19
as members, but if the committee decided they needed new people they would tell the community to
choose.
More generally, committee members were confused about just what it was they were supposed to
do. In personal interviews with ten committee representatives (those chosen in each village to attend
outside meetings) and in group interviews with eight committees, most people responded that they had no
idea what their responsibilities were as committee members. They complained that once the park had set
up the committees, they never came back to talk about what their roles were. Those committee members
who had been to park meetings outside of the village – specifically, the two representatives in each village
chosen to attend such gatherings – often had a better conception of what they were supposed to do. But
even this is not always true; one representative, also a local government official, commented:
“Responsibilities? I don’t have any responsibilities. I’m just a member.”
13
Others, however, took their
roles more seriously and spent a lot of time talking with village residents and trying to share information
about the park. One committee head complained that he was spending so much time going around and
talking to people about the park that he was neglecting his fields, adding: “I want to be compensated for
working on the park. My shoes, they are going out for all the walking up and down every day.”
14
This
comment illustrates the fact that some committee members not only see themselves as working on the
park, but that they spend a great deal of time trying to educate their neighbors about the park without
being employed for this purpose. It also indicates a transfer of responsibility for information
dissemination from park officials to the park committees once they were created.
Those who did talk about their responsibilities focused on conveying information about the park
to the community. Educating their villages about the rules of the park was primary, especially telling
people they are no longer allowed to hunt, that they may not set fires, and that there are restrictions on
gathering fruits or medicinal plants in the park area. There remains, however, a great deal of confusion as
to the rules of the park for those who live in it. Subsistence hunting, while now referred to as poaching by
13
Personal interview, local government official, May 2003.
14
Personal interview, park committee head, September 2003.
Convention