Conservationism

The 'parks without people' conservation model has its roots in the 19th century U.S.A. It has expanded worldwide and given rise to an elitist conservation industry dominated by big conservation NGOs. This model has become another major threat to the physical and cultural survival of forest-dependent communities, their knowledge and their traditional conservation practises.

Type of content

Country

cambodia
Bulletin articles 30 March 2023

Cambodia. Rubber Plantations, Protected Areas, REDD+ and Other Threats: A Dramatic Loss for Forest Dwellers

Forests in Cambodia have seen large-scale deforestation with rubber and cassava plantations, illegal logging and other economic interests. Besides, Protected Areas and carbon projects like REDD+ have severely affected forest communities. Despite the criminalization, communities fight back, underlining the important connection between living with their forests and having autonomy to enough, diverse and nutritious food.
tailandia
Bulletin articles 30 March 2023

Thailand: Valuing Forests as Carbon Credits

Indigenous Peoples and communities in the forests of Thailand are threatened with policies that have added a new type of asset: carbon credits. The legislation passed in the name of conservation and climate mitigation is in fact designed to limit the use of forest communities of their land and forests while encroaching them into smaller areas.
agroefogo
Bulletin articles 16 January 2023

South America: "Green" Destruction in the Amazon Rainforest

Most of the causes of deforestation that were identified in a UN-led global analysis from 1999 continue to exist. Yet, the “solutions” proposed since then have become new underlying causes of deforestation. In this scenario, projects that destroy the forest and “green” projects depend on each other in order to be viable.
Portel, Pará, Brazil.
Bulletin articles 16 June 2022

Connecting the Climate Crisis (and the so-called ‘Solutions’) to Historical Injustices and Oppressions

Fossil fuels are at the root of the climate chaos – but the conditions for this crisis have been created by the interconnections and dependencies between colonialism, racism, patriarchy and class exploitation. To address climate chaos, therefore, it is necessary to address the unequal relationships of power upon which a fossil-fuel dependent capitalism is based.
India
Bulletin articles 16 June 2022

India: Whither Fortress Conservation

The ‘conservation’ model in India continues to enclose forests and evict communities in a deliberate attempt to undermine and scuttle the Forest Rights Act (FRA) - a landmark legislation that strengthens the authority of communities over their forests. Meanwhile, companies are allowed to destroy forests, even inside the conservation areas.
Swift webinar
Other information 16 June 2022

“Unpacking Jargon” Webinar Series

India conservation struggle
Action alerts 20 May 2022

Press release: Stop the Racist Conservation Model!

From 24-29 May, 2022, IUCN’s 2nd Asia Parks Congress aims to set the agenda for Protected Areas in Asia for the next ten years. Expanding Protected Areas in Asia also means expanding evictions, violence and further deforestation.
women brazil
Bulletin articles 23 March 2022

No Concession at PETAR: Combating Privatization is a Women’s Struggle in Brazil

Women from the Ribeira River Valley -in the state of São Paulo, Brazil- have devoted themselves to opposing the concession of one of the region’s most important tourist parks. Their struggle is fundamental, and part of diverse resistances against the privatizing trend of creating ‘territories without people’. They remind us that their territory has been and is rooted in their stories, voices and resistance.
conservation
Bulletin articles 23 March 2022

Conservation Concessions as Neo-Colonization: The African Parks Network

The conservation industry is now promoting the idea of ‘buying up’ Conservation Concessions and reconstituting them as business models with profit-seeking aims. A case in point is the ‘African Parks Network’, which manages 19 National Parks and Protected Areas in 11 countries in Africa.
India publication
Publications 15 March 2022

Struggles for the right to live in forests declared Protected Areas in India

New publication calls attention to the devastating impacts of Protected Areas in India.
Action alerts 26 November 2021

Gabon: Communities Say NO to the Great Mayumba Project

Communities in Nyanga province, Gabon, released the Bana / Mayumba Declaration in which they call for the suspension of the GRANDE MAYUMBA project, a multi-concession megaproject marketing as a so-called Nature-Based Solution.

notonbs2
Action alerts 1 November 2021

More than 250 groups say NO to “Nature-Based Solutions”!

The statement calls on climate, environmental and social justice movements to unequivocally reject “Nature-Based Solutions” and all offset schemes because they are not designed to address the climate crisis. It remains open for sign-on until the end of 2021.