Understanding and Resolving Conflict Between Local Communities and Conservation Authorities in Colombia

• Published in: World development Vol. 93; pp. 125 - 135
• Main Authors: De Pourcq, K., Thomas, E., Arts, B., Vranckx, A., Léon-Sicard, T., Van Damme, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Bos- en Natuurbeleid; Colombia; conflict; environmental policy; Forest and Nature Conservation Policy; indigenous and local communities; Leerstoelgroep Bos- en natuurbeleid; protected areas; WASS; indigenous and local communities; environmental policy; Colombia; protected areas; conflict
• ISSN: 0305-750X; 1873-5991
• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.026

•We identify five main categories of park-people conflict in Colombia.•We discuss five principal factors underlying the manifestation of these conflicts.•Inclusionary conservation and empowering park admins are key to lower the conflicts identified. Conflicts between indigenous and local communities, on the one hand, and national protected area administrations on the other are pervasive. A better understanding of these park-people conflicts would assist in suitable policy changes to constructively address them while concurrently pursuing conservation and livelihood goals. We interviewed 601 people living inside or along the borders of fifteen Colombian NPAs to identify five main categories of park-people conflicts. Based on interviews with 128 community leaders and 76 institutional-level respondents -mainly park officers- we discuss the five principal factors underlying the identified conflicts and present a conflict framework relating the dominant sources to the most prominent conflict manifestations. Finally, we detail five strategies toward conflict prevention. While simultaneous interventions at multiple levels would be ideal or preferred, our analysis suggests that the incidence of park-people conflicts in Colombia can be substantially lowered through (i) making the environmental legislative body more socially inclusive; and (ii) adequately empowering NPA administrations. We expect our findings to be valuable for managing conflict contexts in protected areas in other tropical countries. Further research is necessary to determine the most effective interventions for both conflict resolution and meeting conservation goals.