No. 10/2004
TOURISM, POACHING AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION:
WHAT CAN INTEGRATED CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ACCOMPLISH?
Anne Borge Johannesen
Anders Skonhoft
Abstract:
Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) have frequently
been established in Africa to improve wildlife conservation and the welfare
of local communities. However, their effectiveness so far has been hampered
by conflicts and illegal harvesting activities. Within a Gordon-Schäfer-type
model, this paper focuses on the strategic interaction between the manager
of a protected area and a group of local people living near the park.
The park manager benefits from wildlife through non-consumptive tourism
and safari hunting. The local people benefit through hunting, although
this is illegal according to existing laws, but they also bear costs as
wildlife causes agricultural damage. Depending on the economic and ecological
environment, we show that ICDPs relying on money transfers to the local
people derived from the park manager's activities may or may not promote
wildlife conservation. In addition, we demonstrate that the effects on
the welfare of the local people are ambiguous.
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