Local governance and environmental conservation : gravel politics and the preservation of an endangered bird species in Taiwan

Despite its many promises, devolved governance may pose great challenges to environmental conservation, especially in the context of newly democratized polities where local communities tend to be dominated by place-bound clientele networks that pursue developmental interests at the expense of conser...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and planning. A 2004, Vol.36 (1), p.173-189
Main Authors: TANG, S.-Y, TANG, C.-P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aves
Bgi / Prodig
Birds
Civil society
Conservation
Development
Environment
Environmental policy
Governance
Human geography
Local government
Management of resources and environment
Political and economic geography
Species
Taiwan
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Summary:Despite its many promises, devolved governance may pose great challenges to environmental conservation, especially in the context of newly democratized polities where local communities tend to be dominated by place-bound clientele networks that pursue developmental interests at the expense of conservation. In this paper the authors examine how a conservation movement in Huben Village of Yunlin County in Taiwan has successfully been organized to save the endangered bird species Fairy Pitta (Pitta nuymphia) against gravel extraction activities that were backed by local clientele networks of politicians and business interests. The case illustrates how challenges of devolved governance can be addressed not necessarily by centralized authority but by connecting grassroots victims of environmental degradation with broader conservation movements supported by networks of civic organizations that transcend narrow geographical interests.
ISSN:0308-518X
1472-3409
DOI:10.1068/a3661