Why we must question the militarisation of conservation

Duffy, Rosaleen, Massé, Francis, Smidt, Emile, Marijnen, Esther, Büscher, Bram, Verweijen, Judith, Ramutsindela, Maano, Simlai, Trishant, Joanny, Laure and Lunstrum, Elizabeth (2019) Why we must question the militarisation of conservation. Biological Conservation, 232. pp. 66-73. ISSN 0006-3207

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.013

Abstract

Concerns about poaching and trafficking have led conservationists to seek urgent responses to tackle the impact on wildlife. One possible solution is the militarisation of conservation, which holds potentially far-reaching consequences. It is important to engage critically with the militarisation of conservation, including identifying and reflecting on the problems it produces for wildlife, for people living with wildlife and for those tasked with implementing militarised strategies. This Perspectives piece is a first step towards synthesising the main themes in emerging critiques of militarised conservation. We identify five major themes: first, the importance of understanding how poaching is defined; second, understanding the ways that local communities experience militarised conservation; third, the experiences of rangers; fourth, how the militarisation of conservation can contribute to violence where conservation operates in the context of armed conflict; and finally how it fits in with and reflects wider political economic dynamics. Ultimately, we suggest that failure to engage more critically with militarisation risks making things worse for the people involved and lead to poor conservation outcomes in the long run.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Anti-poaching, Human-wildlife conflict, Militarisation, Poaching, Political economy, Protected areas, Rangers, Trafficking, Violence, Wildlife trade
Subjects: C100 Biology
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Elena Carlaw
Date Deposited: 08 Jan 2020 14:56
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2021 20:15
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/41849

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