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Transcending the Boundaries of Conservation and Community Development to Achieve Long-Term Sustainability for People and Planet

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Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

In the current epoch of the Anthropocene, developing communities must be a driving force for positive environmental change. This chapter focuses on overcoming the trade-offs between environmental efforts and human development. It aims to provide the necessary tools to transcend the boundaries of conservation and community development. We define and describe social-ecological systems (SES) and the functional mindset change that must take place for practitioners and environmental managers to imagine a new conservation paradigm. We outline several “stages” of community engagement and strategies to employ at each stage, recognizing that flexibility is a crucial aspect of adjusting these strategies to differing contexts. Lastly, we describe three categories of problems to be addressed in community conservation and how to appropriately diagnose these problems through a case study from African People & Wildlife.

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Correspondence to L. L. Lichtenfeld .

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Naro, E.M., Lichtenfeld, L.L. (2021). Transcending the Boundaries of Conservation and Community Development to Achieve Long-Term Sustainability for People and Planet. In: Underkoffler, S.C., Adams, H.R. (eds) Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64682-0_2

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