COMMUNITY-BASED BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

MANAGEMENT

Reaching the goal of Biodiversity Conservation and Community

Development

A Case Study of the Korup National Park and its support zone

Cameroon

Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the degree of

M.Sc. "Tropical and International Forestry"

at the

Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology

Georg-August-University Goettingen, Germany

Submitted by:

Cornelius Yufanyi

July 2007

Goettingen, Germany

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COMMUNITY-BASED BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

MANAGEMENT

Reaching the goal of Biodiversity Conservation and Community

Development

A Case Study of the Korup National Park and its support zone

Cameroon

ii

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BIODIVERSITÄTS- UND NATURSCHUTZMANAGEMENT

AUF DER EBENE LOKALER GEMEINDEN

...mit dem Ziel, Biodiversitätsschutz mit der Entwicklung

ruraler Gemeinden zu verbinden

Eine Fallstudie im Korup Nationalpark und seiner Umgebung

Kamerun

iii

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The donors are gone but the forests remain that of the villagers and

have to be conserved

KREO/KOGAN, 2006

iv

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to use this opportunity to express my profound appreciation and gratitude to all

those who gave me the possibility and support to complete this thesis.

In this manner I want to first of all thank my colleagues of the Hans Boeckler Stiftung

(Foundation) especially Dr. Irmgard Kucharzewski and Dagmar Jans for the wonderful

financial and moral support they gave in making my Master Studies possible, especially in the

collection of the data for this thesis in Cameroon.

Many thanks and appreciation also goes to Dr Schmidt-Soltau Kai who accepted to advice

and supervised me, providing me with primary materials for the collection of my data in the

Korup National Park. Furthermore I want to thank Mrs Mary Meboka, the deputy Mayor in

Mundemba, Cameron who provided me with inside information about the different villages in

the support zone and helped in the selection of the sampled villages.

I am bound and indebted to Chief Adolf Nwese and Prince Cletus Nwese of the

KREO/KOGAN indigenous NGO and their families, all in Mundemba, for their sincere and

familial assistance which I obtain. This goes especially to Prince Nwese who was with me all

through my trip in the 11 villages in and around the National Park. I would not have made it

without him. My gratitude also goes to Mr Akwaba

alias

"Akwa works" for the heart beating

experience I had with him during the survey.

Without forgetting the assistance and help of the Chief of Post for Forestry and Wildlife in

Idenau, Mr Nemoh George and the technical consultant for natural resource management for

the GTZ in Buea, Mr. Okenye Mambo who provided me with much needed secondary data;

to them all I extend my deepest and special gratitude.

I am deeply indebted to my supervisors in Goettingen, Germany, Prof. Dr. Max Krott, Dr.

Christian Hubo, PD Dr. Olschewski Roland, for granting me the possibility and liberty to

work in my own way as well as supervision of this thesis and whose help, stimulating

suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of research for and writing of this

thesis.

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To my present and former colleagues from the George-August-University Goettingen,

Germany in the Masters Programme, "Tropical and International Forestry", I want to thank

them for all their help, support, interest and valuable hints. I am especially obliged to Bianca

Dunker and Christoph Neitzel who looked closely at the final version of the thesis for English

style and grammar, correcting both and offering suggestions for improvement. Many thanks

also to Marco Harbusch, Sol Heber, Chistof Jaszczuk and all the others whose names have not

been listed here.

I would like to give my special thanks to my most dear girlfriend Mai Zeidani, who was of

great help in difficult times and whose patience and love enabled me to complete this work.

Spiritual thanks also to my deceased landlady Prof. Dr. Gerda Freise who just passed away.

Her continuous political support and encouragements led me through. To all my colleagues,

brothers and sisters in the struggle for freedom and justice and against Racism here in

Germany and elsewhere in the world, I express my deepest thanks for your support and

solidarity.

Last but not least, special thanks to my daughter who might not realise it now, but she was the

driving force of my convictions to study and also finish this work. To my family in Cameroon

and in Germany, I express my heart-felt gratitude. This work also goes to my deceased

parents who would have certainly been proud of my accomplishments and are definitely

proud wherever they are now. To them I owe a great deal of knowledge and strength.

vi

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xii

GLOSSARY xiv

ABSTRACT xvii

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG xix

1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Problem

setting 2

1.2 Objectives 4

1.3

Importance of the study 5

1.4

Scope and limitations of the study 6

2

COUNTRY AND AREA BACKGROUND 8

2.1

The Government of Cameroon (GoC) 10

2.2

Korup National Park (KNP) 11

2.3

The Korup Project (KP) 12

3

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 14

3.1 Theoretical

concepts 14

3.2 Hypotheses 17

3.3 Conceptual

framework 20

4

LITERATURE REVIEW 24

4.1

Trend towards linking livelihood and conservation 24

4.2

The arguments behind local community involvement 27

4.3

Role of national/international environmental NGOs and communities in ICDPs ... 29

4.4 Biodiversity

conservation

and rural development 32

4.5

Economic and other incentives 34

5

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 36

5.1 Research

methods 36

5.2

Research design and survey procedure 39

5.3

Field research instruments 40

5.4 Sample

Design 41

5.5 Data

collection 43

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6

RESULTS PRESENTATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 45

6.1 Research

findings 45

6.2

Interpretation of the findings 63

6.2.1

Results to Hypothesis 1 63

6.2.2

Results to Hypothesis 2 65

6.2.3

Results to Hypothesis 3 66

7

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68

7.1 Discussion 68

7.2 Conclusions 70

7.3 Recommendations 72

REFERENCES I

ANNEX I. VI

ANNEX II IX

viii

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Map of Cameroon, also showing neighbouring countries 8

Figure 2 Protected Area Network in Cameroon 10

Figure 3 Korup National Park in the South West Province 12

Figure 4 Villages in and around the KNP 13

Figure 5 Conceptual Framework to investigate the implementation of CBC in Cameroon, with

case study of the KNP 21

Figure 6 No linkage 24

Figure 7 Indirect linkage 25

Figure 8 Direct linkage 26

Figure 9 A general model of conservation projects 26

Figure 10 Models of three conservation strategies 27

Figure 11 Four sources of error in social survey research 38

Figure 12 Fabe Village showing the structure of the houses 41

Figure 13 Sampled Village circled in KNP and support zone 43

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Citizen involvement in Conservation decision-making 16

Table 2 Name of the village and population 45

Table 3 Sex 46

Table 4 Sex * How old are you? Cross tabulation 46

Table 5 How do you see the forest? 47

Table 6 Quantitative: Why? 47

Table 7 Is it important for you to have a forest with animals? 47

Table 8 Quantitative: Why? 47

Table 9 What do you think about conservation of the forest? 48

Table 10 Quantitative argument why 48

Table 11 Have you heard about Korup Project? 49

Table 12 Is it still existing? 49

Table 13 Quantitative: What do you think about KP? 50

Table 14 Quantitative: What were the major activities of the KP? 50

Table 15 Quantitative: What were ist aims and objectives? 51

Table 16 Do you have any traditional methods of conservation? 52

Table 17 Quantitative: Which method and how effective is it? 52

Table 18 Was your village involved and consulted in the planning and implementation of the

KP activities? 52

Table 19 Was the creation of the KNP a good or a bad approach? 53

Table 20 Quantitative: Why? 53

Table 21 Did the KP contribute to the conservation of the forest? 54

Table 22 How effective were the methods used? 54

Table 23 Are the methods still implemented today? 55

Table 24 How often did you see the KP Staff in your village? 56

Table 25 Were you satisfied with the interaction of the KP Staff and local population? 56

Table 26 Do they still come today? 57

Table 27 Have you or your village benefited from the KP/NP activities? 57

Table 28 How was the end of the KP for you? 58

Table 29 Has there been any change in the village due to the activities of the KNP? 59

Table 30 What is the importance of the government in the KP? 60

Table 31 What is the importance of the WWF in the KP? 60

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Table 32 What is the importance of the EU/GTZ in the KP? 61

Table 33 What is your importance in the KP? 62

Table 34 How do you feel now after the KP is no longer working in your village? 62

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

"A" Levels

Advance Level Certificate

CAP

"Certificat d′Aptitude Professionnelle" (CAP)/Vocational

Training Qualification

CBC

Community-Based

Conservation

CBCI

Community-based

conservation

initiative

CBRMP

Community Based Resource Management Project

CBD

Convention

on

Biological

Diversity

CED

Centre for Environment and Development

CERD

Committee

on

the

Elimination of Racial Discrimination

CI

Conservation

International

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora

CODEV Conservation/Development

(NGO)

DED

Deutscher Entwicklungs Dienst (German Development Service)

DFID

Department

for

International

Development

DRC

Democratic

Republic

of

Congo

E

East

EC

European

Commission

EU

European

Union

FCFA

Francs of the African Financial Community, Communaute

Financiere Africaine

FFI

Fauna

&

Flora

International

FPP

Forest

Peoples

Program

FSLC

First

School

Leaving

Certificate

Ft

feet

GCE

General

Certificate

of

Education

GDP

Gross

Domestic

Product

GoC

Government

of

Cameroon

GTZ

Deutsche

Gesellschaft

fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH

ha

hectare

ICDP

Integrated

Conservation

and

Development

Project

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IUCN

World

Conservation

Union

km²

square

kilometre

KP

Korup

Project

KPA

Korup

Project

Area

KNP

Korup

National

Park

KREO/KOGAN

Korup Rainforest Ecotourism Organisation/Korup Guide

Association

m

metre

MINEF

Ministry of Environment and Forestry

MSc.

