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Dilemmas and challenges in forest conservation and development interventions: Case of Northwest Pakistan
July, 2011. Babar Shahbaz, Tanvir Ali and Abid Q. Suleri. Forest Policy and Economics. Volume 13, Issue 6, July 2011, Pages 473-478
Summary
Conservation and development projects are key instruments of international development agencies for natural resource conservation and rural development. However, despite some success stories, conservation of natural resources (particularly forests) in conjunction with socio-economic development – which is the precondition for sustainable development – remained a challenge in most of the developing countries. In Pakistan, too, natural forests in the Northwestern highlands continue to be depleted in spite of numerous interventions, by the international donors, to conserve the remaining forests.
This paper uses a sustainable development perspective, and attempts to study the quest by the forest conservation and development interventions – initiated by the overseas development aid – regarding operationalisation of sustainable development as conceived by the projects’ implementing agencies and thereby comparing it with local implementation context in terms of perceived impact/usefulness, and participation of stakeholders in the projects. This paper argues that, without considering socio-economic realities at micro (village) level, one cannot envisage the success of conservation and development interventions by considering only structural and meso (national/regional) levels. Forestry should be seen in a multi-stakeholder scenario where various actors have different claims and entitlements over forest resources. Major challenge for international development donors is to ensure a balance of power between stakeholders.
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Keywords: c. National Policy & Legislation, n. Social Aspects, Other Publications, Asia, Conservation and development interventions, Multi-stakeholders approach, Northwest Pakistan, Pakistan, sustainable development, Sustainable forest governance