Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-t9bwh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-08T14:21:11.372Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Evaluating the legacy of an integrated conservation and development project around a tiger reserve in India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2009

SANJAY GUBBI*
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program, Centre for Wildlife Studies, 1669, 16th Main, 31st Cross, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bengalooru 560 070, India Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
MATTHEW LINKIE
Affiliation:
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
NIGEL LEADER-WILLIAMS
Affiliation:
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
*
*Correspondence: Sanjay Gubbi Tel: +91 80 26715364 Fax: +91 80 26715255 e-mail: gubbi@wcsindia.org

Summary

Independent evaluations of the impact and legacy of large donor-funded integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) are critically important but rarely undertaken. The India Eco-Development Project around Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR-IEDP) in southern India received US$ 6.0 million, of which 43.2% was spent on community-based conservation activities. The PTR-IEDP was internally evaluated as ‘successful’. Questionnaire surveys and on-site visits were used to independently evaluate its development impact and legacy, two years after the IEDP ended. Questionnaire surveys were administered to a random sample of 90 respondents from a treatment group who participated in and benefited from IEDP, and to 90 respondents from a control group who did not participate in IEDP. Among the treatment group, 71.1% of respondents were aware of IEDP's objectives, but receipt of community benefits did not influence their attitudes to conservation. Instead, their attitudes were best explained by previous experience of human-wildlife conflict, their age and their participation in an ecotourism-based profession. Furthermore, only 36.4% of the 55 community benefits sampled were still being used or maintained. Future investments in ICDPs, or any similar conservation and developmental projects need to carefully justify any of the developments they implement, and to use appropriate indicators and study design to measure project legacy.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arjunan, M., Holmes, C., Puyravaud, J.P. & Davidar, P. (2006) Do developmental initiatives influence local attitudes towards conservation? A case study from the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, India. Journal of Environmental Management 79: 188197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arun, L.K., Jayasankar, B. & Abraham, K.M. (2001) Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Issues of Tribesfolk: a Case Study of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Centre for Development Studies.Google Scholar
Brandon, K., Redford, K.H. & Sanderson, S.E. (1998) Parks in Peril: People, Politics and Protected Areas. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Burnham, K.P. & Anderson, D.R. (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: a Practical Information-theoretic Approach. Second edition. New York, USA: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Ferraro, P.J. & Pattanayak, S.K. (2006) Money for nothing? A call for empirical evaluation of biodiversity conservation investments. PLoS Biology 4: 04820488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghirmire, K.B. & Pimbert, M.P. (1997) Social Change and Conservation: Environmental Politics and Impacts of National Parks and Protected Areas. London, UK: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Global Environment Facility (2007) Project Executive Summary [www document]. URL http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Council_Documents/GEF_C28/documents/24445-15-06BCR-LI.pdfGoogle Scholar
Gossling, S. (2002) Human-environmental relations with tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 29: 539556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Government of Kerala (2004) Economic Review: Income and Population. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Department of Planning and Economic Affairs, Government of Kerala.Google Scholar
Gubbi, S. (2006) Tiger habitats and integrated conservation and development projects: a case study from Periyar Tiger Reserve, India. M.Sc. thesis, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.Google Scholar
Gubbi, S. & MacMillan, D.C. (2008) Can non-timber forest products solve livelihood problems? A case study from Periyar Tiger Reserve, India. Oryx 42: 222228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunatilake, H.M. (1998) The role of rural development in protecting tropical rainforests: evidence from Sri Lanka. Journal of Environmental Management 5: 273292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurukkal, R. (2003) The eco-development project and the socio-economics of the fringe area of the Periyar Tiger Reserve: a concurrent study. Report, School of Social Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India.Google Scholar
Hackel, J.D. (1999) Community conservation and the future of Africa's wildlife. Conservation Biology 13: 726734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegde, R. & Enters, T. (2000) Forest products and household economy: a case study from Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern India. Environmental Conservation 27: 250259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henerson, M.E., Morris, L.L. & Fitz-Gibbon, C.T. (1987) How to Measure Attitudes. Newbury Park, California, USA: SAGE Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Ite, U. & Adams, W. (2000) Expectations, impacts and attitudes: conservation and development in Cross River National Park, Nigeria. Journal of International Development 12: 325342.3.0.CO;2-X>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeyasingh, P.D. & Davidar, P. (2003) Crop predation by wildlife along the eastern boundary of the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, southern India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 100: 3845.Google Scholar
JPS Associates (2004) Intensive Project Performance Review: India Eco-Development Project (Phase III). Report, JPS Associates, New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
