Conservation and Neocolonialism
Encyclopedia
Conservation and Neocolonialism refers to the conservation movement
as taken up today by international organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature
, which has inadvertently set up a neocolonialist relationship with underdeveloped nations in a manner consistent with Immanuel Wallerstein
’s World Systems Theory
(Wallerstein, 1974) and Andre Gunder Frank
’s
Dependency Theory
(Frank, 1975).
Neocolonialism
, with its attempts to create dependency through indirect control, demonstrates Andre Gunder Frank
’s theory in a modern situation. In terms of conservation
, foreign powers in the form of international conservation organizations exert pressure on underdeveloped nations to create protected area
s. The national governments of these underdeveloped nations agree to do this because of the economic incentives they are given by the World Bank
and donor nations. In Madagascar
, for example, the World Bank actively participates in creating national parks by relieving national debt in exchange for establishing wilderness areas (Harper, 2002:97). The World Bank created, and continues to fund, the National Association for the Management of Protected Areas, which the Malagasy government runs, to manage national parks in Madagascar.
Within the underdeveloped nations, the conservation movement has become a form of internal colonialism
. By agreeing to create wilderness areas that exclude people, the national governments force the local, often already marginalized, people off their territory. This creates a state of dependence on the state by the local people for their socioeconomic well-being. In the late 1980s, the conservation movement attempted to alleviate this dependency situation by developing community-based conservation
(c.f. Drijver, 1992; Brockington, 2001). This utopian vision has not been quite as successful as planned, however. As Anthropologist Carol A. Drijver notes, “the local rural population may be used as informants and sometimes consulted for their opinions. However, this does not necessarily give them any real control or participation in the direction of the project” (Drijver, 1992:133). While international conservation organizations promise social and economic improvement to local communities as a direct result of the creation of national parks and protected areas, the outcome is seldom successful. Jobs created by the parks are more often given to people from outside the area with more education or connections than the local people often have.
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
as taken up today by international organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
, which has inadvertently set up a neocolonialist relationship with underdeveloped nations in a manner consistent with Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
’s World Systems Theory
World Systems Theory
The world-systems theory is a multidisciplinary, macro-scale approach to world history and social change....
(Wallerstein, 1974) and Andre Gunder Frank
Andre Gunder Frank
Andre Gunder Frank was a German-American economic historian and sociologist who promoted "dependency theory" after 1970 and "World Systems Theory" after 1984...
’s
Dependency Theory
Dependency theory
Dependency theory or dependencia theory is a body of social science theories predicated on the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former...
(Frank, 1975).
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control...
, with its attempts to create dependency through indirect control, demonstrates Andre Gunder Frank
Andre Gunder Frank
Andre Gunder Frank was a German-American economic historian and sociologist who promoted "dependency theory" after 1970 and "World Systems Theory" after 1984...
’s theory in a modern situation. In terms of conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, foreign powers in the form of international conservation organizations exert pressure on underdeveloped nations to create protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
s. The national governments of these underdeveloped nations agree to do this because of the economic incentives they are given by the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and donor nations. In Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, for example, the World Bank actively participates in creating national parks by relieving national debt in exchange for establishing wilderness areas (Harper, 2002:97). The World Bank created, and continues to fund, the National Association for the Management of Protected Areas, which the Malagasy government runs, to manage national parks in Madagascar.
Within the underdeveloped nations, the conservation movement has become a form of internal colonialism
Internal colonialism
Internal colonialism is a notion of structural political and economic inequalities between regions within a nation state. The term is used to describe the uneven effects of economic development on a regional basis, otherwise known as "uneven development", and to describe the exploitation of...
. By agreeing to create wilderness areas that exclude people, the national governments force the local, often already marginalized, people off their territory. This creates a state of dependence on the state by the local people for their socioeconomic well-being. In the late 1980s, the conservation movement attempted to alleviate this dependency situation by developing community-based conservation
Community-based conservation
Community-based conservation is a res conservation movements that emerged in the 1980s through escalating protests and subsequent dialogue with local communities affected by international attempts to protect the biodiversity of the earth. Older conservation movements disregarded the interests of...
(c.f. Drijver, 1992; Brockington, 2001). This utopian vision has not been quite as successful as planned, however. As Anthropologist Carol A. Drijver notes, “the local rural population may be used as informants and sometimes consulted for their opinions. However, this does not necessarily give them any real control or participation in the direction of the project” (Drijver, 1992:133). While international conservation organizations promise social and economic improvement to local communities as a direct result of the creation of national parks and protected areas, the outcome is seldom successful. Jobs created by the parks are more often given to people from outside the area with more education or connections than the local people often have.