Waging a war to save biodiversity: the rise of militarized conservation

Duffy, Rosaleen

doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12142

Cited by 306 publications

(228 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…It is therefore inconceivable that strict protected areas (IUCN Category I or II) could expand to 50% of the earth without considerable social impacts. Many strict protected areas are already embroiled in myriad social conflicts (Duffy, 2014) reserves. An increase of the amount of land in which people can live and work, but which are off limits to resource extraction and drastic land use change, could even well be progressive.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications

Büscher

Fletcher

Brockington

et al. 2016

Oryx

Self Cite

241

147

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We question whether the increasingly popular, radical idea of turning half the earth into a network of protected areas is either feasible or just. We argue that this 'half earth' plan would have widespread negative consequences for human populations and would not meet its conservation objectives. It offers no agenda for managing biodiversity within a 'human half' of Earth. We call instead for alternative radical action that is both more effective and more equitable, focused directly on the main drivers of biodiversity loss by shifting the global economy from its current foundation in growth while simultaneously redressing inequality. Main TextThere is a new call to extend conservation frontiers as an ultimate attempt to save global biodiversity. Under the slogan 'nature needs half' (http://natureneedshalf.org/) and spearheaded by leading conservation scientists such as Edward O. Wilson (2016), Reed Noss (Noss et al, 2012), George Wuerthner and John Terborgh (Wuerthner et al, 2015), a vision has been formulated to turn half of the earth into a series of interconnected protected areas. This radical plan for conservation seeks to expand and strengthen the world's current network of protected areas to create a patchwork grid of reserves encompassing at least half the world's surface and hence "about 85 percent" of remaining biodiversity (Wilson, 2016). We wish to open up debate about this idea. While it might be interpreted as simply a rhetorical challenge to provoke greater conservation effort, it is proposed by senior scientific figures and is being widely discussed and supported. Critical reflection about this proposal is thus important.The plan proposed is staggering in scale: protected areas, according to the IUCN, currently incorporate around 15.4% of the earth's terrestrial areas and 3.4% of its oceans. They would thus need to more than triple in extent on land and by more than ten-fold in the oceans. Not only would this include the earth's currently still relatively intact ecosystems and natural habitats, it would also necessarily entail an active programme of restoration and 'rewilding' to 2 return larger areas to a more pristine 'pre-human' baseline (Wilson, 2016;Noss et al, 2012;Donlan et al, 2005). E. O. Wilson is arguably most explicit in his recent book Half-Earth, stating that "only by setting aside half the planet in reserve, or more, can we save the living part of the environment and achieve the stabilization required for our own survival" (Wilson, 2016: 3).Other conservationists agree that such a goal is the 'only defensible target' from a 'strictly scientific point of view' to allow for a sustainable future (Wuerthner et al, 2015: 18).These proposals seem to be driven by the credo 'desperate times call for desperate measures'. We agree with Wilson and other conservationists that because biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate as a result of human activity therefore urgent need for action to address this. Desperate times, however, demand careful decisions. We argue that the 'hal...

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Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications

Büscher

Fletcher

Brockington

et al. 2016

Oryx

Self Cite

241

147

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is ample evidence elsewhere, including elsewhere in the GLTP, of residents evicted from protected areas, or otherwise barred from realizing their benefits, who resist such exclusion by engaging in poaching (Mavhunga, 2014; also see Neumann, 1998;Brockington, 2002). If our prediction is correct, this would reinforce a more far-reaching pattern of securitized conservation measures backfiring by alienating the very communities from which they need support (Duffy, 2014;Lunstrum, 2014).…”

Section: Conclusion: Accumulation By Securitization and The Creation mentioning

confidence: 69%

“…A young but growing body of critical conservation scholarship has begun to examine the securitization of conservation space and conservation practice itself (Cavanagh et al, 2015;Devine, 2014;Duffy, 2014;Duffy, this issue;Humphreys, 2012;Humphreys and Smith, 2014;Lombard, this issue;Lunstrum, 2014;Ojeda, 2012;Peluso and Vandergeest, 2011;Ybarra, 2012). Of particular concern is the militarization of conservation practice in response to commercial poaching.…”

