Contributed Paper Effect of Local Cultural Context on the Success of Community-Based Conservation Interventions KERRY A. WAYLEN, ∗ † ∗∗ ANKE FISCHER,† PHILIP J. K. MCGOWAN,‡ SIMON J. THIRGOOD,†§ AND E. J. MILNER-GULLAND ∗ ∗ Centre for Environmental Policy and Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom †Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Cragiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, United Kingdom ‡World Pheasant Association, Newcastle University Biology Field Station, Heddon on the Wall, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 0HT, United Kingdom Abstract: Conservation interventions require evaluation to understand what factors predict success or failure. To date, there has been little systematic investigation of the effect of social and cultural context on conservation success, although a large body of literature argues it is important. We investigated whether local cultural context, particularly local institutions and the efforts of interventions to engage with this culture significantly influence conservation outcomes. We also tested the effects of community participation, conservation education, benefit provision, and market integration. We systematically reviewed the literature on community-based conservation and identified 68 interventions suitable for inclusion. We used a protocol to extract and code information and evaluated a range of measures of outcome success (attitudinal, behavioral, ecological, and economic). We also examined the association of each predictor with each outcome measure and the structure of predictor covariance. Local institutional context influenced intervention outcomes, and interventions that engaged with local institutions were more likely to succeed. Nevertheless, there was limited support for the role of community participation, conservation education, benefit provision, and market integration on intervention success. We recommend that conservation interventions seek to understand the societies they work with and tailor their activities accordingly. Systematic reviews are a valuable approach for assessing conservation evidence, although sensitive to the continuing lack of high-quality reporting on conservation interventions. Keywords: community conservation, conservation and development, ICDP, institutions, participation Efecto del Contexto Cultural Local sobre el ´ Exito de Intervenciones de Conservaci´ on Basadas en Comunidades Resumen: Las intervenciones de conservaci´ on requieren ser evaluadas para entender los factores que predi- cen el ´exito o fracaso. A la fecha, ha habido escasa investigaci´ on sistem´ atica del efecto del contexto social y cultural sobre el ´ exito de la conservaci´ on, aunque una extensa literatura argumenta que es importante. Inves- tigamos s´ ı el contexto cultural local, particularmente las instituciones locales y los esfuerzos de intervenciones para relacionarse con esta cultura influyen significativamente en los resultados de conservaci´ on.Tambi´en probamos los efectos de la participaci´ on de la comunidad, educaci´ on para la conservaci´ on, provisi´ on de beneficios e integraci´ on del mercado. Sistem´ aticamente revisamos la literatura o sobre conservaci´ on basada en comunidades y encontramos 68 intervenciones adecuadas para incluirlas. Utilizamos un protocolo para extraer y codificar la informaci´ on y evaluamos una gama de medidas de resultados exitosos (altitudinal, conductual, ecol´ ogica y econ´ omica). Tambi´en examinamos la asociaci´ on de cada indicador con cada medida §Deceased ∗∗ email kerry.waylen04@imperial.ac.uk. Paper submitted May 8, 2009; revised manuscript accepted October 14, 2009. 1119 Conservation Biology, Volume 24, No. 4, 1119–1129 C 2010 Society for Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01446.x