Why Target Communities Remain Subjects Rather than Partners of Development Agencies in Integrated Conservation and Development Projects in Latin America Why Target Communities Remain Subjects Rather than Partners

Despite repeated calls for locally anchored Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs), the decision-making authority of targeted Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) remains limited. This paper is grounded on an Institutional Logics perspective to examine the role of major...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEuropean journal of development research Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 100 - 123
Main Authors Busck-Lumholt, Louise Marie, Corbera, Esteve, Mertz, Ole
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.02.2025
Subjects
Development and Social Change
Development Economics
Development Policy
Development Studies
Original Article
Social Sciences
Development banks
International development
Integrated conservation and development projects
Development agencies
Institutional logic
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ISSN0957-8811
1743-9728
DOI10.1057/s41287-024-00658-5

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Summary:Despite repeated calls for locally anchored Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs), the decision-making authority of targeted Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) remains limited. This paper is grounded on an Institutional Logics perspective to examine the role of major development agencies—the World Bank (WB), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the German Development Bank (KfW)—in perpetuating this challenge. Interviews with project managers in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region reveal complex internal hierarchies, risk-focus, high performance pressure, a “better than nothing” rationale, and a hands-off approach to community participation. We argue that these tendencies are rooted in organisational structure and individual mentalities that constitute a project management logic, which in turn raises concerns about the ability and willingness of development agencies to foster local project ownership of ICDPs. The paper calls for the international donor community to reflect on and transform such management logic, and to allocate more substantial decision-making power and resources to local representatives.
ISSN:0957-8811
1743-9728
DOI:10.1057/s41287-024-00658-5