Building Bridges in Biosphere Reserves – The role of natural and social values in integrative conservation and development concepts in Madagascar Mananara-Nord and Sahamalaza Iles-Radama Biosphere Reserves I n a u g u r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) an der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald vorgelegt von Nadine V. M. Fritz-Vietta geboren am 05.10.1979 in Darmstadt Greifswald, 23.12.2011 Dekan: Prof. Dr. Klaus Fesser 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Susanne Stoll-Kleemann 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Tim O‘Riordan Tag der Promotion: 22.05.2012 Valuing and knowing are not separate. How we know nature and how we value, or discount, nature are tightly linked. (Norgaard, 2009: 44) To my family Abstract Abstract The dissertation aims at developing means to integrate conservation and development in biosphere reserves in Madagascar. Despite a multitude of concepts such as UNESCO biosphere reserves, Integrated Conservation and Development Projects and community- based natural resource management, gaps between conservation and development remain to exist. In a qualitative case study in Mananara-Nord and Sahamalaza Biosphere Reserves in Madagascar data was collected on biosphere reserve management, local natural resource use, socio-cultural aspects and natural values local people associate with the forest. Analysis revealed that management capacities constitute a limiting factor in biosphere reserve management. Collaboration between management, local people and international organisations fosters the achievement of both conservation and development. However, collaboration only performs if a shared vision is established. To bridge existing gaps, the ecosystem services concept depicts the link between conservation and human well-being. Furthermore, according to SEN’s Capabilities Approach, capabilities entail both means to support livelihoods and also aspects that are considered necessary to achieve well-being and are therefore essential to human development. Based on the assumption that both conservation and development seek to achieve human well-being, it became the reference point of a common biosphere reserve vision. Furthermore, social capital theory helped to cluster newly introduced and locally existing social institutions relating to natural resource use, which are central to a functioning collaboration. The dissertation demonstrates various possibilities to build bridges through (i) basing human capabilities on natural values, (ii) implementing a social monitoring together with conservation-stewards and Malagasy students, and (iii) integrating local social institutions into collaboration standards in order to be able to jointly implement conservation and development. i Summary Summary Despite investments and intergovernmental efforts into biodiversity conservation, it has not been possible to reduce the speed of biodiversity loss. Furthermore, the disparity in livelihood conditions between countries continues to exist around the world. In order to counteract the negative consequences of biodiversity loss and poverty as well as the uneven distribution of goods and services, integrative conservation and development concepts have been developed and implemented around the globe. Madagascar is well- known for its unique nature, while being among the world’s poorest countries. Despite a great number of conservation and development initiatives often involving considerable investments of international donors during the past twenty years, environmental, social and economic challenges remain unsolved on the island. In this context the overall objective of the thesis is to explore means to integrate nature conservation and human development in biosphere reserves in Madagascar. Next to UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Integrative Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP) seek to implement conservation together with development measures in protected area’s vicinity. The idea is to provide economic alternatives as incentive to conserve. Because of ICDP’s failure to effectively integrate conservation and development, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) appeared as new concept to foster sustainable use of natural resources by local people. Mananara-Nord and Sahamalaza Iles-Radama UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are at the centre of the present dissertation. Both biosphere reserves encompass areas that already are or will be transferred to the local population corresponding to the CBNRM approach. The chosen research design of the dissertation is a qualitative case study. Qualitative data was collected during two research stays in 2005/6 and 2008 by conducting 99 semi- structured interviews. Further information was gathered by means of questionnaires, participatory rural appraisal techniques as well as participatory observation. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subsequently analysed and coded with the help of ATLAS.ti software. The aim of the analysis was to filter information relevant to defined research questions and to develop new concepts. Analysis results in an inter-subjective presentation of statements, the elaboration of interlinkages between influencing factors along with the development of concepts. Four publications present research results, while being related in an outline guide in order to meet the overall objective of the dissertation. ii Summary Research in the Mananara-Nord Biosphere Reserve showed that capacities (resources and management) are to be considered as limiting factor in the organisation. However, these capacities are needed to render an effective implementation of conservation and development concepts in Malagasy biosphere reserves possible. One possibility to meet this challenge is to involve local people and development organisations. Collaboration between BR management and those actors requires functioning communication and knowledge exchange. Therefore, organisational learning techniques are presented in order to ensure added value of collaboration (first publication). Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a co-management setting of various partners across structural boarders comparable to vertical networks. In Madagascar for CBNRM new institutions are introduced and thus operate next to existing social structures at the local level. If all institutions are categorized according to social capital theory, local socio-cultural aspects are attributed to bonding social capital, while newly introduced institutions are among bridging and linking social capital. The latter two categories describe relations that are relatively easily disconnected and therefore, possibly not considered as binding by involved persons. Results depict bonding social capital constitutes an inherent part of local social structures and are consequently of significance for collaboration between local population and BR management (second publication). In the frame of nature conservation policy the Malagasy government defined conditions for a transfer of management rights to local people (CBNRM) that need to be fulfilled. These conditions entail the creation of an association, the development of rules at community level as well as contracts that need to be signed by the association, mayor and a representative of the Environment Ministry. Although local informal rules should be integrated into contracts in order to adopt them to local conditions, they are often ineffective. One among other reasons is a discrepancy with socio-cultural aspects regulating social structures in villages due to little consideration of local voices in the development process of nature conservation policy. Strengthening social science research on local people’s perceptions and needs is recommended (third publication). Nature conservation and development concepts both aim at improving human well-being. While ecosystem services depict the link between conservation and human well-being, according to SEN’s capabilities approach human development requires to embrace more than mere economic concerns so that human well-being is achieved. Identified natural values can also be clustered according to ecosystem services, which highlight the broad iii Summary scope of benefits people derive from natural resources in the forest. By basing capabilities on these natural values, they describe functionings people need to secure livelihoods and to foster well-being. These capabilities describe a comprehensive picture about what the local population of the two biosphere reserves needs for a good life (fourth publication). A functioning organization principally relies on a common vision as well as necessary components that contribute to an added value of collaboration. Results of the dissertation highlight two aspects that are particularly important in Malagasy biosphere reserves: (i) to capture local understandings of natural resources and (ii) to take aspects into consideration that foster vertical collaboration. Local conceptions of nature in rural areas of Madagascar are strongly influenced by direct and indirect benefits people derive from natural resources. Natural values help to qualify these benefits. Furthermore, SEN’s capabilities approach provides room for an autonomous definition of capabilities. If capabilities are derived from natural values, an inherent relation between nature conservation and development becomes evident. For a common vision of the biosphere reserve management capabilities should be at least considered, while