Examining social equity in community-based conservation programs: A case study of controlled hunting programs in Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

We examine social equity in a complex community-based controlled hunting program in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. We use a grounded qualitative approach and apply a multi-dimensional equity framework to assess locals’ perceptions of equity in the distribution of benefits and costs, the processes of engagement and participation, and the recognition of traditional land use practices and values, paying attention to the inter- and intra-community power dynamics, institutional characteristics, and broader contextual factors that shape perceptions. We conducted interviews with 15 focus groups across four communities and contrast two community-based management models: one that employs a community power sharing mechanism and one without. In each community, we stratified respondents into groups of young men, elder men, women, and community leaders to respect differences in gender, age, and role in the community. The results demonstrate the interweaving effects that broader contextual factors, individual characteristics, and institutional support have on equity perceptions. Important contextual dimensions included pre-existing and ongoing social, political, and economic processes such as population growth and land scarcity, legacy of land use interactions, lack of community infrastructure, and youth-led political activism and unrest. Individual attributes that influenced perceptions included landlessness and joblessness among the youth, the extreme reliance of women on forest products for subsistence, and the traditional value systems and practices among elders. Access to information, transparency of decision making, and the presence of monitoring and accountability also influenced perceived equity. This study contributes to the literature on community-based conservation by demonstrating how and why local’s concepts of fairness diverge from generic and externally defined notions of equitability. Moving forward, equity assessments need to evaluate local actor’s diverse and contextualized relationships with other actors and the natural world, and give recognition to how perceptions interplay with broader social and environmental processes, prior to designing and implementing conservation programs.