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 people 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.

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.

According to international law, the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local communities 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.

Big conservation groups like WWF, WCS and African Parks are complicit in all this. They fund and support the perpetrators of these atrocities and do very little to stop the violence inflicted on the original custodians of the land they claim to care so much about.

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.

Tellingly, those who support the violent exclusion of indigenous people from protected areas often actively encourage other kinds of human presence there. Many protected areas invite mass tourism, and they’re often home to trophy hunting, logging, and mining.

Under this model of conservation, local people are forbidden from hunting for food, but foreigners are welcome to hunt for sport.

Some conservationists say that tourism, trophy hunting and “sustainable” resource extraction generate income which can fund conservation work. But when indigenous people 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:

Anyone who truly cares about the planet must stop supporting any form of “conservation” which wounds, alienates and destroys the environment’s best allies. It’s time for a new conservation that recognises indigenous peoples as senior partners in the fight to protect their own land.

For over 30 years, Survival has been campaigning against the atrocities committed in the name of “conservation.” Join us now to #DecolonizeConservation and champion a new approach that puts tribal peoples at its heart. They were expert conservationists long before the word “conservation” was even invented.

We’ve made incredible progress. Here are some of the things we’ve achieved in just the last few years

• Click here for a selection of video testimonies from our Tribal Voice project

• Letters from the Baka people of Congo Basin
• An Open Letter from the Chenchu tribe of Amrabad tiger Reserve
• Charles’ letter to Princes William and Harry on conservation

• When conservation looks like colonialism, it’s time for a new approach
•  The shocking truth about tiger conservation
• WWF is complicit in human rights abuses and illegal land theft
• Why conservation needs to change: an FAQ about Survival’s campaign