Analyzing the Impact of Participatory-Plannded Conservation Policies in the Negril Environmental Protection Area, Western, Jamaica
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATORY PLANNED CONSERVATION POLICIES IN THE NEGRIL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA, WESTERN JAMAICA Lovette Miller Anderson, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Dissertation directed by: Professor Ruth Defries Department of Geography This dissertation research sought to determine the ways in which the participatory- planned conservation policies influence changes in local populations’ natural resource use. The research took place in the Negril Environmental Protection Area, western Jamaica and covered the period 1990 to 2005. The two major questions asked were 1) In what ways do participatory-planned conservation policies influence changes in the protected area’s natural resource use? 2) How does group membership and demography influence the perception of the conservation policies and of changes in natural resource use? The research employed trend analyses, content analyses, a population survey, discriminant analyses and semi-structured interviews to answer the research questions. In general, the research finds that national socioeconomic development interests were given priority over the participatory-planned conservation policies. The changes in local populations’ natural resource use were primarily due to the national socioeconomic policies that were in place prior to the protected area designation as well as those that were implemented during the study period. Second, the research finds that, in general, groups that have shared histories were homogeneous in their views of conservation and/or development. In contrast, newer entrants to the protected area were generally heterogeneous in their views of conservation and/or development. Further, the research finds that changes in the demographic characteristics of local populations significantly influence the perception of conservation and development. For example, respondents who were relatively new to the protected area generally had a positive perception of conservation and of the decline in fishing jobs. In contrast, respondents who have lived there relatively longer had a negative perception of conservation and of the decline in fishing jobs. By examining the complexity of implementing the participatory-planned conservation policies in Negril’s postcolonial and non-colonial socioeconomic and political landscape, this research extends the discourse on protected areas from large, relatively low populated areas to the complex geographic landscapes that currently describe some newer protected areas. ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATORY-PLANNDED CONSERVATION POLICIES IN THE NEGRIL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA, WESTERN, JAMAICA by Lovette Miller Anderson Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 Advisory Committee: Professor Ruth Defries, Chair Professor Charles Christian Professor Catherine Dibble Professor Michael Kearney Professor John Robinson, Dean’s Representative © Copyright by Lovette Miller Anderson 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of a dissertation represents a scholarly milestone that cannot be achieved without the support and advice of a broad network of individuals. I am indebted to all my committee members, particularly Drs. Ruth Defries and Charles Christian who have been my strongest mentors. I would like to thank Dr. Martha Geores for encouraging my early interest in protected areas. I would also like to thank Alan Eney and Dr. Eugene Kinerney for encouraging me to pursue graduate studies in geography. I am indebted to Vivre Bell, Shannon Bobbitt, Robert Crossgrove, Carol Groves, Jenny Hu and Wilhelmena Johnson for making it possible for me to juggle my many commitments successfully. I am similarly indebted to Drs. Joseph Cirrincione and Harold Brodsky for fostering my commitment to undergraduate education. I have benefited from discussions with professionals associated with the Negril Chamber of Commerce, the Negril Fishermen’s Cooperative, the Negril Environmental Protection Trust, the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society, the Sugar Company of Jamaica, the Sugar Industry Research Institute, the All Island Cane Farmers Association, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Division, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Division, the Planning Institute of Jamaica, the National Environmental Planning Agency, the Urban Development Corporation, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board Library, and the Jamaica Information Service Library. For over extending themselves and their time, a special thank you each to Learie Miller, the National Environmental Planning Agency; Owen Evelyn, Dale Reid, and Sean Hudson, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Division; Simone Davis, the Negril Environmental Protection Trust; Delroy Jagdath and Lloyd Hall, the Sugar Company of Jamaica (Frome) Division; Raphael Evans, the Negril Green Island Local Planning ii Authority; Sylvie Grizzle, the Negril Chamber of Commerce, Environment Committee and Charela Inn; Jean Brown, the Negril Chamber of Commerce; Ray Arthurs, the Negril Fishermen’s Cooperative and Golden Sunset; and Joy Miller, the Urban Development Corporation. This dissertation is dedicated to my family without whom I would not have been able to complete the graduate program. