Displacement, Forced Settlement and Conservation

Aims

This conference aimed at bringing together anthropologists, wildlife conservation specialists and ecologists to examine the impact which wildlife conservation and other environmental protection projects have on the lives and livelihoods of the often mobile, difficult-to-reach and marginal peoples who inhabit the same territory and ecological niches. The conference also aimed at critically examining the popular concept of bringing indigenous populations into the management and running of conservation efforts. There are lessons to be learned from recent efforts in community managed conservation and the conference encouraged discussion and analysis which mediates the points of view of anthropologists, ecologists and zoologists. And lastly it hoped to be able to publish an edited volume of the collected papers looking at the issues globally and comparatively.

Rationale for the conference

It is estimated that ten million people are displaced from their homes and communities each year through a combination of civil unrest, armed conflict, development projects (especially dam construction) and other interventions. The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) has in recent years undertaken to study many of these aspects of forced migration. In 1995 and 1996 it held two conferences on the theme of development-induced displacement and resettlement. In 1997 it held a workshop on the crisis in the Great Lakes region and in 1998 it organized a major conference on the Growth of Forced Migration. The disruption to human lives and livelihoods which recent wildlife conservation and other environmental protection projects has caused have not, however, been studied systematically.

Each year hundreds of thousands of mobile people, located in difficult-to-reach, marginal areas are displaced and often forced into permanent settlements in order to set aside land for the conservation of wildlife. These peoples consist of slash and burn agriculturalists, agro-pastoralists, pastoralists, hunters and gatherers, traders, tinkers and travellers. Their attachment to land is of a different nature from settled communities and thus their displacement, and deprivation in the face of conservation efforts, is often ignored or unrecognized.

Although a number of anthropologists have begun to publish articles and reports highlighting the plight of the indigenous communities who are most often ignored in conservation efforts (McCabe 1992; Turton 1987; Howell 1987; Chatty 1996), there has been no unifying effort to give these voices a wide multidisciplinary platform which includes ecologists and zoologists. Anthropologists working alone cannot have much impact on conservation, but as part of a wider effort looking at biodiversity in its broadest sense, there is hope that conservation can be given a 'human face' (Bell, 1987).

Studies based on a few promising examples of African conservation efforts are now emerging, where indigenous human populations appear to be effectively integrated into conservation and development projects (IIED 1994). There are lessons to be learned from such experiences and the conference organizers welcomed papers that discussed and analyzed this emerging humane conservation effort.

Conference Organization

Over 80 abstracts were submitted, mainly from anthropologists and ecologists. These papers were narrowed down to 40 based on the quality of the proposal and the geographic interests expressed. Discussants were sought mainly from conservation and development agencies such as the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Department for International Development (DFID), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to represent the perspective of conservationists and policy makers.

The conference ran for three days, during which time 36 papers were given by 42 presenters. Each day was divided into sessions during which papers were presented, commented on by a discussant and then opened to questions from the floor. The discussants represented a range of disciplines including anthropology, ecology and biology. The sessions were organized by geographic region. All the papers were presented in plenary session except for two sessions which ran simultaneously. The plenary sessions allowed for substantial cross-exposure to ideas for discussion between and among disciplines and regions.

Conference Proceedings

All the papers presented were submitted prior to the conference, as requested, and hard copies were available to participants at the conference. There was great diversity in the style, content and theme of the various presentations. Some of the studies were analyses of projects which successfully integrate indigenous communities into conservation management and others which continue to exclude people.

In the final plenary session, each discussant summarized the outcomes of the session they had been assigned to. A series of conclusions and recommendations emerged from this process and are elaborated below.

The conference session themes were:

1. General issues in conservation, biodiversity and indigenous populations
2. 1. Conservation in East Africa: land rights and conservation
   2. Conservation in East Africa: exclusion and community conservation
3. Conservation in Europe and the Mediterranean: leisure, land use and tourism
1. Conservation in South East Asia: displacement, forced settlement and community-based management
2. Conservation in South East Asia: conservation at what cost? The logic of sedentarization
4. Conservation in Latin America: biodiversity, protected areas and indigenous rights
5. Conservation in the Middle East: biodiversity, protectionism and indigenous populations
6. Conservation in Southern Africa: forced removals, resettlement and the 'new' conservation discourse
7. Conservation in India: protecting forests and sustaining forest dwellers
8. Wrap up/Discussion

Conclusions and Recommendations

This conference was a unique occasion that brought together social scientists with biologists, ecologists and conservationists to discuss conservation issues and their relationship with human displacement and forced settlement. Perhaps the most significant outcome of the conference was the beginning of a structured dialogue between these somewhat disparate perspectives. There was general agreement that this conference was a beginning, the first step in a process of interdisciplinary collaboration which will promote research, further conferences and publications. A second conference comprising of papers based on planned research will be organised for about two years time.

Panel themes

General issues in conservation, biodiversity and indigenous populations The major themes to emerge in this panel included the observation that conservation and biodiversity are not transparent or self-evident discourses; they are ways of talking about our world, where cultural and social phenomena are used for various purposes, goals and objectives. Furthermore the goals and objectives of projects must be recognized and that many purposes are political. The state as an ‘honest conservation broker’ cannot be taken at face value and the question must be asked 'who benefits from parks?' There are many stakeholders and some of their positions are not reconcilable. It must be recognized that there is an ongoing process of change: people and cultures are always evolving and changing.

