This paper attempts an exploration of synergistic opportunities for livelihoods and conservation connected with non-timber forest products in view of the increasing demand for these resources in the local, regional and international markets. It also discusses the evolution of the management of such products on a broader scale in terms of policies and institutional arrangements and the dilemmas, challenges and complexities associated with the resource along with potential strategies to overcome them.

What is behind the concept of a Green Economy, advanced at the Rio-2012 conference? The case of protection and use of forests in India exemplifies the most important challenges: Green cannot be green without equity and justice.

The last planeload carrying participants from the COP 11 meeting of the international Convention on Biodiversity has flown out of Hyderabad, much to the relief of its citizens who were all inconvenienced for two weeks by the razzmatazz. One wonders if the 111th Conference of the Parties, when it occurs sometime in the future, will continue to parade the same sort of brave resolutions masking firmly-held governmental and corporate resolve not to implement any. (Letters)

The Asiatic Wild Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee is an endangered species restricted to South and Southeast Asia. Nepal’s only population survives in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve which is located on the floodplain of the Koshi River, a tributary of Ganga. This species is under threat due to high anthropogenic pressure ranging from habitat deterioration to hybridization with domestic buffalo. Yet, the population has grown from 63 in 1976 to 219 in 2009, despite the decline in the calf/cow ratio. The present study conducted in 2009 used the block count method.

Socio-economic considerations are important components for careful decision-making to ensure that society enjoys the benefits of modern technology while minimising or avoiding its potential costs. However, in many parts of the world, information and analysis of the social and economic impacts of modern biotechnology are lagging behind. There is little experience in dealing with these issues in actual decision-making processes.

The present study was carried out in parts of a protected area of Garhwal Himalaya, namely, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS). The main aim of the study was to gather and analyze information from the sanctuary dwellers on conservation of natural resources and its value focusing on the needs of local inhabitants.

This article demonstrates the central role of ambiguity in the (re)production process of conservation practice. It argues that some current political economy as well as environmentality approaches to research conservation practice fail to capture the complexity of the lived experience of local conservationists. The article focuses on the multiple identities of rangers in interaction with other residents at the periphery of the W Park in Burkina Faso, as rangers are local conservationists who simultaneously submit to and produce conservation practices.

Nature-based tourism is well recognised as a tool that can be used for neoliberal conservation. Proponents argue that such tourism can provide revenue for conservation activities, and income generating opportunities and other benefits for local people living at the destination. Private-Community Partnerships (PCPs) are a particular form of hybrid intervention in which local benefits are claimed to be guaranteed through shared ownership of the tourism venture. In this paper, we evaluate one such partnership involving a high-end tourist eco-lodge at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.