2. Stories From the Field

TABLE 2.1 Overview of the Themes Identified in this Section

Defining Conservation Success An area of biodiversity is delineated and monitored A group of stakeholders is identified and mobilized An enterprise that is directly linked to the biodiversity and that has the potential to be self-supporting is developed. Evidence that the stakeholders are identifying and successfully reacting to threats to the biodiversity at the current time and that are likely to do so in the future is developed. Principles for Achieving the Process of Conservation ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT OBSTACLE -- Logistical problems that limit production OBSTACLE -- A lack of basic business knowledge that limits production OBSTACLE-- Difficulties in marketing products GENERATION OF BENEFITS CATALYST -- Generating meaningful benefits for community members OBSTACLE-- Benefits below a certain threshold COMMUNITY OF STAKEHOLDERS CATALYST -- Attaining resource governance and policing rights CATALYST -- Developing strong leadership in the community with a vision for conservation CATALYST -- Developing and maintaining relations with government officials OBSTACLE -- Government inaction OBSTACLE -- Individual self interests OBSTACLE -- Social disharmony and rivalries OBSTACLE -- Individual greed OTHER FACTORS CATALYST -- Building confidence through small but early successes OBSTACLE -- Success itself can lead to failure OBSTACLE -- Natural disasters OBSTACLE -- Stakeholder constraints and willingness to participate OBSTACLE -- Project timeframes are too short Developing an Adaptive and Learning Institution Testing Assumptions Adaptation Learning

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2.1 Themes Emerging From the Stories

In looking across the stories from the field presented in the following pages, a number of common themes begin to emerge. These themes point the way to some of the key lessons that BCN partners and staff are learning about how to develop and implement community-based enterprise-oriented approaches to conservation. For example, we see that planners need to address resource tenure issues early on. As projects mature, implementing teams and communities must develop strategies for dealing with social conflict and institutional crisis. Enterprise managers face ongoing issues of balancing quality and participation, and defining sustainability (with or without subsidies). And then there are the very practical problems that project teams have grappled with: complex logistical problems, distant markets, the short time given to make the enterprises work, staff turnover, and various natural disasters.

In this section, we place these themes in a broader systematic framework that allows us to draw general and yet non-trivial lessons about designing and using enterprise approaches to conservation. In this way, our collective experience can hopefully assist others in deciding when and how to use this approach.

Our initial attempts to develop these general lessons found us searching for a step-by-step "path to success." Our goal was to define a model process for using enterprise-based approaches to conservation. The first model we developed was a linear sequence of boxes. This linear sequence evolved into a cycle, and then into an increasingly complex spiral with all sorts of arrows leading into and out of the boxes.

We have realized over time, however, that there are many paths leading to success -- and even more leading away from success! The exact path that any group needs to follow depends on their starting point, their goals, the changing conditions at the site, and conditions in the broader social, political, and economic context in which they are operating. Instead of trying to define the "one true path to success," in the following sections we draw on the stories and other information about the projects to:

A. Define what conservation success involves for enterprise-based conservation projects,

B. Provide general and yet non-trivial principles concerning the process of enterprise-based conservation, and

C. Emphasize the importance of developing institutions that can both adapt and learn.

Under each of these headings, we explore key themes in greater detail as outlined in Table 2.1. In developing these lessons from these stories, inevitably people ask us: "How can you make statements about the conservation process at these sites given the preliminary nature of the data from them?" In reply, we readily acknowledge that we can't make definitive statements about these projects at this point in time.

But we also feel that we should not be constrained by an expectation of making only definitive statements before putting forth our most reasonable observations as to what matters in the conservation process. In many ways, the "journey is the destination" -- the insights that we glean from the network of projects as they develop will help us all to advance our conservation agendas. Furthermore, given current rates of biodiversity loss, we can't afford to wait until all of the data are in. If we've reamed something, let's act on this new knowledge, but maintain an attitude that learning, changing, and improving upon what we do are at the heart of addressing the ever evolving set of threats to worldwide biological diversity.

A. Defining Conservation Success

Defining and establishing a plan for measuring conservation success are essential first steps for a conservation project-in effect, developing an understanding of what the goals of enterprise-based conservation projects should be. While there are many potential methods for setting goals and measuring conservation, BCN has found that the following conditions must be met to say that conservation is occurring:

1. An area of biodiversity that has certain attributes (area, quality, ecosystem functions) is delineated and monitored over time,

2. A group of stakeholders in the area of biodiversity is identified and mobilized,

3. An enterprise that is directly linked to the biodiversity and that has the potential to be self-supporting is developed,

4. Evidence that the stakeholders are identifying and successfully reacting to threats to the biodiversity at the current time and that they are likely to do so in the future is developed.

In looking through the stories, there is abundant evidence that BCN partners are making progress towards meeting these conditions. However, no group has achieved all of them.

1. An area of biodiversity is delineated and monitored

The BCN is ultimately about promoting biodiversity conservation. Accordingly, the projects are being undertaken at sites of locals, regional and even global significance ranging from the alpine pastures of the Himalayas to the lowland rainforests of Borneo and Papua New Guinea to the coral reefs of the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

To achieve conservation success, it is essential to define a spatially limited site over which the project can realistically expect to have an impact. In addition, stakeholders must be able to monitor the attributes of the site to make sure that they are maintained over time. These attributes include the habitat area in the site, the habitat quality of the site, and (if possible) the ecosystem services provided by the site.

Most if not all of the projects are undertaking some level of biological monitoring. For example, at the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] project, the team reports:

On-going monitoring of birds, rhinos, tiger, crocodile and ungulates shows a gradual increase in the number of different species as a result of the additional habitat provided by the community forest created under KMTNC/BCN program. All together, 170 different species of birds have been observed in these newly created habitats. Among these are 37 species listed by the Bird Life Society as threatened species. The number of rhinos are 19 in Baghmara and 23 in Kumrose community forest.

At the Forest Fruits in the Philippines [#14] project site, the team reports:

Monitoring and analysis of the impact of the extractive activities for the forest fruits was completed. It appears that the greatest amount being extracted from any product is 10% which will have no negative impact on sustainability.

One of the most interesting aspects of the monitoring work has been the enthusiasm that local community members have shown for it. For example, at the Dive Tourism in Indonesia [#11] site, the team reports:

In the past year, Yayasan Hualopu's biological monitoring team has held training workshops in Saba to convey basic information on coral reef ecology and monitoring methods. Trainees have been enthusiastic, particularly since they have learned that of all the project sites, Saba has the most intact reef and the largest numbers of butterfly fish, an indicator of rich biodiversity. They have learned how to estimate percentage of living coral cover and now regularly practice their snorkeling and observation skills.

More community members are being trained so that in the future they themselves can monitor the reefs that are the basis for both local fisheries and tourism. Recently, in Saba where all monitoring trainees have up to now been male, a group of six women decided that they too want to start the learning process, while a second group of women have begun a study group on marine plant diversity and applications for family health, food and tourism.

Monitoring is perhaps most important in helping to determine what resources the enterprises have available. At the Forest Products in Indonesia [#8] site, the team writes:

There is a story about a blind man who owns and makes a living from his store. Because he is blind, whenever somebody comes to buy something, he doesn't know whether he has it or not, or how many he has, much less where it is, or what is the right price to ask for it. When first we started the BCN project, we felt like that blind man with his store. We have the 'store' -- 100,000 ha within the Participatory Forest Management Area with 17,000 people living in it-but we don't know what kind of specific 'things' are there, where and how much stock we have, or the potential for growth or annual yield. We don't know exactly what there is to harvest, nor at what levels it would be sustainable.