Master

of

Sciences

N

North

NEMP

National

Environmental

Management

Plan

NGO

Non-governmental

Organisation

NP

National

Park

NRMC

Natural Resource Management Committee

NTFP

Non-timber

Forest

Product

ODA

Overseas

Development

Administration

"O"

Levels

Ordinary Levels Certificate

PA

Project

Area

PRA

Participatory

Rural

Appraisal

UNEP

United

Nations

Environmental

Program

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

USDoD

United States Department of Defence

VA

Village

Animator

VMC

Village

Management

Committee

Vs

Versus

WCS

Wildlife

Conservation

Society

WWF

World

Wide

Fund

for

Nature

%

Percent

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GLOSSARY

Contextual Definition of Terms

Community

refers to a heterogeneous group of people who share residence in the same

geographic area and access to a set of local natural resources. The degree of social cohesion

and differentiation, strength of common beliefs and institutions, cultural diversity and other

factors vary widely within and among communities (Schmink 1999)

Community Forest

is "That part of Non-permanent forest estate (not more than 5000ha) that

is the object of an agreement between government and a community in which communities

undertake sustainable forest management for a period of 25 years renewable". (under

Cameroon law of 1994). It is a forest established through an agreement by which the service

in charge of forestry allots to a community a portion of national forest, which the community

manages, preserves and exploits in its own interest (Manga

et al.

, 2001).

Community participatory policies

: Formulation of policies with the objective of involving

the local stakeholders or communities in projects which affect them

Conservation

refers to the long-term maintenance of ecosystem biodiversity through the

management of multiple forms of resource use and preservation. The concept, as defined here,

applies to the landscape scale (as opposed to genetic or species-level conservation), and

includes the different human groups as well as the natural species that inhabit the ecosystem

(Schmink 1999).

A Dependent variable

is the value of an outcome, i.e. output. E.g the dummy variable 0 and

1

Devolution of authority

is the decentralization of power and responsibilities from state level

to local stakeholders and NGOs with operating authority from their institutions following the

bottom-up strategy instead of top-down rule

The Dja Reserve

is located in the East and South Provinces of Cameroon. It covers an area of

5,260 sq. km and is classified among the largest protected areas of the Guinea-Congolian

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tropical rain forests. The Dja Wildlife Reserve is located at the meeting point of the low

Guinean area and the Congolese Basin. The Reserve accommodates a large proportion of the

equatorial flora and wildlife species including such endangered species as the forest

elephants, the chimpanzees, and the gorillas (Jean Lagarde BETTI).

An independent variable

is any of the arguments, i.e. input or a variable on which one has

control; e.g. satisfaction of interaction of park staff with local community.

Indicators

are performance objectives or targets; i.e. they are concrete, specific descriptions

of what one has to measure. E.g., "participatory natural resource management can only be

successful if nearly everybody (

more than 75%

) is satisfied with the

benefits

, the

level of

participation

, the

methods applied

and the

general interaction

(Ghimire and Pimbert,

1997; cited in Schmidt-Soltau, 2000).

Level of integration

implies the intensity and stages of interaction of the different

stakeholders.

Macro- and Micro levels

: Between national institutions and local people, e.g. a forestry

department vs shifting Cultivators. (Grimble

et al.,

1997)

Opportunity Cost

is the value of the next best choice that one gives up when making a

decision. Any decision that involves a choice between two or more options has an opportunity

cost. E.g. forgoing forest activities like hunting to conserve the forest or maintain wildlife.

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

is a short-cut method of data collection. It is a

methodology for action research and utilizes a range of techniques. It involves local people

and outsiders from different sectors and disciplines. Outsiders facilitates local people in

analyzing information, practicing critical self-awareness, taking responsibility and sharing

their knowledge of life and conditions to plan and to act. (Handari 2003).

Stakeholders

are different social actors, formal or informal, who can affect, or be affected by,

the resource management issues at hand (Schmink 1999).

xv

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Stakeholder analysis

involves different levels of analysis and relationships to resources,

including organizations, groups and individuals at international, national, regional and local

levels, as well as different actors within local communities and domestic groups (Schmink

1999)

Support (buffer) zone

: A 3km

Peripheral Zone

including 23 villages and a population of

2,700. The Peripheral Zone aims to target those people living closest to the Park boundary

who necessarily bear the brunt of the costs of KNP and who have most impact on it ( KNP

Management Plan 2002-2007). This was created in order to help local people find sustainable

economic alternatives to the present hunting, trapping, gathering and deforesting practices in

the park.

Traditional and indigenous conservation methods

: These are carried out through

traditional hunting seasons, NTFPs harvesting practices, establishment of sacred forest by the

secret traditional societies, dealing with the problems of the environment through self or

transferred experience, with the respect to certain taboos.

Traditional institutions

are village or customary councils like the village traditional council

e.g., the Ekpe Society for the regulation of traditional norms/customary laws.

With and Without principle

: The impacts of a concrete project can be depicted as the

difference between the situation

with

and

without

project. When this

"With and without

principle"

is applied, it has to be taken into consideration that a situation without project is

likely to change over the planning horizon. This holds especially for forestry projects with a

long duration. If CBC is not sustainable, project costs or benefits are likely to be over- or

underestimated. Additionally, only effects that are actually caused by the project are to be

included in the analysis (Bergen et al., 2002; Hanusch, 1994; Olschewski, 2004; cited in

Heber

et al.

, 2006).

xvi

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ABSTRACT

Community-Based Conservation

(CBC) refers to wildlife conservation efforts that involve

rural people as an integral part of a wildlife conservation policy. In Africa and specifically in

Cameroon, there have been changes in state policies towards natural resources management

particularly forest resources. This study deals basically on Cameroon, with national forest

cover of over 42% which constitutes one of its major economic resources. Since 1995, a new

forest policy act was enacted (proclaimed in 1994) to accommodate two approaches, that is,

Community Forestry and sustainable forest management. Conserving and enhancing

biodiversity through rural peoples′ involvement was one of the components of the new forest

policy act of 1995. The study analyses the conditions under which the CBC policies can be

successfully implemented in Cameroon, with the case of the Korup National Park (KNP) and

its support zone and the former Korup Project (KP). It also investigates the interest and the

relationship of the different stakeholders concerned, especially the local community.

The thesis uses three hypotheses (which are limited to CBC), semi-structured questionnaires

and secondary data to test or investigate successful policy implementation in the KNP by

analysing, (i) the role the local communities, (ii) the international environmental NGOs and

groups played in the former Korup Project (1988-2003) and (iii) the level of biodiversity

conservation and rural development in the Korup Project Area (KPA). The study was carried

out in the southern sector of the KNP with a simple-random sampling of 78 respondents out

of 11 villages of the 32 villages in and around the National Park.

The results indicate: (i) low participation of the local communities in the Integrated

Conservation and Development Project (ICDP) and later joint participatory biodiversity

conservation and rural development approach of the KP, (ii) a difficult relationship between

the international stakeholders and the local communities, and (iii) a temporary success in

biodiversity conservation and a failure in rural development.

From the results, it is concluded and recommended that though the Government of Cameroon

(GoC) has enacted many policies of authority devolution in the forestry and wildlife sector to

include the local communities in biodiversity conservation projects, much still has to be done

to practically implement these policies. Furthermore, it is recommended that a better

interactive relationship be established between future project authorities and the local

xvii

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communities. This would then most probably enhance successful joint participatory

biodiversity conservation and rural development in the KPA.

Although more research is needed, the study indicates that it is not too late to successfully

implement a community-based biodiversity project which will reduce pressure in the KNP

and at the same time enhance rural development for the communities in and around the Park.

Keywords

: Community-Based Biodiversity Conservation, Integrated Conservation and

Development Project, local communities, Korup National Park, Korup Project.

xviii

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ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

In Afrika - speziell in Kamerun - gab es in der Vergangenheit bezüglich des

Naturressourcenmanagements und dort im speziellen gegenüber der Waldressource

bemerkenswerte Veränderungen in der politischen Linie. Diese Studie befasst sich im

Wesentlichen mit Kamerun, dessen Waldfläche über 42% umfasst, und somit eines der

wertvollsten Ressourcen des Landes darstellt. Seit 1995 greift eine ,,neue" Forststrategie,

welche zwei Ansätze miteinander verbinden soll: Gemeindewald und nachhaltige

Forstverwaltung.

Community-Based Conservation

(CBC) bezieht sich auf Bemühungen des

Wildtierschutzes unter Einbeziehung der ländlichen Bevölkerung als ein integraler

Bestandteil von

Wildlife Conservation Policy

. Erhaltung und Erhöhung der Artvielfalt unter

Einbeziehung der ländlichen Bevölkerung ist eine zentrale Komponente der ,,neuen"

Forststrategie von 1995. Die Studie analysiert die Bedingungen unter denen die politischen

Leitlinien des CBC erfolgreich in Kamerun umgesetzt werden konnten bzw. können.

Besonderer Bezug wird hierbei genommen auf den Korup National Park (KNP) und das

ehemalige Korup Project (KP). Außerdem wird das Interesse und die Beziehung zwischen

den verschiedenen s

takeholders

untersucht ­ im Speziellen die der lokalen Gemeinde.

Die Arbeit basiert auf drei Hypothesen (begrenzt auf CBC), den Ergebnissen aus einem

halbstandardisierten Fragebogen und Sekundärliteratur. Dies dient dazu, zu erfahren, ob und

wie erfolgreich der KNP war bzw. ist. Hierzu werden analysiert, (i) die Rolle der lokalen

Gemeinden, (ii) die internationalen Umwelt-NGOs und ähnliche Akteure im ehemaligen

Korup Projekt (1988-2003), und (iii) der Level von Artenvielfaltschutz und ländlicher

Entwicklung in dem Korup Project Gebiet (KPA). Die Studie wurde in dem südlichen Sektor

des KNP durchgeführt. Die Interviewpartner wurden durch einfache Zufallsauswahl zur

Befragung ermittelt. Insgesamt wurden in 11 von 32 Dörfern in und um den Nationalpark 78

Befragungen durchgeführt.

