Conservation Industrial Complex
Fortress Conservation
Fortress conservation is destroying the land and lives of Indigenous Peoples. But this model is embraced by Western conservation NGOs, and this is where most of the Western funding for nature protection is going. Why? Because the myths that sustain this model of conservation are reproduced in school texts, media, wildlife documentaries, NGO adverts, etc. The images we have seen since childhood about "nature," and the words we use to describe it, shape our way of thinking, our policies, and our actions. We tend to assume these words and images are the reality, as if they were neutral, objective, or "scientific." But they are not. Conservation is rooted in racism, colonialism, white supremacy, social injustice, land theft, extractivism, and violence. Contributors to this section show the role that the Global North plays in perpetuating these injustices by funding conservation that violates Indigenous Peoples rights. These projects lack transparency and accountability and don't tackle the real causes of the environmental crises.[1]
Sources
- ↑ Decolonize Conservation: Global Voices for Indigenous Self-determination, Land, and a World in Common, Edited by Ashley Dawson, Fiore Longo, and Survival International; Page, 19.