Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
They require a defined community so that outsiders are not attracted by the new
opportunities. The approach is more resilient if there is some linkage with the
conservation target, so that when the situation changes, the damaging activity
doesn't resume. There is a need for institution-building to support the new activity.
These conditions make finding feasible alternatives that fully compensate for the
loss of livelihoods from resource use difficult, although alternatives can make a
useful component of a conservation package (Ireland
et al
. 2004).
Direct payments
need users to have the ability to control resource use on their
land, whether they are a community or a private individual. Binding long-term
contracts are needed for all parties. Power imbalances need to be corrected for, so
that all concerned enter into contracts by free will. These payments should promote,
rather than undermine, people's intrinsic value for nature. Direct payments are
potentially a flexible and widely applicable mechanism, being particularly suitable
for resources that have little use value for their owners but may have high value to
others (such as watershed protection through conservation of forested slopes). This
may mean, however, that they are less often applicable to exploited species.
Promoting goodwill
is a critical part of all conservation activity. On its own it is
likely to work best when the costs of conservation are not high, and when the issue
is not contentious. These situations are not the norm, and are likely to continue to
reduce in number as environmental degradation, development and population
pressures build up.
Having decided which general approach to take, the next question is how best to
implement the approach in practice. How can we translate a conservation philoso-
phy into practice? We focus here on the human side, and don't attempt to address
issues within conservation biology—such as how best to restore degraded ecosys-
tems, how to manage small populations, how to ensure habitat connectivity, or the
relative merits of species-based or ecosystem-based approaches to management.
These are subjects for a different book (e.g. Sinclair
et al
. 2005; Primack 2006).
There is a wide range of regulatory instruments available for controlling natural
resource use; see Cochrane (2002) for an excellent review focussed on artisanal
fisheries. Some of the commonest ones are:
●
Restrictions on the amount harvested. This is the most direct way to imple-
ment sustainable hunting levels. At its most basic, a harvest restriction
involves setting a
Total Allowable Catch
each year and allowing people to use
the resource until this offtake level is reached. The TAC is based on calcula-
tions of the sustainable harvest level. The approach is not suitable for use alone
because it promotes open access behaviour by harvesters. There is an incentive
