Exploring Park–People Conflicts in Colombia through a Social Lens

Abstract

SummaryNatural resource-related conflicts between local communities and nation states can be extremely destructive. Worldwide, interest is growing in gaining a better understanding of why and how these conflicts originate, particularly in protected areas inhabited by local communities. The literature on local attitudes towards and perceptions of park conservation and park–people conflicts is quite extensive. Studies have examined the socioeconomic and geographical determinants of attitudes to protected areas. However, the role of such determinants in the experience of park–people conflicts has received considerably less attention. Drawing on 601 interviews with people living in or near 15 Colombian national protected areas (NPAs), we examine the socioeconomic and geographical variables that are most influential in people’s experience of conflict related to restricted access to natural resources. We find that the experience of this type of conflict is largely explained by the NPA where a person resides, pursuit of productive activities within the NPA, previous employment in NPA administration, gender and ethnicity. We recommend implementing socially inclusive conservation strategies for conflict prevention and resolution in Colombia’s NPAs, whereby both women and men from different ethnic groups are engaged in design and implementation.

Perception of conservation strategies and nature’s contributions to people around Chingaza National Natural Park, Colombia

“…The National Natural Parks System of Colombia (NNPS hereafter) has established 59 PAs that encompass c. 14.2 million ha of the country's territory, representing c. 11.3% and 1.5% of its continental and marine areas, respectively (PNN 2019). Although the establishment of the NNPS has been important for the conservation of biodiversity and natural capital, it has in some cases amplified resource-use conflicts among actors from the surrounding communities (Durán 2009, De Pourcq et al 2019. Historical conflicts have taken place among local actors such as farmers, indigenous people, armed groups and NNPS officials primarily due to the tension between conservation efforts and resource use for economic subsistence and the presence of illegal armed groups (De Pourcq et al 2019).…”

“…Although the establishment of the NNPS has been important for the conservation of biodiversity and natural capital, it has in some cases amplified resource-use conflicts among actors from the surrounding communities (Durán 2009, De Pourcq et al 2019. Historical conflicts have taken place among local actors such as farmers, indigenous people, armed groups and NNPS officials primarily due to the tension between conservation efforts and resource use for economic subsistence and the presence of illegal armed groups (De Pourcq et al 2019). Although the recent increase in the number and size of PAs (SPNN 2018) has led to the development of environmental education, conservation, ecotourism and sustainable management programmes (Durán 2009), greater institutional presence has also produced conflicts with local communities (De Pourcq et al 2015, 2019.…”

“…Protected areas (PAs) have been established worldwide to help conserve ecosystems, yet their establishment can further exacerbate conflicts between local actors and PA-related institutions. As such, PAs can represent a threat to the subsistence of local populations since they are based on a 'fortress conservation' model where legal mandates and enforcement are more restrictive with regards to natural resource use and extraction (Baral & Heinen 2006, 2007, Kalamandeen & Gillson 2006, De Pourcq et al 2019. However, in places experiencing active or intermittent armed conflict, little is known about the perceptions of local communities regarding these PAs and how their missions, objectives and governance influence their well-being.…”

“…In Colombia, PAs are characterized by poor land tenure regimes, lack of participatory processes in decision-making, disturbance from illegal resource extraction activities and historical occupation and use by actors prior to their establishment (Kalamandeen & Gillson 2006, Lele et al 2010. In addition, in many PAs, the historically intermittent presence of armed conflict (Nolte 2016, De Pourcq et al 2019 has been associated in Colombia with increasing rates of deforestation (IDEAM 2019), internally displaced people and illicit crop cultivation, among other issues (De Pourcq et al 2017). Thus, the presence of armed guerrilla groups might exacerbate the relationship between state institutions and local actors and adversely affect governance processes and potential collaborative initiatives (Nolte 2016).…”

The end of gunpoint conservation: forest disturbance after the Colombian peace agreement

“…These aspects generated expectations about new access to land and resources, especially in campesino reserve zones adjacent to PAs, which prompted people to expand forest clearing. While this expansion is illegal (De Pourcq et al 2018) and it is impossible to obtain legal land titles within PAs (MADR 1977), why were they deforesting there? Disturbances within PAs could be explained by a protracted, iterative dispute between different actors about historical occupation and land tenure rights, exacerbated after the peace agreement was signed (Gómez et al 2015, Morales 2017.…”