KFD (2001) Management Plan for Periyar Tiger Reserve. Report, Kerala Forest Department, Thiruvananthapuram, India.Google Scholar
KFD (2002) India Eco-Development Project: impacts, constraints and lessons learnt. Kerala Forest Department, Thekkady, India.Google Scholar
KFD (2003 a) India Eco-Development Project. Kerala Forest Department, Thekkady, India.Google Scholar
KFD (2003 b) Periyar Tiger Reserve: a general introduction. Kerala Forest Department, Thekkady, India.Google Scholar
KFD (2003 c) India Eco-Development Project: building social capital for conservation. Kerala Forest Department, Thekkady, India.Google Scholar
Larson, P.S., Freudenberger, M. & Wyckoff-Baird, B. (1998) WWF Integrated Conservation and Development Projects: Ten Lessons from the Field 1985–1996. Washington, DC, USA: World Wildlife Fund.Google Scholar
Linkie, M., Dinata, Y., Nofrianto, A. & Leader-Williams, N. (2007) Patterns and perceptions of wildlife crop raiding in and around Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra. Animal Conservation 10: 127135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linkie, M., Smith, R.J., Zhu, Y., Martyr, D.J., Suedmeyer, E., Pramono, J. & Leader-Williams, N. (2008) Evaluating biodiversity conservation around a large Sumatran protected area. Conservation Biology 22: 683690.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacKinnon, K. (2001) Integrated conservation and development projects – can they work? Parks 11: 15.Google Scholar
Mahanty, S. (2002) Conservation and development interventions as networks: the case of the India Ecodevelopment Project, Karnataka. World Development 30: 13691386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, C., Allen, P., McCarthy, T., Madhusudhan, M.D., Bayarjagal, A. & Prins, H.H.T. (2003) The role of incentive programs in conserving the snow leopard. Conservation Biology 17: 15121520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G. A. B. & Kent, J. (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naughton-Treves, L., Treves, A., Chapman, C. & Wrangham, R. (1998) Temporal patterns of crop-raiding by primates: linking food availability in croplands and adjacent forest. Journal of Applied Ecology 35: 596606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naughton-Treves, L., Holland, M.B. & Brandon, K. (2005) The role of protected areas in conservaing biodiversity and sustaining local livelihoods. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30: 219252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naughton-Treves, L. & Treves, A. (2005) Socio-ecological factors shaping local support for wildlife: crop-raiding by elephants and other wildlife in Africa. In: People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence?, ed. by Woodroffe, R., Thirgood, S. & Rabinowitz, A., pp. 252277. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborn, F.V. & Parker, G.E. (2003) Towards an integrated approach for reducing the conflict between elephants and people: a review of current research. Oryx 37: 8084.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearce, J. & Ferrier, S. (2000) Evaluating the predictive modelling of habitat models developed using logistic regression. Ecological Modelling 133: 225245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J.G. (2006) Conservation biology and real-world conservation. Conservation Biology 20: 658669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salafsky, N. & Margoluis, R. (1999). Threat reduction assessment: a practical and cost-effective approach to evaluating conservation and development projects. Conservation Biology 13: 830843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanjayan, M.A., Shen, S. & Jansen, M. (1997) Experiences with Integrated-conservation Development Projects in Asia. Washington, DC, USA: The World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, A., Kabra, A., Kinhal, G.A., Panwar, H.S., Sharma, M.K., Upadhyay, S., Mohan, S. & Upadhyay, V. (2004) Lessons learned from eco-development experiences in India: a study. Report, Peace Foundation, New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
Sitati, N.W. & Walpole, M.J. (2006) Assessing farm-based measures for mitigating human-elephant conflict in Transmara District, Kenya. Oryx 40: 279286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swets, J.A. (1988) Measuring the accuracy of diagnostic systems. Science 240: 12851292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Terborgh, J. & van Schaik, C. (2002) Why the world needs parks. In: Making Parks Work: Strategies for Preserving Tropical Nature, ed. Terborgh, J., van Schaik, C., Davenport, L. & pp, M. Rao. 314. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Thouless, C.R. (1994) Conflict Between Humans and Elephants in Sri Lanka. Oxford, UK: Global Environment Facility, Environment and Development Group.Google Scholar
Thouless, C.R. & Sakwa, J. (1995) Shocking elephants: fences and crop raiders in Laikipia district, Kenya. Biological Conservation 72: 99107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treves, A., Wallace, R.B., Naughton-Treves, L. & Morales, A. (2006) Co-managing human–wildlife conflicts: a review. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 11: 383396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uniyal, V.K. & Zacharias, J. (2001) Periyar Tiger Reserve: building bridges with local communities for biodiversity conservation. Parks 11: 1423.Google Scholar
Wells, M. & Brandon, K. (1992) People and Parks: Linking Protected Area Management with Local Communities. Washington, DC, USA: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Wells, M.P., McShane, T.O., Dublin, H.T., O'Connor, S. & Redford, K.H. (2004) The future of integrated conservation projects: building on what works. In: Getting Biodiversity Projects to Work: Towards Better Conservation and Development, ed. McShane, T.O. & Wells, M.P., pp. 397422. New York, USA: Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank (1996) India Ecodevelopment Project. Washington, DC, USA: The World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2002) Biodiversity conservation in forest ecosystems: World Bank assistance 1992–2002. Report, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
World Bank (2004) Implementation completion report for India Ecodevelopment Project. Report, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
World Bank (2007) Project performance assessment report: India Ecodevelopment Project. Report, World Bank, Washington DC, USA.Google Scholar