Die Ergebnisse deuten an: (i) geringe Beteiligung der lokalen Gemeinden im

Integrated

Conservation and Development Project

(ICDP) und späteren gemeinschaftlich mitwirkenden

Artvielfaltschutz- und ländlichen Entwicklungsansatz des KP, (ii) eine schwierige Beziehung

zwischen internationalen s

takeholders

und den lokalen Gemeinden, und (iii) einen

kurzweiligen Erfolg im Artenvielfaltschutz und ein Scheitern in der ländlichen Entwicklung.

Aus den Ergebnissen lässt sich schließen: trotz des Erlasses entsprechender politischer

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Richtlinien zur Dezentralisierung im Bereich Forst und Wildlife (unter Einbeziehung der

lokalen Gemeinden in Artvielfaltschutzprojekte) durch die kamerunische Regierung (GoC),

fehlt es noch an Erfolgen in der praktischen Umsetzung. Darüber hinaus empfiehlt sich eine

bessere interaktive Beziehung zwischen zukünftigen Projektleitungen und den betroffenen

lokalen Gemeinden. Das würde sehr wahrscheinlich zu einer Verbesserung des

gemeinschaftlich mitwirkenden Artvielfaltschutzes und ländlichen Entwicklung in der KPA

führen.

Auch wenn weitere Forschung erforderlich ist, deutet diese Studie darauf hin, dass es nicht zu

spät ist, erfolgreich ein CBC-Projekt durchzuführen. Es erscheint plausibel, dass ein solches

Projekt den Nutzungsdruck of den KNP reduziert und gleichzeitig zur Verbesserung der

ländlichen Entwicklung in Gemeinden in und um den Park beiträgt.

Schlüsselwörter:

Community-Based Biodiversity Conservation, Integrated Conservation and

Development Project, lokale Gemeinden, Korup National Park, Korup Project.

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1 INTRODUCTION

In Africa and specifically in Cameroon, there has been changes in state policies towards

natural resource management; particularly forest resources. Cameroon has a national forest

cover of 42% (CERD, 1997) which constitutes one of its major economic resources. Since

1995, a new forest policy act was enacted (proclaimed in 1994) to accommodate two

approaches, that is, Community Forestry and Sustainable Forest Management. Conserving

and enhancing biodiversity through rural peoples involvement was one of the components of

the new forest policy act of 1995. This was done with the aim of protecting the environment

and conserving resources and also as a mechanism to alleviate poverty through rural

development. And like most other less industrialised countries, which have tried to implement

new forest laws or direct participation of the local communities in forest management,

Cameroon has had its successes and failures in formulating and implementing such new laws.

The Government of Cameroon (GoC) with its new forest policy of 1994 represented an

important step towards addressing sustainable renewable resource management in the context

of an overall national development strategy. The new forest law defined the regulatory basis

for management of the forest estate. The law provides participation of local communities in

the management of certain categories of gazetted forests, and requires the preparation and

implementation of government-approved management plans for forests to be re-gazetted

under the law as a prerequisite for granting future timber concessions.

The effectiveness of this law has since then been dependent on the government′s capacity to

develop management plans for sustainable forest exploitation and biodiversity conservation

on a participatory basis and to monitor and enforce their implementation, especially in

gazetted areas. Though the protected areas management approaches that involve the

participation of local communities are now being widely promoted all over in Cameroon, the

impacts of such Community-Based Conservation Initiatives on local communities remain

poorly defined. This also includes national parks like the Korup National Park (KNP).

Historically, most of Cameroon′s national parks have been established in the more accessible

savannah zone, in the North of the country. It was only at the beginning of the fourth quarter

of the last century, with the growing interest in biodiversity conservation and concern over

1

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deforestation that more attention has been paid by western conservationists, with pressure on

some West and Central African states, to the conservation of tropical rainforests. It was in this

light that in the early 1980s due to "the rising awareness of conservation, and especially the

willingness of international donors to support conservation of the tropical rainforest in

Cameroon, that resulted in the creation of the KNP by presidential decree No. 86/1283,

October 30, 1986, in 1986" (Schmidt-Soltau, 2004) as the first lowland tropical rainforest

National Park.

1.1 Problem

setting

Community-Based Conservation (CBC) management is gaining grounds year after year in

Cameroon propagated by international and national NGOs, the Cameroon government and

local communities. Community forests, gazetted areas like forest reserves and national parks

have been created with the consultation of local and indigenous populations. International and

state financed projects and programmes have been carried out in the last two decades to

sustainably manage and conserve biodiversity through the communities involved.

The KNP stands as a model, with conflicts and harmony for the implementation of a variety

of biological diversity conservation policies in Cameroon. Since its inception in 1986, the

KNP has seen many changes in policy implementation, from state control, through support of

environmental NGOs with Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs),

sustainable and participatory natural resource management, with local community

involvement.

Since the onset of the idea of a national park in Korup, the creation of the KNP itself and the

Korup Project (KP, the main interest of the study) that followed, much research and surveys

have been carried out to review the formulation, planning and implementation of policies in

the Korup Project Area (KPA, which is the KNP and its support zone). This however, has not

really led to outstanding results to set an example to other park managements. And as Ruth

Malleson (2000:295) in her dissertation described, "the KP′s socio-economic survey provided

much important information and sound recommendations; but the project′s failure to make

use of it and revise its rural development strategy in the light of the findings meant that the

project continued to make poor progress and errors that could have been avoided". How far

this failure contributes to the end results of the KP and influences the continuous management

2

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of the KNP, with the importance of information flow in rational resource management and

planning will be analyzed by this study.

The final phase of the KP in the South West of Cameroon was full of conflicts, distrust and

mismanagement. Even though this phase of the project was oriented towards integrated

community involvement, its impacts still have to be fully studied. An impact assessment was

commissioned, which came out with results in June 2000 and reported to the then project

staff. The findings of the research was a problem and as its author puts it, "it was an open

secret that a good number of villages had informed the Korup Project that they were not

interested in any further cooperation and that the Korup staff were not allowed to enter their

villages or traditionally owned forest areas" (Schmidt-Soltau 2004: 111).

Although literally much is known about the stakeholders and the defined roles that they are

supposed to play in conservation projects or programmes, the practicality on the field comes

out with conflicting results. Officially, the KP which ended in 2003 was supposed to be an

ICDP or a CBC with a development component, which implies the full involvement of the

locals or indigenous people. Reports from many researches carried out in the area have proven

otherwise. Studying the level and effects of conservation and development in the area three

years after the end of the KP, will on the one hand confirm or shed more light on some of

similar researches that were carried out during the project′s lifespan and on the other hand

demonstrate the impacts, benefits or price endured, acquired or paid respectively by the local

communities in the KPA after the end of the project.

This research study analysed the conditions under which the CBC concepts can be

successfully implemented in Cameroon, investigating the interest and the relationship of the

different stakeholders concerned with focus on the local community.

Using the theory on CBC, the successes and failures in the approaches in management, the

social effects and how they impact the local community will be analysed in the thesis. In

doing this, the research will come up with recommendations for the policy makers and also

proposals to the local communities on how to better plan, coordinate and implement CBC

policies.

3

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With all these in mind, this thesis intends to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the prerequisites for success or failure of CBC Projects like that of the KNP?

2. What are the policies that mirror CBC management and how is it practiced in

Cameroon, with the example of the KNP?

3. Who are the stakeholders (focus groups and individuals) involved and their level of

involvement in conservation projects and programmes? KNP as case study

4. What are the strategies of policy implementation of CBC projects, their impacts and

effects on the indigenous community (perception of the local communities of the

KNP)?

1.2 Objectives

The main objective of this study is to contribute to the better understanding of the conditions

to a successful CBC initiative, by analysing the policies, interests, activities, and practical

realities of implementing CBC projects/programmes in Cameroon. Doing this is worthwhile;

to better understand the successes and failures so as to propose recommendation for policies

and projects/programmes, vis-à-vis biodiversity conservation management.

The specific objectives are:

1. To describe the overall concept of conditions for a successful CBC and contribution of

the local community in the success or failure of biodiversity conservation projects.

2. To identify and analyse factors that lead to local communities′ participation in

resource planning and management and the policies that control these factors.

3. To explore and analyse the role of NGOs, local communities′ participation and their

level of involvement in the conservation of biodiversity in Cameroon, with the case

study of the KNP.

4. To identify the links between conservation and development and the conditions of

success, analysing how it was practiced in the KPA with community participation in

the KP.

4

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1.3

Importance of the study

Over the last three decades, the participation of the local communities and the indigenous

people in nature conservation projects has been seen as a precondition for the success of such

undertakings. In many countries of the tropics and in Cameroon in particular, financial and

technical support from international conservation organizations and groups only come with

the preconditions that the local communities participate and their interests equally represented

in conservation project formulation and implementation.

This research carries the same weight of importance like any other research which has been

carried out in the KPA. It also seeks to continue the line of researches concerning the

formulation and implementation of policies of CBC projects and programmes in this area. The

western style conservation of the rich African humid rainforest has come into much criticism

and this study also addresses some of the criticism, problems and successes through analyses

of the former KP of the KNP. The targeted groups on which this study would like to impact

are the policy makers in the concerned region, but most important are the local NGOs and the

communities who are trying to reshape their daily lives after the departure of the KP. This

study also targets master students working in this and related fields of study.

Even those who were proclaimed through many reports of the different international

organisations to have taken part in the KP (the communities in the KPA) did not know what

the activities and objectives of the project were. The few who knew could not really connect

these to their daily lives. This study would want to confirm or reject the results of Schmidt-

Soltau (2000) who wrote, "while the theoretical premises of the Korup Project are focusing on

a close interaction between rural development and conservation, only a small educated

minority in the villages recognised this relation". That is why this research is important in

comparing theory and reality on the ground, based on quantitative and qualitative data that

were collected in the area.

