Development Through Conservation: An Institutional Analysis of Indigenous Community-Based Conservation in Taiwan

SummaryThis paper examines attempts by community-based conservation (CBC) to integrate conservation and development. It investigates the dynamic interrelation between internal and external institutions; and between conservation and development of indigenous CBC initiatives in Taiwan, drawing the following major conclusion. The development-through-conservation approach, having conservation as a priority, generally leads to better integration, since this approach contributes to building social capital, fostering collective action and strengthening the institutional capacity needed for sustainable development. By contrast, owing to elite capture and interest heterogeneity, the conservation-through-development approach that emphasizes development first tends to undermine collective action, and hence jeopardizes internal institution building and resultant outcomes. This study suggests that priority should be given to conservation rather than development efforts, especially when internal institutions are still weak.