Empowering or alienating communities: conservation in Maasailand, East Africa
Date
2011-09
Authors
Goldman, Mara J., speaker
Unidentified speaker
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Rangelands used by Maasai pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya also provide essential wet season forage for various wildlife species. In an effort to assure the continued availability of such pastures for wildlife, various forms of community-based conservation have been implemented throughout Maasai village lands. Costs, benefits, and community participation processes vary with the model used and the communities involved. I compare and contrast the different approaches to highlight how conservation interventions can be either empowering or alienating to the communities at hand. I suggest that participation based on respect for local knowledge and skills is key to empowering communities through conservation. I also argue that participation as well as the degree to which a project is succeeding at benefiting pastoralists is related to whether or not it is succeeding at protecting wildlife.
Description
Presented at the Fall 2011 Center for Collaborative Conservation (https://collaborativeconservation.org/) Seminar and Discussion Series, "Collaborative Conservation in Practice: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation", September 20, 2011, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. This series focused on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation.
Mara J. Goldman is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and a research associate in the environment and society program at the Institute for Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Mara's research has focused on the interface of human-environment relations and critical geographies of conservation and development, with a regional focus in East Africa. She works primarily in Tanzania, and to some extent in Kenya, with members of the Maasai ethnic group. Her work addresses the politics of knowledge and participation as related to wildlife conservation interventions and rangeland management, changing pastoral livelihood and communication practices, and empowerment and governance issues within Maasai communities. She is co-editor (with Matthew Turner and Paul Nadasdy), of Knowing Nature: Conversations at the Intersection of Political Ecology and Science Studies (2010: University of Chicago Press).
Includes recorded speech and PowerPoint presentation.
Accessibility features: unedited transcript. To request an edited transcript, please contact library_digitaladmin@mail.colostate.edu.
Mara J. Goldman is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and a research associate in the environment and society program at the Institute for Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Mara's research has focused on the interface of human-environment relations and critical geographies of conservation and development, with a regional focus in East Africa. She works primarily in Tanzania, and to some extent in Kenya, with members of the Maasai ethnic group. Her work addresses the politics of knowledge and participation as related to wildlife conservation interventions and rangeland management, changing pastoral livelihood and communication practices, and empowerment and governance issues within Maasai communities. She is co-editor (with Matthew Turner and Paul Nadasdy), of Knowing Nature: Conversations at the Intersection of Political Ecology and Science Studies (2010: University of Chicago Press).
Includes recorded speech and PowerPoint presentation.
Accessibility features: unedited transcript. To request an edited transcript, please contact library_digitaladmin@mail.colostate.edu.
Rights Access
Subject
alienation
empowerment
national parks
community based conservation
ecosystem services
Maasailand
Tanzania
Kenya
wildlife conservation