Using transect methods, the natural resources inventory has been completed. We know the species and the amount of each in the transect. But it still difficult to find out how many damar trees or rattan clumps there are, their growth rate, or how much can be harvested. We do not know what to base the calculations on to determine the potential yield of each non-timber forest product. Our dream-knowing what the sustainable harvest level is-is still far off, and maybe we won't know for another year or two.

Stakeholder Group	Project	Type of Group
Humla Conservation and Development Association	Essential Oils in Nepal [#1]	Enterprise
User Group of Baghmara Plantations	Ecotourism in Nepal [#2]	Resource management
Van Panchayats and Mahila Mangal Dals	Silk and Honey in India [#3]	Resource management
Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee	Ecotourism in India [#4]	Resource management
Managing Committee of Bilgiri Rangan Hills	Forest Products in India [#5]	Enterprise
Mbenti Butterfly Farmers	Butterflies in Indonesia [#10]	Enterprise
Church and savings groups in Biak/Padaido Islands	Dive Tourism in Indonesia [#11]	Benefit distribution
Tribal Council in Bendum	Abaca and Rattan in the Philipines [#12]	Resource management
SATRICA and CAMPAL (local associations)	Rattan and Resin in the Phillipines [#13]	Resource management and Enterprise
Kalahan Educational Foundation	Forest Fruits in the Philipines [#14]	Resource management and Enterprise
Management Committee of WMA	Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG [#15]	Resource management
Illi Ecoforestry Sawmill	Ecotimber in PNG [#17]	Enterprise
Arnavons Management Committee	Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18]	Resource management
Community fund of Togori	Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands [#19]	Benefit distribution
Tikina councils in Verata	Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20]	Resource management

2. A group of stakeholders is identified and mobilized

A stakeholder can be defined as a person who has an actual or potential impact on the core biodiversity of the site. A stakeholder group is composed of stakeholders who share -- at least to some degree -- a common vision as to how to manage the core biodiversity. The stakeholder group does not necessarily have to include all of the potential stakeholders in the area of biodiversity. There are many different stakeholder groups at the BCN project sites as illustrated by the examples in the following table:

Some groups are newly formed (the Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee), some are revitalized versions of traditional decision-making bodies (the Tribal Council of Bendum), while others are long-standing groups whose functions are evolving to meet current conditions (the Van Panchayats of Garhwal).

In all cases, however, project staff have worked to identify the people who control, use and threaten the biodiversity, and have sought to incorporate their knowledge into the enterprise and other project activities. Indeed, in some cases, individuals who were "threats" were invited to join. In the words of the Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18] project team:

One story that illustrates the importance of economic incentives as a tool in conservation involves the recruitment of one of the center managers. The community fishing committee called for names of potential candidates from within their communities. In one case, the list of potential applicants included one of the most outspoken critics of the Arnavon Community Managed Conservation Area who was eventually chosen for the position and is fast becoming an effective advocate for the project and its goals.

3. An enterprise that is directly linked to the biodiversity and that has the potential to be self supporting developed

The third condition for success is the presence at the site of one or more enterprises that depend on the biodiversity and that are turning a profit. Linkage to the biodiversity it important because without it, there is no long-term incentive for conservation. Profitability is crucial because it is what will make the conservation effort sustainable over the long-term. Enterprise-based approaches to conservation can work without profitable enterprises, but they require an outside subsidy to keep them going.

As outlined in more detail in Section 3 of this report, there are three stages in the development of a profitable enterprise. In the first stage, the enterprise covers its variable costs. In the second stage, the enterprise covers both variable and fixed costs and shows a true profit. And in the third and final stage, the enterprise develops the systems necessary to respond to changes in markets by adjusting its costs and pricing. As shown in the stories below, most of the BCN supported enterprises are generating some revenues and a few may be covering their fixed costs. For example:

• The two wildlife observation houses at the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] project generated revenues of US $7,800 and $8,700.

• The Butterflies in Indonesia [#10] project generated revenues of over $75,000.

• The tourism enterprise at the Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands [#19] project brought in revenues of $2,500.

• The Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG [#16] project had revenues of $390 at one lodge.

• The Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20] project had revenues of $20,000.

Although these levels of revenue can be very significant in a local context, many of the BCN funded enterprises are not yet covering their fixed and variable costs, let alone generating true profits. Furthermore, the revenues being generated are far less than the total amount of money provided by BCN and other donor funds. It is thus clear that some form of outside subsidy will be required for some time to come especially for monitoring and some marketing costs. Continued reliance on subsidies does not mean that the enterprise revenues are unimportant -- every dollar that the enterprises can provide is one less dollar that is required from the outside sources. A critical next step will be to determine which subsidies can be removed, when, and how.

4. Evidence that the stakeholders are identifying and successfully reacting to threats to the biodiversity at the current time and that they are likely to do so in the future is developed

The fourth condition for conservation success is the ability to demonstrate a reduction of threats to the biodiversity at the project site. The list of threats occurring at the sites is long and varied. And the stories illustrate some serious problems. For example, at the Community Logging in Indonesia [#7] project, the team writes:

Illegal logging continues to threaten the park, especially in the swampy areas accessible by river. The recent, nearby construction of small sawmills that process illegally harvested wood poses a serious threat to the old growth within the park. Loggers from outside the local communities have begun to enter the park as well. In addition to felling trees, these groups have been hunting park wildlife. Recently, a visitor touring the park encountered a logging group that had killed and eaten rare and endangered hornbills. Eliminating all illegal activity from the western park area will be a daunting task.

Likewise, at the Silk and Honey in India [#3] project, the biological monitoring team members identified an all but invisible threat that the seemingly healthy oak forests are not regenerating and thus will vanish in a generation. And at the Ecotourism in Java, Indonesia [#6] site, the team describes:

The biggest challenge of all, because there is so much money involved, [is] gold mining, both legal and illegal. So long as the price of gold remains high this pressure will not likely go away. Sadly, Gunung Halimun National Park is reasonably well endowed with this precious metal and prospecting is relentless.

Nonetheless, despite the difficulty posed by these threats, there is also encouraging evidence that the groups are moving forward to meet the threats. For example, in the Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18] project, the team reports that the threat of local poaching has been reduced:

After two years of closure only three incidents of poaching have been reported by our Community Conservation Officers. Only one of these incidents involved the taking of endangered hawksbill turtles.

At the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] site, the project team also reports that local poaching has been reduced:

Another main objective of the program is to decrease the pressure on the park for firewood and fodder. Recent data indicates that the number of people sneaking into the park to collect these has decreased by almost 30...[and that]...perhaps the most important achievement of the project is the change in attitude of the local people. When poachers, attracted by the increasing numbers of wildlife attempted to kill rhinos by digging pits near Baghmara, the community members not only informed authorities, but also filled the pits so that no wildlife would be killed. Even when livestock were killed by a tiger in Kumrose, the people did not complain because they know that tourists come expressly to see tigers.

