Sustainable harvest training in a common pool resource setting in the Peruvian Amazon: Limitations and opportunities

Many organizations provide sustainable resource management workshops in the Peruvian Amazon. Some teach climbing techniques to communities who harvest wild Mauritia flexuosa palm fruit because most harvest is done by cutting down adult female palms. The objectives of this study were to describe the approaches and identify the factors and conditions linked to adopting sustainable harvesting practices and explain what conditions may be necessary for achieving conservation outcomes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 474 heads of households in 24 communities, as well as focus groups with community leadership in each community. Project managers from 15 organizations that provide workshops and two instructors that teach climbing workshops were also interviewed. Analysis relied on the design principles of common pool resources and research on enabling conditions, which predict that certain contextual factors may be required for the establishment of effective resource management. We find no evidence that training workshop participation led to long-term behavior change absent institutional changes such as the establishment of informal but enforced individual spatial property rights. However, there is strong community adoption of climbing practices in areas where these enforced property rights are coupled with provision of climbing equipment and training. Lessons learned from this project explore characteristics of successful workshops, providing insights for effective conservation. We suggest adopting a diagnostics step to evaluate existing community conditions, a formal plan for collaboration among organizations, emphasis on broader institutional reforms to alleviate conservation disincentives related to non-exclusivity, and impact evaluation to assess strategies.