Rights, Governance, and Conservation of Biological Diversity

Losses of biological diversity, or diversity of life at all\udlevels of biological organization, have crossed a boundary\udbeyond which they pose serious consequences for humanity (Rockstrom et al. 2009). Despite enormous effort by state and global actors to arrest declines in biological diversity, rates of deforestation in the tropics\udremain high (Asner et al. 2009). Centralized state control\udof forests and other ecosystems, in the form of national\udparks and other protected areas, has been a dominant\udconservation paradigm, and it has been fueled by neoliberal\udapproaches in international conservation (Brockington\udet al. 2008). The protected-area approach has often resulted in adverse effects on the livelihoods of local people (Saberwal et al. 2001; Adams & Hutton 2007). Due\udto the high spatial correlation between poverty and high\udlevels of biological diversity (Sachs et al. 2009), attempts have been made to link conservation of biological diversity with livelihoods and poverty alleviation (Adams et al.2004). Such efforts have had limited success due to a\udlack of understanding of the linkages between poverty\udand conservation and the absence of state support for\udalternative approaches (Agrawal & Redford 2006; Lele\udet al. 2010). Conservation projects in which increasing\udincome is assumed to decrease dependence on resources\ud(Brechin et al. 2002) treat poverty too simply (Sen 1999).\udWe propose that the process of conservation be reenvisioned\udto include political empowerment to people,restitution of rights and human dignity, and building of local institutions. A human-rights-based approach increases\udthe role of local communities in conservation and the potential for democratic governance of natural resources. Using India as an example, we offer suggestions for developing decentralized mechanisms to restorerights to local communities. Our suggestions are applicable\udto much of the developing world, where poverty\udand centralized management of protected areas have not\udcurtailed losses of biological diversity and have alienated\udlocal communities (Sodhi et al. 2006). We do not\udassume that rights-based approaches will mitigate loss\udof biological diversity, but suggest that efforts based\udon local knowledge, institutions, and practices will empower local communities to better manage biological\uddiversity