Furthermore, as earlier stated the study hopes to contribute in the field of study by identifying

the conditions under which CBRMPs in Cameroon (example of KNP) are implemented,

contributing in the better understanding of the characteristics and prerequisites of the success

or failure of CBC Management projects. Although with reservations and limitations, this

5

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would enhance the possibilities in successful project implementation or highlight reasons for

failures.

1.4

Scope and limitations of the study

The scope of this research is limited to the KPA in general and in particular, to the KNP and

its support zones, the communities that must play a vital role in the management of the park.

It explores and describes the nature of the KP during and after its lifespan. Though it tries to

highlight the different activities of the project with the birth of forest resource management

devolution after the 1994 proclaimed Community Forestry law enactment in Cameroon, it

stops short of representing the overall picture of community involvement in conservation

projects in Cameroon (although results could be similar elsewhere in Cameroon). It is also in

part, a follow-up of a previous research carried out in the year 2000 by Dr. Kai Schmidt-

Soltau, as can be seen by most of the formulated questions in the questionnaires that were

used (see ANNEX I).

Due to the benchmarks of this thesis, it did not focus on establishing the quantitative

significance on the relationships between variables but rather descriptive statistics in the

analysis of data like frequencies and percentages. This does not mean it is not possible to

establish this relationship from data collected. Different variables and indicators, through

questionnaires and interviews are used to analyse the perception of rural people and other

stakeholders. Part of the research methods follows the basis of an empirical-analysis approach

whereby theory-based description and explanation of empirical evidence will be checked.

Although the study is confined to a specific project location, the southern part of the park and

its buffer zones, which may not be enough to arrive at a generalization that may be applicable

to any other locations, it is worthwhile noting that the impact of the results has a broader

scope and implication. Despite these limitations, the study provides an in-depth information

and valuable insights about the importance of the local community in reaching the goals CBC

and rural development in Cameroon.

This chapter ends with a structural and background highlight of how the study is going to be

analyzed. The geopolitical representation of Cameroon and the historical background of the

project area will be reviewed in chapter 2. The theoretical framework (chapter 3) will be

6

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delineated, by first illustrating two of the different theoretical concepts of biodiversity

conservations as

per se

, highlighting the involvement of the local communities and other

stakeholders and later, a background of the three hypotheses. Also in this chapter, analytical

models are going to be presented through a conceptual framework and background

assumptions, so as to get a better understanding in using the research questions to build up the

different variables, portraying the relationship (link) between them. Chapter 4 reviews the

literature, relating the study objectives, questions and hypotheses, also citing important works

related to CBC in the KNP, making it easier to understand the theoretical and practical

methods used in the study. Chapter 5 then gives a brief theoretical and detailed practical

methodology of how the empirical field study was carried out, describing the sample methods

and population and also the instruments used to carry out the study and data collection and

how the results were arrived at. This is followed by chapter 6, dealing with the results

presentation and analysis of the data collected through the questionnaires. Finally, chapter 7

deals with the discussion, conclusions and recommendations of the study.

7

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2

COUNTRY AND AREA BACKGROUND

This chapter is very important due to the geopolitical location of Cameroon and the

motivation behind the conservation of its biodiversity. The area and historical background of

the KNP and the KP also recounted.

Cameroon, which acts as a bridge between West and Central Africa is situated in the

geographical coordinates of 6 00 N, 12 00 E. With an area almost one and a half times bigger

than Germany (Area total: 475,440 km2 ­ comparative: Germany: total area 356,733 km2;

www.stepin.org), Cameroon is located in Western Africa (sometimes Central Africa is

preferred). It is bounded on the North by Lake Chad; on the East by Chad and the Central

African Republic; on the South by the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea;

and on the West by the Bight of Biafra (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) and Nigeria. The

country situated on the Gulf of Guinea, is shaped like an elongated triangle, and is with a rich

forest and a relatively well-developed flora and fauna system. It is usually described as Africa

in miniature because its diversity in ecosystems and climatic conditions are comparable with

many African regions.

Figure 1 Map of Cameroon, also showing neighbouring countries

Source: worldatlas.com

Cameroon has four distinct topographical regions. In the south is a coastal plain, a region of

dense equatorial rain forests; the Adamawa Plateau in the center, a region with elevations

reaching about 1,370 m (about 4,500 ft) above sea level. This is a transitional area where

forest gives way in the north to savanna regions. In the far north the savanna gradually slopes

into the marshland surrounding Lake Chad and in the west is an area of high, forested

8

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mountains of volcanic origin. Located here is Mount Cameroon (4,095 m/13,435 ft), the

highest peak in western Africa and an active volcano. The country′s most fertile soils are

found in this region (www.encarta.msn.com).

With a population of a little over 17 million people (July 2006 estimate) the Cameroon′s

traditionally agricultural economy began changing in the late 20th century with the discovery

and exploitation of offshore petroleum reserves. Seen as one of the main occupation of the

country, agriculture is practiced by approximately 70 percent of Cameroon′s population and

still contributes the largest share of the country′s gross domestic product (GDP). It also has a

relatively well developed system of forest and faunal reserves, most of which were

established in the colonial era during the 1930s and 1940s (Ruth Malleson, 2000).

Almost a third of its territory is covered by tropical moist forests. Among African countries,

Cameroon ranks second only to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in diversity of

forest-dwelling primates, and among the top five in diversity of plant species. Cameroon is

home to the only remaining population of black rhinoceroses in west central Africa. The

humid forests of the littoral zone and the mountains of south-western Province rank among

the world′s top 100 areas for endemic bird species and exhibit high endemism for amphibians,

reptiles and plants. The lowland forests of south-eastern Cameroon, although altered by

accelerated harvesting practices over the past two decades, support some of the most

concentrated and diverse populations of large mammals (elephants, forest ungulates, great

apes) recorded in west or central Africa (World Bank, 1995). There are also well known

protected areas and National Parks.

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Figure 2 Protected Area Network in Cameroon

(Source: Management Plan for KNP and peripheral zone 2002-2007)

2.1

The Government of Cameroon (GoC)

The Government of Cameroon, with technical support from the United Nations Development

Program (UNDP) and other international bodies, initiated a national environmental

management planning process which led to a National Environmental Management Plan

(NEMP). In doing so, the GoC seek to gain experience with locally integrated resource

management with regard to community participation in protected area management, to help

expand grass-root participation in formulation of the NEMP. This would strengthen the

scientific rigor and quality of the biodiversity conservation strategy to be developed within

the framework of the NEMP. The then Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MINEF), now

Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, is the lead governmental agency that ensures coordination

of programmes or projects concerning wildlife or biodiversity in particular. In addition to its

other responsibilities, it is mandated (in coordination with the Ministry of Environment) to

supervise nature conservation activities and is the governmental agency responsible for the

organisation of protected areas and management of the country′s natural heritage.

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2.2

Korup National Park (KNP)

The KNP is situated in the South West Province of Cameroon, adjacent to the international

boundary with Nigeria, 50 kms inland from the Bight of Biafra. It was originally gazetted as a

forest reserve in 1937 as ,,Korup Native Administration Forest Reserve" by the British

colonial powers. This humid tropical forest which is found in the Congo basin is believed by

scientists to be one of the oldest of their kind in Africa and to have more than 3000 species of

trees, plants, animals and insects. One of the veteran Korup pioneer researchers Stephen

Gartlan after his researches estimated that the Korup forest is the home to 25% of African′s

primate species. Based on the research of Stephen Gartlan and Phil Agland, first conservation

activities were carried out in the early eighties by the Earthlife Foundation and the GoC

(Schmidt-Soltau, 2000: 6). Due to these activities, in June 1986, the ODA (now DFID)

decided to sponsor further research in the area. As a result of these, the KNP was created and

since then has received funding from a number of organisations like WWF, the EC, DFID,

GTZ, USDoD, DED and FFI which have contributed towards the development of the Park

and its support zone.

The KNP is the only lowland tropical rainforest national park (the southern part of which is

almost certainly primary) in Cameroon, with most of the other national parks found in the

more accessible savannas in the north of the Country. The park covers an area of 126,900 ha

(1269 km2), with a human population of about 50,000 people living in 187 villages, 5 of them

in the park (still waiting to be resettled) and 27 very close to the park, a 3 km support zone

(which was before a much wider peripheral zone surrounding the park). It is believed that

Korup lies at the centre of the Guinea-Congolian forest refugium, one of only two Pleistocene

refugia proposed for Africa (KNP Management Plan 2002-2007).

Because of the park management, the Korup Project was established (1988-2003) to facilitate

the smooth functioning and also to achieve the goals of the Park, which were to preserve the

biodiversity and development of the Korup region. Found in Ndian Division, the headquarters

of the park is situated in Mundemba, which in itself is a subdivision.

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KNP

Source: MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR KORUP NATIONAL PARK AND ITS PERIPHERAL ZONE 2003-2007

Figure 3 Korup National Park in the South West Province

2.3

The Korup Project (KP)

Funded by ODA and WWF (which took over from Earthlife after the charity went into

liquidation in March 1987), a first project proposal to secure the Korup National Park was

elaborated and signed on February 3rd 1988 by the Government of Cameroon and WWF. This

was the beginning of the KP, which lasted until the end of 2003 and about which this thesis is

going to be based on. The rationale behind the establishment of the Korup Project was to

contribute to "the protection of old, undisturbed forest in Korup National Park area, through

the improvement in living standards and economic conditions in the surrounding support

zone, through the raising of environmental awareness among local communities, and through

protection of the National Park" (Mid-Term, 133).