In perhaps the most unusual case, the Dive Tourism in Indonesia [#11] project team reports having to respond to the threat posed by well intentioned but misguided scientists using damaging monitoring methods:

A group of Saba villagers deserve awards for their courageous defense of their coral reef-but some scientists may not agree...in September of this year, the group was shocked to discover that some scientists had, without prior consultation, laid down a permanent monitoring transect on Saba reef. The transect markers, unfortunately, consisted of 68 heavy concrete blocks linked together by nylon line and balanced, in some cases precariously, along the very edge of the wave-exposed reef slope. Village observers noted that 54 of the blocks rested on top of living corals and a few had already started their destructive descent down the living reef slope. Recognizing the threat to the reef, and fearing what would happen once the windy season started, the villagers removed the blocks. They worked from a tiny perahu and used their bare hands and simple snorkeling equipment -- a dangerous exercise!

And finally, at the Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20] project, the team reports that national level threats have been address by a change in government policy:

The Fisheries Department also called a meeting with the BCN project personnel to discuss the regulation of marine bioprospecting. The Department had previously allowed fairly unlimited collection of non-edible resources by researchers, not appreciating their potential worth. A policy of consultation has now been developed between the Department and USP to discuss any proposed marine collections.

B. Principles for Achieving the Process of Conservation

Although it is important to focus on the goals that the projects are trying to achieve, we cannot neglect the process of doing conservation. In particular, we need to pay attention to the many types of catalysts that help and obstacles that hinder a project in moving forward. Based on the stories from the field, it is clear that the BCN project teams are developing the knowledge and skills to recognize and make use of the catalysts and avoid or deal with the obstacles.

In this section, we draw on the experience of these projects to highlight the nature of some of the most common of these catalysts and obstacles and then develop some general principles for dealing with them. As shown in the overview in Table 2.1, our discussions of the various catalysts and obstacles are organized around the principal components of the BCN hypothesis. A more complete discussion will also be developed over time on the BCNet Web Site.

1. ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

The first element of the BCN Hypothesis involves establishing an enterprise that is linked to the biodiversity of the project site. There are a number of obstacles to establishing these enterprises that are emerging from the project stories.

• OBSTACLE -- Logistical problems that limit production

  A common problem that many projects encounter is the difficulty of operating and expanding businesses, given the remote location of the sites and the lack of business skills among community members who are often entering a cash-economy for the first time. For example, at the Forest Products in Indonesia [#8] site, the project team writes about the handbags that they are producing:

  This year's new designs are in demand by high end retail outlets and customs boutiques. The problem is, our production capacity limits our ability to meet orders on a consistent and reliable basis, which is critical to establishing a stable business relationship. It's exciting to know that people are interested in our product, but frustrating to know that we still cannot reliably fulfill large orders.

  Likewise, the project team in the Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18] site writes:

  The challenge facing us is to make the alternative fisheries such as the deep-water finfish enterprise commercially viable and sustainable in the face of: deteriorating economic climate and infrastructure, uncertain prices and markets, weak human capacity, and high community expectations.

  PRINCIPLE -- Be prepared for logistical difficulties in setting up and developing enterprises that will result in limited production during the early years.

• OBSTACLE -- A lack of basic business knowledge that limits production

  A related obstacle that slows down many projects is the lack of basic business knowledge among community members who are often entering a cash economy for the first time. This theme shows up repeatedly in the stories including:

  • For people who traditionally live day-to-day and to whom a market is a physical place where fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and other goods are taken and exchanged for cash, the concept of a "world market" which is not a physical place, where payment is not immediate and a response to expected sales is wanted, is difficult to understand. [Butterflies in Indonesia, #10]

  • These people are improving their quality of subsistence but it is naive to think of them as entrepreneurs. Cash is not primary, yet dealing effectively with external market forces is essential to them. Traditionally, these people barter and there is hard bargaining too, but today there is little bargaining of a familiar nature for these people, they just have to take what they can get. [Abaca and Rattan in the Philippines, #12]

  • Throughout the Wildlife Management Area, landowners with an average education level of grade one and still largely engaged in a subsistence lifestyle, struggle to collect and digest information about everything from natural resource law, economic options an probabilities of businesses that they are only beginning to understand, and the unknown and little understand social impacts of the development options being presented to them. [Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG, #15]

  Despite these limitations, progress is made because project teams have the patience to work with the community members to develop their skills. As the members of the Silk and Honey in India [#3] project state:

  The daunting problem of finding technically qualified personnel willing to settle in Ukhimath was resolved by identifying local project staff who have shown promise and aptitude, shifting them to technical positions and providing; them with intensive training and periodic technical support from outside.

  PRINCIPLE -- Be prepared to spend significant time developing local business management capacity.

• OBSTACLE -- Difficulties in marketing products

  A second problem that many projects encounter is the difficulty in finding and accessing markets for their products and services. Without access to markets, the project cannot sell its products and meet the growing expectations of community members. In some cases, marketing difficulties due to logistical problems. For example, at the Butterflies in Indonesia [#10] project site, one difficulty was physically getting the specimens to their customers:

  A major setback this year was a series of postal delays and losses. A number of clients received parcels with damaged or missing specimens. It took marketing staff a lot of time to explain to others the importance of correct packaging and specimen counts. Butterfly farming is a finicky business and badly damaged specimens are worthless. The time and effort needed to apologize, draw-up credit-notes, and the resulting delays in payment, have been frustrating. After feeling that great strides had been made in the previous eighteen months, this was a setback.

  In a similar fashion, at the Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18] site, the team writes:

  Our most pressing challenges are to try to solve the market access problems which have besieged the project, due partly to the national cutback of coastal shipping services which has reduced service to an ad hoc basis unless charters are arranged. The centers need a weekly shipping service for them to work to capacity and to generate the throughput of fish needed to make them financially sustainable. There is no simple solution to this problem in sight-short of running our own shipping service which is an option under consideration.

  In some cases, however, marketing efforts are starting to pay off. For example, at the Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG [#15] site, the team writes:

  Research activity, originally concentrated at the Wara Sera Research Station near Haia, has now expanded to a variety of studies in many parts of the WMA. This is due to both word of mouth marketing of WMA facilities by satisfied scientists and improved WMA services and infrastructure including accommodation, availability of trained village assistants, standardized pay rates, and the presence of support services, such as computer and communication facilities.

  And a number of projects have had some success in developing partnerships with like-minded outsiders who can serve as marketing partners. For example, the Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG [#16] project team writes:

  A mock tour was taken in duly by FSP's Programs Director, Celine Beaulieu and a French student, Mr. Fabrice Desprats, who was contracted to do a preliminary assessment of the adventure tour products available in the Basin. The information gathered has been sent to the Lonely Planet Tour Guide to PNG to be published in their next edition. Mr. Desprats will market the area and its guesthouses in France as part of his contract while Marc Damen will do the same for the Research Facility.

  PRINCIPLE -- Plan marketing efforts early on-do not just assume that markets will exist-and find qualified, like minded outsiders who can serve as marketing partners.

2. GENERATION OF BENEFITS

The second element of the BCN Hypothesis involves generating short and long-term benefits for the stakeholders at the project site. There are two major catalysts and obstacles related to benefits that are emerging from the project stories.

