Environmental peace and security

The wildlife sector in Zambia has implemented community-based wildlife management model approaches to embrace human development and wildlife conservation in a single rubric from the mid-1980s. This paradigm was built of several premises, among which was poverty alleviation of people who had been marginalised by wildlife conservation through the ‘fortress conservation strategy’ and to reduce human-wildlife conflicts leading to increased tolerance for wildlife and better outcomes for biodiversity conservation. Human wildlife conflicts undermine agriculture and consequently exacerbate food insecurity in the Game Management Areas (GMAs). Despite its application, crop raiding reports continue to rise in these areas. Generally, the level of poverty in the country is reportedly increasing due to low agriculture yields, with agriculture being the major source of livelihood and food security among the rural community, and the people in GMAs are the most affected. In response to growing concerns and criticisms regarding the effectiveness of the Community Based Conservation (CBC) approach in addressing both conservation and development goals, this study explores the impact of CBC model approaches on food security through their efforts of addressing human wildlife conflicts and alternative compensation forms available to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. It employs a qualitative research approach through a case study of Chiawa and Lupande GMAs. Using a political ecology theoretical-analytical framework, the study concludes that the implementation of CBC strategy within the pluralistic approach has not effectively addressed poverty and household food security in GMAs in Zambia. The failures are largely attributed to the multi-level complexity and contextual factors in which CBC model approaches have been implemented. Limited by the nature of this study, a recommendation is made for further research to explore the possibility of advancing the CBC model to adequately address conservation and human development.

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) induce considerable crop damage risks, shocks and stresses on subsistence farmers at the wildlife-agriculture interface. In this study, we explored the social dimensions of human-elephant interactions in the wildlife-agrarian landscape. The study aimed at unraveling the associated hazardous conditions and nature of the subsistence farmers’ social vulnerability and practices with respect to elephant crop damage, subsistence farmers’ livelihoods, and elephant conservation. Applying qualitative thematic content analysis, the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) and additive generalized linear models (GLMs), this study revealed that the status of relational social capital influences human-elephant conflict (HEC) management and subsistence farmers’ responses, regardless of the farmers’ social learning and environmental values about the social-ecological system. The strengthening of multiple local stakeholder participation, institutional governance...

This piece discusses the complex relationship between international environmental governance, sometimes referred to as “earth system governance”, and indigenous rights. These two sets of governing institutions are theoretically envisioned as complementary, as both incorporate the important notion of environmental and natural resource protection. Emphasis has been progressively put on the natural symbiosis and correlation between the overall goals of sustainable development and indigenous self- determination and identity preservation. The specific connections forest dwellers and other indigenous populations have with their lands, the knowledge stemming from this connection and the significant role this plays in resource protection have been increasingly acknowledged. This commentary focuses on the interplay of indigenous rights and climate change governance embodied in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its corollary, the initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries, later extended to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation “plus” conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). Discussion then turns to the potential opportunities and harm REDD+ mechanisms represent for indigenous communities and their rights.

This report is based on investigations in Republic of Congo by local civil society organisations, mainly within six forest communities living in or on the periphery of Conkouati-Douli National Park (CDNP), and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP). The aim of the investigations was to understand the impact of the protected areas on those communities and the evolution of the relationships between them.
This report highlights outstanding issues which need be addressed in order to avoid further infringements of forest peoples’ rights and to foster an inclusive approach to conservation.