Resettlement in Central Africa: balancing conservation and people

Many national parks and nature reserves in Central Africa are created for the interests of scientists and tourists from developed countries. This has often led to local populations being removed from an area and forced to resettle elsewhere. The needs of these people are ignored and there has been little effort to assist this resettling process. As a result, few of these programmes have been successful in their aims of protecting wildlife and the environment.

A recent independent study looks at conservation-related resettlement schemes in the Congo River Basin. Local people have been forcibly removed from all the areas protected for conservation in this region, and denied any opportunities to challenge their resettlement. Resettlement programmes create many risks for the people involved. Moving to a new area can create health risks, food insecurity, and homelessness. It can also reduce job security and income. Groups can become marginalised by language and cultural barriers, and resented by the existing populations in resettlement areas.

The research shows that:

• Many officials believe they have the right to move any groups they choose. Officials believe they own the land, not the people who live there.
• Central Africa’s governments have no consideration for the fate of ethnic minorities, which they view as ‘backward’.
• These governments have not acknowledged that that biodiversity protection is possible without forcible removals (this has occurred in other parts of Africa).
• Many policy-makers and conservationists consider inhabitants of national parks as hunter-gatherers who are unable to participate in successful models of conservation.
• International conservation agencies ignore the fact that removing indigenous people and excluding them from an area without compensation violates both international law and African Union directives.

None of the parks studied have an official programme to protect the interests of local people. Only one park, the Korup National Park in Cameroon, has any measures to help resettlement. However, ignoring the needs of local people can disrupt conservation efforts. Displaced people often return to parks, resulting in conflict with authorities. This can lead to violence and sometimes deaths.

People removed from their homes will often resent conservation programmes, and be less inclined to hunt in a sustainable way. They will often increase their hunting to supply markets in their new destinations. Greater dependence on agriculture also affects the environment in a region, with larger areas of natural vegetation being cleared for crops and livestock. If resettlement programmes are to be successful, international conservationists and policy-makers in the region must recognise that:

• attempts to protect biodiversity in parks are unworkable if the wider social and political issues are ignored
• resettlement programmes that do not consider issues of ownership and traditional land rights are unlikely to succeed
• conservation projects must offer resettled people areas of primary rainforest as a source of non-timber forest products and for the hunting and fishing of non-endangered species
• persuading people to farm livestock as replacements for bush-meat is difficult as people are reluctant to change their dietary habits
• forests often represent more than simply a source of food; tribes will often have strong spiritual connections to the forest that cannot be recreated elsewhere.

Resettling people who have strong links to a region is a difficult process. People cannot simply be moved to a new location and expected to adapt. They need considerable support to ensure the process is successful in protecting both the environment and interests of these people. Achieving this will require far greater recognition of the needs of these groups from policy makers and conservationists.

Source(s):
‘Conservation-related resettlement in Central African Republic’ by Kai Schmidt-Soltau, Development and Change, 34(3), pp525-551, 2003
‘Environmental and social risks arising from conservation-related resettlement programmes in Central Africa’ by Kai Schmidt-Soltau, paper presented at the International Symposium on resettlement and Social Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, China May 2002 Full document.

Funded by: Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit: World Bank; European Union; World Wildlife Fund for Nature

id21 Research Highlight: 24 February 2005

Further Information:
Kai Schmidt-Soltau
GTZ
B.P 7814
Yaoundé
Cameroon

Tel: +237 980 8825
Contact the contributor: SchmidtSol@aol.com

Kai Schmidt-Soltau homepage

Other related links:
'Not giving a damn: private financiers and dam displacement'

'Water, livelihoods and resettlement of displaced people: lessons from Eritrea'

'Responding to displacement: Balancing needs and rights'

'Linking conservation and sustainable livelihoods'

Displacement.net