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Source: MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR KORUP NATIONAL PARK AND ITS PERIPHERAL ZONE 2002-2007

Figure 4 Villages in and around the KNP

13

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3 THEORETICAL

FRAMEWORK

Here, the theoretical perspectives are of utmost importance to understand the study. This is

structured in the form of a background theoretical concept of the study (CBC), followed by

the hypotheses. The hypotheses are limited to Community-Based Conservation from which

two synonyms will be analysed. Furthermore, this chapter also deals with a conceptual

framework to analyse the relationships between the communities and other stakeholders. The

rationale behind all these is to define the variables that are vital for the study.

First of all, the term conservation will be defined; which according to the IUCN/WWF/UNEP

World Conservation Strategy Definition, is "the maintenance of essential ecological processes

and life-support systems, the preservation of genetic diversity, and the sustainable utilization

of species and ecosystems" (Talbot, L. M., 1980; cited in MacDonald, Kenneth Iain-undated).

Because conservation in the past decades has become a global issue, one has realised the

importance of the indigenous and local populations and the roles they play in the maintenance

and preservation of the endless depletion of our biodiversity. These roles are also defined in

the following two concepts:

Community-Based Conservation Initiatives (CBCIs),

And Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs).

3.1 Theoretical

concepts

Community-Based Conservation Initiatives (CBCIs)

The concept of CBCIs, by definition, operates at a local or community level. They tend to

be voluntary, people-centred and participatory, with community members making

management decisions (Murphree, 1994, cited in Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001: 6). Expertise may

be provided by outside agencies but management responsibility remains with the

community group. For conservation purposes a community can be defined as a number of

people who have a goal and decide to work together to do something about it. While

groups can contain mutual, overlapping and divergent interests and perspectives, the goal

binds people together, giving them a common identity despite individual differences. The

minimal trappings of a community (according to Daly & Cobb 1994, p. 175, cited in

Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001) are:

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· Allowing all citizens to participate;

· Accepting citizens′ responsibility;

· And respecting the diversity of citizens.

The rationale behind CBCIs is that, by working together, people are able to achieve more than

individuals or organisations working on their own, and involving those affected is likely to

result in a better and more acceptable long-term solution (Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001: 6). They

reverse top-down, centre-driven conservation by focusing on the people who bear the costs of

conservation. In the broadest sense, then, community-based conservation includes natural

resource or biodiversity protection by, for, and with local communities (Western & Wright

1994, p. 7, Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001: 6).

In his paper, Wilcox (1994) also points out 5 points for effective stakeholder participation in a

project or programme, stressing citizens′ involvement. These are: information, consultation,

deciding together, acting together and supporting independent community initiatives. These

points are furthermore explained by the statements of Forgie, V.

et al.

(2001) that state,

"CBCIs promote a more active form of participation where citizens influence outcomes.

Citizens are actively involved in suggesting options and sharing decision-making with other

stakeholder groups. Power is decentralised, and community groups make decisions that affect

their immediate environment. Community initiatives can be placed along a continuum from

highly specialised activities that require the dedicated skills of specialists, to activities

requiring no specific skills, just the willingness of individual members of the public to

coordinate and be involved in projects. The table below taken from Forgie, V.

et al.

(2001)

based on Wilcox (1994), illustrates this progression.

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Table 1 Citizen involvement in Conservation decision-making

* Action Planning is a process where experts, agencies and community members work together in intensive sessions to look at

Issues in an holistic way. Using a visual approach with drawings or scaled models people consider and communicate visions for

their community′s future (see Wates, 1996; cited in Forgie, V.

et al

l, 2001).

Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs)

Even though there is no universally accepted definition of what ICDPs are, biodiversity

practitioners see them as biodiversity conservation projects with rural development

components. ICDPs have many different names like "People-Centered Conservation and

Development", "Eco-development", "grassroots conservation", community-based natural

resource management (CBNRM) and community wildlife management (CWM). All of

which were created by the conservation organizations, rather than the indigenous and

local people (Chapin, 2004). In a broader sense, the concept behind it is, "an approach that

aims to meet social development priorities and conservation goals" (Hughes and Flintan,

2001), through integration of the indigenous and local community. Firstly introduced by

the WWF in the mid-1980s, they have characteristic of biodiversity conservation

objectives using socio-economic investment tools. ICDPs are more often than not seen as

CBC projects but their approaches have common features that are more distinct from

other CBC projects as highlighted below by Hughes and Flintan (2001):

· Biodiversity conservation is the primary goal;

· There is a recognised need to address the social and economic requirements of

communities who might otherwise threaten biodiversity, and the natural resource base

in general;

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· The core objective is to improve relationships between state-managed protected areas

and their neighbours;

· ICDPs do not necessarily seek to devolve control or ownership of protected area

resources to local communities nor address this issue on the periphery of the parks;

· ICDPs usually receive funding from external sources, i.e., from bilateral or

multilateral donors, and international conservation organisations. Without some form

of external financial assistance government wildlife (or other conservation-related)

department budgets can rarely afford to implement these projects;

· The majority of ICDPs are externally motivated and are initiated by conservation

organisations and/or development agencies (even if implemented by governmental

bodies);

· And they are generally linked to a protected area, more often than not, a national park.

There are also some assumptions that go in hand with the concept of ICDPs. These are:

· Creating other local livelihood options or alternatives will reduce human pressure on

biodiversity, leading to its improved conservation;

· The local community and their livelihood practices, rather than `external factors′,

comprise the most important threat to the biodiversity resources of the area in

question;

· And ICDPs offer sustainable alternatives to traditional protectionist approaches to

protected area management.

3.2

Hypotheses

Now based on these premises of the two concepts of CBC, the hypotheses below will be

tested or better said confirmed or rejected using the study questionnaires.

Hypothesis 1

The involvement of the local community is important for the success of

Biodiversity Conservation.

To confirm or reject this hypothesis, the level of involvement of the local

communities in planning and implementation of conservation policies in the KNP

through the KP will be analysed.

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To test this first hypothesis, the perception of the community towards the KNP and the former

KP will be investigated. This perception depends on several factors, one of them being the

connections between conservation and the lives of the local community. Total dependence on

forest means conservation will have a high impact on the livelihood of the community.

Previous research from Schmidt-Soltau (2000) highlighted that the Korup Project was not

very popular among the inhabitants of the region. As he also stated, "the perception of

something is mostly linked to actions undertaken by the other side (other stakeholders)"

(Schmidt-Soltau, 2000). Based on this statement, actions which were still in the memory of

the villagers after the end of the KP were investigated. A survey was also made on the

knowledge of the ordinary villager about the aims and objectives of the Korup Project. One

main indicator will be the reaction of the villagers towards the end of the Korup Project. The

questions used are especially related to the image of the Korup Project and will contribute in

testing of the overall assessment of the political influence of the local community in the KP.

Hypothesis 2

The consideration of traditional conservation methods by international

conservation groups and organisations is a success factor for sustainable

conservation.

This hypothesis will be tested by analyzing the role of national and international

environmental NGOs in ICDPs.

"Over the past 50 years, however, as biodiversity loss has been constructed as an international

problem, conservation has also increasingly become the purview of international non-

governmental organizations (NGOs), many of which have come to hold greater environmental

authority than the governments of nation states. Often structured through class and racial bias,

and ignorant of community-based practices for environmental management, contemporary

conservation policy, practice and jurisdiction has emerged out of a past littered with struggles

over sovereignty, competing ideologies of nature, conflicting use rights, and markedly

inequitable power relations"(MacDonald, 2003: 2).

Traditional conservation methods (through the indigenous ways of living, working and sacred

protected grounds) in Africa, and especially in Cameroon has made it possible that today,

centuries after slavery and colonisation, there are still biodiversity conservation hotspots to be

found here. In the recent past, conservation of biodiversity has become a contemporary issue

18

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which makes it difficult or counter-productive to ignore the interests of local and indigenous

people or their traditional methods. International conservation groups and organisations have

historically worked to exclude the local populace in conservation projects but now, those who

in one way or the other still ignore the interests of indigenous or local people do that at their

peril. Notwithstanding, one still finds that for example the history until present date of the

creation of the KNP represents the colonial African myth propagated by the white colonial

masters of "wilderness" and "vacant land without people", a conservation myth, which even

with CBC programmes in the so-called independent African state conservation policies still

exist. The evacuation or resettlement of one of the six villages (Ikondo Kondo) outside the

KNP is just an example. The remaining five villages are still waiting for resettlement, though

not in the near future.

Not emphasising much on the contemporary thoughts, the aim here is to investigate the

importance of local knowledge and traditional conservation methods to successfully

implement a sustainable CBC conservation project with international NGOs and groups as

stakeholders.

NGOs on the one hand, under Cameroon law are formed "under the Law on liberty of

Associations (NO 90/053 of 19th December 1990), with their headquarters as well as their

funding sources determining whether they are local, national or international" (UNEP, 1999;

xxi). While on the other hand the "International Community" are basically characterised

through interests generally expressed by some specific technical organisations concerned

world-wide with conservation, exploitation and trade (e.g. European Union, UNEP, WWF,

IUCN, CITES). The interests of these groups are manifested through participation by their

representation at the various discussion seminars, workshops and meetings on biodiversity

conservation. Several NGO′s in the country are specifically orientated towards the

sustainability of biological diversity.

Hypothesis 3

The integration of rural development is essential for the success of Biodiversity

Conservation Projects.

This is based on the theory that Conservation involving the local community

enhances biodiversity conservation and rural development. Here the theoretical

objectives of biodiversity conservation and rural development will be practically

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tested using the KP, if it reached its targets.

As earlier highlighted, in biodiversity conservation projects, there are internal and external

stakeholders. The internal stakeholders in this case are the Government of Cameroon (GoC)

and the local communities in the KPA who are supposed to conserve biodiversity. The

external stakeholders are the international NGOs or organisations like the WWF and the GTZ

who try to influence the formulation and implementation of conservation projects through

ideological, financial and technical assistance. In creating incentives through direct or indirect

methods, they try to sensitise and motivate local communities through rural development and

also using the capabilities of the local community to foster conservation objectives.

