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Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts — an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts.

Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas. It represents the first systematic analysis of locally based efforts, and includes a comprehensive examination of cases from around the world where the community-based approach is used. The book provides:

• an overview of community-based conservation in the context of the debate over sustainable development, poverty, and environmental decline
• case studies from the developed and developing worlds — Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom — that present detailed examples of the locally based approach to conservation
• a review of the principal issues arising from community-based programs
• an agenda for future action