Hi,
The town of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel is a small town, right on the edge of the country's largest nature reserve, the Ramon Crater. The Crater is the largest in the world, and in fact, it has been declared a World Heritage site for preservation, and we definitely support protection. However, we now have a new problem, and I would appreciate any input. The national Nature Reserve Authority has submitted a request to expand the borders of the Reserve right up to the edge of the town, with all the extreme limits of access that are part of any reserve, including things like forbidding any presence after dark, presence of animals, presence of ANY wheeled vehicles (bikes and baby buggies count the same as destructive jeeps and ATVs!). Legally, we (citizens) have to submit our opposition by January 29 to the land authorities. Among other claims, we wish to present the case that local residents are actually the Nature Authority's best friends in protection, preservation, etc. If anybody has any references where this has worked before, I'd love to have them!
Sincerely,
Roxana Dann
Mitzpe Ramon Citizens Forum and Israel National Solar Energy Center
Advice on Community Engagement and Nature Reserves
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This reply is from my colleague on the Management Plan Committee for Long Lake Provincial Park (an urban wilderness park in halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), Martin Willison, who teaches at Dalhousie University's School for Resource and Environmental Studies:
Thanks for sending this Alain, This is a typical conflict between the authoritarian style of nature preservation and the community-based style of nature conservation. In practice, neither works on its own - they need each other. The authoritarian preservationists need supportive communities because local opposition results in poaching, encroachment, and eventually overthrow of the authoritarian regime. The community-based conservationists need the support of law and enforcement authorities because without the support of law and law enforcement the worst elements of society become dominant in the use of common property. The answer, therefore, is fairly simple provided the right people are in the lead. Dialogue, mutual understanding, good will, compromise, open communication, mutual trust, mutual respect, and eventually some form of plan and accountability. All of this must happen within an adaptive framework -- because it's impossible in a complex system to have perfect prediction of any outcome. In essence, the community and the authorities must recognize they are engaging in an experiment. There are many examples in the world of success and many examples of failure in this. Some people think there's a formula for success, but I think the best that can be achieved is to use the right approach and hope there's a fortunate combination of good-willed people on both sides.
Martin Forwarded by Alain Godbout