The ICDP was a model of the CBC used in the KP to provide support in the Park management

plans and since the Korup Project was not a rural development project, but a conservation

project, which used rural development as a method to reduce the pressure on forest resources,

the local knowledge of the community on forest and conservation is very important. The third

hypothesis will be used to analyse the local knowledge in biodiversity conservation and the

methods used by the project in carrying out conservation and development. The purpose is the

attempt to prove if there are direct and concrete linkages in the conservation and development

objectives of the KP to attain its goal - the conservation of biodiversity in the KPA.

3.3 Conceptual

framework

Since the ratification of the CBD by Cameroon, the State has embarked on many measures

leading to the devolution of authority to the different stakeholders in the forestry and wildlife

sector, especially the indigenous and local community. The results can be traced back to

certain factors that can be statistically analysed. In dealing with the impact of implementing

the CBC in Cameroon, one has to analyse some of these factors which might act as indicators

for positive or negative correlations being influenced by certain changes. This research uses

the following conceptual framework (below) as the basis for investigating the relationship or

interaction in a CBC initiative between local communities and other stakeholders like the

Government and international NGOs and groups:

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Community-based Conservation

Korup Project Area

Government/State

Devolution of

Rights of participation

authority

/ influence and power

Financial and

(policies)

technical support

Level of involvement/

Community perception

International

Organisations/NGOs

Interest/role of

community

Local

Stakeholders/Communities

Level of interaction /building

capacity

(conservation/development

Figure 5 Conceptual Framework to investigate the implementation of CBC in Cameroon, with case study

of the KNP

(Source: from author).

In figure 5, one sees that Government policies will affect the level of involvement of the local

communities. This is indicated as shown with the yellow arrows and circles on the left of the

diagram. On the right, because the Government gets financial and technical assistance from

international bodies, it allows these Organisations to formulate and carry out projects with the

aim of conservation and development. This again can be illustrated in green. Also at the

bottom of the diagram (illustrated in turquoise), the international Organisations attempt to

strengthen the capacity of the local communities to sustainably conserve biodiversity and help

develop their communities through recognising and understanding their interests and roles.

All these are focused to involve the community in conserving biodiversity while enhancing

their development.

This is not as easy as shown in figure 5 and that is why this study will try analysing these

variables and factors. There are obviously constraints in these relationships. In fact, at the root

of the difficulties or conflicts between the Government, indigenous/local communities,

international environmental organisations and groups and conservation itself lies a

combination of historical, cultural and socio-political factors. These can be modelled in the

following analyses:

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Every biodiversity conservation project impacts on people, either as direct users of its

resources, or as beneficiaries of the goods and services it provides. Even when a

protected area′s resources are not directly used, its management is, above all, the

management of the relationship (whether economic, cultural or spiritual; permanent or

sporadic; immediate or distant) between people and the area′s resources, as well as of

the human interactions that are engendered.

Indigenous and local people often rely on products, services, or land from nearby

natural areas to meet their livelihood needs. Their use constitutes one demand on the

biological resources of these areas, while their conservation objectives coupled with

those of the state, and outside groups constitute another. The resulting conflict,

compatibility, or complementarities between the demands created by livelihood

activities and conservation objectives have been the focal point of much discussion

and effort over the last three decades, hence, linkage of conservation and livelihood

activities and the role of the community in policy formation and implementation.

The concept of conservation and local community helps managers to focus on the

needs and rights of categories of users who have in the past been marginalized by

conservation efforts. However, it can be ill-suited to the analysis and understanding of

the place of people in complex natural resource use systems, because it suggests a

homogeneity that does not exist at all levels, and it ignores those people who cannot

be identified with a local, geographic community.

The concept of "stakeholder"

has gained prominence in development and natural

resource management circles because of its usefulness in the identification and

definition of those who have influence on, or can be affected by, the management

process. It recognizes, for example, that poor people not in the Project Area (PA)

buffer zones but in the KPA (out of the buffer zone) as a whole, potentially affected

by the impact of conservation have a direct stake in the management of the KNP; but

although stakeholders, they cannot be termed "local".

Stakeholders like international donor Organisations and environmental NGOs are

more and more using different strategies to balance conservation and development.

This can be explained through investigating the State policy amendments towards

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authority devolution with the help of environmental NGOs in the forestry and wildlife

sector. Community Forestry and Community-Based Conservation are just part of that

change.

The relationships among and between stakeholders and their use rights of natural

resources and influence on biodiversity conservation projects, are governed by

institutions, both formal and informal, which are almost always complex, fluid and

dynamic. These institutions, including rules, norms, laws, policies and Organisations,

regulate and guide the lives and actions of people.

Management, including protected area management, is the task of transforming these

institutions to meet defined goals. Increasingly these include social and economic

goals, such as the provision of human needs, the elimination of poverty, social justice,

and equity, in addition to environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation.

The process of transforming these institutions must recognize the complexity and

coherence of existing institutions and the diversity and interests of the various

stakeholders. It therefore must give stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the

design of new arrangements, instead of providing external and technocratic answers. It

should also embrace the range of development and natural resource management

issues, instead of confining itself to narrow conservation objectives.

The working assumption here is that the village communities involved in the

implementation of the CBC strategy are becoming owners of the resources and its

management that they are changing from being managed to managers themselves.

Secondly, that the village communities are custodians of priceless indigenous

knowledge which is important for resource management and protection of the park.

Thirdly, that the socio-economic level of the participating partners is being improved.

Here expectations must be kept low and false promises avoided.

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4 LITERATURE

REVIEW

In this chapter of the study, the background reasoning of the different concepts in relation to

the hypotheses will be expanciate on, throwing more light on the justification to prove them.

4.1

Trend towards linking livelihood and conservation

Over the past century, there have been different approaches in trying to reconcile the demand

of conservation and people′s livelihood. Most conservation programmes and projects in

Cameroon come to life with the premise: that poverty and over-population are leading to more

land grab, farming and other agricultural activities for subsistence or income earning, leading

to biodiversity loss. Linking conservation and livelihood, positively or negatively, has been a

long development and can be described along a spectrum as explained by Salafsky (2000): (a)

no linkage, (b) indirect linkage and (c) direct linkage between livelihood activities and

conservation.

a) No linkage between livelihoods and conservation: protected areas

The key feature of the protected area strategy is that local livelihood is assumed to conflict

with conservation. Protected areas have strictly defined borders that unauthorized people are

not supposed to cross. People are meant to use resources outside of the park and plants and

animals are meant to stay in the park.

Figure 6 No linkage

(Salafsky 2000)

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b) Indirectly linking livelihoods and conservation: economic substitution

This approach is called the buffer zone strategy. The key feature of the buffer zone strategy is

to establish a zone that is used to create a spatial compromise that enables local people to

continue to meet their livelihood needs while still protecting key species and habitats. In

particular, the theory is to decrease reliance on the natural biodiversity by substituting other

livelihood activities. Conservationists might, for example, assist local residents to grow coffee

in the buffer zone, intensify agricultural production, or set up a leather tannery. The idea here

is that providing substitute economic activities will keep local people from livelihood

activities that damage the local biodiversity. The focus is thus on economic incentives, with

little consideration of the biophysical environment.

Figure 7 Indirect linkage

(Salafsky 2000)

c) Directly linking livelihoods and conservation: linked incentives for conservation

The key feature of the linked incentive strategy involves developing dependent relationships

between the biodiversity and the surrounding people. Local stakeholders are given

opportunities to benefit directly from the biodiversity, and thus presumably have an incentive

to stop external threats to the biodiversity. Livelihoods drive conservation, rather than simply

being compatible with it. Furthermore, the strategy recognizes local people′s role in

maintaining biodiversity. Under this strategy, conservationists might, for example, help local

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communities set up a non-timber forest product harvesting enterprise, tourism enterprise or

development of local institutions to help foster profit sharing.

Figure 8 Direct linkage

(Salafsky 2000)

These strategies are then generalised in the following diagram:

Figure 9 A general model of conservation projects

(Source: Adapted from Salafsky & Wollenberg, 2000. Note: Rectangles indicate conditions of the project site.

Hexagons indicate interventions undertaken by the project team.)

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Here below, the three different models are illustrated are once more analysed:

Figure 10 Models of three conservation strategies

(Note: Rectangles indicate conditions of the project site. Hexagons indicate interventions undertaken by the

project team. In this study, the models, focusing in particular on the linkage between biodiversity and the

livelihood activity will be of great help)

4.2

The arguments behind local community involvement

People are usually proactive in protecting things of value to them, and it is in this context that

biodiversity conservation initiatives have to be understood (Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001).

Community-Based Conservation management should involve the rural people as an integral

part of conservation policy planning, implementation and control. If the local communities

feel they have been neglected or sidelined in conservation projects, then these projects are

vulnerable to failure but if they feel included in all stages and levels and also responsible for

27

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the success or failure, they will work hand in hand with other stakeholders. Here, the focus is

on the analysis of the theoretical definition of CBC, and the rights and the role of the

community. These background information makes possible the intention to investigate the

first hypothesis with the results of the data collected (through questionnaires) from the

communities (villages) in the KNP and its support zone, describing their role in the KP,

hence, the KNP.

The Korup Project (1988 ­ 2003) was one of the first Integrated Conservation and

Development Projects (ICDPs) established in the tropical rainforest zone of the Congo Basin

with objectives being "the protection of old, undisturbed forest in Korup National Park area,

through the improvement in living standards and economic conditions in the surrounding

support zone, through the raising of environmental awareness among local communities, and

through the protection of the National Park. In later years through the process of developing a

master plan for the Park, it was also proposed that "there is need to adopt Community-Based

Conservation in the area with an approach that builds social analysis of power into park

management processes" (Vabi M.B., 1999: 56). Vabi also argued that this will lead to a

potential future outstanding beneficial relationship between the park management authorities

and the local community.

