Ashish Kothari, Neema Pathak, R. V. Anuradha, and Bansuri Taneja (eds). Communities and Conservation: Natural Resource Management in South and Central Asia.

Qureshi, Sarfraz Khan

Ashish Kothari, Neema Pathak, R. V. Anuradha, and Bansuri Taneja (eds). Communities and Conservation: Natural Resource Management in South and Central Asia. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1998. 505 pages. Hardbound. Indian Rs 495.00.

Community-based conservation (CBC) of natural habitat, wildlife, and biodiversity is getting attention throughout the world. This volume is a collection of 25 papers first presented at a regional workshop on Community-based Conservation in 1997 in New Delhi, focussing on the countries of South and Central Asia.

The volume is divided in four parts. The case-studies in Part I provide a general overview of CBC in Asia. Part II deals with the country profiles of CBC in India, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Part III explores some specific issues related to this, mainly from Indian experience. The issues discussed are: the importance of institutional structures; the relevance of traditional and local knowledge; the legal and policy frameworks; gender and other equity issues; and benefit-sharing. The case studies in Part IV highlight specific areas where communities are involved in various capacities in the management of natural resources.

This comparative study in terms of the issues discussed and the countries covered is interesting as well as useful for those in environmental studies, natural resource management, and community development.

By Sarfraz Khan Qureshi, Director, and Afia Malik, Research Economist, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad.