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Applying a Conservation-Criminology Framework to Common-Pool Natural-Resource Issues

NCJ Number
238218
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 327-346
Author(s)
Louie Rivers III; Carole Gibbs
Date Published
November 2011
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Protection and management of common-pool natural resources are an international focus of government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
Abstract
There is concern that an emphasis on protection has inadvertently led to the disenfranchisement of local stakeholders by prohibiting access to natural resources that they have traditionally relied upon. Management of these resources by state actors without local input has exacerbated the social and economic marginalization of poor and/or minority populations, leading to traditional interactions with natural resources being labeled as deviant or criminal. The complex nature of this issue, which lies at the nexus of natural-resource management, criminology and risk, makes it difficult to explore using a disciplinary view. The theoretical concept of conservation criminology is well suited to serve as a framework for this wicked problem. The authors examine the strain between resource management, environmental protection and local stakeholders' rights via a case study (Abalone fishery in South Africa) using conservation criminology as a theoretical structure. (Published Abstract)