Melissa Gittelman

Protecting the Forests and the People: Exploring Alternative Conservation Models That Include the Needs of Communities Melissa Gittelman

This research explores how environmental worldviews impact the styles of conservation we implement. The majority of today's models for conservation emerge out of a very Western environmental worldview that views man as living separate from nature and thus develops conservation models that appear in the form of National Park Systems. As globalization spreads Western ideas we see that the impact of spreading a solely Western model for conservation globally can be detrimental to communities. By working closely with local communities in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, the research here provides evidence that in order to produce more successful models for conservation we must pay attention to the needs and beliefs of the communities in these areas. An alternative model for conservation that reflects a more global environmental worldview would include the voices of local people, benefits for communities, and collaborative models that don't exclude people from their land. This research is meant to open minds to this possibility of an alternative for the benefit of humans and nature.