Social Change and Conservation

Protected areas and conservation policies are usually established with only local nature and wildlife in mind. Yet they can have far-reaching consequences for local populations - often harmful ones, undermining their access to resources and their livelihoods. This was the first fully comprehensive discussion of the social consequences of protected area schemes and conservation policies. Drawing on case studies from North America, Europe, Asia, Central America and Africa, it critically reviews current trends in protected area management and the prevailing concept of conservation, and shows how local people have been affected -their customary rights, livelihoods, well-being and social cohesion. Lack of local participation, of respect for local rights, and too much emphasis on market forces, has usually meant the failure to provide for human concerns and wellbeing. The leading authorities in this book - including Marcus Colchester, Piers Blaikie, Michel Pimper and Jules Pretty - argue for a thorough overhaul of current conservation thinking and practice.