| This study examines the articulation between global concerns about biodiversity conservation and the local realities of rural residents in postsocialist Bulgaria. It combines an intensive ethnographic examination of natural resource use and management in the Rhodope Mountains with an extensive analysis of conservation activities in the region. The focus is on how resource use and management and conservation efforts are influenced by three aspects of postsocialist context-land reprivatization, rural economic reorganization, and the reemergence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Particular attention is paid to environmental NGOs as an institutional mechanism mediating between local, national, and international levels In conservation efforts.;Data were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods during two years of fieldwork in locations ranging from western European cities to rural Bulgarian villages. A village case study included participant observation, interviews, a household survey, and archival research. Conservation activities were examined through interviews, document collection, and participant observation.;The resulting data allow a comparison of concerns about and activities in the Rhodope landscape by villagers and conservation advocates. Rhodope residents have relied on their local environment for centuries, and they currently use their surroundings for crop production, animal husbandry, and the collection of forest products. The resulting produce contributes to both household subsistence and the larger cash economy. Factors associated with rural economic reorganization such as lack of employment alternatives and input prices and availability have a greater impact on local-level resource use than the land restitution. Although neither conservation efforts nor NGOs are new to Bulgaria, both have increased in the postsocialist period. Conservation interests are primarily concerned about the flora, fauna, and landscape features of the Rhodope, although they recognize the landscape's importance for village livelihoods. Like rural residents, government and NGO conservation activities in the region are significantly affected by the postsocialist context. In their case, this includes reliance on foreign funding, NGO youth and small size, and the evolving legal framework for land use and conservation. While NGO activities have little direct impact on community resource use and management, these organizations are contributing to conservation efforts in the context of limited government resources. |
