Ecosystems

Ecosystems

Introduction

The Integrated Conservation Development Programs are a type of conservation projects that have the mechanism of rural development. The concept of integrated conservation Development Programs is to meet the priorities of social development and fulfil preservation goals. One of the main characteristic of Integrated Conservation Development programs is that it aims to acknowledge the goals of conservation of biodiversity with the help of socio economic investment tools.

Discussion

The concept of integrated conservation development program was introduced at first by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in mid 1980s to make efforts in acknowledging a few problems and shortcomings in the attempts to conserve protected areas.

Successful Integrated Conservation Development Programs World Wide

In the year 1985, the World Wide Fund for Nature launched its Wild Lands and Human Needs program, which at first included a group of around twenty Integrated Conservation Development programs whose aim was to make better the quality of life of the people who were living in rural areas by using realistic field projects that incorporated the management of natural resources with the economic development for common people.

By the year 1994, the World Wide Fund for Nature was supporting around more than fifty Integrated Conservation Development programs. Today there are around more than three hundred Integrated Conservation Development Programs running in the world. A major portion of the international conservation funding is taken up by these projects. Indonesia is a good example of the level of support that is given by the donors to these Integrated Conservation Development programs. In Indonesia, funds collected by the donors through various Integrated Conservation Development Programs, support the national protected areas network. The integrated Conservation development programs network of Indonesia has been supplemented by around one hundred and thirty million US dollars of international donor funds and another twenty million dollars of mutual support has been given to the Biodiversity Conservation Network (BCN) for around twenty Integrated Conservation development Programs, of which, most of them are being implemented in Indonesia. (Pearce et al, 1989).

Features of Integrated Conservation Development Programs

The most common feature amongst the Integrated Conservation Development programs is that each of their basic goals is to conserve biodiversity. There is a dire need to acknowledge the social and economic requirements of societies and communities or else they would be a threat to the biodiversity and to the natural resources in general. The main objective of the integrated Conservation Development programs is to make better the correlation of the protected areas that are managed by the state and their neighbours. These Integrated Conservation Development programs do not really make efforts to pass on the possession of the resources of the protected area to local societies. These programs usually get the funding from outside sources, that is, joint or mutual donors and other international conservation organisations. If these programs do not get any assistance financially, then the government wild life or any conservation related department will not be able to put these projects into practice. Most of these integrated conservation development projects are externally motivated and ...