Protected Areas and Poverty in Africa (PAPIA)

The linkage between area protection and poverty in Africa is a highly controversial topic. On the one hand, conservationists argue that protected areas constitute major tourist attractions and thereby provide one of the most important sources of foreign r evenues in real and potential terms. Thus, establishment of protected areas are seen as an important means to reduce poverty. On the other hand, opponents point to the restrictions in resource use that protected areas impose on local people, and they ther efore hold conservation to be increasing rather than reducing poverty. Furthermore, during the last years, arrangements for benefit-sharing with local people adjacent to protected areas have become usual. Proponents of these arrangements argue that they p rovide win-win situations between conservation and poverty alleviation, while critics hold the benefit-sharing to be unsubstantial while the costs for local communities are high. The main research aim of the PAPIA project is to generate research knowledge on why protected areas lead to poverty or poverty alleviation. The project will identify factors and mechanisms contributing to positive and negative relationships between conservation and poverty alleviation. Conservation and poverty will be examined th oroughly through a design with selection of two suitable cases of national parks in Tanzania and Uganda, respectively. Furthermore, empirical data on the practices of the four cases will be examined in comparison to elements of relevant discourses and nar ratives: A discourse analysis will be conducted of debates regarding conservation and poverty on international level, and a component of narrative analysis will be carried out on the cases among actors on national and local level. Scenario building consti tutes the last component of PAPIA. This will be draw from all the previous components, and it will enhance the relevance of the project for planning and decision-making.