Protected areas and poverty

Protected areas are controversial because they are so important for conservation and because they distribute fortune and misfortune unevenly. The nature of that distribution, as well as the terrain of protected areas themselves, have been vigorously contested. In particular, the relationship between protected areas and poverty is a long-running debate in academic and policy circles. We review the origins of this debate and chart its key moments. We then outline the continuing flashpoints and ways in which further evaluation studies could improve the evidence base for policy-making and conservation practice

Displaced due to conservation and tourism in the heart of India: a review of the relevant policies

Madhya Pradesh (MP) is a central Indian state positioned as the heart of India. The MP tourism board undertakes the responsibility of developing tourism in the state with the aim of promoting sustainable form of tourism. One of the key attractions promoted is the wide range of wildlife destinations in conservation areas, which has displaced many local indigenous communities. The main aim of paper is to review the relevant policies concerning the wildlife tourism product in MP to examine the involvement of the indigenous local communities and highlight their plight due to displacement. This paper utilizes a critical interpretive lens in reviewing the policies and the concerned acts. Findings highlight three areas of concern; firstly, there is a lack of clear information on how wild life tourism would be developed, implemented and governed. Secondly, the relevant policies do not mention the involvement of the lo-cal indigenous community or their issues and finally the policies does not clearly address the displaced indigenous communities’ issues while subsisting to a sustainable tourism vision. Implications for polices are discussed to encourage an inclusive policy framework that addresses displacement

Communities’ perceptions of benefit-sharing mechanisms for forest-based land reform models in South Africa

One of the dominant challenges facing the South African forestry sector is the issue of land restitution. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the perception of beneficiaries of benefit-sharing modalities for forest-based land reform initiatives in their locality. A random sampling technique selected 140 and 175 households in Amabomvini and Cata communities in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces, respectively. The household beneficiaries showed a lack of knowledge of the criteria used for the disbursement of the benefits. In addition, over 70.0% of household beneficiaries in Amabomvini, compared with far less than 70.0% in Cata, preferred using rental income for infrastructure development in their respective communities. The results further showed that the relationship between the responses of the respondents from both Amabomvini and Cata communities regarding their perception on the existence of the criteria established to share the benefits, was statistically significant (χ2 = 34.452, df = 4, p < 0.005). However, a lack of transparency, trust and greed were among the factors that household beneficiaries identified as the root causes to the poor benefit-sharing mechanisms. Therefore, it is recommended that there should be political will and commitment from government in order to ensure the development and strengthening of existing benefit- sharing policies for the improvement of livelihoods of the land beneficiaries.The South African Forest Company Limited (SAFCOL) and National Research Foundation (NRF).http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsfs202019-06-11hj2018Plant Production and Soil Scienc