%0 Journal Article
%T The forgotten resource: Community perspectives on conservation and well-being in Zahamena National Park, Madagascar
%A Cara M. Raboanarielina
%J Madagascar Conservation & Development
%D 2012
%I Madagascar Wildlife Conservation, Jane Goodall Institute Switzerland
%X This research examines local perceptions of social well-being in two forest-dependent communities near Zahamena National Park (ZNP), Madagascar. Key informant interviews were conducted to observe how local context, including community and ecological factors, influenced perceptions of social well-being. Overall, residents expressed a broad sense of decreased well-being as local forest resource access changed following the creation of ZNP. While one community was more dependent on forest and non-timber forest products for their livelihood, both communities believed lack of access to the park and its resources negatively affected local social well-being. Further, both communities felt ZNP provided few benefits to local residents. In addition, informants alluded to a sense of distrust of conservation managers and believed their needs and concerns were neither heard nor addressed by current conservation programs. Such data confirm people living in rural communities adjacent to protected areas have limited impact on conservation policies and initiatives on the island. Implications of this research suggest a reassessment of institutional conservation policy and practices to reflect locally held social traditions and community beliefs about conservation. R¨¦sum¨¦Cette ¨¦tude examine les perceptions locales de la qualit¨¦ de vie dans deux communaut¨¦s d¨¦pendantes de la for¨ºt et vivant ¨¤ proximit¨¦ du Parc National de Zahamena ¨¤ Madagascar. Des entretiens ont ¨¦t¨¦ men¨¦s pour analyser comment le contexte local, tant au niveau des facteurs communautaires qu¡¯¨¦cologiques, a influenc¨¦ les perceptions portant sur la qualit¨¦ de vie. En g¨¦n¨¦ral, les r¨¦sidents ont constat¨¦ une baisse de leur qualit¨¦ de vie depuis la cr¨¦ation du Parc ¨¤ cause du changement d'acc¨¨s aux ressources foresti¨¨res locales. Une des communaut¨¦s d¨¦pendait des produits forestiers ligneux et non ligneux pour sa subsistance et une autre communaut¨¦ a estim¨¦ que le fait de ne pouvoir acc¨¦der au Parc et ¨¤ ses ressources avait d¨¦t¨¦rior¨¦ son niveau de vie. En outre, les deux communaut¨¦s ont consid¨¦r¨¦ que le Parc avait fourni peu d¡¯avantages aux r¨¦sidents. Les personnes interview¨¦es ont ¨¦galement exprim¨¦ une certaine m¨¦fiance ¨¤ l¡¯¨¦gard des gestionnaires du programme de conservation qui, selon elles, n¡¯ont r¨¦pondu ni ¨¤ leurs besoins ni ¨¤ leurs pr¨¦occupations. Ces r¨¦sultats confirment que les communaut¨¦s rurales vivant ¨¤ proximit¨¦ des aires prot¨¦g¨¦es ont une influence limit¨¦e sur la politique et les initiatives de conservation ¨¤ Madagascar. Cette recherche sugg¨¨re que la politique de conservation doit ¨ºtre r¨¦¨¦valu¨¦e e
%K community
%K social impacts of conservation
%K well-being perception
%K community interactional approach
%K political ecology
%K Madagascar
%K communaut¨¦
%K impacts sociaux de la conservation
%K qualit¨¦ de vie
%K interaction communautaire
%K politique ¨¦cologique
%K Madagascar
%U http://www.journalmcd.com/index.php/mcd/article/view/mcd.v7i2S.3