1. Rights-based Approaches and Conservation
Prepared for ABCG/CCC meeting on
Parks and People
June 29, 2005

2. Why a Focus on Rights in Conservation?
1. Ethical issues
Conservation brings benefits but also entails costs
Costs are often borne disproportionately by local communities
Must address equity issues in distribution of costs and benefits for their own sake
Also to increase sustainability and build constituencies for conservation

3. Why a Focus on Rights in Conservation?
2. Communities are conservation managers -- land and resource rights are fundamental to effective community-based conservation.
Dimensions of community-based conservation

4. Needs-based approaches
Focus on livelihoods, other foundational elements not always in place
Grounded in “win-win” assumptions, but benefits may not be realized, or uses sustainable
ICDPs often designed implicitly around idea of compensation for costs, but not defined/calculated and limited accountability for them
Subject to criticisms re expectations/capacity of conservation to provide for needs

5. Rights-based approach
Addresses foundational issues of rights and tenure security
Does not depend upon win-win outcomes – may be trade-offs (perceived as legitimate)
As stance towards communities is as rights-holders -- impacts/costs to people must be defined and addressed, and support organizations are accountable
A key element is power of people to negotiate and have voices heard in decision-making
Right to participation
Free, prior informed consent

6. Rights in relation to conservation/protected areas
“Do no harm” – e.g., rights not impinged upon in creation of government-managed PA
Shared rights/responsibilities with government, other -- co-management
Community tenure rights
use and ownership rights
land and resource rights
security and legal recourse

7. Community-managed Protected Areas: Community Conserved Areas
Governance types, in relation to IUCN PA Categories
Government-managed protected areas
Co-managed protected areas
Private Protected areas
Community Conserved Areas

8. Governance issues in CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas
Element 2: Governance, Participation, Equity and Benefit-sharing
Resettlement of indigenous communities only w/free, prior informed consent
Remove barriers to adequate participation
Establish mechanisms for equitable sharing of costs/benefits of protected areas
Recognize and promote range of governance types including community conserved areas

9. Large-scale Conservation: Strategies and Emerging Issues
Networks of protected areas: government PAs must be recognized as socially legitimate, meet DNH standards
Community-based conservation:
Large-scale conservation requires increased attention to community-managed areas as constituents of large landscapes
Multi-level approach also directs attention to policy/institutional context and supports scaling up

10. Strategies and Emerging Issues
Addressing land/resource rights at multiple levels, scaling up
Policy context to support tenure security, community conserved areas
Supporting institutions for protection/enforcement of local resource rights
Lateral linkages: Networks of CBOs

11. Strategies and Emerging Issues
Large-scale conservation planning and management:
Representation in negotiations/decision-making re conservation/NRM across larger scales
Empowerment of local communities in the context of multi-stakeholder management
Engaging “power actors”/major influences: Empowering communities in advocating their interests and concerns