The management of natural resources is often viewed
by local communities as a means to implement authoritarian
policies which go against traditional rights. As local
populations are the immediate custodians of natural
resources, there is little prospect of improving natural
resource management (NRM) if the major users are excluded
from participating in solutions for local resource protection.
Through the Jane Goodall Institute’s Community-Centered
Conservation (CCC) approach to NRM, local communities
ultimately become the advocates and caretakers of their
natural environment.
JGI’s CCC approach empowers local communities
with the tools needed to manage their natural resources
for long-term economic gain and environmental prosperity.
By increasing local capacity, responsibility, and participation
in the sustainable management of natural resources,
communities take pride in the preservation of the natural
environment and wildlife of their area. Incentives at
the local level to conserve natural resources are necessary
if a project is to succeed. Local peoples frequently
have no control over access to natural resources and
are therefore unable to prevent ‘outsiders’
from exploiting the local resource base. By placing
the responsibility of NRM into the hands of the local
community and by increasing community participation
at all levels of our projects, JGI has been successful
in improving livelihoods while concurrently promoting
conservation and the need to preserve biodiversity for
the benefit of all.
By emphasizing the power of individuals to take informed
and compassionate action to improve the environment
for all living things, while providing access and opportunity
for people to live sustainably, JGI incorporates a holistic
approach to conservation, realizing the future of our
planet depends upon the actions of its caretakers. All
of our programs aim to improve the lives of the human
population in the surrounding area of our projects,
while promoting conservation and an understanding of
the need to preserve the biodiversity of the area for
the benefit of all who live in it. By engaging communities
in the conservation process, we can create local understanding
of the issues while addressing both the root social
and economic influences that affect the local communities.
The bushmeat
trade – the illegal commercial trade in the
meat of wild animals – is the greatest current
threat to great apes in the wild and has the capacity
to drive all species to extinction in as few as ten
years. Recognizing this crisis and the urgent need to
address the root issues involved, JGI’s Africa
Programs within the Congo Basin region take a unique
approach by focusing on community-centered conservation.
By engaging communities, particularly the true stakeholders
in the commercial bushmeat trade – hunters and
especially women buyers and sellers – we can address
the root social and economic influences that drive participation.
Through our programs, we directly involve local governments
and industry, while gearing micro-enterprise and other
efforts to local capacity. This approach will ensure
long-term effectiveness and sustainability of our programs.
Community-Centered Conservation Program in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Tchimpounga
Sanctuary
Tchimpounga
Reserve
TACARE
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