The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative
Case Received : February 3, 1998
Author : Department of Economics ,University of Antananarivo
Center for Theoretical Approaches Applied to Environmental Research
E-mail: hfrajao@syfed.refer.mg
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
The international workshop on community management of natural resources proposed four themes on how to achieve success in setting up institutions with the participation of all stakeholders.
The CITARE team of researchers is currently focusing on cases where unilateral implementation of a particular method of natural resources management (e.g. an integrated conservation and development project) met with failure. The conclusions of the present study show that efforts to upgrade a traditional, community-based method of management can lead to sustainable resource use. New institutions can be established that are based on traditional structures and that validate community standards of resource use. Such validation requires little in the way of material and human resources since the point is to create synergy among all parties. Ritualizing management methods that are recognized to be effective can create a conducive environment and lead to implementation of a management method desired and accepted by all.
Madagascar is currently setting up a system of resource management called Secure Local Management (Gestion Locale Sécurisée: GELOSE). The creation of a political context conducive to the emergence of local institutions that will participate in this system for managing natural resources requires that collective decision-making bodies be recognized and that their strategies and their preferences for future generations be taken into account (in overall policy formulation), as well as their ways of settling conflicts over ownership. The team of researchers is currently working to create a political context in which implementation of Secure Local Management will be embraced by all.
The team of researchers would like to participate in the workshop for several reasons:
1. To be in tune with the dynamics of setting up similar structures in other parts of the world;
2. To avoid a duplication of efforts by taking into account the results obtained elsewhere in similar situations;
3. To make use of the workshop results in advancing positive proposals for sustainable development in regions adjacent to conservation areas and in the country at large.
Shortly after colonization, the colonial government classified several areas as reserves in order to protect indigenous fauna and flora. The inhabitants of adjacent regions felt humiliated by being denied access to areas that they considered to belong to their ancestors. Even today, prejudiced attitudes concerning the ability of adjacent populations to manage resources rationally continues to generate conflicts between local communities and the managers of protected areas.
At the same time, violations of rules governing the exploitation of certain resources also lead to conflicts over resource use between de facto landowners and migrants. These conflicts, whether open or latent, sometimes result in natural resources being wasted. They show that attention must be paid to the concept of community, which does not always cover a homogeneous grouping; in such cases, the stakes may be very different within the community, depending on the individual. The challenge of protecting an area is thus very complex, given the multiplicity of stakeholders and their often divergent, sometimes contradictory interests.
To create solid foundations for setting up GELOSE, our study highlights community mechanisms to which support can be provided as a way to encourage traditional institutions to participate alongside those responsible for setting up a common structure of natural resources management.
To what extent and in what respect do community mechanisms for natural resources management contribute to sustainable resource use?
Identification of two systems of renewable natural resources management:
Madagascar; Western Region, Tsingy du Bemaraha; Sakalava and/or Vazimba Population
The de facto landowners are the Sakalava, the first inhabitants of the area. The Vazimba kings of the high plateaus were driven off by the Hovas in the late 17th century. They asked the Sakalava kings for refuge and were reduced to vassalage. These two ethnic groups have different customs and complementary systems of production. The Sakalava practice extensive stockraising and occupy the grassy plateaus, while the Vazimba occupy the lowlands where they fish and grow rice.
The Tsingy are figures caused by karstic erosion in the form of pointed needles and ridges. This is a sacred site for the Vazimba and the Sakalava since there tombs are located here. A dead person becomes a demigod. Destruction of the Tsingy literally means desecrating the home of their ancestors and thus of their gods. The Tsingy were considered off limits to any person outside the two ethnic groups unless authorization was granted by the traditional authorities.
In recent years, the uniqueness of the Tsingy, the indigenous character of the forests and the beauty of the site have led government officials to propose the area as a UNESCO world heritage site. It is classified as an integral natural reserve and is now in the process of being reclassified as a national park so that it can be developed for tourism. The local population has watched, powerless, from the sidelines as agents from the Conservation Project, assisted by law enforcement officers, have demarcated the area. Representatives of the population have been invited to recognize the new boundaries.
How researchers came to study the situation:
A study was proposed to examine the interrelationship between the system of production and the dynamics of natural resources.
Prior to demarcation, local inhabitants gathered wild yams in the forest during the annual rice production pre-harvest gap (February-June). Thus, in addition to concerns that funerals may someday be prohibited on the site, people are also worried about their food supply during the pre-harvest gap. Furthermore, tourists are authorized to visit the Tsingy, which means that the land of their ancestors is currently being developed in a way that does not profit them.
To the best of our knowledge, this problem has been underestimated by project agents, who assume that the police will handle matters if necessary.
Who will be the victims of this operation?
First and foremost, the operation will affect the poor, i.e. those who do not have sufficient rice fields and cattle to meet their subsistence needs through production alone.
What might the consequences be if the preferences of the local population are not taken into account?
The western portion of the Tsingy, which is an area of lakes and forests, is the scene of open and latent conflicts between communities. In particular, exploitation of lake resources raises the problem that they could be depleted in the short term.
The Vazimba farmers and de facto owners of the lakes are faced with the arrival of temporary migrants (Sakalava from the southern part of the region) who do not adhere to traditional rules of resource use. The Vazimba engage in fishing during eight months of the year only, and have an annual ceremony to open the fishing season. But the migrants do not comply with such rules. In fact, they make short-term seasonal migrations as a way to enrich themselves quickly, which encourages them to exploit the resources in a wasteful manner and does not motivate them to respect traditional rules designed to conserve resources over the long run.
In addition, the forests suffer from both agricultural encroachment in the form of slash-and-burn cultivation and illegal wood cutting (destined for construction activities in the large cities of Maintirano and Mahajanga).
What might the consequences be if the preferences of the local population are underestimated?
Since it is proposed that the area be included among the sites managed by the Ramsar Conventions, management of the lakes could be subject to monitoring and evaluation. Support provided to traditional, local management of the area's resources could lead to both sustainable development and conservation of the biodiversity of the sites.
Study Results: Traditional Methods of Renewable Resources Management
1. The Sakalava engage in extensive stockraising. For them, farming is not an important activity. Cattle sales allow them to purchase food. During the period of heavy rainfall, however, roads are impassable and no supplies are available. As a result, they are obliged to gather wild tubers in the forest during this season. The rule on gathering tubers is as follows: "avoid digging up small tubers and you will be able to harvest larger ones next season."
2. The Vazimba, whose diet is based on fish, conserve the fish stock by allowing fish to reproduce during four months of the year and by throwing back into the water any small fish that they catch. The "Tompon-drano" (owner of the waters) sets the fishing season so as not to interfere with the breeding season, and officially announces the opening of the fishing season on the lakes each year.
In the current situation, these rules dictated by traditional institutions are observed solely within the village communities. Involving political authorities in these rites would be sufficient to ensure compliance with sustainable methods of resource use. A survey conducted among migrants indicated that they would indeed adhere to the rules if the rules were recognized by the government.
Creating a political environment that is conducive to the conservation of natural resources is a matter of political will. Such efforts must be based on knowledge and recognition of the relevance of collective, cognitive mechanisms for optimal resource management. Instituting complementary measures to contribute to the sustainability of the system requires setting up structures for agricultural extension work, crop protection and livestock assistance (vaccinations). It is both desirable and feasible to fund such measures or encourage private sector initiative in providing such services.