Linking vicuña conservation with poverty reduction: challenges and opportunities

LICHTENSTEIN, G

Zoological Society of London, Londres

Simposio; Linking biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction: what, why and how?; 2010

IIED, Zoological Society of London

Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) are South American Camelids, the commercial exploitation of which has untapped poverty alleviation potential. Vicuna fibre is produced by extremely low income communities that inhabit the harsh environment of the high Andes in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. At the other end of the world affluent consumers are willing to pay high prices for apparel made of vicuna fibre. Vicuna management projects follow the logic of community-based wildlife management. The rationale for vicuña conservation through sustainable use is that commercial utilization of fibre obtained from life-shorn individuals will generate sufficient economic benefits to outweigh the costs of conservation, and contribute to community development and poverty alleviation. However, while conservation efforts have been extremely successful with vicuñas having recovered from the brink of extinction, the socio-economic achievements have thus far proved modest. Most such benefits are being captured by traders and international textile companies, rather than local communities. In recent years, the high market value of vicuña fibre has promoted a ‘production’ objective that is gaining force in most Andean countries. Maximizing fibre production threatens the conservation of this wild species, the exclusive rights of Andean communities and is threatening to undermine the spirit of the Vicuña Convention. This paper explores multiple-objective projects that address vicuña conservation and poverty alleviation. In doing so, it analyses the tensions that exist between these objectives, as well as the factors that limit a more equitable distribution of benefits among stakeholders.