Community Co-Management

The value of protected areas for wildlife conservation has long been recognized, in every part of the world and over many centuries. However, although most protected areas were originally based on informal arrangements, 1 as nation-states developed and especially as human population densities increased, a new form of protected area (PA) emerged-one where protection depended more on lines drawn on maps by distant planners and on legislation and regulations enforced by the state rather than on the longstanding customary practices of local communities. This "fortress conservation" approach to PAs 2 has led to considerable social harm over the past century 3 and has not The author thanks Barry Gardiner, John Hodges, and Marion Torrance-Foggin for their review of the manuscript and for their other valuable contributions over the years.

Tibetan herders have lived for centuries in the high grasslands of Central Asia, yet many development programs are currently transforming their lives. One of the main assumptions of government policy, in China and around the world, is that the provision of social services is best provided in settled, urban environments. Such drastic changes from traditional pastoral livelihoods, however, may introduce some less-desired outcomes, including high levels of unemployment, loss of hope and cultural loss. Social stability may be affected, and in numerous instances it has been observed that the originally desired benefits (especially the provision of social services such as health care and education) have not been achieved. The case study presented here seeks to demonstrate that social services can be provided to Tibetan herding communities in rural (remote) areas of the Tibetan plateau, at the same time as encouraging and enabling genuine partnerships between local herders and higher-level conservation authorities such as the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. An analytical approach borrowed from 'participatory action research' and a modified 'balanced scorecard' framework has assisted in project evaluation. With the commitment of key stakeholders, and with sufficient time allowed for trust and understanding to develop, it is possible for various forms and styles of partnerships (collaborative management) to be developed, such that both national conservation goals as well as local development goals may be achieved simultaneously. Further trials of such a collaborative approach should be encouraged, leading to expanded application throughout the Sanjiangyuan region in the future.

The global economic value of parks through improved mental health of tourists has been estimated at about ten times greater than direct park tourism expenditure. The Chinese term for this health services value is jing hua xin ling, psychological destressing. Here we present the first case where optimal tourist infrastructure is influenced by including mental health. Using a multi-stage, cross-lingual, differential stakeholder method, we analyse conflicts between road-and roadless-access tourism in the very large new Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai, which offers jing hua xin ling to domestic tourists from eastern-seaboard cities. This provides a powerful tourism attraction, and hence economic opportunity, for the region around the park. If these mental health aspects are included, together with their direct and indirect consequences for tourism, then roadlessness is preferable to new roads. Similar infrastructure conflicts occur for park tourism worldwide, and jing hua xin ling can provide a global theoretical framework.

Tibetan herders have lived for centuries in the high grasslands of Central Asia, yet many development programs are currently transforming their lives. One of the main assumptions of government policy, in China and around the world, is that the provision of social services is best provided in settled, urban environments. Such drastic changes from traditional pastoral livelihoods, however, may introduce some less-desired outcomes, including high levels of unemployment, loss of hope and cultural loss. Social stability may be affected, and in numerous instances it has been observed that the originally desired benefits (especially the provision of social services such as health care and education) have not been achieved. The case study presented here seeks to demonstrate that social services can be provided to Tibetan herding communities in rural (remote) areas of the Tibetan plateau, at the same time as encouraging and enabling genuine partnerships between local herders and higher-level conservation authorities such as the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. An analytical approach borrowed from 'participatory action research' and a modified 'balanced scorecard' framework has assisted in project evaluation. With the commitment of key stakeholders, and with sufficient time allowed for trust and understanding to develop, it is possible for various forms and styles of partnerships (collaborative management) to be developed, such that both national conservation goals as well as local development goals may be achieved simultaneously. Further trials of such a collaborative approach should be encouraged, leading to expanded application throughout the Sanjiangyuan region in the future.

In the vast high altitude rangelands of the Tibetan plateau, and of the surrounding mountain regions of Central Asia – from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the far west, to Mongolia and Bhutan in the east – yak husbandry has for millennia contributed to the sustenance and cultures of people living in these challenging, often marginal lands. Today, of the world’s estimated 14 million domestic yak, around 90% are found in China, 4% in Mongolia, and the rest are in the Himalayan and Central Asian countries (Wiener et al. 2003).

approach is used to explore the 'fourth component' of sustainable tourism development that is institutional sustainability. Primary data from in-depth interviews, together with a range of secondary data sources, are analysed to understand the governance and management of each area. These reveal that whilst each area is committed to sustainable development their approaches differ because of the political, economic and socio-cultural contexts. The implications for policy and practice are then discussed.

Tibetan herders have lived for centuries in the high grasslands of Central Asia, yet many development programs are currently transforming their lives. One of the main assumptions of government policy, in China and around the world, is that the provision of social services is best provided in settled, urban environments. Such drastic changes from traditional pastoral livelihoods, however, may introduce some less-desired outcomes, including high levels of unemployment, loss of hope and cultural loss. Social stability may be affected, and in numerous instances it has been observed that the originally desired benefits (especially the provision of social services such as health care and education) have not been achieved. The case study presented here seeks to demonstrate that social services can be provided to Tibetan herding communities in rural (remote) areas of the Tibetan plateau, at the same time as encouraging and enabling genuine partnerships between local herders and higher-level conservation authorities such as the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. An analytical approach borrowed from 'participatory action research' and a modified 'balanced scorecard' framework has assisted in project evaluation. With the commitment of key stakeholders, and with sufficient time allowed for trust and understanding to develop, it is possible for various forms and styles of partnerships (collaborative management) to be developed, such that both national conservation goals as well as local development goals may be achieved simultaneously. Further trials of such a collaborative approach should be encouraged, leading to expanded application throughout the Sanjiangyuan region in the future.

Tibetan herders have lived for centuries in the high grasslands of Central Asia, yet many development programs are currently transforming their lives. One of the main assumptions of government policy, in China and around the world, is that the provision of social services is best provided in settled, urban environments. Such drastic changes from traditional pastoral livelihoods, however, may introduce some less-desired outcomes, including high levels of unemployment, loss of hope and cultural loss. Social stability may be affected, and in numerous instances it has been observed that the originally desired benefits (especially the provision of social services such as health care and education) have not been achieved. The case study presented here seeks to demonstrate that social services can be provided to Tibetan herding communities in rural (remote) areas of the Tibetan plateau, at the same time as encouraging and enabling genuine partnerships between local herders and higher-level conservation authorities such as the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. An analytical approach borrowed from ‘participatory action research’ and a modified ‘balanced scorecard’ framework has assisted in project evaluation. With the commitment of key stakeholders, and with sufficient time allowed for trust and understanding to develop, it is possible for various forms and styles of partnerships (collaborative management) to be developed, such that both national conservation goals as well as local development goals may be achieved simultaneously. Further trials of such a collaborative approach should be encouraged, leading to expanded application throughout the Sanjiangyuan region in the future.

The value of protected areas for wildlife conservation has long been recognized, in every part of the world and over many centuries. However, although most protected areas were originally based on informal arrangements, 1 as nation-states developed and especially as human population densities increased, a new form of protected area (PA) emerged-one where protection depended more on lines drawn on maps by distant planners and on legislation and regulations enforced by the state rather than on the longstanding customary practices of local communities. This "fortress conservation" approach to PAs 2 has led to considerable social harm over the past century 3 and has not