• CATALYST -- Generating meaningful benefits for community members, especially in the short term

  It is clear that, as predicted by the BCN hypothesis, generating benefits can create some powerful incentives for conservation. Examples mentioned in the stories include:

  • Community forest handover activities accelerated as communities became aware of the benefits-direct royalty payments on materials harvested from registered community forests...this process is ongoing now in eight Village Development Committees in Humla and will continue into the future. [Essential Oils in Nepal, #1]

  • The average value of shipments was Rp 218,000 (around US $78) with 20 shipments made over the season. Average income per farmer was Rp 16,000 per shipment (in comparison, the wage for a field laborer is Rp 4,000 -- around US $1.15 -- per day). [Honey, Butterflies, and Rafting in Indonesia, #9]

  • The average cash income generated from butterfly farming is roughly an average of Rp 50,000 ($20) per member family per annum. Although this does not sound like much, in aggregate, across the community, it represents a significant proportion of the cash income. [Butterflies in Indonesia, #10]

  • The Highland communities continued their established system of sharing out the bulk of the money earned in the ecotour to individuals within the communities. Such distribution puts the responsibility for the use of the money in people's own hands. The total amount distributed to highland villages was SI$6615 (approximately US$1780). A small amount of SI$600 (approximately US$160) has been put aside from the latest tour for a community fund for Highland villages. The income from the June ecotour amounts to approximately 40% of the total cash generated in the Highland communities over the last year. [Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands, #19]

  In addition to direct cash benefits, the enterprises also produce indirect benefits. For example, at the Eco-timber in PNG [#17] project, the team writes:

  Logging companies often tempt communities to sell their forests by offering to 'donate' vehicles. But in Illi, the profits of the eco-forestry sawmill enterprise financed the community's initial purchase of a Mitsubishi 4 x 4, 3 .5 ton truck as well as the ongoing payments. The truck is a source of great pride among the local people. It is also a catalyst to other businesses and income generation. Traditional landowners from Illi, as well as people from remoter villages down the coast hire the truck to transport their copra to the urban market three hours away by rough road. Due to this new access to markets, some family groups have built new copra and cocoa dryers-using project timber. The dryers add value to the cash crops before selling them to the export market. Copra is the main income for families to pay for school fees, housing material, kerosene and food. Several new houses have been completed as people use money earned from copra, and food sales to buy local timber and building supplies.
  The women also use the vehicle to sell extra garden produce. Each Friday at dawn, there is great excitement as women pile into the truck with surplus betelnut, root crops and bananas for sale at market one hour's drive away. Women say, "we are learning how to market" often returning with K15 to K20 in hand-enough money to pay the annual school fees for one child in elementary school.

  And in some cases, the enterprise produces non-cash benefits. For example, at the Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands [#19] project, the team writes:

  Tourism places a value on traditional activities and material culture, which was previously believed inferior to "modern" ways. It helps the community by allowing households to earn money without the men having to spend extended periods of time away from their families while seeking work on the coast. It also brings the outside world to them, and broadens their understanding of the world and people of different cultures.

  An important finding is, however, that these benefits need to come as soon as possible after the start of the project to ensure that they create the proper incentives.

  PRINCIPLE -- Ensure that the enterprise generates meaningful benefits for community members as soon as possible.

• OBSTACLE -- Benefits below a certain threshold
  It is also clear, however, that in order to provide sufficient incentives for conservation, benefits need to reach a certain threshold level at each project site. If the benefits from the enterprise are not high enough relative to cash needs and alternative sources of income, then people will continue to engage in activities that threaten the biodiversity. This obstacle is perhaps best illustrated from the Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG [#16] project story in which the team writes:
  It was deduced from two instances that the community sees this project as an insufficient source of additional income. Some young men who assisted us in the setting up the research facility began panning for gold when they were laid off. In the second case, people who played a key role in setting up the Kakoro lodge were also seen panning for gold to earn some money to furnish the lodge as well to buy rations for the opening ceremony. Gold panning in the area is continuing and one of the creeks in the Basin and the surroundings is completely destroyed.

  The team goes on to say:

  Trying to redirect peoples' interest away from fast money making options such as mining, logging, hunting, and gardening is a big challenge. The people in the Basin have built these activities into their lives and it is really difficult for us to change their entrenched mind sets...one mining company, Wau Alluviaus, has already moved into the area and has collaborators from the Basin, both in Tekadu and Kakoro. They have given cash handouts to the people. This challenge intensified when the minister responsible for mining issued a press release in which he encouraged small-scale gold mining as a way of promoting rural develop and employment. This is the biggest challenge for the project because unlike them, we are unable to distribute huge amounts of cash.

  In a similar fashion, the Abaca and Rattan in the Philippines [#12] team writes:

  Because of this year's El Niño: a drought of even greater severity than in 1983 is anticipated and people are asking about food availability. People are hungry for two months of the year as it is -- a further two months would warrant calamity by government definition. The people will suffer. There will be far greater potential for forest fires and forest resources will be all the more threatened for the limited cash they can provide. At this point, the initial abaca activities cannot adequately chip into the cash equation.

  PRINCIPLE -- Ensure that benefits will meet the minimum threshold needed to keep community members from destructive behaviors.

3. COMMUNITY OF STAKEHOLDERS

The third element of the BCN hypothesis involves developing a community of stakeholders who can act to counter the threats to the biodiversity of the project site. There are a number of catalysts and obstacles related to the stake' holders that are emerging from the stories.

• CATALYST Attaining resource governance and policing rights

  One of the most important steps in achieving conservation involves attaining resource governance rights. A number of the stories comment on the importance of these rights to the success of long-term conservation efforts. This theme is discussed in detail in Section 3 of this report. As one example, however, at the Rattan and Resin in the Philippines [#13] project, the team writes:

  The success of community-based conservation and enterprise programs like the one on Palawan requires that the local communities first have control of their resources. Hence, we are working to obtain the most binding certification of ancestral land rights for the two pilot project sites-the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC)...a recent major accomplishment was the signing of the CADC for two of the project sites, Campung Ulay (7,000 ha) and Punta Baja (8,092 ha) These certificates will give the tribes of Pala'wan and Tagbanuas the tenurial security for which they have been longing.

  PRINCIPLE -- Focus early project efforts on obtaining or strengthening stakeholder resource governance and policing rights.

• CATALYST -- Developing strong leadership in the community with a vision for conservation

  Another important catalyst for conservation is having strong leadership in the community that can develop and implement a vision for conservation. Many of the stories comment on this both implicitly and explicitly. For example, the Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20] team writes:

  Strong leadership is a powerful force for change. Through his participation in various project workshops, Tomujani Boginivalu, the administrative leader of one of the seven Verata villages, has developed a passionate commitment to monitoring and sustainable resource use. Tomujani recently presented his concerns about coral harvesting in an area near Verata to a Verata council meeting. The council endorsed these concerns, and presented a motion for a ban on coral harvesting to the Tailevu Provincial Council meeting, to which Verata belongs.

  In other villages, however, the team finds:

  Lack of leadership in some villages is also a challenge. Two of the seven villages have seemingly less effective leadership than the others, and it is difficult to work through them to include the participation of members of their villages in tikina-wide activities. We hope to address this constraint by making them the focus of some of the socioeconomic development activities.

  In many cases, projects have focused extensively on developing leadership among the stakeholders. For example, the Forest Products in Indonesia [#8] team writes:

  When the weaving training started, Pak Sunda became very interested in joining, even though most of the other weavers were women. He followed his feeling that weaving could make him a good income. Since then, he has become a leader of his village's weaving group and a trainer for weavers -- not only in his own village, but he helps YDT train weavers in other villages as well.

  Pak Sunda's life has changed from being a slash and burn farmer, to becoming a group motivator and entrepreneur in weaving. Now he is the quality supervisor for all products that his village group produces-a group which started with four members and now numbers 22. The members pay Pak Sunda because he helps them in many ways. He collects rattan for the group and is always finding new ways to teach them how to increase the quality. Under his leadership, the skills of the group members are slowly but surely improving and so is the quality of their products ... Pak Sunda also understands the limitation of rattan resources in his area. He actively urges the weavers to plant rattan on their farms to provide for the future. Each family is collecting rattan seeds and has planted between 50 to 100 plants which is not much, but it is a start.

  PRINCIPLE -- Focus early project efforts on either coordinating efforts with existing leaders or providing incentives to motivated people in the community to become the leaders of tomorrow.

• CATALYST -- Developing and maintaining relations with government officials

  Yet another factor that enhances conservation involves interaction with local, provincial, and national government officials. The efforts that the project teams are making to develop and maintain relations with government officials are starting to pay off as the project teams and stakeholders groups are getting more recognition. For instance, a local resident working with the Ecotourism in India [#4] project is quoted as saying:

  The best thing about the KNP workshop was that it was the first time that the government departments felt it relevant to discuss and talk with the community stakeholders on National Park conservation and management issues and come out with positive recommendations.

  The Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG [#15] team writes:

  Officials from both provinces were impressed that local communities from 21 different clans and two language groups, with limited formal education in the remote regions of their provinces, could generate and manage income from enterprises based on conservation instead of the customary large-scale resource extraction model of development. Many said they did not know that national NGO's in PNG had the capacity to provide such a level of services or to conduct the sophisticated analysis of the process through the interdisciplinary monitoring activities being utilized in the Crater project.

  And likewise, at the Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20] project, the team writes:

  Malakai Tuiloa, the assistant director of the Fisheries Department in Fiji, was one of the 30 NGO and government representatives who participated in the workshop on the use of community-based participatory methods in resource management and monitoring. At the end of the meeting he declared, "In sixteen years of government service, I have never attended a workshop in which I worked like this with members of NGOs. I had previously viewed their intentions with suspicion but now realize they can be valuable partners in our conservation work."

  PRINCIPLE -- Develop and maintain relationships early on with key government officials at all levels who have the potential to affect project activities.

• OBSTACLE -- Government inaction

  The reverse of maintaining relations with government officials is that in many cases, these officials do not know much about the project and its goals and as a result, the project is not helped or is even hindered by the government. For example, the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] project team encountered difficulties in getting policy reforms accomplished given the constantly changing government officials at the national level:

  Frequent changes of Government in Nepal has created problems getting the buffer zone by-laws passed by cabinet. Within the past two years, government was reshuffled three times. Each government started studying documents from the beginning and just when they were ready to approve it, a new government took over and started the whole process from the beginning. Consequently the by-laws were not passed until 1996. Even then, the exact mechanisms by which funds will be returned to UGC's has not been defined.

  Likewise, the Community Logging in Indonesia [#7] project has been unable to start owing to a series of negotiations with government officials that were delayed by both bureaucratic inertia and outside events such as the El Niño linked fires:

  In 1997 the project made the most progress not in the field-but in the offices of the Ministry of Forestry (MoF). After painfully slow progress working out cooperative arrangements for implementing the project with the Ministry in 1996, we are now almost there.

  And at other sites, such as at the Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG [#15] site, problems seem to arise because government officials are unfamiliar with what the project teams and community members are trying to do:

  As a result of the expanse of the area and the relative newness of the establishment of functioning Wildlife Management Areas in PNG, some national, and most provincial and district government departments are not familiar with, and are even suspicious of, the collective actions of communities and NGOs to implement conservation and eco-enterprise development initiatives in remote regions...over the last three years, despite the Crater Mountain landowner management group's conscientious effort to draft and enforce natural resource laws within the boundaries of the WMA, they have received limited assistance from govemment departments when prosecution of violations is requested.

  PRINCIPLE -- Keep relevant government officials in the loop about the project through frequent interaction.

• OBSTACLE -- Agendas of Public Officials

  Another common lesson emerging from the stories is that powerful people with interests in the biodiversity of the project site can slow down or even disrupt project activities. For example, the Ecotourism in Java, Indonesia [#6] project team writes:

  The next challenge, and one of the most damaging and the most difficult to meet is that concessions are granted, it would seem, 'willy nilly' to anyone for anything. The latest is a concession given to the Nirmala Agung Tea Company to clear 50 hectares of primary forest, right in the middle of the park. This land has now been slashed and burned. There are many stories of other concessions (of varying kinds), the validity of which is unclear at the moment. These bites out of the forest are adding up, until there may be little left.

  In a similar fashion, the Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG [#16] team writes:

  ...mining threats have intensified. A company called Wau Allavial Pty. Ltd has stepped up its prospecting activities in the Basin. It has advocates in the Basin, both in Tekadu and Kakoro. In addition, the current Minister responsible for Mining activities in the country issued a press release in which he promotes small-scale mining activities to boost the economy as well as creating employment for the people of PNG. Our efforts could take second priority.

  And the Rattan and Resin in the Philippines [#13] project team writes:

  In July and August, 1997, the members of SATRICA, the local development association in Cayasan, apprehended armed almaciga resin gatherers and confiscated 51 sacks of almaciga resin. These were employees of concessionaires whose permits had expired last April. The locals coordinated their efforts with the forest rangers of nearby St. Paul's National Park. Unfortunately the illegal almaciga resin tappers were eventually released without any legal actions against them. To make matters worse, the resin was released too. This happened because corrupt personnel from the local Department of Environment and Natural Resources interceded and claimed that there were technical deficiencies in the arrest and seizure. The indigenous members of Cayasan were disappointed when they learned that they could not prosecute the illegal gatherers of almaciga because they had no pictures...we wonder how long the indigenous people can sustain their police actions without being harassed and later on, subjected to 'extra legal military actions' by powerful concessionaires whose economic interests are going to be hurt by the militant actions of the indigenous people.

  But despite these problems, some of the projects are overcoming them. For instance the Forest Fruits in the Philippines [#14] project team writes:

  The battle against the construction of a highway through the sanctuaries continues. A few misguided political leaders are pushing for it but the congressman and mayor have been helping us to improve the sanctuary and promote the wildlife of the area. The momentum in favor of protection is building and will probably be enough to out weigh the pressures in favor of the highway.

  PRINCIPLE -- Identify other stakeholders in the biodiversity, and be prepared to deal with them by building a large enough constituency to ensure the subservience of individual interest to! group interest.

• OBSTACLE -- Social disharmony and rivalries

  Another common theme is that at almost all of the BCN sites, project teams have had extreme difficulties in trying to juggle the interests of different factions of the community that often have been rivals for years if not generations. Project teams need to walk a narrow line between, on one hand, being sensitive to these problems and not showing favoritism to one group and, on the other, not getting bogged down in local politics. For example, the Ecotourism in Java, Indonesia [#6] team writes:

  In the southern site we have a mixed community of traditional Kasepuhan and Sundanese (non-Kasepuhan). The Kasepuhan are steeped in strong traditions and beliefs, going back some six hundred years or more, and are of a more formed character. The non-Kasepuhan, on the other hand, have different traditions and beliefs and are of less formal character. The enterprise members are a mix from the two groups who find it difficult to agree about even the simplest of tasks. As you can imagine, trying to maintain a little harmony is difficult to say the least. The challenge is easy to see but it is often difficult to conceive a solution, without one or the other being disappointed. A world wide, age old story!

