Dimensions of public participation in community-based conservation projects: Methods, processes, hope and empowerment

Participation in Community-Based Conservation (CBC) projects has been promoted as a promising yet underdeveloped approach to international biodiversity conservation, particularly with indigenous peoples. Understanding how participation is designed and manifests itself within the complex structures of local communities' efforts to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development is the focus of this dissertation. A multi-site case study design with mixed methods and a participatory action research approach was used to investigate participatory processes managed by two intermediary Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working with four different indigenous CBC projects located in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. First, research is presented that describes meanings attributed to participation, who participates, how and when they participate, what they are participating in, and their motivations for participating in the CBC projects. Key results suggest that participation holds multiple meanings for stakeholders, CBC participants are not representative of the communities they live in, and participation takes place primarily through meetings and in the initial decision-making and implementation phases of the projects. Secondly, the relationship of participation to empowerment and hope processes and outcomes at multiple levels is explored. Results indicate that the value orientation of NGOs and the quality and type of participation are integral to empowerment and hope processes and outcomes. Characteristics of participation facilitating empowerment and hope include substantive decision-making, access to training and resources, shared leadership and responsibilities, participatory evaluations and recognition of success. Thirdly, indigenous CBC participants' perspectives on how NGOs and communities could improve their conservation practice are presented. Results suggest the need for strengthening reciprocal trust, respect, transparency, and dialogue. NGOs also need to focus more attention on, and have a greater respect for community economic and developmental needs while communities need to contribute more to the projects and work to increase their understanding of NGOs. Finally, areas for future research and development regarding participatory processes in CBC projects that build on these findings are proposed.