Moving people, moving boundaries : the socio-economic effects of protectionist conservation, involuntary resettlement and tenure insecurity on the edge of Mt. Elgon National Park, Uganda
2007
Himmelfarb, David
Recent decades have seen a global proliferation of protected areas. A philosophy of exclusionary protectionism, which began with the creation of the US National Parks system, has remained central to many of these conservation initiatives. Though well-intentioned such practices have had severe repercussions for the livelihoods of rural communities worldwide. Focusing on the history and nature of conflict between rural communities and park managers on the northern edge of Mt. Elgon National Park, Uganda, this paper briefly examines the historical development of the protectionist conservation paradigm and some of the effects this approach has had on rural environments and livelihoods. This paper also presents preliminary findings that suggest that protectionist park policies have fostered land tenure insecurity over the past three decades which has exacerbated poverty and conflict. Such tenure seems also to have led to environmental degradation in the forms of soil loss, water siltation, and increased in-park resource use.
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