Conservation VS Human needs

Conservation VS Human needs

1. The Terai region, Nepal

   • made up of marshy grasslands, savannah and forests
     • contains many national parks
   • densely populated and home to endangered species eg Bengal tiger or one horned rhino
   • forests put under pressure by agriculture + grazing for farm animals + exploitation of forest resources + use of different crops
     • World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) found the rural livelihoods are dependent of the forests eg fuel, food , medicines, building materials
   • WWF + government worked together to conserve the landscape for the locals
     • community forest initiatives , if they took they had to give back
     • helped to create national parks
     • counteracting poachers and illegal felling (taking trees)
     • helped to develop skills to stimulate small marketing schemes
     • introduced biogas plants + wood efficient stoves
     • constructing waterholes , monitoring endangered species + eradicating invasive ones
   • the total involvement seems successful as tiger populations are rising

2. Maasai Mara, Kenya

   • destination for wildlife watchers ',' high levels of antelope + other large mammals
   • high endemic (lots of people) poverty + wildlife = tourists
     • so develop conservation-compatible land = rewards financially , whilst conserving habitats
   • national parks were created but then many individuals took over certain parts
     • triggering land use change = intensification of agriculture
       • limited wildlife to smaller 'islands'
     • 65% drop in wildlife over the last 30 years, but the density of sheep and goats has increased
       • (2005) land owners put together their land to make conservancies = tourist income
   • partnerships between conservations and tourism operators developed payment for wildlife conservation (PWC) schemes
     • PWC set aside land for conservation = social, economic + conservation outcomes
     • negatives, land owners must move livestock out during high season = high density out of reserves, constraints on how land can be used
     • limited livestock grazing can have + impacts , so makes sense to integrate conservation and livestock more directly