Invitation to a workshop on
Integrating Cultural Values into Conservation
1-3 November 2010, Grahamstown
Background
It is now well recognised that protected areas on their own are insufficient to protect biodiversity, and
increasing emphasis is placed on developing models for ensuring the persistence of biodiversity in
agricultural and rural landscapes. At the same time, managers of protected areas are increasingly engaging
with surrounding rural communities around access to the resources in these areas, which often include
their ancestral lands. One of the major challenges in this context is the need to reconcile people’s need to
use natural resources with biodiversity conservation. The important contribution natural resources make to
rural people’s livelihoods and well-being has been widely documented, and it is also widely accepted that
for rural people to become involved in conservation projects, they need to derive tangible benefits from
such activities. Nevertheless, conservation approaches designed to share benefits with rural communities,
for example via ecotourism, payment for ecosystem services or other similar incentives, do not appear to
have resonated with many rural resource users, and have often failed. Most conservation projects have
endeavoured to convince local communities to conserve biodiversity deemed important by outsiders, and
although benefits to rural communities are widely cited as a motivation for conservation, we currently lack
a good understanding of the extent to which local people themselves value biodiversity and desire its
continued existence. Such knowledge would be essential as a basis on which to develop conservation
approaches for rural areas that are aligned with local people’s needs, customs and values.
Our team1 has researched rural people’s perceptions of biodiversity and the values they attach to nature
since 2008, as part of a project entitled “Understanding rural peoples' sense of place and their
environment: Implications for bio-cultural diversity conservation”. This work has revealed that rural and
peri-urban people living in the Thicket Biome of the Eastern Cape display a profound appreciation for
specific natural vegetation and plant species. Access to these places and plants provides a sense of wellbeing, a link to ancestral spirits, a location for religious rituals, plus a wealth of culturally-inspired uses of
specific species. Many of the narratives portray an enjoyment of being in nature that highlights qualities
such as silence, beauty and tranquillity, the opportunity to observe wild animals and a chance to escape the
worries of home. We believe that these hitherto largely unexplored cultural values provide an opportunity
for developing alternative, locally relevant approaches to conservation.
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SANPAD funded research team consisting of Michelle Cocks (Institute for Social and Economic Research, Rhodes
University), Tony Dold (Botany Department and Schonland Herbarium, Rhodes University), Susi Vetter (Botany
Department, Rhodes University), Freerk Wiersum (Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen
University) and several postgraduate students.
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This workshop aims to:
- disseminate findings from our SANPAD-funded project and some other South African and
international research on the values and feelings people attach to biodiversity, as well as factors
influencing these.
- share experiences from South Africa and other countries on incorporating these kinds of cultural
values into conservation policy and actions.
- engage researchers and conservation practitioners in discussions around innovative and effective
ways of harnessing the positive feelings rural people have for nature in conservation planning and
implementation in South Africa.
Participants
Invited participants will include local and international collaborators of past and ongoing SANPAD projects
on cultural values of biodiversity, international experts who will contribute towards placing local
experiences in an international scientific and policy context, and key people in conservation policy, planning
and management in South Africa.
Draft Programme:
1 November: Presentations and synthesis of research on the values people attach to biodiversity (this
session will be open to a wider audience).
Morning (09:30 – 13:00)
- Introductory presentations by invited speakers on the present state of knowledge on cultural
values attached to biodiversity and their potential contribution to conservation.
- Presentations on international research on cultural values of nature and biodiversity.
Afternoon (14:00 – 16:45)
- Presentations of research findings by SANPAD team and students.
- Presentation by students and colleagues working on related issues from Rhodes University Dept of
Anthropology and Environmental Science.
- Discussion, with a focus on the implications – positive or negative – of the research presented for
linking cultural values and conservation.
2nd November: Focus on integrating cultural values into conservation (SANPAD research team and invited
participants).
Morning (09:00 – 13:00)
- Synthesis papers summarising key points from the research presented the previous day with a
focus on aspects that provide opportunities for, or constraints to, conservation.
- Presentations of case studies in different places where cultural values have been successfully
incorporated into nature conservation – with discussion on challenges, factors contributing to
success, lessons learned that can be applied elsewhere.
- Perspectives from representatives of conservation organisations on issues and challenges they face
– e.g. conflicts over land and resource use, lack of common ground, lack of viable or credible local
institutions that they can work with, etc.
Afternoon
- Discussions on how the integration of cultural values into conservation can be taken forward – in
research, policy and implementation of conservation projects – drawing on the research and
experiences presented.
3rd November: Outlining and drafting of workshop outputs (SANPAD research team and any willing invited
participants)
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Outputs
The outputs of the workshop will comprise:
- A proceedings which will include all the presentations (or summaries thereof) with introductory
and concluding papers by members of the core team.
- One or more policy briefs to be presented to government.
- A review paper for a suitable peer reviewed journal which synthesises the research with the
directions that emerge from the workshop.
Response form
If you are interested in participating at this workshop, please complete this form electronically and e-mail it
to d.bruinders@ru.ac.za by 30 July 2010.
1. Please indicate which sessions you would like to attend:
Yes
No
Day 1 (research presentations)
Day 2 (integrating cultural values into conservation)
Day 3 (drafting workshop outputs)
2. Please indicate whether you would like to present a paper, and if so, please give a title and short
description.
3. Teas, lunches and dinners on the days of the workshop will be provided, but limited funding prevents us
from offering to cover all invited participants’ travel and accommodation costs. Please assist us by seeking
funding from your organization where possible. Please indicate whether you require any funding to cover
travel and/or accommodation costs:
Details, e.g. flights, car hire, mileage, dates
Travel
Accommodation
4. Do you have any special dietary requirements or restrictions? Please indicate them below for catering
purposes.
Organization hosting
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University
Contact: Debbie Bruinders
Senior Administrator
(ISER), Rhodes University, 6 Prince Alfred Street, Grahamstown, 6139
P O Box 94, Grahamstown 6140
Tel: 046 603 8938
Fax: 046 622 3948
Cell: 082 845 6839
Email: d.bruinders@ru.ac.za
For questions about the workshop programme or to discuss potential contributions, please contact Dr
Michelle Cocks (m.cocks@ru.ac.za).
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