Finally, Mantadia National park of Madagascar has seen similar disastrous results. The park has a severe impact on the local people, living in the villages surrounding the park, who depend on the forest within the park for their livelihood. Kramer et al. It is tempting to argue that these problems are part of a learning process and that local discomfort or even hardship is worthwhile if the goal is to conserve the environment for the good of the human race. Conservation initiatives in Africa, however, have little chance of being sustainable if they do not meet with broad local support.
Democracy mandates that the local population has a say in their community's well-being.
As local democracy in Africa grows, people have a greater potential to influence policy. They may opt not to support conservation initiatives if they are too painful in the short-run. While increased participation may lead to a decline in local support for conservation initiatives, it is exactly this participation at this local level that makes conservation program success possible. Since the current wave of democracy sweeping through Africa seeks, above all else, to reflect that public will at the grassroots level, conservation programs need to be supported by the populous in the affected regions. If it does not, then conservation programs will likely proceed without local ratification, thereby detracting from improved local governance, rather than lending to it.