In the participation theory it is argued that local communities′ involvement in decision-

making is vital as a means of encouraging community members to consider issues of common

interest. There are many potential benefits. Foremost, these include the ability to build local

skills, interests and capacities that are on-going. Others include the ability to improve

outcomes by extending the range of values and inputs into the decision-making process, and,

the increased probability of acceptance and successful implementation when decisions are

seen by those involved as responsible and appropriate. Involvement, it is argued, enhances

cooperation, as cooperation is strongly influenced by the possibility of individuals having to

deal with each other repeatedly (Berry

et al.

, 1993; Putnam, 1993, p. 172; cited in Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001).

With the objectives of conservation and rural development, the Management Plan (2002-

2007) of the KNP which runs out this year also lays emphasis on the fact that, "community

participation in the management of Korup National Park is important. To this end the creation

of a

National Park Management Advisory Committee

was proposed. The committee is

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supposed to act as a forum for information exchange, planning, implementation, monitoring

and evaluation of community programmes" (KNP Management Plan 2002-2007). The

community referred to in this case are the five existing Park villages and the twenty three (23)

villages which share a common boundary with the Park or within the range of the 3km buffer

or support (peripheral) zone of the Park.

After 15 years of the KP, its image as perceived by the communities is related to the Project′s

overall aims and objectives and its impact on them. The sustainability and impact of the

project after its termination can be indicated by the effective cooperation during the lifespan

of the project. The indicator for effective co-operation is at least the knowledge of Korup

Project′s existences and its aims and objectives. The continuation of the biodiversity

conservation by the communities in and around the KPA and their genuine integration in

future projects should be related to a certain level of knowledge after 15 years of Korup

Project activities in the region. An absolute minimum of cooperation is based on knowledge

of the activities of the other stakeholders. "If this does not exist, all "fruitful interaction"

would be based on images rather than on realities and would therefore fail to be sustainable"

(Schmidt-Soltau 2000). This furthermore, will limit the level of political influence of the local

community in conservation and development projects.

4.3

Role of national/international environmental NGOs and communities in ICDPs

Most, if not all biodiversity conservation projects in Cameroon are to a great extend

sponsored or supported by international conservation groups and organisations and to a lesser

extend by the GoC. The extent of equitable influence in the planning and implementation of

participatory natural resource management projects by the different stakeholders is important.

This is based on the line of argument that "Community-Based Conservation reverses top-

down, centre-driven conservation by focusing on the people who bear the costs of

conservation. In the broadest sense, then, community-based conservation includes natural

resource or biodiversity protection by, for, and with local communities" (Western & Wright

1994, cited in Forgie, V.

et al.

, 2001). In a more concrete sense, the role of the NGOs and

international community was analysed through questions asked to some communities in and

around the KNP who were involved in the KP.

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The creation of the KNP and its subsequent KP was supported and sponsored by international

NGOs and Organisations like the EC, DFID, GTZ, USDoD, DED and FFI, which contributed

towards the development of the Park and its support zone. The project was seen as a joint

venture of the GoC, ODA (DFID), GTZ, EU and WWF-UK, forming the project authorities.

The Park is run at the moment by the WWF and the GoC, with sponsors from the EC. During

the KP, the WWF and GTZ were the main international organisations involved in the

formulation, coordination and implementation of the project, with the cooperation of the GoC

and to a lesser extent, the indigenous and local communities concern. There was actually no

local NGO working with the project except at the end-phase when the CODEV Service was

formed to facilitate a phase-out strategy to continue with the conservation initiatives of the

Park. The other local NGO now present is the KREO/KOGAN, which was the former tourism

component of the project.

The main aim was to use CBC strategies in the form of an ICDP and later a sustainable and

participatory natural resource management concept to conserve the biodiversity of the

National Park and at the same time foster development. As earlier highlighted, an ICDP

concept has a goal of linking biodiversity conservation in protected areas with local social and

economic development. The ICDP in KPA incorporated activities that focused on the KNP

and its support zone. This was to provide incentives which increase the net local benefits and

therefore attractiveness of conservation and sustainable resource use in and around the Park,

emphasizing local participation in design and implementation.

The ICDP was seen to be popular as a form of CBC in the KPA because it offered the

attractive prospect of contributing to three of the most sought-after goals on the sustainable

development agenda: more effective biodiversity conservation, increased local community

participation in conservation and development, and economic development for the rural poor.

But as cited by Coppolillo

et al.

(2005), if "ICDPs mimic earlier top-down development

initiatives, typical not only of colonial days but the big integrated rural development projects

of the 1970s, local people are often treated as recipients of aid rather than partners in

development; as such, communities can feel disenfranchised from the project, promoting old

feelings of dependency and an unsurprising urge to pursue personal benefits from the project,

whenever possible".

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Biotas rich in biodiversity around the world are almost always found in regions were the

communities live in subsistence or at least their daily livelihoods are dependent from the

forest. This is also highlighted by Conservation International (CI) stating that "the high-

biodiversity wilderness areas claim more than 70 percent of original vegetation, have low

human population densities and are among the last places where indigenous peoples can

maintain traditional lifestyles" (www.conservation.org).

Even with this knowledge, the western strategies of biodiversity conservation through Parks

and protected areas are oblivious of the fact that these communities have been custodians of

their forests and have conserved them for centuries. The western conservationists through big

international NGOs and organisations with strong financial and political influence formulate

policies and pressurise low income countries (examples in Africa, South America and Asia) to

accept them and create incentives through sponsors, funding and technical assistance, with

hidden agendas. As Schmidt-Soltau

et al.

(2003) explains, "the existence of different,

sometimes hidden agendas is not limited to the community level". This was not a coincidence,

when one local official who has worked in the KP from onset stated that, "conservation is

donor oriented and he who pays the piper dictates the tone".

This is also described by the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) and the Forest

Peoples Programme (FPP), in their study relating to international Organisations: "the

persistent marginalisation and negative experience of indigenous and local communities over

protected area plans for their traditional areas, the continuing violations of their rights by eco-

guards, and with mounting evidence that the situation is similar elsewhere in Cameroon,

underlines serious gaps in the implementation of the CBD Programme of Work on Protected

Areas in Cameroon, especially its Programme Element 2 on Governance, Participation,

Equity and Benefit Sharing" (CED and FPP, 2005).

On the other hand as Nelson John. (2004) explains, "experience in Cameroon and elsewhere

shows that local communities whose rights to forests are confiscated by conservation projects

will not become an ally of conservation organisations, even where communities share the

desire to protect the same forests from other forms of outside exploitation. Most will not be

swayed by promises to deliver "new income sources" to their communities in order to

compensate them for their loss of forest access and use if these projects do not deliver. Recent

experience in Cameroon suggests that communities are right to be sceptical", especially when

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it cannot be recognised that through traditional methods, they have practiced conservation for

centuries.

Following the participatory approach adopted after the restructuring of the KP in 1997, the

ICDP concept was supposed to achieve its aims by integrating the local community in

conservation and at the same time enhancing development of their communities in the form of

capacity building of local institutions, infrastructure, economic, socio-cultural and spiritual

aspects, improving community livelihoods. The role of the NGOs (here only international) in

community-based conservation and development will be tested through the ICDP and its

activities. Since no national NGO was involved in the KP except the CODEV Service at the

end phase, the questions (see ­ANNEX I) were related only to the international NGOs in

cooperation with the GoC.

The indicator used for the second hypothesis is the level of capacity building in the KPA

through the intensity and impact of the interventions of the KP. Although this is not the only

indicator to measure the impacts of the role of the international NGOs, it plays a central role

in sustainable conservation and development.

The aspect of participation and fruitful interaction between Korup Project and local

population was one focus of the research, because the implementation of a participatory

approach was the main change after the restructuring of the KP. Also, the emphasis on the

perception of the local communities (using questions in ANNEX I) on the importance,

integration and collaboration with the other stakeholders since this also acts as an indicator to

measure the degree of participation from them, popularly known for the cause of biodiversity

loss through poverty and over-population. And as Agi Kiss (2002) described, ,,rather than

poverty or human population growth

per se

, the fundamental cause of biodiversity loss

worldwide is that those in a position to preserve it lack sufficient incentives to do so".

4.4

Biodiversity conservation and rural development

Community-based conservation is based on the idea that if conservation and development

could be simultaneously achieved, then the interest of both could be served (Fikret Berkes,

2004). On the one hand, it is argued that conservation cannot be effective unless the residents

of the area to be conserved are thoroughly involved and that they gain economically from the

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utilization of wildlife, while on the other hand it is claimed that CBC schemes are inherently

contra the goals of biodiversity conservation at large, being strongly based on biological

science and thus, doomed to failure, no matter who runs them or how they are being run.

Furthermore, CBC is based on the premise that, in order to succeed in the long term,

biodiversity conservation must yield economic benefits for local communities. This was also

one of the objectives behind the ICDP in the KP but as Kiss (2002) puts it, "despite the

popularity of ICDPs and other CBC models, there is increasing evidence and growing

acknowledgement that this approach is in most cases failing to achieve either conservation or

lasting development benefits".

The objective of the KP was to conserve the unique natural resources of the African tropical

rainforest, extremely rich in species diversity and endemism. It used a two-part

complementary strategy to achieve this goal which was:

a) To establish a national park in a part of the Korup rainforest area in order to provide a

high level of protection for the genetic diversity and also to provide the level of

protection necessary for the development of new economic opportunities based on

research and tourism industry.

b) To integrate resource management and development plans for natural resources

outside the national park; which will develop sustainable resource utilisation and

establish integrated management controls (Hazam, 1990; cited in Schmidt-Soltau,

2000).

