The role of ecotourism as a means of influencing the path of local development or encouraging conservation activities is not unproblematic. Indeed, an increasing body of literature not only challenges the assumed benevolence of ecotourism but critically questions the role of ecotourism in contributing to the greater social and economic justice so often assumed under these programs. This paper seeks to contribute to this growing body of critical literature through an analysis of the impact of ecotourism on the everyday lives of rural villagers adjacent to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, paying particular attention to the social forms of access to and control over the process through which decisions about ecotourism take place. Drawing on a year of ethnographic-based fieldwork, this paper focuses on how the commodification of Bwindi as a product of wilderness, a wild and unspoilt destination marketed to foreign visitors, promotes the external control of conservation spaces by international organizations that ultimately contribute to, rather than alleviate, poverty and dependency in local communities. Beyond providing just another case study, however, this analysis argues that the ‘new’ relations between people and parks created under ecotourism in Bwindi have in actuality created new forms of control and vulnerabilities.
Types, causes, and intensity of human-carnivore interactions are related to historical context, management policy, and human perception. We used four rural communities in the American West with varying histories and management policies to assess the complexities of human-carnivore interactions and to determine factors influencing individual willingness to coexist with carnivores. By analyzing focus group and interview data from 49 community members, we found that human perceptions towards carnivores and their management were influenced by self-perceived knowledge about carnivores, ability to be heard and have a voice in management decisions, and economic concerns rather than ecological factors. Willingness to coexist with carnivores and to adopt adaptive management were related to past carnivore experience and broader management policy frameworks. Our results suggest a need to better understand how different stakeholders interpret scientific information, what strategies can facilitate effective communication among stakeholders, and what makes stakeholders feel treated justly when human-carnivore conflicts occur.
This paper expands current understandings on resource wars by arguing for a comprehensive 'economies of violence' that considers the wider range of activities that rebel groups are engaged in beyond minerals. Using evidence from fieldwork in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo together with recent scholarship, this paper draws on six secondary economies to construct a broader political economy of Congo's divergent natural-resource wealth. It then considers how the engagement of armed groups in these activities creates opportunities, alternative livelihoods and governance structures, as well as new forms of conflict, and what these processes may hold for the future of the region.[Au-delà des minéraux : l'extension des 'économies de violence' dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo]. Cette étude développe les recherches actuelles sur les guerres des ressources en argumentant en faveur d'une prise en compte des 'économies de violence' qui comprennent la plus large gamme d'activités dans lesquelles les groupes de rebelles se sont engagés, au-delà de l'extraction des minéraux. En utilisant les résultats des recherches sur le terrain dans l'est de la RDC et les recherches récentes, cette étude décrit six économies secondaires pour représenter une économie politique plus large de la richesse divergente des ressources minérales du Congo. Cette étude examine ensuite comment l'engagement des groupes armés dans ces activités crée des opportunités, des modes de subsistance alternatifs et des structures de gouvernance, ainsi que de nouvelles formes de conflits et ce que ces processus peuvent impliquer pour l'avenir de la région.
This article explores the meaning of inclusive participation in global conservation decision-making processes. It draws on data collected in collaborative ethnographic research of the latest World Conservation Congress (WCC) held in 2008 in Barcelona, Spain. We argue that despite a discernible shift towards the incorporation of indigenous rights and indigenous peoples' representatives within the conservation equation, many challenges to full participation still exist for both indigenous peoples and other local resource users who may be affected by conservation governance decisions. Several conditions exist at a global scale that limit democratic participation, including the unequal power relations between indigenous peoples and the global north, which limits the space for indigenous inclusion, the democratic deliberation that is often treated as a checkbox item, the limited resources to facilitate broad inclusion (in terms of both monetary and cultural capital), and the political challenges of legitimacy for some at more local scales, such as the concern of who represents whom at the global scale. We recognise effort has been given to expanded participation in global conservation governance, but inclusive and deliberative participation is still limited within IUCN and among other conservation NGOs.
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