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………...………………………............VII LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………............X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………..………..……1 The Statement of Research…………………………………………………………...3 The Negril Environmental Protection Area…………………………..….........……...4 CHAPTER 2: THE LITERATURE REVIEW……………………..………....……........11 Systems Theory………………………………………………………..……..……..11 Open Systems Theory in Human –Environment Research…..………..……….13 The Social Science Critique of Protected Areas……………………………....…….15 Protection Areas as Non-Humanized Spaces…………..……....……..………..16 The Lack of Legal Title: ‘No Man’s Land’……..…………………….…...17 The Vagaries of ‘Substitute’ Land………………...……..…..…………....18 Protection Areas as Humanized Spaces…………………………..………...….19 The Increased Wealth Differentiation Among Social Classes………….…22 The Homogeneity of Communities………………………….……....…….22 Summary...…..……………………..………….……………………………......…...24 CHAPTER 3: THE NEGRIL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA……...........26 The Physiography ………..……………………….…………………..………..…...27 The Pattern of Land Use…………………………………………..………..…….…31 The Fishing Industry ……………………………………..………..…………...34 The Sugar Industry………………………...………………………..……….…37 The Tourism Industry…………………………..………………..………..……40 The Conservation of Negril…………….…….....………………………...…...43 The Major Demographic Characteristics of Negril….…………...………..………..45 Summary………………………...……………………………………………..……48 CHAPTER 4: THE METHODOLOGY………………………..……..…...…………….50 The Research Questions……………………………………....……………….……50 The Scale of the Research…...............………………………….……………..52 Data and Methodology……………………………..…………………..…………...52 Research Question 1 The Trend Analysis……………………..………..……………..…………53 The Content Analysis……………………..…………..…………..……….54 Research Question 2 The Sample Population………………..……………………..…..………..56 The Partially-Closed Ended Questionnaire…………..…..…….…….……58 The Completion of the Survey…………………………..…………..…….59 The Stepwise Discriminant Analysis………………..……………....…….60 The Semi-Structured Interviews…………..........................................……63 The Limitations of the Data and Methodology...………..……..…..…………..64 iv Summary………………..………………………………...…………………………64 CHAPTER 5: THE CHANGES IN THE FISHING, SUGAR AND TOURISM GROUPS’ NATURAL RESOURCE USE……………..………..……....67 The Changes in the Fishing, Sugar and Tourism Groups’ Available Jobs………………………...…………………..…………………….......67 The Findings of the Trend and Content Analyses……..……..……………..….69 The Fishing Group...………………………..………..……………..……..69 The Tourism Group...……….…………….…………..…………...………71 The Sugar Group…………..…...……………………..…………..……….76 The Interplay Among the Fishing, Sugar and Tourism Groups……….........……....82 The Relative Power of the Urban Development Corporation.............................82 The Strategic Development of the Protected Area’s Workforce………..….......84 Summary and Conclusions......……...……..………...…………….........…….....….85 CHAPTER 6: THE PERCEPTION OF CONSERVATION AND OF CHANGES IN THE FISHING, SUGAR AND TOURISM AVAILABLE JOBS……………………………………………..……...90 The Fishing, Sugar and Tourism Populations’ Survey Results…………………..…90 The Perception of Conservation………..………………………..………………….91 The Perception of Changes in the Fishing, Sugar and Tourism Groups’ Available Jobs ……..…………………….…………………………………..…101 Conclusion……………………….………………………..…………..…………...117 CHAPTER 7: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION…………………….…....................119 APPENDIX A: The Conservation and Development Population Survey………....…...139 APPENDIX B: The Conservation and Development Population Semi-Structured Interview Questions…………...……..…………...…144 APPENDIX C: The Negril Environmental Protection Area, The Major Economic Development Policies/Agreements/Incentives /Laws 1990-2005……………………..…...…………………..…....…149 APPENDIX D: Frome Sugar Factory’s Raw Sugar (96°) Production in relation to Jamaica’s Raw Sugar (96°) Production & Export 1990/1991 to 2004/2005………….…….....……………….……..........150 APPENDIX E: The European Union Basic Intervention Price and the United States & World Raw and Refined Sugar Prices 1990/1991-2004/2005 (U.S. cents/lb)……….…..………...………..….151 v APPENDIX F: Frome Sugar Production