  Although found in almost all of the BCN projects, this obstacle seems particularly acute in the Pacific where local societies have long maintained delicate and complicated "truces" among different clans. For instance, all four projects from the island of New Guinea comment on this problem and the difficulties it makes in running modern profitable enterprises:

  • To retain the confidence and motivation (and prevent jealousies) YBLBC must purchase what is offered the butterfly farmers, as long as it meets minimum quality standards. Because of this, it is impossible to maintain stock levels consistent with anticipated sales for each species. [Butterflies in Indonesia, [#10]

  • Can the young Management Committees within the WMA maintain consensus on such volatile environmental issues? Representatives from all 21 clans have agreed that no such large-scale exploitation of natural resources in the WMA will be permitted. Yet, the pressure on individuals and selected clans to pull out of the WMA consortium is intense ... related clans outside of the WMA boundaries, within the same mineral exploration area, have applied intense pressure on their neighbors to submit to the requests for further exploration and possible exploitation of mineral deposits. At times over the last year, the tense negotiations between clans have led to tribal fights. Clans downstream from the exploration area in the WMA are also worried about their water quality if clans upstream elect for possibilities of mineral extraction. [Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG, #15]

  • Trying to convince four different ethnic groups, comprising of many individuals with varied interests and perceptions to adhere to our activities, is difficult. Their low level of understanding is a problem. Educating them is a requirement, but according to our resident scientist, this could be possible with the next generation, but not with the current one whose brains have already developed. [Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG, #16]

  • Divisions within the multi-clan and multi-language community of Arabam have meant constraints to access to forest resources and heated discussions about who should receive benefits. The directors and project manager are attempting to settle the disputes but they have come to a stand-still in timber production. They express their worries about the long term consequences of logging on their land, yet would appreciate a road network into the forest reserves. This clan group still opposes the pressures of logging companies, but they are struggling to resolve the land disputes and to decide whether to resume the sawmill operation. [Eco-timber in PGN, #17]

  PRINCIPLE -- Take social rivalries into account in project planning-but also to try to avoid becoming entangled in them.

• OBSTACLE -- Stakeholder Self-interest

  In addition to social conflict, project teams also need to be wary about individuals acting in their own self-interest at the expense of the broader community and project goals. For example, the Essential Oils in Nepal [#11] project team reports how one individual tried to cheat to improve his own welfare:

  The greatest challenge faced by HCDA in this year was in dealing with a certain village group who, taking advantage of the close and open relation between Humla Oil and the supplying communities, tried to pass off large quantities of low quality material to the factories...one community leader took his group astray and forced Humla Oil to buy material that they had purposely adulterated in order to increase the direct payment to the collectors from the factories...he misrepresented the provisions of the community forest to the community at large in order to personally profit from the arrangement.

  And in perhaps the most appalling story, the Eco-timber in PNG [#17] team reports:

  The normal method of attack by the loggers is to isolate a small group of so-called "leaders" and deal directly with them. This happened at Maranagi earlier in the year when an approach was make to build a road to Maranagi village. Under the Forestry Act, the road-builder is permitted to harvest the trees on the road line, and for 30 meters on each side. The leader agreed with the proposed route and accepted an unknown amount of cash as a reward.

  From then on it was all downhill. The road clearing extended as much as 140 meters from the center line. There was no attempt to route the road over suitable terrain. No drains or culverts were constructed, and no gravel or stone was layered over the clay base. When the dry season finished and the rains came, the road became useless over night. Soon, the degree of damage made repair impossible.

  The loggers were happy-they got something like four times their legal harvest. The leaders were happy-they received some money. But the remainder of the village was sadly disillusioned although we are not certain how much. The loggers say the original route was a mistake and they now have a better one to construct a proper road.

  Despite the problems caused by individual greed, there is also some hope for using individual motivations to provide incentives for conservation. As the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] team writes:

  In Nepalese society there is saying that "If you want to control stealing by any household member, then give him or her the keys to the treasury." Likewise, in the case of projects, in order to control problem creators, it is wise to include them and give them responsibilities in the project. This not only controls them, but also gradually changes their attitude. This has been an important lesson in this project.

  PRINCIPLE -- Be aware of individual self-interests and try to use them to the project's advantage.

4. OTHER FACTORS

In addition to the catalysts and obstacles related to the three conditions of the BCN hypothesis, there are some others that stem from other factors affecting project success and from the more process-oriented lessons that the BCN projects are learning.

• CATALYST -- Building confidence through small but early successes

  One important observation is that small intermediate successes can build up the confidence of community and project team members and enable them to take on larger issues. For example, the Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands [#19] team describes how a local community member's participation in an international conference stirred up much pride:

  John Hingra, the nut press manager based in the remote village of Warohito, attended and made a presentation at the first Pacific region-wide conference on indigenous nuts. John's attendance obviously raised the community's sense of accomplishment in the project. In particular, the team took great pride in the fact that the traditional way of cracking nuts is still better than mechanical or electrical machines that crush (rather than crack) the nuts.

  And the Ecotourism in Java, Indonesia [#6] team reports on the confidence that success gives:

  Our first area of success is the fact that guests are returning not just once, but some three or four times. Many have phoned the consortium office to say how much they enjoyed their stay and that they plan to visit to the other sites. It's a real thrill to be on the receiving end of such a phone call. These complimentary, encouraging words from the guests have put nice big smiles on the field managers' faces. The enterprise members may not have smiled openly, when they were given the compliments,but I'm sure the inside smile was just as big, if not bigger than the field managers'.

  In many ways, these successes actually give the community members the confidence that their action can make a difference. For example, in the Ecotourism in India [#4] story, a local engineer comments:

  The project has empowered local people to a great extent to take part in community initiatives and has set a trend to take actions instead of only talking. Examples are the Kathok lake clean-up, road to Norbugang and Forest Guesthouse clean up, getting benches for Norbugang, Dubdi Monestary, Kathok Lake and the Trekkers's Huts.

  PRINCIPLE -- Build stakeholder confidence by achieving simple, quick, and yet meaningful successful results.

• OBSTACLE -- Success itself can lead to failure

  On the other hand, success itself can bring new problems to the project as outsiders get attracted to the project and want to move in. For example, the Ecotourism in Nepal [#7] team reports:

  The earnings from the micro-enterprise activities and programs carried out by the communities have attracted local politicians who now want to have their member take credit for the work done by the UGC formed under the BCN program. They often try to create misunderstandings among the community members so that they can create factions in the User Group and take advantage of the situation.

  And the Nut Oil and Tourism in the Solomon Islands [#19] team reports on:

  ... the problems that success itself can cause. An example is that ecotourism successes have raised the profile of the aera so that bird watching enthusiasts and scientists have tried to gain access to the Makira communities with no references to the program. The local community politely refused to allow these people to stay as they had set clear rules that only the tourists coming as part of the ecotour enterprise would be permitted.

