conservation & development
Can integrated conservation and development programs, which combine commercial
ventures with conservation initiatives, help to preserve the forests of Melanesia?
Can conservation and development programs enable rural communities to better
manage their land and resources in the face of rapid economic change? This paper
explores these questions through discussion of an integratd conservation and
development project sponsored by Conservation International in the Lakekamu River
Basin of southeastern Papua New Guinea. The project encompasses land and
resources belonging to four different cultural groups, a situation not uncommon in
Melanesia, and the paper analyzes how regional histories and contemporary political
relations have affected its implementation. The paper also responds to several critical
assessment of integrated cosnervation and development programs by considering
the ways in which the project may affect the people of the Lakekamu River Basin.
