The Social and Environmental Impact of National Parks and Protected Areas in Developing Countries

The objectives of this multi-disciplinary, comparative research project were to critically assess the ways nature reserves and parks are established and managed, and, especially, their ability to fulfil conservation, economic and other stated mandates; investigate how the customary rights, livelihood, living levels, resource use practices and social cohesion of local people are affected when protected area schemes are implemented; and to indicate how parks and reserves can benefit local communities, particularly those most directly affected by the establishment of strictly protected areas.

The project was conducted in collaboration with WWF-International. In Brazil: Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais, São Paulo. In China: Institute of Forestry (Chinese Academy of Forestry) and Rural Development Institute (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). In India: Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. In Peru: FAO's Forest, Trees and People Programme, Quito. In Southern Africa: Group for Environmental Monitoring (GEM), Johannesburg.