Report exposes the dark side of conservation
A report launched by Survival International - the global movement for tribal peoples rights- reveals how conservation has led to the eviction of millions of tribal people from protected areas, since protected areas like national parks should generally be no go for mining, agriculture, dams, roads and pipelines.
Survivals report shows that nearly all protected areas are, or have been, the ancestral homelands of tribal peoples, who have been dependent on, and managed them for thousands of years. But in the name of conservation tribal peoples are being illegally driven out from these lands and accused of poaching; meanwhile, tourists and fee-paying big- game hunters are welcomed in.
Bushman Dauqoo Xukuri from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana said, 「I sit and look around the country. Wherever there are bushmen, there is game. Why? Because we know how to take care of animals.」
Survivals report concludes that the current model of conservation needs a radical shake-up. Conservation must stick to international law, protect tribal people’s rights to their lands, listen to them, and then be prepared to back them up as much as they can.
Survivals Director Stephen Corry said, 「Millions are being spent by conservationists every year, and yet the environments in deepening crisis. It’s time to wake up and realize that there is another way and it's much, much better. Firstly, tribal people’s rights have to be acknowledged and respected. Secondly, they have to be treated as the best experts at defending their own lands. Conservationists must realize its they, themselves, who are junior partners.」