SUCCESS IN INTEGRATING CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT - A STUDY FROM ZAMBIA

Over the past decade, Zambia, like several other Southern African coun tries, has introduced community-based natural resource management (CBN RM) projects in several rural areas. These initiatives attempt to comb ine both conservation and development initiatives into an integrated a pproach, aimed at promoting rural development-based on natural resourc es as well as encouraging conservation awareness. This critical review examines the impact of the Luangwa Integrated Resource Development Pr oject (LIRDP) at the community level. The research suggests that LIRDP has generally failed to achieve its conservation and development obje ctives and that the program has achieved few community benefits. The u nderlying causes of the project's shortcomings are discussed and corre ctive policy is suggested. By placing the survey findings into the wid er debate about community-based conservation, the research has implica tions for rural development as well as community-based natural resourc e management. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.