Decolonize Conservation

Evidence proves indigenous people understand and manage their environment better than anyone else. 80% of Earth’s biodiversity is in tribal territories and when indigenous peoples have secure rights over their land, they achieve at least equal if not better conservation results at a fraction of the cost of conventional conservation programs.

But in Africa and Asia, governments and NGOs are stealing vast areas of land from tribal peoples and local communities under the false claim that this is necessary for conservation.

They then call the stolen land a “Protected Area” or “National Park” and keep out the original inhabitants, sometimes with a shocking level of violence. While tourists and other outsiders are welcomed in, the ecoguards and park rangers burn down local people’s homes, steal goods and vandalise property, and beat, torture, rape and kill local people with impunity.

If this sounds hard to believe, please watch these video testimonies from tribal people who have experienced this firsthand.

Well known conservation groups like WWF, WCS, and African Parks have been aware of these atrocities for many years but they continue to fund and support colonial conservation. They directly equip and train the perpetrators of violence. Some have covered up reports of abuse.

Brutal evictions from Kaziranga National Park, India. WWF equips and trains wildlife guards at Kaziranga, even though they are well aware that the authorities perpetrate atrocities like this against local people.

Colonial Conservation is based on racism, violence and intimidation

Colonial conservation, also known as Fortress Conservation, rests on the racist misconception that indigenous people cannot be trusted to look after their own land and the animals that live there. Its proponents view the original custodians of the land as a “nuisance” to be “dealt with", instead of as experts in local biodiversity and key partners in conservation.

The enforcers of colonial conservation have beaten and murdered dozens of innocent people, including children and people with disabilities. Few of the perpetrators have ever faced justice for these crimes.

Tribal peoples like the Baka and the Chenchu tell us that they see colonial conservation as the biggest threat they face.

Listen to this Baka man recount how a little girl and an elderly man died when his community was attacked by Congolese wildlife guards funded by WWF.

According to international law, the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples is required before any projects can take place on their land, but the big conservation organizations have never properly sought this consent. In many cases, the indigenous inhabitants only find out what’s happening when they are being evicted, or when armed rangers appear in their communities.

"WWF arrived in our forest and is establishing boundaries without our consent. No one has even explained to us. They just told us that we no longer had the right to go in the forest. Already the ecoguards are making us suffer. They beat people but they don’t protect elephants.”
- Baka villagers, Congo

“Reputable” organizations like WWF support Colonial Conservation

The theory goes that humans (especially when they’re not white) inside Protected Areas are a threat to the environment. But the indigenous people have been living there all this time: these territories are important conservation zones today precisely because the original inhabitants have looked after their land and wildlife so well.

Some conservationists say that tourism, trophy hunting and “sustainable” resource extraction generate income which can fund conservation work. But when indigenous peoples have secure rights over their own land, they achieve at least equal if not better conservation results at a fraction of the cost. According to a recent report:

Find out more about colonial conservation

Video Testimonies

More information on colonial conservation