  PRINCIPLE -- Be aware of outsiders who are attracted to sucessful projects.

• OBSTACLE -- Natural disasters

  As outlined in last year's report, one of the lessons that PCN learned early on was "Don't underestimate the impact of 'mother nature.'" This lesson was learned again over the past year. In some places, the problem was too much rain. For example, the Ecotourism in India [#4] team writes:

  On a more practical level, an unusually long monsoon highlighted the difficult conditions that participants operate under, in fragile mountain environments. Due to numerous landslides, on several occasions, staff were cut off from sites and the capital of Gangtok. These conditions have hampered project activities, affecting staff visits to the field, as well as communications. To some extent we have overcome the communication delays by using laptop computers in the field and recently acquired e-mail capabilities. Landslides on the other hand continue to test everyone's ability to manage complex logistical arrangements and maintain sense of humor under difficult circumstances.

  In many other places, however, the problem was not enough rain. In many of these stories which were written in August and September of 1997 we can hear the initial rumblings of the worst El Niño event in history:

  • Difficulties in breeding and maintaining breeding stock, have been partly due to bad weather conditions-Sulawesi is experiencing a severe drought which has affected both butterfly numbers and availability of the their foodplants. [Honey, Butterflies, and Rafting in Indonesia, [#9]

  • Our activities this year have been greatly affected by the national election campaigns and the dry spells caused by the El Niño. [Ecotourism in Lakekamu Basin, PNG, #16]

  Since the time that these stories were written, the intense drought and fires have only increased throughout the region, burning forest, disrupting communications, and causing famines to break out. Needless to say, it can be difficult to implement projects under these conditions.

  PRINCIPLE -- Don't underestimate the impact of 'mother nature.'

• OBSTACLE -- Stakeholder constraints and willingness to participate

  Another theme emerging from the stories is that local stakeholders are often constrained from participating in projects by the other demands placed upon them. Project teams thus need to develop creative solutions to solve this problem. As an example, the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] project team writes:

  According to the management policy of community forests, the work plan and all other programs have to be approved at the User Groups general meeting. However, it is not easy to gather all UG members in one place because people are busy trying to survive. In some cases people struggle to get enough to eat each day and they cannot afford a day in meetings. This problem was solved by going to the people-visiting each household, explaining the program, acknowledging their additional suggestions, and getting their approval.

  Likewise, the Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20] team writes:

  The level of activity needed to accomplish the project goals is often difficult to accomplish if we seek to respect the communities' many other demands on their time. Community members have busy schedules made even busier by often unexpected traditional obligations. We have sought to meet this challenge by having project meetings dovetail with scheduled village meetings, but these meeting times often change at short notice.

  In other cases, local stakeholder participation is limited because people who have been let down or taken advantage of by outsiders can be wary about trusting new conservation ideas. It is thus important to build trust over time and correct misunderstandings. For example, the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] project team writes:

  In many of the community forestry programs, initial opposition from people was due to the threat that they still felt from nationalization of the forest. When their fears were calmed and the benefits were made clear to them, they started supporting the projects."

  Likewise, the Forest Products in Indonesia [#8] team states that the local community:

  ...had had bad experiences where information that they l gave out in interviews, was used against them. So at first they viewed our questions with suspicion because they -- were afraid that the data they gave us would be used to levy taxes on them. But after we explained why the data is needed and how it would benefit them, they became very cooperative about providing the information.

  PRINCIPLE -- Make sure that project timing fits local schedules and that time is allocated to earn local stakeholders' trust.

• OBSTACLE -- Project timeframes are too short

  A major theme echoed throughout the stories is that the three years of the BCN implementation grant is not enough time to fulfill project activities. Examples include:

  • The biggest challenge is to work with reality and not be confined by the prism of project accomplishments which have a short lifetime. It is essential to reckon with the broader socio-environmental process that has to buffer a sustained biological diversity-the vital life of our forest -- against unpredictable markets and trade winds...[we] must recognize that people cannot wear an entrepreneurial hat in three years. [Abaca and Rattan in the Philippines, #12]

  • We feel now that many more years of stewarded discussion and concrete examples of resource value, in addition to visitor feedback, will be necessary to illustrate to the communities the linkage of the unique nature and value of their natural resources to the present success of their eco-enterprise activities. [Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG, #15]

  • We have learned a great deal over the last two years about assisting communities who are interested in conserving their traditional heritage, but we will need more time with our partners to determine the key factors which enhance conservation practices in Melanesia. [Eco-timber in PNG, #17]

  • The most difficult phase of the project will be maintaining the commitment and resources needed to build the management capacity and procedures vital to the long term commercial sustainability of the project. The real success can only be measured over the long term. [Fishing in the Solomon Islands, #18]

  • The project start-up was delayed due to protracted negotiations first with the pharmaceutical giant Smith Kline Beecham, which eventually dropped out of the project, and then with SIDR. Hence the project implementation period is only two years. The BCN project, needs to complete many activities in a relatively short time. [Bioprospecting in Fiji [#20]

  A key lesson is thus that projects will have to attract support from other donors once the initial BCN funding has been completed. In the words of the Ecotourism in Java, Indonesia [#6] project team:

  The project has generated interest from NGOs and donor agencies who have pledged additional support contingent upon initial field implementation. Thus, the BCN grant has provided the necessary initial investment for a project beyond the BCN's original scope and time limitations. However in the past year, it has become apparent that this project must be extended beyond the initial three year funding peroid in order to ensure legal, economic and biological sustainability.

  PRINCIPLE -- Complex enterprise-based conservation projects developed in remote areas take time-plan accordingly.

C. Developing an Adaptive and Learning Institution

In addition to paying attention to the goals and process of conservation, it is also important to consider the actors and institutions involved. Ultimately, conservation problems are larger than any one person and need to be addressed through the development of institutions. The key here is to develop institutions that can adapt over time and learn from experience.

A powerful tool that teams can use in the reaming process is adaptive management,a process originally developed to manage natural resources in large-scale ecosystems by deliberate experimentation and systematic monitoring of the results. Adaptive management provides a compass that project teams can use to develop a map in unknown lands. At its core, adaptive management involves three components: testing assumptions, adapting, and learning.This section briefly describes these components. For a more detailed discussion of these components, refer to the forthcoming publications "Measures of Success" and the joint BSP/TNC publication "Adaptive Management: A Primer on its Application and Use for Conservation and Development Projects."

1. TESTlNG ASSUMPTlONS

Testing assumptions is about systematically trying different interventions to achieve a desired outcome. It is not, how ever, a random trial and error process. Instead, it involves first thinking about the situation at the project site and then developing an explicit prediction about what causes specific conservation threats and what actions can alleviate threats. The project team can then implement the action and monitor the results to see if the outcome matches the predicted results. The key here is to develop an understanding of not only which actions work and which do not, but also why. As the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] team writes:

As any farmer knows, before a new type of seed is planted you must know whether the soil and climatic conditions will allow it to grow. Similarly, before implementing any new project the existing conditions have to be studied so that the program can adapt to the local situation. The problems of the area, the socio-economic situations of the people, local politics and needs of the people have to be clearly understood by those implementing the project. And ultimately, the size of the project (solution) has to fit the size of the problem.

