Participatory Management of Protected Areas

Conventional protected area approaches have tended to see people and nature as separate entities. As a result, this has often meant the exclusion of local communities from protected areas, bans on their use of natural resources, and a view that community concerns are incompatible with conservation.

As most protected areas in the world have people residing within them or dependent on them for their livelihoods, exclusionary approaches have had profound social costs (Borrini-Feyerabend, Kothari and Oviedo, 2004). It is increasingly recognized that the key to successful management of protected areas involves the active participation of local communities and other stakeholders.

In order to involve communities in the management of protected areas, management personnel and other stakeholders require additional skills, knowledge, and attitudes that can foster and maintain this participation.

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