Community Involvement:

Community involvement is necessary for a successful park; it changes the park from being a government organization that the people care little for to being an organization of the people in which they are inextractably involved. Community involvement in the parks of the Galapagos has a twofold advantage. Those who are involved are helping the park, and are refraining from activities like fishing that hurt the wildlife.

There are several ways through which communities can become a part of the park system. Communities can be involved in park decisions. Volunteers can help with conservation projects. Junior Ranger programs can eductate children and young peole, educating children on conservation and park management, and giving them the skills necessary to become future rangers, managers, and researchers. All of these programs give the people a home within the park, a sense of identification with it, and a desire to protect it. They ensure the preservation and happiness of the human and wildlife populations of a protected area.


For further information and case studies, consult the source:

Public Participation in Protected Area Management
A Report to the ANZECC Working Group on National Park and Protected Area Management
Parks and Wildlife Commission, Northern Territory
August 2002
It can be found online at: http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/best-practice/reports/public-participation/pubs/public-participation.pdf