The Dark Side of Conservation

Big Green Politics Podcast

In this episode we’re talking to Chris Lang about conservation in light of two recent news stories about mass evictions in India and human rights abuses. Chris Lang is from Conservation Watch and REDD monitor to and we asked him about these stories, and to elaborate on the current model of conservation and where it’s going wrong. This episode will contain some description of violence and sexual violence. Here are some links from our conversation below: 1. The Karen are facing violent evictions in Thailand: http://www.conservation-watch.org/2016/09/14/court-in-thailand-rules-that-national-park-officers-can-burn-indigenous-peoples-homes-with-impunity/ 2. Deforestation is significantly lower in community-managed forests than in strictly protected forests: http://www.conservation-watch.org/2017/04/04/giving-land-rights-to-communities-stops-deforestation-heres-the-evidence/ 3. Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend on the ICCA consortium on Conservation-Watch: http://www.conservation-watch.org/2016/08/30/guest-post-grazia-borrini-feyerabend-of-the-icca-consortium-seeds-of-nature-and-culture-at-the-grassroots/ 4. More about the Rainforest Foundation UK's community mapping project in Central Africa: http://www.conservation-watch.org/2016/10/05/rainforest-foundation-uks-community-mapping-project-wins-prestigious-un-award/ 5. More about the Messok Dja story: https://redd-monitor.org/2019/03/13/exposed-by-buzzfeed-news-wwfs-lies-about-indigenous-people-being-supportive-of-its-proposed-messok-dja-national-park-in-the-republic-of-congo/ 6. Buzzfeed News: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwarren/wwf-world-wide-fund-nature-parks-torture-death https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katiejmbaker/wwf-report-human-rights-abuses-rangers https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katiejmbaker/wwf-eu-messok-dja-fears-repression-ecoguards 7. Survival International covering WWF scandal in Cameroon back in 2014: https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10456