Conservação da natureza, conflitos e resistência das populações locais do entorno de florestas protegidas do Sul da África

 This article focuses on the failure to fully address access and rights through co-management arrangements that takes place in forest conservation and the resultant resistance by local people. In so doing the article develops a typology of resistance as a way of contributing to the on-going debates about resistance from a Southern African perspective. Two typologies are developed based on empirical evidence gathered over many years of in-depth interviews and observation with concerned people across two sites in South Africa and Zimbabwe. What is different from most of the scholarship on resistance is locating it within property relations that were introduced at the beginning of colonialism in Southern Africa and continues unabated in post-colonial times. The circumstances surrounding access to and rights over resources are what lead local people in different places to resist and engage with the state over conservation practices, given the fact the denial of access and rights marginalises them, thereby becoming unequal members of their countries. The salient point is that resistance, as is argued in the article, results in many dimensions of repossession by those who had lost their land, forests and rights. I tease out this dimension to resistance and make the case that resistance takes different forms and does not lead to the formation of movements by the actors struggling to gain rights over and access to forest resources. Loss of rights and access results in dispossession and loss of livelihood opportunities. At the same time states need to recognize the inadequacy of giving rights or access to resources dispossessed from communities around conservation areas, but giving both rights over and access to resources that may reduce the subsequent marginalisation.Este artigo é focado na incapacidade de resolver totalmente os acessos e direitos por meio de arranjos de co-gestão que têm lugar na conservação das florestas e na resistência resultante pela população local. Ao fazer a análise, o artigo desenvolve uma tipologia de resistência como uma forma de contribuir com os debates em curso sobre a resistência de uma perspectiva sul-africana. Duas tipologias são desenvolvidas com base na evidência empírica adquirida ao longo de muitos anos de entrevistas aprofundadas e observações com pessoas envolvidas em dois locais na África do Sul e no Zimbabwe. O que é diferente da maioria dos estudos sobre a resistência é localizá-la dentro de relações de propriedade que foram introduzidas no início do colonialismo na África do Sul e que continuam inabaláveis em tempos pós-coloniais. As circunstâncias envolvendo o acesso e os direitos sobre os recursos são o que leva as pessoas locais em lugares diferentes a resistir e a questionar o Estado sobre as práticas de conservação, dado o fato de que a proibição do acesso e dos direitos os marginaliza, tornando-os membros desiguais de seus países. O ponto importante é que a resistência, como discutido no artigo, resulta em muitas dimensões de reapropriação por aqueles que perderam suas terras, florestas e direitos. Eu examino essa dimensão da resistência e defendo que a resistência assume formas diferentes e não conduz à formação de movimentos pelos atores que lutam para ganhar direitos e acesso aos recursos florestais. Perda de direitos e acessos resulta em desapropriação e perda de oportunidades de modos de vida. Ao mesmo tempo, os Estados precisam reconhecer a inadequação de dar direitos ou acesso aos recursos retirados das comunidades em torno de áreas de conservação, mas dar ambos, direitos e acessos a recursos que podem reduzir a subsequente marginalização

Conflicts Around Forest Reserves in Zimbabwe: What Prospects for Community Management?

Summary Due to the failure of the post?independent state to address the land inequities of the colonial era, conflicts over land resources are prevalent in Zimbabwe. This is particularly the case in and around state forest reserves. Recognising these conflicts, the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission has been exploring possibilities of co?management arrangements for forest reserves. This article examines one such pilot programme, exploring its historical origins in both national and local debates about forest policy The way historical experiences of forest management impinge on current thinking are highlighted, including how these feed into the contrasting perceptions of the ecological, economic and social values of forest resources of officials and local people. Major social differences among communities surrounding forest areas mean that local perceptions are highly varied. Given this context, the prospects for co?management arrangements where forest resources are shared are discussed

Youth engagement in global conservation governance

Youth are increasingly recognized for their important role in shaping environmental decisions surrounding conservation. Regrettably, youth who are crucial decision-makers are often excluded from environmental governance spaces due to structural barriers, both economic and political. As highlighted by recent environmental justice literature, this marginalization hinders their active participation in the decision-making process. The recent publication of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Youth Strategy 2022–2030 has brought prominent environmental organizations into the debate. The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) presents a useful example from which to understand how youth access and participate in decision-making at the highest level of governance in a prominent global conservation organization. We used event ethnography and participant observation methods to study the WCC Forum in Marseille, France (2021). We sought to examine the geopolitical intricacies of power and the underlying inequalities at the root of youth engagement, or lack thereof. We considered the IUCN's engagement with youth, outlining the process from previous resolutions and recommendations to the publication of the IUCN Youth Strategy in 2022. The results from the youth narratives we compiled showed that youth are not a monolith, that tokenism should be challenged, and that youth have agency but require support. We argue that when youth are mobilized in metalevel decision-making spaces, their engagement is stratified and unequal. We situated youth engagement in decision-making through the perspective of environmental organizations as a contribution to environmental governance and youth literature

Commons governance in Southern Africa

This policy brief was authored by the CROSCOG (Cross Sectoral Commons Governance in Southern Africa) project teamThis Policy Brief is based on synthetic studies undertaken by participants in the Cross Sectoral Commons Governance in Southern Africa (CROSCOG) project between 2007 and 2009, funded by the European Commission (European Commission: FP6-2002-INCO- DEV/SSA-1, contract no. 043982). The objective of the project was to share existing research and experience in the governance of large-scale natural resource commons across various ecosystem types in southern Africa.Commission of the European Communitie

Youth engagement in global conservation governance

Youth are increasingly recognized for their important role in shaping environmental decisions surrounding conservation. Regrettably, youth who are crucial decision-makers are often excluded from environmental governance spaces due to structural barriers, both economic and political. As highlighted by recent environmental justice literature, this marginalization hinders their active participation in the decision-making process. The recent publication of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Youth Strategy 2022–2030 has brought prominent environmental organizations into the debate. The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) presents a useful example from which to understand how youth access and participate in decision-making at the highest level of governance in a prominent global conservation organization. We used event ethnography and participant observation methods to study the WCC Forum in Marseille, France (2021). We sought to examine the geopolitical intricacies of power and the underlying inequalities at the root of youth engagement, or lack thereof. We considered the IUCN's engagement with youth, outlining the process from previous resolutions and recommendations to the publication of the IUCN Youth Strategy in 2022. The results from the youth narratives we compiled showed that youth are not a monolith, that tokenism should be challenged, and that youth have agency but require support. We argue that when youth are mobilized in metalevel decision-making spaces, their engagement is stratified and unequal. We situated youth engagement in decision-making through the perspective of environmental organizations as a contribution to environmental governance and youth literature

Knowledge, power, livelihoods and commons practices in Dwesa-Cwebe, South Africa

This paper explores two aspects of the management of the commons in the Transkei area of Dwesa-Cwebe and traces them from the 1870s to today. The first is the intersection of power, politics and knowledge. National interests are privileged over local interests in the management of forests and grasslands that were controlled by local people before the onset of colonialism. This leads to the marginalisation of certain groups. The second is the economics of common resources. The paper contrasts communities' multiple livelihood strategies with the state's single strategy system. It looks at how state policies have changed people's status and their dependence on resources, and reflects on Dwesa-Cwebe's prospects of managing its commons now that local institutions have been undermined and livelihood patterns changed.Knowledge, power, livelihoods, local people, grasslands, forests, commons,