Sustainable Use & Incentive Driven-Conservation by Hutton J.M. and N. Leader-Williams (2003). Sustainable use and incentive-driven conservation: realigning human and conservation interests. Oryx April 2003 Vol 37, No 2
Reviewed by Dr. Grahame Webb

Hutton and Leader-Williams establish that "sustainable use", despite being a simple phrase, embodies a concept that has captured the imagination of conservationists around the world. Yet despite clear and practical definitions, for example in Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, its link to conservation remains controversial. From this starting point, their paper follows two somewhat separate themes.

The first is that regardless of the wisdom associated with being cautious, a good deal of opposition to sustainable use, is unwarranted. It reflects a failure to appreciate the context within which conservation, use and sustainability operate in the real world. They imply that if one goes slowly through the logic linking conservation, use and sustainability together, then it all makes common sense. More precise terminology is seen as a way of adding clarity, in the sense that if use of wildlife takes place and can be sustained, then it constitutes sustainable use. If the benefits derived from use ultimately provide incentives to conserve, then this type of conservation should be separated from sustainable use and labelled "incentive-driven conservation". They favour two terms, "sustainable use" and "incentive-driven conservation", to encapsulate the essence of what is sometimes stated as "conservation through sustainable use".

The second platform is a comprehensive and enlightened discussion of the whole subject of wildlife conservation, use and sustainability. It draws on a diversity of current literature and reflects the broad experiences of both authors, who are well credentialed to comment. This review of the major issues is highly recommended. It is more oriented to terrestrial animals, but ignores crocodiles, despite Hutton's long involvement with them. Perhaps this was deliberate, to avoid bias by reference to one group where conservation, sustainable use and international trade have advanced successfully. It's all here - the importance of the social and cultural variables in wildlife conservation, the appropriate ways to link local people to both conservation and sustainable use, the process through which sustainability can be achieved, the role of incentives to conserve, adaptive management, risk and uncertainty, the precautionary principle, and species versus ecosystem management.

Readers may not be convinced that separating sustainable use and incentive-driven conservation will achieve much, although the distinction has long been recognised. Conservation action at some level is usually required to sustain uses anyway, so they are intimately linked. In the broadest sense of "use", the simplification that conservation is sustainable use has a lot of merit and may be lost with the new insights.

The central problem fuelling controversy about sustainable use still seems to be that wildlife conservation is viewed as a welfare or protection issue by the public. Linking it in any way with "use" - sustainable or not - is thus counterintuitive. How could we conserve wildlife populations by killing and selling them? Has some madness descended on us all? This public impression drives the political machinery that dictates when, how and if wildlife conservation and sustainable use will proceed hand in hand. Changing the terminology may not be enough to assist in public education about why use matters and why it must be sustainable.

Grahame Webb is Vice-Chair of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group, a member of Australia & New Zealand SUSG, Director of Wildlife Management International and Adjunct Professor of the Northern Territories University: gwebbwmi.com.au

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