PARKS VOL 28.2 NOVEMBER 2022 PARKS VOL 28.2 NOVEMBER 2022 | 23 ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO INTEGRATED CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: EQUITABLE GOVERNANCE AT LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA Medard Twinamatsiko 1* , Phil Franks 2 , Francesca Booker 2 , Charles Muchunguzi 1 and Clemencia Neema Murembe 3 *Corresponding author: mtwinamatsiko@must.ac.ug 1 Department of Environment and Livelihood Support Systems, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda 2 Interna4onal Ins4tute for Environment and Development, London, UK 3 Department of Human and Rela4onal Studies, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda ABSTRACT Equity and governance are vital in facilitating sustainable biodiversity conservation as alternative approaches to integrated conservation and development. However, they have not always been prioritised by protected area managers and policy implementers in various interventions. A qualitative assessment was undertaken to explore the positioning of equitable governance in pursuing conservation and development objectives at Lake Mburo National Park. Data reveals that the current integrated conservation and development interventions fall short of equitable governance principles. The more that people are involved in decision making and equitably share resources, the more they are likely to be co-managers of protected area resources. Currently, those who bear the most conservation costs are not well targeted by conservation benefits, are likely to develop resentment and engage in unauthorised resource use. Key principles of governance categorised under the dimensions of equity were used as yardsticks for the assessment. The study concludes that governance and equity are potential alternative approaches to adopt in the implementation of integrated conservation and development. We recommend the application of an equitable governance framework in order to achieve sustainable conservation. Key words: equity, unauthorised resource use, protected area management, governance assessment, Uganda Wildlife Authority 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2022.PARKS-28-2MT.en INTRODUCTION The concepts of governance and equity which some scholars combine to mean equitable governance (Dawson et al., 2017; McDermott et al., 2013; Schreckenberg et al., 2016) have become vital in the context of protected areas conservation (Twinamatsiko et al., 2015; Schreckenberg et al., 2016). Global and national conservation policy has evolved to include stronger emphasis on governance and equity issues (Franks & Booker, 2018). This is further emphasised by the 3rd and 6th World Parks Congresses and Aichi Target 11 of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) (Twinamatsiko et al., 2014; Dawson et al., 2017). Governance and equity are understood in the context of power, relationship and accountability (Dawson et al., 2017). Equitable governance is an important aspect of protected area management and contributes to better conservation outcomes (McDermott et al., 2013; Dawson et al., 2017; Twinamatsiko et al., 2015; Franks & Booker, 2018). Equitable dimensions such as recognition of actors in conservation, procedures that relate to decision making and distribution of the costs and benefits of conservation are vital in facilitating sustainable conservation and effective protected area management (Dawson et al., 2017). Achieving equity is premised on the application of these key dimensions (De Jonge, 2011; McDermott et al., 2013; Martin et al., 2016; Schreckenberg et al., 2016; Dawson et al., 2017). There is a clear linkage between equity and governance because these dimensions entail aspects of the processes and structures through which decisions are made and by whom, thus describing procedural equity. The three