Section: Connecting the Securitization Of Conservation Practice To Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following insights from security studies, the problems of poaching and threats to wildlife conservation thus become Òsecuritized, treated as security issues,Ó through speech-acts, policies, and practices (Williams, 2003, 513). Such speech acts also frame poachers as the enemy in the global war for biodiversity (Duffy, 2014;Neumann, 2004) and equally the enemy of the nation-state and its natural resources (Lunstrum, 2014). This reframing of conservation and poaching can lead to Òrepressive, coercive and violent practicesÓ (Duffy, 2014, 833) including the state-sanctioned killing of poachers (Humphreys and Smith, 2014;Lunstrum, 2014;Neumann, 2004).…”

Section: Connecting the Securitization Of Conservation Practice To Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Security concerns and measures hence greatly expand the potential of conservation to work as a Òspatial fixÓ to the crisis of overaccumulation. This is especially the case as conservation-related security and particularly commercial poaching gain increasing global attention and become tied to broader national, regional, and international security concerns (Duffy, 2014;Duffy, this issue;Lunstrum, 2014).…”

Section: Connecting the Securitization Of Conservation Practice To Comentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accumulation by securitization: Commercial poaching, neoliberal conservation, and the creation of new wildlife frontiers

2016

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What is the evidence that counter‐wildlife crime interventions are effective for conserving African, Asian and Latin American wildlife directly threatened by exploitation? A systematic map protocol

Rytwinski

Öckerman

Taylor

et al. 2021

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Human activities are driving a global biodiversity crisis. In response, a broad range of conservation actions have been implemented. With finite resources available, and a rapidly narrowing window, the scientific and policy communities have acknowledged the need to better understand the effectiveness of interventions for conserving threatened species. Given the recent emphasis on the use of counter wildlife crime interventions (i.e. those that directly protect wildlife from illegal harvest, detect and sanction rule‐breakers, and interdict and control illegal wildlife commodities), there is a clear need to summarize the available evidence on biological and threat reduction outcomes of such actions to help make evidence‐informed management and funding decisions. Here, we present a protocol for a systematic map that will collate the existing body of literature addressing the effectiveness of counter‐wildlife crime interventions for protecting targeted species. Our focus will be on select species or species groups directly threatened by exploitation (i.e. illegal harming whether by harvest as a resource or for control/persecution) and native to Africa, Asia and Latin America, which are regions that have experienced significant wildlife populations declines. The systematic map will aim to capture available evidence found in commercially published and grey literature. We will search for the literature using four publication databases, Google Scholar, 36 specialist websites and databases and sources identified through a call for evidence among relevant networks. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two stages: (1) title and abstract and (2) full text. Relevant information from included papers will be extracted and entered into a searchable, coded database (MS‐Excel). Narrative synthesis and descriptive statistics will describe the key characteristics of the relevant evidence base (e.g. geographic location, species, interventions, direct threats, outcomes and study designs). Using visual heat maps, we will identify key knowledge gaps warranting further research and clusters of evidence that could serve as topics for future systematic reviews. The resulting map will guide further exploration on evaluating the effectiveness of counter‐wildlife crime interventions, and aid in building an evidence base that supports both management and funding decisions to ensure efficient use of limited resources and maximal conservation benefits.

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Waging a war to save biodiversity: the rise of militarized conservation

Cited by 306 publications

References 6 publications

Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications

Half-Earth or Whole Earth? Radical ideas for conservation, and their implications

Accumulation by securitization: Commercial poaching, neoliberal conservation, and the creation of new wildlife frontiers

What is the evidence that counter‐wildlife crime interventions are effective for conserving African, Asian and Latin American wildlife directly threatened by exploitation? A systematic map protocol

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