Testing assumptions is, of course, at the core of what the BCN is doing as an overall program. This work is summed up by the Forest Products in India [#5] team which writes:

One of the assumptions underlying the project is that economic gains from local biodiversity will provide incentives to extractors to harvest products on a sustainable basis. However, we still do not know the level of sustainable harvest. Even if an arbitrary limit on harvest were to be placed, it is debatable whether the harvester would respect this limit in the absence of direct economic benefits from marketing and processing. Although extractors have strong traditional interests in conservation, success in meeting this challenge may depend upon the extent to which benefits accrue to the harvesters at both the individual and community levels, and the degree to which harvesters and the community can be made aware of the connection between economic gains and conservation.

BCN's partners are also, however, testing assumptions about other strategies for doing community-based conservation. For instance, the Fishing in the Solomon Islands [#18] team is testing a strategy for marine conservation:

The initial three year closure opened up a unique opportunity for us to investigate the utility of marine conservation areas as a fiisheries management tool, by scientifically testing the assumption that closure of an area will enhance the rehabilitation of depleted stocks and the recruitment of new stocks to areas outside the closed area. With the support and involvement of the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority we have been able to estahlish a scientifiically robust monitoring program which will test these assumptions for the fiirst time in a tropical Pacific island environment.

And another strategy that a number of project teams comment on is the importance of creating awareness of environmental issues. For example, the Forest Fruits in the Philippines [#14] team writes:

We have found that food web seminars are an excellent way to facilitate community understanding of how their local ecosystems function. In each community, the food web seminar comes up with a unique observation. In one, they observed the need to protect the rat snakes in order to reduce the rats which have become horrible pests in the food production fields. Our pastor was hiking with some young people shortly after one seminar where this observation was made and they saw a rat snake crossing the trail. Because of their fear of green vipers, the villagers previously had a habit of killing any and all snakes that they saw. This time his companions made no move to kill the snake.

2. ADAPTATION

Adaptation is about systematically using the results of the monitoring to improve the project. If the action did not achieve the expected results, it is because either the assumptions were wrong, the actions were poorly executed, the conditions at the project site have changed, the monitoring was faulty -- or some combination of these problems. Adaptation involves changing assumptions and actions to respond to the new information obtained through monitoring efforts.

The BCN projects are constantly adapting to new information. For example, the Ecotourism in Nepal [#2] team writes:

1t is important to try to think ahead to the unexpected ramifications of projects. For example, when the buffer zone was declared-which was a great thing -- the Khorsar forest was suddenly without protection. The District Forest Office shifted their attention away from the Khorsar forest because it now fell under National Park jurisdiction. But due to manpower limitations, the National Park could not patrol or protect the new buffer zone area. Taking advantage of the situation, some hoteIiers and elephant owners started taking their elephants to Khorsar forest for safaris which effected the revenue of the park as well as Baghmara and Kumrose community forests. This problem was solved by calling a meeting with representatives from the District Forest Office, the National Park, hotel/elephant owners, Users Group committee members and officers from NCRTC. Subsequently the District Forest Office resumed their responsibility to stop the illegal entrance of elephants into the Khorsar forest.

In a similar fashion, in the Essential Oils in Nepal [#1] project, the team was forced to rethink their implicit policy of assuming that all materials supplied by the communities would be of good quality:

Humla Oil had always assumed that the communities supplying the raw material would provide an acceptable quality to the factories along the lines of what had been supplied over the past two years and in line with the specification set out by the management and communities in consultation before the collection season begins. However, one community leader took his group astray and forced Humla Oil to buy material that they had purposely adulterated in order to increase the direct payment to the collectors from the factories....the challenge here was for HCDA and Humla Oil to deal with this group in such a manner that they would not become alienated from the project and company, while clearly stating that this type of dealing was unacceptable in the future....Humla Oil was faced for the first time with having to make cold, hard business decisions regarding the supply of material.

3. LEARNING

Finally, learning is about systematically documenting the process that the project has gone through and the results that were achieved. The key here is to ensure that the lessons learned are captured by individuals, the institutions involved, and the global conservation and development community. Where before there were strict dichotomies made between "indigenous" and "scientific" learning and knowledge, we are now finding that learning based on observation and measurement is common to all knowledge systems.

There are numerous example of individual learning. For example, a government official working with the Ecotourism in India [#4] project states:

Through the project I have been able to enhance my own capacity and learn techniques of data collection. After attending trainings I have learned many things and in dealing with the community I have earned more respect from them.

The most important learning that has gone on, however has been in the development of institutions. If there has been anything that we have learned, it is that institutional development is extremely difficult. Although it is not always mentioned in their stories, over half of the BCN funded project consortia went through institutional crises over the past year. For example, the Forest Products in India [#5] team writes:

A major challenge emerged midway during the third year when seemingly irreconcilable differences emerged among partner organizations with respect to management of the project and transfer of the enterprises to the Soliga community organization. The differences were resolved when one of the organizations accepted full responsibility for the transfer and appropriate community outreach activities necessary for the successful implementation of the project. Given differences in the background and long-term perspectives of the partner organizations, divergence of opinion in how best to implement the project is not surprising. The general lesson is that such differences are likely to occur, but can be minimized with clarification of goals and objectives of partners, mutual respect for different agendas of partner organizations, and effective communication among partners.

And the Rattan and Resin in the Philippines [#13] team writes:

Two years into the implementation phase, internal organization problems and partnership conflicts threatened the future of the project. However with a new Board of Directors at NATRIPAL, and renewed commitment from the project staff working closely with the local associations, progress is being made.

Despite these problems, the development of learning institutions is the promise of the BCN program. Ultimately, the program is about developing these institutions and giving people the confidence that they need to tackle difficult conservation issues. And it is happening. For example, the Ecotourism in Crater Mountain, PNG [#15] team writes:

Given their success, Crater Mountain landowners gained confidence to talk directly with national and provincial authorities about the resolutions from the Crater Mountain Annual WMA Meeting later in August 1997. Committees reviewed and ratified their natural resource laws and sent copies to the Department of Environment and Conservation for gazettal. They also attached letters which expressed their concerns about some government departments involved in granting of logging and mining permits in parts of the WMA without assuring full participation of the WMA management structure in the process.

Likewise, the Forest Products in India [#5] project team writes:

Soligas were encouraged by the partners to form another community organization to take over the honey processing and food processing plant, to initiate other enterprises and to eventually participate with VGKK, in participatory resource monitoring and other community outreach activities associated with enterprises, conservation, and environmental education. The organization would obtain income tax exempt status and VGKK will transfer the assets and provide working capital to the new organization, and maintain a close working relationship with it. The organization is broad-based, and its membership is composed of harvesters and other community members from all three regions of the sanctuary.

And perhaps the Ecotourism in India [#4] team sums the challenge up best when they write:

A major success this year, the emergence of a community based non-government organization the Khanchendzonga Conservation Committee (KCC) also presents a significant challenge to the project -- how to support this organization in its efforts to play a positive role in conservation and development? This question highlights a key issue in the project -- how to institutionalize activities and processes introduced by the project so that they are sustainable in the long-term? Local organizations and institutions present a promising avenue, but require initial investment in capacity building to manage themselves and their activities.

"How to institutionalize activities and process introduced by the project so they are sustainable in the long-term?"

This is indeed the question that the BCN and its partners are now attempting to answer.

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