Conservation in East Africa

It was pointed out that too little information or detailed research exists to inform conservation policies and policy makers often have a ‘fortress mentality’ that is not workable. It is not only the issue of co-management and residence in conservation areas that needs to be considered, but also the problem of immigrants from the outside, refugees etc. It was pointed out that in many cases indigenous knowledge is very important. This second panel concluded that grazing and maintaining conservation values, pushing people out and putting up fences is actually counterproductive to wildlife itself.

Conservation in Europe and the Mediterranean: leisure, land use and tourism

The panel on Europe concluded that issues concerning the political economy need to be considered. There are global, regional, and local concerns here as well as the EC and the vagaries of island economies which must be considered. This panel also asked the question: where are women in issues of conservation. In Sardinia, for example, they are often the leaders for modernization and the mobilizers in the community. The roles of women as leaders of resistance in India, Canada and other places, was also discussed.

Conservation in South East Asia

The panels on South East Asia concluded that local knowledge, on the one hand, and national park concepts, on the other, are often feared by those establishing the park and the indigenous population respectively. A tension exists between indigenous peoples sense of place and the need for government and conservationists to control. The historical context, the colonial histories and indigenous rights need to be carefully drawn out.

Conservation in Latin America: biodiversity, protected areas and indigenous rights

The panel on Latin America stimulated a discussion about what can conservation biologists contribute to this debate. Interdisciplinary work is important but the adversarial nature of some work is inevitable because often the ‘measures’ are incompatible. It was recognized that it is difficult for any of us to be truly objective, as we all have ‘baggage’. This session closed by asking who should be the ‘honest’ broker trying to synthesize the multidisciplinary findings in conservation.

Conservation in the Middle East: biodiversity, protectionism and indigenous populations

In the Middle East panel included the observation that nature reserves are always established where the weak lay claim not the strong (for example the Dead Sea is not a reserve because powerful people control it as an economic endeavour). The discussion for the session raised the issue that conservation needs to be linked to development and not just protection and that local populations are not homogeneous. It was felt that the negative image of the Bedouin and their lack of a ‘voice’ needs to be contested.

Conservation in Southern Africa: forced removals, resettlement and the ‘new’ conservation discourse

In the panel on Southern Africa it was argued that the role of the media in representing the issue of conservation and the finances behind conservancies is significant. Is this poverty alleviation? Is it first world agenda's in the third world? The third world people are at present unable to represent their agenda, thus conservation is a first world, hegemonic concept. It was felt that one must not forget the economic underpinnings of conservation and the supposed link between conservation and development.

Conservation in India: protecting forests and sustaining forest dwellers

In the case of India, it was argued that the scale of tribal cultures and natural resources must not be forgotten. The complexity of the relationship of indigenous populations with development must be kept in mind. The language of ‘backwardness’ is embedded in Indian development (crypto-Imperialism). There is also a problem of knowledge and of lending agencies. For the World Bank, it is mitigation which is important: to fix problems so as to make the foreign agenda work.

Wrap up/Discussion

In the concluding session there was considerable discussion about definitions — what is biodiversity, what is conservation and development? It was felt to be important that one needs to address issues of who is being represented and how. There was a strong feeling that conservation needs to be linked to development and people need to be empowered. Where people are being displaced for parks and nature reserves there is ample evidence which shows that this does not work for the benefit of the local population nor the environment. People should be part of biodiversity, hence conservationists and social scientists should have shared aims. Finally there was a plea for good sound data and research in order to support the displacement of people for conservation or the integration of people in planning and management for sustainable livelihoods and conservation.

Prospects for publication

The conference proceedings are going to be edited by the conference organizers for publication as a volume. Berghahn Press (New York, London), which has a Studies in Forced Migration series, has expressed interest in these proceedings. A transcript of the concluding session ‘wrap up’ has been prepared and is being sent to all contributors with a note inviting them to revise their papers for publication into one volume. It is assumed that a number of authors will drop out. Nevertheless the final manuscript will probably consist of 18 chapters most relevant, both thematically and geographically, to the issue of displacement, forced settlement and conservation.

References

• Bell, H. 1987. “Conservation with a human face: conflict and reconciliation in African land use planning”. In Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice. D. Andrew and R. Grove, eds., pp 79-101. Cambridge; Cambridge University press.
• Chatty, D. 1996. Mobile Pastoralists: Development Planning and Social Change in Oman. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Howell, P. 1987. “Introduction”. In Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice, D. Anderson and R. Grove, eds. pp 105-109. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)1994. Whose Eden? An Overview of Community Approaches to Wildlife Management. London: IIED.
• McCabe, et.al. 1992. “Can Conservation and Development be coupled among Pastoral People? An Examination of the Maasai of the Ngorongoro Conservation area, Tanzania”. In Human Organization. vol 51 (4):353-366.
Turton, D. 1987. “The Mursi and national park development in the lower Omo valley”. In Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice, D. Anderson and R. Grove, eds., pp 169-186. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.