Residents in parks

Describes a field-level assessment of how people living near the Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda use the park's forest resources. It argues that extractive use of a range of timber and non-timber forest products, if properly monitored and controlled, is not necessarily a threat to biodiversity. The book explains clearly which data gathering methods were chosen and why, and how the results of this assessment can be used to develop collaborative management agreements with local people.

The relationship between protected natural areas and local human populations is extemely complex. This challenging book with diverse contributions from experts covering 13 countries, places the issues in context. Originally published in Spanish, it clearly demonstrates that people are part of most national parks, and policies which ignore their presence are doomed to failure.

The report describes the changes that have taken place within conservation movements, in particular regarding their policies on protected areas. Emphasis in the document is on the social aspects of protected areas. National conservation policies and practises in Uganda served as a case study in order to compare overall conservation policies with the experiences of actual implementation of these policies in the field.