[MPWG] IUCN-For Plants and People

[Cafesombra at aol.com]

Patricia, Thanks for sharing this article.

To many of us who have been working in "developing nations" over the past 
decade (I know for some of you it's been much longer...) in the "alternative" 
areas of organic agriculture, or of non-timber values and products from forests, 
or of "alternative" health (such as herbal medicine), this article, refreshing 
though it is, simply points out the obvious.  People depend on a diverse 
range of economic activities involving a diverse range of plants (a.k.a "natural 
resources").  Where access to natural resources is restricted, poverty deepens, 
and conversely, where access is enhanced, poverty is alleviated.  I think the 
work of IUCN is great.  My question is, what has impeded these ideas from 
truly taking hold for so many years, why is this "new" to the "development 
community?"  And, how do these breakthroughs in thinking apply to our North American 
cause of conservation?

There are a couple of fundamental points missing from this article.  First of 
all, what is working here to alleviate poverty is allowing communities to 
return to the old ways -- systems of cooperative management, where people 
co-manage and co-benefit from local natural resources.  This is nothing new, it's 
quite ancient.  As just one example, conventional wisdom now suggests that native 
North Americans intensely used and groomed the forests of the Northeast 
United States.  The only reason these forests seemed wild and untamed by the time 
the Pilgrims landed was that small pox had already spread throughout the native 
communities (from contact with Spaniards in the South) and had wiped out 
perhaps millions of people for 100 years before John Smith set foot in the New 
World.

That community resource management works for both conservation and 
alleviation of poverty leads to a second fundamental point, which is so unpopular or 
taboo that almost no one addresses it:  how much do private property rights 
contribute to poverty?  And, how much do private property rights hinder 
conservation?  I'm not saying that I am against private property.  I'm just pointing to 
two fundamental questions which, in my opinion, have to be addressed before we 
can truly alleviate poverty or before we can implement conservation strategies 
that might turn the tide of global extinction rates.  In my opinion we can 
have private property that works, so long as "private property" is not analogous 
to gross inequity.  This is not to say that public property as practiced in 
the US today is better -- not when corporations are allowed to use public 
resources for private gain as extensively as they currently are.  

Now the corporate world is also catching on -- believe it or not I just got 
an invitation to a conference on "Eradicating Poverty Through Profit" 
(sponsored by socially-responsible companies including Shell, Texaco, and Dupont) which 
notes that the poor are "the world's largest untapped market for business 
innovation and partnership."  I have to wonder what this $900 conference (plus 
hotel plus food) has to do with people in poverty?  What is the definition of 
poverty anyway?  Having enough money to afford a cigarette addiction?  What 
untapped markets are we going to dump on the poor next?   I have to remain 
skeptical about the notion that business is going to save the environment or 
eradicate poverty.  The historical evidence points clearly and overwhelmingly to the 
contrary.

I took the time to write these comments because the types of sollutions 
described in this article by Rowe for IUCN / Plants and People are truly inspiring 
and hopeful.  These are exactly the types of approaches we need to take -- but 
we need to be very watchful that decision making and control remains in the 
hands of local people, not corporations.  

Jennifer Chesworth
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