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Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of conservation policies in biodiversity hotspots: a case study from Rajiv Gandhi National Park, India

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences volume 2, pages 165–177 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

A study was carried out examining the effects of conservation policy on the ecosystem and livelihoods of local people on the Rajiv Gandhi National Park, located in one of the global biodiversity hotspots, the Western Ghats, India. Results show that less than 5% of the people are in favor of the policies while a staggering 94% of the people are strongly against the policies. The remaining 1% of the total respondents are found neutral with regard to conservation policies. Several reasons viz., ban on agriculture, restriction on livestock rearing and grazing, ban on non-timber forest collection, exclusion of local and indigenous communities in conservation programs and tourism activities are found to be responsible for negative attitude towards the national park. Apart from limiting the local livelihood options, the anticipated ecological consequences are not encouraging as exotic species are dominating the vegetation dynamics of the area—replacing many native plant species. The fact is that the inextricable link between nature and society needs an integrated science-policy research approach for biodiversity conservation in the hotspots, particularly in the developing countries where human and ecosystem interactions are much more complex and closely interwoven with each other.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the editor in chief and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions on the earlier drafts of the paper that helped us to improve the manuscript. We thank Mr. Ram Singh, Mr. Sharif, and Mr. Sommaiya (Headman, Bommadu village) for the translation (Hindi-Kannada) and their support during the entire field work. We thank J.K. Thimma (Taluk Sanchalak and Head, Gadehadi), Mr. Nanjaiah, and Mr. JK Mani (Head, Nagapura) for the support during the course of study. We extend our sincere thanks to the Karnataka Forest Department for the help and support. Views expressed here are of the authors only and not of the organizations with which they are affiliated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Dr. VKRV Rao Road, Nagarabhavi, 560 072, Bangalore, India

    Sunil Nautiyal

  2. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 022, India

    Rama Rao Nidamanuri

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  1. Sunil Nautiyal
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  2. Rama Rao Nidamanuri
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Correspondence to Sunil Nautiyal.

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Nautiyal, S., Nidamanuri, R.R. Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of conservation policies in biodiversity hotspots: a case study from Rajiv Gandhi National Park, India. J Environ Stud Sci 2, 165–177 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-011-0052-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-011-0052-x

Keywords

  • Conservation policy
  • Sustainable livelihood
  • Science-policy interface
  • Remote sensing
  • Vegetation dynamics
  • Natural resource management

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