Conserving Nature with Communities: Lessons from Real Life Experiences in South Asia.” A paper presented at the 2nd World Conservation

A unique meeting took place in early September 2000 in the Sariska Tiger Reserve, western India. For perhaps one of the first times in India's history, villagers, forest officials, academics, wildlife conservation NGOs, sat together to initiate a participatory management system for the wildlife reserve. Over three days, they presented their respective positions, made commitments for reducing human pressure on the one hand and enhancing conservation benefits to community members on the other, and pledged to protect the tiger and all creatures that lived with it. Indian government officials even pledged financial support for the process, on the spot. A decision was taken to form an overall Sariska Tiger Reserve Management Committee consisting of villagers, officials, and NGOs. Over the next month, the gist of the discussions will be taken village to village with the help of a local NGO (Tarun Bharat Sangh) and the ground staff of the Forest Department, and detailed action plans will be formulated. Sariska may well be the first national park in India to move towards collaborative or joint management. To anyone who knows the history of official wildlife conservation in India and other countries of South Asia, or for that matter much of the world, this step is nothing short o