Muleskinner Book recommendation #24

Conservation Refugees :

The hundred year conflict between Global Conservation and the Native People

(By Mark Dowie)

[MIT, 2007]; 341 pages.

[Recommendation # 24]

Probably no need for us of too comprehensive presentations or assessing the contents of the book, as it's main topics are probably related for much discussed environmentalist (or culturalist) themes of recent decades. So, it will do at this with just a few introductive paragraphs and anyone interested can find oneself further notes from elsewhere. Also, this makes it complete from our brief series of 'environmentalist recommends', or books that might belong for category of some kind naturalist/conservation classics. (Perhaps as some later addition, maybe a sequel 3-and-half, I consider there to be some additional views from some historic journey- or expedition stories...but that would only be interesting if we'd find some suitable, perhaps less better known book).

Conservation refugees is quite new book and selection might have been from some other environmentalist themes as well. In this case, having not too precise, or very much up to date knowledge from most of things it describes, I can't much compare it for any other newer similar or resembling books. (Anything stamped with the term 'Investigative journalism' actually makes me nowadays little cautious. Doesn't make the book any less recommendable and selection on this, however.) It appears very informative and prize-giving reading for anyone having interest for fx past and present (global) conservation histories, the indigenous peoples, marginalized minorities/majorities, etc. Could also fx be on top of my list from the limited collection of books to take along for an (imaginable) lone island.

Dowie begins his observations from some of the birth-places of the global 21^st century conservationist agenda, the establishment of the Yosemite National park (on N.Americas). Story then continues on for several individual chapters (and decades), all the way for the recent years. Many of the chapters are named according the singular tribes or peoples (for example, Miwok, Adivasi, Ogiek, Basarwa….), from various countries mainly on the Southern parts of Globe, and on whose ancestral lands there were been during the past centurys established various natural parks and/or conservation areas. Many a story is from the displacement of people of their traditional places of stay, often been a practice carried in the name of global conservationist agenda (or, something what Dowie describes with the term 'fortress conservation'). Then there's also fx chapters that discuss the early begins of the global conservationist organizations, and words from, say, the difficulty of the 'western scientific practices' of recognizing the value for so called 'traditional knowledge'. And of other related aspects.

I am not that convinced, on the basis of reading just this single book, how much it is possible drawing any straight historical continuations from begins of the Yosemite (as result of the activity by that 'Godfather for the modern conservation', John Muir, 1838 – 1914) for the establishment of Serengeti natural park and of the other places on Africa (and elsewhere), or even how much of all that directly is relevant to connect in establishing of the so called BINGOs (ie the Big International Non-governmental Organizations, as they're referred in book - to name some; WWF; Conservation International, fx). That so, since I think there's actually quite a lot distance, or discontinuation, between some of the things said. (But the book also holds variety of source literatures and notes, so there's not too much difficulty to view more from about, and much of the said is at least is not covered on most of the usual histories and other similar volumes.)

But, our few remarks are just concluded on noticing that the books main importance (acc. my opinion) appears be that it sort of makes visible those many indigenous peoples having had to bear the actual realization or consequences of that (global) ”environmentalist crusade” of the 20^th centurys. I mean by that, like the name of the book says, it tells largely from how many people on those places were or became turned for the 'enemies of the conservation' (like are the words introductory chapter is sub-titled). The preword also underlines that the intentions of the book are not to present conservationist and traditional views (or ways) as opposite views, and purpose appears mainly of these for to reach a newer conservationist paradigm (or something like that, so to say).

...And maybe it's so that the tide also has been somewhat changing from recent periods of times, and there's on current days also fx increasingly lot more discussion generated from  the new urgent global issues about the degradation of nature and also concerning the unequelity of global world economy. Of course, similarly there usually tends be aspects that easily slip, or are left out, from the most focus on certain momentum (of time). Would be far more lengthier trying describe books contents and issues more thoroughly, so we'll on this sequel just take these few paragraphs below – separate from their main contexts on texts – and use to represent parts of the content (like that presented for us). Only rather incomplete cites and is selective choices certainly...but anyone is of course recommended to read more from it, of this book, (or from some similarly informative texts);

(On A word about terms); ”...[the incidents] I describe speak for themselves, as does the fact that 100 per cent of the people who have been evicted from [their] homelands in the interest of conservation have been people of color.”

(On p. 24); ”A new urgency to protect the wildlife and preserve its habitats evolved in concert with a nature aesthetic that had been blooming in both Europe and North America over the fifty years since the ”discovery” of the Yosemite Valley. Wildlife was to be more than target for the sharpshooters, and the habitat of Africa's charismatic megafauna (large, rare, and attractive animals, mammals mostly) was regarded as something worth preserving. Conservation had gone global.”

(On p. 148-9); ”The lesson here appears to be that the most effective means of promoting conservation and the development together is one that allows indigenous people to benefit from both a protected land and its natural resources.”

(On p. 173; Chapter 12, Fighting Back) ”[...] Would the end result of this Faustian pact be a planet where 10 percent of the land is set aside as ”wilderness”, while the other 90 percent is sacrificed to the neoliberal agenda? Were the parks and development just two sides of the same coin? In short, were the BINGOs part of the problem or part of the solution? ”

(On p. 246); ”Conservationists have also learned from bitter experience that national parks and protected areas, surrounded by angry people describing themselves as ”enemies of conservation”, are doomed to fail.”

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