Bwindi

icd strategies

Bwindi

the problem

Integrated Conservation and Development (ICD) is a recent approach to biodiversity conservation and human development that uses linkages between the two to improve both nature conservation and human livelihoods. A typical ICD project might, for example, have as one strategy helping local communities develop new fuelwood sources so as to reduce pressure on protected forests. In Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda, a number of different organisations have been using ICD strategies for more than a decade in an attempt to achieve their respective conservation and development aims. The problem, in Bwindi and elsewhere around the world, is that tangible conservation impacts have rarely been measured and the conditions needed for success with ICD projects in the future remain uncertain, despite the large amounts of money spent on these approaches.

the solution

This project is using scientific methods to carry out a rigorous analysis of the relatively long history of practical ICD application in Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks. Looking specifically at the linkages and assumptions commonly made in ICD, the project will guide the future work of the project partners working locally and will identify important conditions for achieving cost-efficient success with ICD initiatives elsewhere.

CDC’s contribution

CDC developed the concept and project design in partnership with the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC). CDC's specific roles in project implementation are:

to assess ICD experience from other initiatives around the world

with project partners, to develop a comprehensive model of ICD linkages in Bwindi and Mgahinga and to identify the critical assumptions for testing

to develop and maintain a project website to share findings

with project partners, to prepare a project lessons learnt report and workshop

The project website can be found at: www.icdbwindi.info.

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fact file

main project theme:

conservation strategies

Synopsis:

Despite significant project experience, there is scant understanding of the linkages between conservation and human development, leading some professionals to claim that the two cannot be reconciled. This project involves a rigorous scientific study looking at the long history of ICD application in Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks in order to identify conditions for achieving successful ICD in Uganda and around the world.

Customers/Partners:

ITFC
CARE Uganda
WWF EARPO

Other collaborators:

Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Conservation Trust
Uganda Wildlife Authority
International Gorilla Conservation Programme

Location:

Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks, south-west Uganda

Timeframe:

June 2001 - June 2004