It doesn\u2019t sound like conservation to me \u2013 it smacks of the Tanzanian government trying to boost revenue (tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner and third largest employer in the country). But whether or not this is about conservation or money is a moot point. It\u2019s blatantly wrong. It\u2019s also just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

The global environmental movement has been heavily criticised by the UN, and many others, for causing \u2013 and continuing to cause \u2013 chronic and widespread patterns of abuse and large-scale human rights violations all in the name of conservation.<\/p>\n

To assume that indigenous people always use natural resources in ways that are irrational and destructive is just plain wrong <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
There are two diametrically opposed schools of thought on how to manage protected areas \u2013 and, in my opinion, both are seriously flawed. One is fortress conservation, which draws lines around protected areas to separate raw, unpopulated nature from all human activity. This erroneously assumes that indigenous people always use natural resources in ways that are irrational and destructive.<\/p>\n
The other school of thought is the equally fanciful idea that indigenous people always understand and manage their environment better than anyone else. Of course, there are many examples of them doing just that \u2013 studies in Brazil, in particular, show that indigenous people defending their territories from encroachment, invasion and exploitation are more effective in safeguarding forests and biodiversity in the Amazon than traditional conservation efforts. But this erroneously assumes that all indigenous people are gold-star conservationists (if they were, there would be no poaching, for a start). <\/span><\/p>\n
The solution has to be a compromise. We must acknowledge that indigenous people are an intrinsic part of nature. Therefore, they should retain the right to practice their traditional ways of life and must be included in conservation planning. But they must also benefit from conservation efforts \u2013 as an incentive to be conservation-minded \u2013 and this means providing alternative sources of income through sustainable community-based enterprises. <\/span><\/p>\n
With governments looking for easy and cost-effective ways to meet international conservation targets, there\u2019s a very real risk of many more human-rights violations in the inevitable battles for land. We need to take down the wall of fortress conservation as a matter of urgency.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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