The Development projects of the Gilé National Reserve in Mozambique: Interests and processes within communities, and between communities and other social actors in natural resource management

Abstract: Since the 1980s community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approaches have been adopted by a variety of development projects in developing countries. Notwithstanding in the last few years critics have emerged, either on the lack of local participation or of ecological results. Literature related to CBNRM shows that different authors have different views about the successes and failures of this approach. The present thesis does not seek to take sides, instead it aims to look constructively at the complex interactions involved in CBNRM projects by examining how different people and groups are constrained by, yet able to subvert, the objectives of others – and why they are motivated to do so. Based on a minor fieldwork (from February to April 2010) conducted in the Gilé National Reserve (GNR) in Mozambique, using qualitative methods (participate observation, unstructured and semi-structured interviews and semi-structured focus group), this project attempts to describe how interests and processes of natural resource management are established within communities, and between communities and other social actors (NGOs and government institutions) in the GNR as well as the sustainability and participation discourses that characterise CBNRM projects.