Interrelations between stakeholder perceptions, governance for justice and protected area effectiveness: A case of North Luangwa Ecosystem: Northeastern Zambia

Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs) are considered key to biodiversity conservation and to addressing the intertwined global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and broader economic and social dimensions linked to sustainability. However, PCAs have also been a primary source of inequity for local communities due to exclusionary conservation practices that have resulted in adverse social and ecological outcomes. In sub-Saharan Africa, these injustices originated during the colonial era and continued after independence, to the detriment of both local people and wildlife. Evidence of a positive relationship between equitable PCA governance and conservation effectiveness has led to a shift in conservation policy and practice toward reconciling the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP & LCs) and conservation objectives. Recent efforts have therefore aimed to achieve equitable conservation as a primary pathway to the long-term, effective conservation of biodiversity by embedding both equity and conservation principles within broader policy and practice related to PCA governance. Various Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) interventions strive to incorporate equity into conservation practices, with a particular focus on equitable cost and benefit sharing. In Zambia, traditional and formal contemporary institutions were combined to leverage CBNRM for natural resource management. Through spaces created by CBNRM initiatives, PCAs may not only support biodiversity conservation but also enhance social cohesion by facilitating stakeholder interaction through the promotion of trust, collaboration, and inclusion. Using Zambia’s North Luangwa Ecosystem as a case study, this research examines how equity and environmental justice are conceptualized, perceived, and operationalized within a hybrid governance system. It analyses the interplay between stakeholder perceptions, institutional arrangements, and conservation outcomes across three Game Management Areas (GMAs) bordering North Luangwa National Park. The study investigates whether and how CBNRM has resulted in social cohesion through trust, a sense of belonging, and collaborative action for equity, justice, and conservation success. A mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions to generate both qualitative and quantitative insights. Thirty-six key informants from NGOs, government departments, and local communities were identified through snowball sampling. I facilitated 20 focus group discussions and administered 190 household questionnaires. Focus groups were divided by age and gender to minimize the influence of unequal power relations. Data collection also included informal discussions with community members and participant observation. An analytical framework drawing on theories of institutional bricolage, social cohesion, and the three-dimensional model of equity and justice, recognitional, procedural, and distributive, was applied to uncover how local people evaluate fairness, legitimacy, and cohesion within conservation interventions. Key findings indicate that recognitional equity strongly influences broader perceptions of justice and participation, and that social cohesion (measured through trust, sense of belonging, voluntarism, and willingness to collaborate) is both an outcome and a prerequisite for equitable governance. While hybrid governance systems offer spaces for local participation, they may also create power asymmetries that hinder equitable outcomes. CBNRM institutions in the North Luangwa have had the unintended consequence of increasing the power of customary chiefs through the commercialization and bureaucratization of their roles. Rather than reinforcing local and Indigenous institutions, CBNRM has often become a vehicle through which governments and NGOs centralize authority and manufacture consent, while weakening traditional institutions and reproducing existing patterns of inequity. Furthermore, attempts to reduce costs through human–wildlife conflict mitigation led to local dissatisfaction, as communities perceived that equity-facilitating interventions inadequately addressed the burdens associated with coexisting with wildlife. There was also a profound sense of misrecognition among local people, who felt that wildlife and conservation were prioritized over their well-being. Local people expressed higher levels of trust in traditional leaders and NGOs than in other governance actors. Nonetheless, horizontal trust remained low, with only 2% of respondents reporting active participation in formal CBNRM institutions. Procedural and distributive equity were undermined by perceived nepotism and corruption, creating weak cohesion due to social exclusion and the unequal distribution of conservation-related costs and benefits. Despite these weaknesses, trust in traditional institutions and a strong sense of pride suggest latent social cohesion. By integrating empirical data with theoretical insights, this thesis contributes to ongoing debates in conservation governance and offers practical considerations for designing context-responsive, just, and effective governance arrangements. Ultimately, achieving environmental justice in PCAs requires more than technical solutions, it demands attention to history, power, and the lived experiences of local communities. We recommend that, rather than simply establishing idealized institutions to devolve power and enhance equity, the realization of effective local participation and representation in CBNRM projects requires careful assessment of cultural contexts, local institutions, and power dynamics. The disparity between anticipated and realized equity outcomes underscores the necessity of prioritizing recognitional equity by acknowledging the heterogeneity of interests, capacities, and influence among local populations before and during the implementation of conservation interventions. The long-term success of CBNRM may depend on rebuilding trust through transparency in benefit-sharing and inclusive decision-making that leverages cultural identity and informal social networks. My findings highlight the importance of ensuring that conservation goals are aligned with local contexts to foster social cohesion that enables equitable governance.