Wendee--What are the core features of "community-based conservation"? If = they boil down to community-based decisions about use of land and = natural resources, then it has probably been around for thousands of = years, but without a buzzword to label it.
As a recent example, the ejido (communal) system of land-holding and = land use in Mexico dates to the Mexican revolution, I believe. In Peten, Guatemala, local villages leave forest fragments referred to = as "astilleros" (wood lots) in the landscape, for communal use in = extracting fire wood, building supplies, etc. I have no idea how far = back in time this practice may extend. I suspect communal decisions about land use have been made for as long = as humans have been human. Dave Whitacre
