Florida International University The research analyzes the effects of integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs) on rural property relations in two communities within the Selous Game Reserve buffer zone, Tanzania. The intent is to explain how such organizations affect property relations and investigate the process by which customary rights are identified and impacted upon. The work will advance the area of political ecology theory by showing how local struggles, negotiations, and contests over property rights interact with globally oriented strategies for biodiversity conservation. The research is also designed to provide a comparative analysis of the communities as well as evaluate the effects of conservation interventions over time. Methodologies include interviews, participant observation, land use surveys and mapping, and archival research.
