This thesis analyzes the contested struggles for fuelwood extraction and protection around the Borjomi-Kharagauli Protected Areas (BKPA) of central Georgia in light of wider debates over the reconciliation of biodiversity conservation and livelihood security in the developing world. Particular focus is given to conflicts over local peoples’ struggles in accessing fuelwood and the ways and extentto which these struggles are influenced by broader forces. In endeavoring to answer these questions, interviews were conducted with local people living on the margin of BKPA as well as with conservation authorities involved in the development and ongoing management of the park. The results of theresearch suggest that considerable obstacles to fuelwood access remain despite BKPA policies permitting fuelwood extraction in several of the studied villages. Furthermore, the association of nonstate actors in the development of BKPA coupled with the lack of participation of local people inongoing management provoke questions of legitimacy and governance. The study underscores that incontexts of widespread poverty and highly subsistence-based livelihoods, participatory management embodies the most effective and socially just approach to conservation.

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