monitoring systems and reliable performance data within this country, such an evaluation proved to be ineffective. Despite of that, the study had demonstrated unambiguous results. It appears that very little of the current or planned ICDP activities have caused enhancement of biodiversity in Indonesia. It became evident, that the very few promising ICDPs do not appear to show stability under the present conditions. But the authors of the study still claim that assessing such projects that have not gone beyond start-up phases, even in the absence of dependable biodiversity, is still reasonable. The study does mention some various problems that the project staff might face, but these complications should be worked out, as the procedures become familiar to the staff, and they gain relevant experience. Study demonstrates the existing problems concerning protected areas (PA), to solve which the PA managers would require efficient political and administrative support, which would lead to more effective boundary enforcement and local government land use rules.
The third article was entitled “Integrating Conservation and Development. It concentrated on the failure of ICDPs to meet their objectives. The article states that numerous studies have questioned ICDP approach, the goal of which is to combine biodiversity conservation and the local economic development promotion, so that a win-win situation for marginalized people and endangered species could be created. The authors of this study have conducted over 200 interviews in China’s Caohai Nature Reserve that reveal positive and negative aspects of ICDPs. The project that has been implemented in Caohai Reserve was meant to quell the existing confrontations and conflicts between local population and nature reserve managers, as the managers tried to enforce reserve rules upon the locals. Furthermore, the article describes how this integrated project that suffered successes, as well as failures, managed to improve the general situation concerning this confrontation between the reserve managers and local people.
Works Cited
Anne, Johannesen. “Designing Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPS): Illegal Hunting, Wildlife Conservation and the Welfare of the Local People.” Norvegian University of Science and Technology 2004.
Wells, Michael. Guggenheim, Scott. Khan Asmeen, Wardojo, Wahjudi. Jepson, Paul.
“Investing in Biodiversity, a Review of Indonesia’s Integrated Conservation and Development Projects”. The International Bank for Reconstructions 1999. Web.
Herrold-Menzies, Melinda. “Integrating Conservation and Development.” The Journal of Environment & Development 4 (2006). Web.