Conservation for health: Exploring the association between the small-scale commercial utilization of non-timber forest resources and human health in a tropical forest biosphere reserve
Description
In the past few years, initiatives to conserve the Earth's biodiversity began to change from strict protection to integrated conservation and development. The goal of these programs is to preserve biodiversity while improving the quality-of-life of the local residents who live in or around protected areas. Conservation and development projects focus on environmental education, sustainable utilization of natural resources and community development. They are often designed to provide economic returns from natural resources to local residents because it is assumed that the creation of a cash income which can be invested in one's own well-being will provide an incentive for local populations to protect their biodiversity. It is also presumed that increased cash will provide the inhabitants with greater access to goods and services which will raise their standard of living Attempts in the past to measure the impacts of conservation and development programs on the local people they involve have focussed almost exclusively on issues of their access to flora and fauna resources. Impact has been primarily inferred from access, but has not been quantitatively measured This study was designed to investigate the association between natural resource use and human health in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala. Its primary hypothesis was that the small-scale utilization of non-timber forest resources (NTFRs) by rural families has a positive impact on their quality-of-life as defined by indicators of health. A second hypothesis was that the knowledge of the relationships between the biological and physical environment and human health has a positive impact on indicators of health. A final hypothesis was that rural poor families with access to NTFRs that can be sold will intensify their exploitation of these resources according to available household labor in order to maximize cash income and profit The study showed that in combination with other economic activities, commercial NTFR use is an integral element of an effect strategy for maintaining subsistence. It was also demonstrated that those households where the father believes that there are relationships between the forest and water and the forest and health, have a lower probability of having malnourished children. Finally, the research demonstrated that families in the Sierra de las Minas appear not to be motivated by profit. Instead, they will expend only enough household labor as is necessary to maintain a subsistence level This research has provided an analytical framework to examine the human impacts of conservation projects more objectively and systematically. It demonstrates the linkages between conservation of natural resources, community development and human health. In addition, the results of this work show that the small-scale commercial exploitation of NTFRs in the Reserve has potential as a component of a broader community development intervention, and can provide limited income to help maintain subsistence levels. Finally, the only way to promote true conservation and development is by being completely responsible to the people and resources it was designed to benefit. This research has provided an attempt to foster and advance this accountability