THE UNTOLD STORIES OF CONSERVATION: IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Abstract

Community-based conservation (CBC) is a global conservation method that combines local ecological knowledge with international expert knowledge to analyze a conservation project from many perspectives with goals to protect biodiversity while simultaneously and directly improving the local community. Despite the massive number of endangered and critically endangered species globally, installing programs and projects to preserve this incredible flora and fauna is still possible. An analysis of a systematic review of 136 conservation projects (Brooks et al. 2013) was conducted to 1) explore the significance of involving local communities in conservation efforts and 2) to determine which strategies work best for ensuring conservation success. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate the success of CBC projects from four domains: attitudinal (whether people have positive or negative feelings towards the project), behavioral (whether people engage more in beneficial behaviors related to the conservation project), ecological (whether the habitat conditions or population of key species improved), and economic (whether the community received economic or developmental benefits) (Brooks et al. 2013). Among the 29 variables that were explored during this systematic review, only two variables displayed over 50% improvement across all four domains: approximate local culture (59.25% improvement) and social capital (61% improvement) (Brookes et al. 2013). The variation of success in this review of so many conservation projects indicates the importance of proper project design to ensure maximum biological conservation success and improve local attitudes and behaviors towards conservation. For optimal efficiency of conservation efforts and sustainability, it appears to be imperative to create conservation programs that enhance social capital, or enrich human livelihood, in local communities. By providing sustainable programs to enrich these communities, locals are more likely to have positive attitudes and behaviors about conservation while also benefiting from ecological and economic success directly from their efforts. Combining local ecological knowledge, cultural programs, and international expertise in conservation to improve social capital seems to be an effective conservation strategy, necessary for environmental restoration (Brooks et al. 2013).