Introduction

Why these resource books?

Natural resources are managed (or mismanaged) by people: individuals, families, groups, communities, associations, businesses and governments. To find out why an environment thrives or is exploited in a destructive way, find out about the people affecting it. Are they residents, regular transients, or one-time users of natural resources? How long have they been in the area? Are major changes happening in their societies? Do they feel a need to conserve their environment and resources? Do they know how to take care of them? Do they have the skills and means to do it? Do they get the support they need? Are there specific institutions in charge of managing the resources? Are there laws and rules about management? How many people use the resources? How healthy and wealthy are they? How secure do they feel? How do they share decisions and responsibilities? How do they deal with conflicting interests, in particular between local and external forces?

Even in specific conservation initiatives, such as the management of a protected area, it is very rare for the professionals in charge to be fully in control. In most cases, their interaction with society at large, and with local people in particular, is basic and inevitable. A variety of social actors and stakeholders shapes the legal, institutional, political and economic realities that affect the use of resources and the values assigned to them. Residents of local communities, in particular, possess precious knowledge and capacities, yet are too often ignored or humiliated in management processes. No wonder they become hostile to conservation initiatives that do not recognize their claims, and damage their interests.

There is little doubt that dealing with social concerns, particularly those of local communities, is essential for the success of conservation initiatives. Some governments and agencies express this by saying that there is a need to assure the social sustainability of such initiatives. In this sense, social sustainability depends on addressing the social, economic and cultural needs of the local communities — and stakeholders in general — affected by a conservation initiative, and on assuring the conditions (e.g., finances, technology, political authority and social organization and consensus) to maintain the conservation practices established.

How do we address such concerns? How do we make a conservation initiative socially sustainable? It is an assumption of our work that this cannot be done by experts in isolated offices, but requires the active participation of the stakeholders themselves — including the residents of local communities, often the least powerful and organized of them all. These resource books are designed to support a process by which such participation is achieved, a ‘learning-by-doing’ experience in which lessons are put into practice and people, together, find out what ‘works’ in their particular context.

These two volumes are designed to help professionals employed in conservation initiatives to identify the social concerns that are relevant for their work, assess options for action and implement the options best suited to their context.

The first volume is a companion to a process — an experience of ‘learning-by-doing’ expected to involve a series of meetings and field-based activities. The process may be carried out for the purpose of planning, evaluating or redesigning a conservation initiative.

The second volume contains a variety of reference material to be consulted, as needed, at various stages in the process.

What will the books not provide?

These resource books are not intended to offer ‘the answers’ to social concerns in conservation. They do not provide step-by-step instructions nor an all-purpose questionnaire. The questions, indicators and options for action listed in Volume 1 (the process companion) are not relevant in all contexts, and users will certainly think of more. The concept files, participatory tools and processes and examples provided in Volume 2 (the reference book) are offered as food for thought and do not constitute an exhaustive treatment of any subject.

Who are the books for?

Beyond Fences is written for professionals working in a conservation initiative. In the case of a protected area or state reserve, this usually means staff of national and local governments and agencies. In the case of a supporting project or programme, this may mean employees of a non-governmental organization (NGO), an aid agency or an international body. Thus, these resource books are for governmental or non-governmental staff, as well as for national or expatriate professionals. In particular, they address the managers of conservation initiatives and the professionals who interact with people and organized groups on a regular basis.

Beyond Fences can also be of help to professionals who are not field-based, but still involved in planning, financing and evaluating initiatives, and to various individuals and groups involved in conservation. Finally, it can be of utility in training environments for conservation professionals.

What is a "conservation initiative"?

As a working definition employed in Beyond Fences, a conservation initiative is any medium- to long-term set of activities to maintain and protect natural environments and the quality of their biological diversity. In this sense, examples of a conservation initiative are the ongoing management of a protected area, the management of a territory under reserve status, or the management of a valuable ecosystem or species. All these may and usually do include forms of sustainable use of resources. Examples are also fixed-term projects or programmes providing support to the actors in charge of the above.

A conservation initiative generally applies to a territory with defined boundaries, and responsibility for its management is generally assigned to a specific institution. Besides such boundaries, however (e.g., the boundaries of a park), an initiative always has a broader area of influence. This area covers the territories where people are dependent — i.e., for food and income — on the natural resources the initiative aims to conserve. Sometimes these territories are referred to as “buffer zones”. The area of influence also applies to the territories where economic or other types of human activities affect the resources to be conserved.

Given the work orientation of many of the individuals and institutions that developed Beyond Fences and are expected to use it, we will mostly deal with conservation initiatives in countries of the South (so-called developing countries).