Community-based Conservation and Vicuña Management in the Bolivian Highlands by Nadine Renaudeau d’Arc Thesis submitted to the University of East Anglia for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2005 © This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, nor any information derived therefrom, may be published without the author’s prior, written consent. Abstract Abstract Current theory suggests that common property regimes, predicated on the community concept, are effective institutions for wildlife management. This thesis uses community-based conservation of vicuña in the Bolivian highlands as a case study to re-examine this theory. Vicuña is a wild South American camelid living in the high Andes. Its fibre is highly valued in international markets, and trade of vicuña fibre is controlled and regulated by an international policy framework. Different vicuña management systems have been developed to obtain fibre from live- shorn designated vicuña populations. This thesis analyses whether the Bolivian case study meets three key criteria for effective common property resource management: appropriate partnerships across scale exist; supportive local-level collective action institutions can be identified; and deriving meaningful benefits from conservation is possible. This thesis adopts a qualitative approach for the collection and analysis of empirical data. Data was collected from 2001 to 2003 at different levels of governance in Bolivia, using a combination of ethnographic techniques, and methods of triangulation. Community-level research was undertaken in Mauri-Desaguadero and Lipez-Chichas fieldwork sites. Data was analysed by combining institutional, stakeholder and cross- scale approaches. Findings suggest that common property regimes are effective institutions for vicuña management if certain conditions are met: government must be committed to paving the way for making policies effective; defined communal area for vicuña management encompasses more than one community; and meaningful benefits are not strictly economic in nature and include the aesthetic, cultural, and social value of vicuña to enhance community identity, social cohesion, and draw community boundaries. These conditions, derived from the Bolivian case study, have important implications for future vicuña management within the Andes, for the development of theory on the effectiveness of common property regimes for wildlife management, and policies for integrating conservation and development aims. ii Aknowledgements Acknowledgements I would foremost like to thank Kate Brown and Edward Allison for supervising this thesis. I learned enormously from their comments and corrections on numerous drafts. I would like to pay tribute to the European Union and MACS project for funding and supporting this PhD. In MACS, my foremost and sincere gratitude goes to Jerry Laker and Iain Gordon. Very special thanks also go to Gabriela Lichtenstein, a friend and work colleague, who found my research interesting and with whom I could engage in interesting discussions. I appreciate her motivation and support in many ways along these years. My sincere thanks also go to Bibiana Vilá for opening me the path, some years ago, and encouraged me to initiate my research career with the vicuña topic. I am also grateful to Cristian Bonacic for supporting my research. I would also like to thank all MACS partners, particularly Kristi Anne Stølen and Desmond McNeill for supporting this thesis, and I also thank MACS participants, especially Hugo Lamas, Ana Wawrzyk, and Yanina Arzamendia. In the UK, I am grateful to the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia for supporting my research. Special thank goes to Liz Gibson, and Steph Simpson at the administration staff in DEV. I would also like to thank Stephen Biggs, Jonathan Barton, Piers Blaikie, and Laura Tedesco. My warmest thanks to good humour and encouraging friends, with whom I learnt a lot about PhDs and the everyday life experience in Norwich: Darlene Mutalalemwad, Marie-Caroline Badjeck, Esteve Corbera-Elizalde, Eduardo Rolón, Rocío López, Mike Robbins, Jon Clark, Sergio Rosendo, Elisa Canal, Emily Boyd, Sirkkhu Juhola, Jessica Milligan, Katy Soapi, Liz, Cristina, Kapena, María, Sandra, Alfonso, Pete, and many others that may not be mentioned…. I would also like to thank a very long list of people that have supported at different times, and in many ways, my fieldwork. In La Paz, I am grateful to Alberto Velazco Coronel, and Antonio Orosco Mita, the two technicians of DGB at that time, iii Aknowledgements for supporting my research, engaging in interesting discussions, and letting me go with them and participate in vicuña capture and shearing events in Lipez Chichas and Mauri-Desaguadero. I am grateful to Maria Ripa de Marconi, the director of DGB during my research, who invited me to the open ceremony in Apolobamba. I would also like to thank Corsino Huallata. I would like to thank Hugo Lamas and Teodoro Blanco for encouraging me to undertake my research in Bolivia. In Mauri-Desaguadero and Lipez-Chichas, I would foremost like to thank the wildlife wardens, who at different times helped and supported my fieldwork beyond their call of duty. I am particularly grateful to Mateo Hinojosa Laurel in community Nazacara who made my work easier, offering me accommodation, lending me his bicycle, and introducing me to the main authorities within the Marka San Andrés de Machaqa. I would also like to thank the families of the wildlife wardens Pedro Tuco in Santiago de Machaqa, Franco Tarqui in Ayllu Levita, Lucio Nina in Ayllu Yaru, Hilarión Quispe in Vichaya, and Celestino Nina in community Pacollo for offering me accommodation. I would also like to thank Mallcus and Mama thallas, particularly those that were on duty during 2002 for enabling me to attend community meetings and participate in community events. I would especially like to thank all those in the Marka San Andrés de Machaqa who at different times helped and supported me during fieldwork; particularly Berta, Antonia, Julia, Marcelino, for being enormously generous and supportive. For relevant literature, interesting conversations and discussions during fieldwork my thanks go to Xavier Albó, Fabio from Corpa, NGO Satawi, Armando Cardozo, Juan Pablo Ramos, Oscar Loaysa, and Leonardo Blanco in Bolivia; to NGO Conatura, and NGO Edas in Peru. I would also like to thank David Preston and Maggie Bolton. Warm thanks go to the family Mealla for offering me accommodation, and making my stay in La Paz pleasant. Finally, I am grateful to all of those friends who have suffered through my preoccupation and poor time management while the thesis was being written, particularly, as ever, to my mother, who believed in me and supported me from the very beginning. iv Table of Contents Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................iii Table of Contents..................................................................................................................... v List of Figures......................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... ix List of Boxes............................................................................................................................ x List of Plates ............................................................................................................................ x Glossary .................................................................................................................................. xi Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. Research Overview ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Community-based conservation......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aim and research questions ............................................................................................... 2 1.3 The relevance of the case study ......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Structure of the thesis......................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2. Challenges for community-based conservation.............................................. 11 2.1 Background to community-based conservation............................................................... 11 2.2 Theoretical perspectives on common pool resource management................................... 16 2.3 Appropriate partnerships across scale.............................................................................. 21 2.4 The concept of community and theories of collective action .......................................... 24 2.5 Deriving meaningful benefits from conservation ............................................................ 29 2.6 Summary.........................................................................................................................