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Title Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) links biodiversity conservation with sustainable improvements in livelihoods and food production
ID_Doc 69990
Authors Lewis, D; Bell, SD; Fay, J; Bothi, KL; Gatere, L; Kabila, M; Mukamba, M; Matokwani, E; Mushimbalume, M; Moraru, CI; Lehmann, J; Lassoie, J; Wolfe, D; Lee, DR; Buck, L; Travis, AJ
Title Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) links biodiversity conservation with sustainable improvements in livelihoods and food production
Year 2011
Published Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 108, 34
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1011538108
Abstract In the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, persistent poverty and hunger present linked challenges to rural development and biodiversity conservation. Both household coping strategies and larger-scale economic development efforts have caused severe natural resource degradation that limits future economic opportunities and endangers ecosystem services. A model based on a business infrastructure has been developed to promote and maintain sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices, leading to direct and indirect conservation outcomes. The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) model operates primarily with communities surrounding national parks, strengthening conservation benefits produced by these protected areas. COMACO first identifies the least food-secure households and trains them in sustainable agricultural practices that minimize threats to natural resources while meeting household needs. In addition, COMACO identifies people responsible for severe natural resource depletion and trains them to generate alternative income sources. In an effort to maintain compliance with these practices, COMACO provides extension support and access to high-value markets that would otherwise be inaccessible to participants. Because the model is continually evolving via adaptive management, success or failure of the model as a whole is difficult to quantify at this early stage. We therefore test specific hypotheses and present data documenting the stabilization of previously declining wildlife populations; the meeting of thresholds of productivity that give COMACO access to stable, high-value markets and progress toward economic self-sufficiency; and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by participants and other community members. Together, these findings describe a unique, business-oriented model for poverty alleviation, food production, and biodiversity conservation.
Author Keywords conservation farming; food security; poaching; carbon; sustainability
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000294163500025
WoS Category Multidisciplinary Sciences
Research Area Science & Technology - Other Topics
PDF https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc3161543?pdf=render
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