Who poaches at Bwindi impenetrable national park and why

1. Who poaches & why
at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,
Uganda
Julia Baker
01.04.15
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How do we conserve protected areas
in a way that does no harm
or even good
for local people?

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We have international conventions
that provide direction…

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Aichi Biodiversity Targets
Biodiversity integrated into poverty reduction strategies
Biodiversity conservation through equitable management
CBD implemented with local community participation

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And a variety of tools…
especially Integrated Conservation
& Development

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For people to meet their daily
needs, & make a living, in ways
that support protected area
conservation

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But we keep talking about the same
problems…

8. A long standing narrative
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Poverty drives biodiversity loss
Dependency of the rural poor on
natural resources

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What’s missing?

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Bwindi’s ICD
Introduced to resolve conflict
- Authorised resource harvesting
- Revenue sharing
Now varied & many:
- General poverty alleviation
- Target specific poverty –
conservation linkages
- Batwa

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Bwindi’s ICD
Improved Park-Community
relations
Enabled local participation in
Park management
But little impact on illegal
activities
Tended to benefit less-poor

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Who undertakes illegal activities & why,
despite over 25 years of ICD at Bwindi

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Hypothesis
Poorest households undertake
unauthorised resource use
And they do so to meet subsistence
needs
Those undertaking unauthorised
resource use perceive that they have
benefitted less from ICD

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Research Challenges
• Ethical considerations
• Solution: UCT, an indirect questioning technique
Estimate prevalence of
resource use & profile
characteristics of those
involved
Needs a large sample

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UCT interviewee presented with two cards, face down

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How many of these places have you, or your family, obtained meat
from during the last year?

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But still uncertainty…

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Strict ethical protocols

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Household Survey
Measuring poverty
• Basic Necessity Survey
• Observed ‘wealth’ indicators
UCT Status
Medicinal plants & honey Authorised
Firewood, bushmeat & building poles Unauthorised

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Household surveys
Authorised Resource
Users (n=72)
People arrested for
bushmeat hunting
Jan11 – Aug12 (n=41)
People arrested for
illegal activities during
fieldwork Aug12 –
July13 (n=12)
Stratified random
sample of households
(n=192)
Randomly selected
Batwa (n=48)
Focus groups to triangulate findings

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Results

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Bushmeat was the most desired, & consumed, resource
after 25 years of ICD

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Authorised Resource Users
Compared with other villagers…
• Higher wealth scores
• Live closer to trading centres
• Larger households
• Described more benefits from ICD projects

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All Unauthorised Resource Users
Compared with other villagers…
• Live further from trading centres
• Live closer to the Park boundary
• Larger households

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Building a picture
Profile Authorised Unauthorised
Poverty Less poor NS
Distance to trading
centres
Closer Further
Distance to Park NS Closer
Household size Larger Larger
ICD projects Described more
benefits
NS

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Not all Unauthorised Resource Users
had the same profile…

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People arrested for bushmeat hunting
Compared with other villagers…
• Live closer to the Park boundary
• Larger households
• Had higher wealth scores

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UCT bushmeat profile (all; not just those arrested)
Compared with other villagers…
• Live closer to the Park boundary
• Unlikely to be ARUs
• Come from single households
• Have less education

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UCT firewood profile
Compared with other villagers…
• Live far from a trading centre
• Have more education

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Profile Authorised Unauthorised Arrested
hunter
UCT hunter UCT firewood
Poverty Less poor NS Less poor NS NS
Distance to
trading
centres
Closer Further NS NS Further
Distance to
Park
NS Closer Closer Closer NS
Household
size
Larger Larger Larger Single NS
Education NS NS NS Less More
ICD projects Described
more benefits
NS NS Not ARUs NS

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Why do people take forest resources?
Poverty
• Primarily for subsistence needs
• People do not have money to purchase
• Bushmeat sought for medicinal needs, especially
severe malnutrition in children
• Surplus is sold locally

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But poverty is only half of the story
• Some hunters are not the poorest in their
community
• They hunt because they believe protected area
conservation is unfair

38. Feelings of unfairness over Bwindi’s conservation
unfair share of
Revenue Sharing
jobs given to
outsiders
lack of support
over crop raiding

39. “People are angered by the revenue sharing of giving goats.
Those who are benefitting by receiving goats are those who
are not living near the Park. People near the Park [like us] are
denied goats, so we are angry and go to the Park and poach”
Farmer of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, 2013
Local people believe protected area conservation is unfair, & these
beliefs are as important as poverty in driving illegal activities

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Hypothesis Results
Poorest households undertake
unauthorised resource use and they
do so to meet subsistence needs
YES poverty drives resource use
NO people not the poorest in
their community take protected
resources, driven by feelings of
unfairness
Those undertaking unauthorised
resource use perceive that they have
benefitted less from ICD
YES people seek compensation
because they feel distribution of
costs & benefits of conservation
are unfair

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What’s missing - Equity
Equity is a necessary for conservation to be effective & sustainable

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Close collaboration &
engagement throughout
the research

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Lessons Learnt: collaborative research

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Lessons Learnt: mixed methods

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Lessons Learnt: measuring poverty

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Acknowledgments

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