Corruption in Community-Based Conservation: A Synthesis of Lessons
This TNRC Topic Brief examines the key design features of Community Based Conservation (CBC), focusing on the impact of corruption in the establishment and operation of CBC projects, to draw out lessons for conservation and NRM practitioners.
Achieving the promise of CBC requires mitigating power imbalances, securing land tenure, and equitably sharing revenue. When these features are lacking, corruption risks and impact on CBC projects grows. That corruption may take two broad forms:
- political and administrative corruption involving the commission of corrupt practices or omission of duties by public officials, and
- elite capture, bribery, and collusion in the collection and investment of CBC project revenues.