Also, the concrete aims of the project were (Financial Agreement, 1992 p.1/2; cited in

Schmidt-Soltau, 2000):

1) Developing a management and controlling system of the Korup Programme that could

be operated and maintained by the appropriate government institutions and indigenous

NGO′s;

2) Creating the necessary infrastructure related to the conservation and protection of the

protected areas, including its physical demarcation;

3) Resettling (on a voluntary basis) at least 4 of the 6 villages presently located within

the Korup National Park;

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4) Building and implementing a development programme directed towards the rural areas

surrounding the Korup Park (′support zone′) in order to help local people find

sustainable economic alternatives to the present hunting, trapping, gathering and

deforesting practices in the park. The programme outside the park will be based on the

development of appropriate, sustainable farming and extractive systems, the

improvement of community social infrastructure and the development of small scale

economic activity;

5) Establishing three forest reserves within the support zone;

6) Developing an environmental education and awareness programme that would assist

the local people to take part in the decision-making process, manage their own

resources and address issues of poverty, population, health, environment and

sustainable development;

7) Undertake research and monitoring of the ecosystem of the Korup Park and the

support zone.

4.5

Economic and other incentives

Because the local communities of the KPA are mostly forest dependent and poor, the

probability that they trade-off activities like farming, hunting and gathering in the forest for

biodiversity conservation in the long-term is questionable. There is clearly a serious practical

and conceptual problem finding an economic link between rural communities and CBC

programmes. These problems are partly because most CBC programmes or projects are donor

oriented and it will be difficult for communities to produce enough revenues for the long

term. The projects also value wildlife in the same grade as revenues acquired from alternative

activities.

As Hackel (1999) elaborates, "if a rural community accepts a CBC program based on its

economic benefits, they might also reject it if a better economic alternative comes along. And

if rural people cannot pursue economic options that would bring them greater income, then

they are in fact still subsidizing wildlife conservation". This could be seen as an "opportunity

cost", defined contextually as forgoing forest activities to conserve the forest or maintain

wildlife. Hackel goes further to say, "if this scenario proves true, conservationists would face

the same problem that produced the CBC approach in the first place: rural people may feel

that the restrictions that they must bear to safe wildlife are costing them too much". It is also

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important to understand that the widespread application of CBC programs requires significant

changes between the central governments and rural areas.

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5

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Before elaborating on the practical empirical research methodology, an inside explanation

will be given to some social research methods and how the sample design was determined.

There are two main research methods in social research: the quantitative and qualitative

research methods.

5.1 Research

methods

Quantitative research is the systematic scientific investigation of quantitative properties and

phenomena and their relationships. It is widely used in both the natural and social sciences,

from physics and biology to sociology and journalism. The research method is used to

develop and employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses pertaining to natural

phenomena. And as John W. Creswell (2003) puts it, "in quantitative studies, investigators

use research questions and hypotheses to shape and specifically focus the purpose of the

study. It can be characterised as a linear series of steps moving from theory to conclusions,

investigating the "what, where and when" of certain policies and activities. The measurement

process entails the search for indicators and it is important for accessing their quality by

establishing the reliability and validity of the indicators measured. From Bryman (2001),

"quantitative research can be characterised as exhibiting certain preoccupations, the most

central of which are: measurement, causality, generalisation, and replication". This research

method has been subjected to many criticisms by qualitative researchers. These criticisms

tend to revolve around the view that a natural science model is inappropriate for studying the

social world.

The other method, the qualitative research method involves an in-depth understanding of

human behaviour and the reasons that govern it. Unlike quantitative research, it relies on

reasons behind various aspects of behaviour. Simply put, it investigates the why and how of

decision-making, as compared to what, where, and when of quantitative research. This

research method usually emphasizes words rather than numbers, attempting to accurately

describe and interpret the precise meanings (Bryman, 2001).

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Although this study is in use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods (because of

the enumeration and in-depth explanation of respondents), much emphasis is placed in

following the theoretical process of a quantitative research approach. This is described by

Bryman (2001) as follows:

The process of quantitative research (Bryman 2001)

1) Theory

2) Hypothesis

3) Research design

4) Devise measures of concepts

5) Select research site(s)

6) Select research subjects/respondents

7) Administer research instruments/collect data

8) Process data

9) Analyse data

10) Findings/conclusion

11) Write up findings/conclusions

The study did not follow directly the steps of Bryman′s process because most research studies

are never or rarely found in the above form but it represents a useful starting point in ones

approach and links between steps followed. Nevertheless, this study uses the research steps

(which were already explained at the end of chapter 1) shown below:

1) Introduction

2) Country and Area Background

3) Hypothesis

4) Conceptual Framework

5) Literature Review

6) Empirical Research

7) Results Presentation and Statistical Analysis

8) Discussions, Conclusions and Recommendations

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Most of the steps in Bryman (2001) have been inculcated in the whole study and this chapter

will not try to compare or explain the specific relationships to the different steps.

Another important part of Social science research is the error that can occur when carrying out

sampling. This can be summarised with the following diagram and statements below.

Sampling Error in survey research

Error

sampling error

sampling-related error

Data collection error

Data processing error

Figure 11 Four sources of error in social survey research

(Source: Alan Bryman, 2001 - Social research Methods)

Below, is a list of some sources of error, when one is dealing with a structured or semi-

structured questionnaire:

· A poorly worded question;

· The way the question is asked by interviewer;

· Misunderstanding on the part of the interviewee;

· Memory problems on the part of the interviewee;

· The way the information is recorded by the interviewer;

· And the way the information is processed, either when answers are coded or when data

are entered into the computer.

After giving a brief overview of the theoretical background of the main research methods, it

becomes clear why both of them were used. All research is quantitative, because anything can

be counted; even purely verbal responses, perhaps after sorting comments into similar groups,

for example, the different villages (11) from which respondents were interviewed. On the

other hand, all research is qualitative, because answers to even the firmest numeric questions

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may conceal a variety of meanings, for example, some respondents who said they were

involved and consulted in the KP meant just being informed about the ongoing of the project,

while others meant taking part in decision making. In other words, the study used both

methods complementarily.

5.2

Research design and survey procedure

Part of the research methods followed the basis of an empirical analysis approach whereby

theory-based description and explanation of empirical evidence were checked. This was based

on the assumption that the implementation of community-based conservation strategies

follows regularities that can be described and explained scientifically with a theory. Statistical

analysis was used for the different Ys (dependent) and Xs (independent) variables. Dealing

with the different research questions, both case studies and representative samples were used

due to the heterogeneity of the different communities. Some communities were more affected

by the KP than others. In the KPA, the different levels of awareness and local knowledge

were also decisive in shaping the research design. Primary and secondary data were collected,

through meetings and interviews with members of the communities and observations on the

field.

Since the study dealt with a case study of the former Korup Project, the National Park and its

support zone, samples were taken from different communities, interviews with individuals

and representatives of organisations to represent a general viewpoint of the whole population

or the different stakeholders, based on the research questions. Research procedures dealt with

statistical analysis and quantitative research methods like interviews and structured or semi-

structured questionnaires. This was made as far as possible to attain a validity status (internal-

interpretability, and external-generalizability), falling in line with previous or standard socio-

economic research methods already carried out in the study area. Representative research

designs were also made since these represent the different interests of the actors concerned

and at the same time bring out the difficulties due to conflict of interest and irregularities.

Data collection involved both primary and secondary data relating to the different research

questions and also data from the pre-survey of the research area. Population and stakeholder

identification was based on previous studies. The samples in relation to the KPA were small

in scale and limited in scope of case studies due to limited time and resources. Thus, there

39

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was also a review of the secondary data collected to locate the different communities engaged

in the KP and also in defining the sample frame. A small part of the results analysis also

included other qualitative research approaches (like open ended questions) in trying to

understand the "why" and "how" behind certain policy implementation and activities.

5.3

Field research instruments

For the field research instruments, analyses based on statistics were carried out through

questionnaires (taken from other standard questionnaires with related research and amended

to suit present situation), otherwise open ended interviews. Pre-knowledge of the research

area and good contacts with elders of the different communities helped overcome barriers like

language, mistrust and traditional customs. The level of education of the different respondents

(households) was taken into consideration when executing interviews or translating

questionnaire.

For the different X (independent) and Y (dependent) variables, two examples could be used to

define them.

Example 1

: In the Conceptual Framework, the level of interaction with other stakeholders

(for a village community) in the KP is the Y variable, while the state policy is the X variable.

Survey question: Are you satisfied with the interaction of Korup Project Staff and local

population? 1 = Yes, 0 = No. In this case, satisfaction of interaction is the X variable while

the Y variable is the dummy variable with 0 for No and 1 for Yes.

Example 2:

The level of involvement of the rural community is the Y variable and the local

stakeholders or international conservation groups are the X variables.

Survey question: Was your village involved and consulted in the planning and

implementation of Korup Project activities? 1-Yes 2-No 3-Do not know

The same holds for the second example above.

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5.4 Sample

Design

For the sample design, a Simple Random Sampling method was chosen, which is in line with

previous researches in the KPA. The sample area was in the southern sector of the National

Park where many activities have been carried out. Questionnaires were collected in 11

villages, 1 situated in the park and 10 around the park. This was done in a PRA (Participatory

Rural Appraisal) form with the help of an indigene of the area, who is also the executive

coordinator of a local NGO, Korup Rainforest Ecotourism Organisation/Korup Guide

Association (KREO/KOGAN). He also used the opportunity to inform his fellow indigenes

on the activities of their NGO. In each village, the chief of the village or his representative

were the first to be informed about the subject and aim of the study. At least o