ANTH 4006//SOCI 4850
■ Week 6
■ February 17, 2022
■ “Critiques of western conservation/wildlife research”

Last week’s materials
■ Quijano, Funez-Flores and perspectives on ‘decoloniality’ from
perspective of Peruvian and Honduran scholars
■ Listening for sovereignty

This week’s readings
■ 6. February 17: Critiques of western conservation/wildlife
research
■ Mbaria, John & Mordecai Ogada. 2016. Chapter 2:
“Conservation NGO’s Grand Delusion” in The Big
Conservation Lie: The Untold Story of Wildlife Conservation in
Kenya. Lens & Pens LLC
■ Rubis, June. 2020. “The orang utan is not an indigenous
name: knowing and naming the maias as a decolonizing
epistemology.“, Cultural Studies
34(5): https://www.tandfonline.
com/doi/abs/10.1080/09502386.2020.1780281

UN engagement with
Indigenous peoples
■ “Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways
of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural,
economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant
societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples
from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their
rights as distinct peoples.
■ Indigenous peoples have sought recognition of their identities, way of life and their
right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources for years, yet throughout
history, their rights have always been violated. Indigenous peoples today, are
arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the
world. The international community now recognizes that special measures are
required to protect their rights and maintain their distinct cultures and way of life.
Find below a short history of the indigenous struggle in the international stage.”
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us.html

Class Activity
■ Let’s analyze the points raised by John Mbaria and Mordecai
Ogada in their chapter this week:
■ Here are four guiding questions whenever you read an article
or other academic material on Indigenous issues:
– What is the issue described in the chapter?
– Who is impacted by or perpetuating the issue?
– What are the underlying power dynamics affecting the
issue?
– What role does Indigenous autonomy//sovereignty play
in the issue?

Conservation’s big lie – the
whiteness and neocolonialism at
the heart of western
conservation

Dr.Mordecai Ogada on current
‘biodiversity and conservation’
frameworks
■ http://www.thesustainabilityagenda.com/podcast/episode-
144-interview-with-kenyan-conservationist-dr-mordecai-ogada-
on-conservation-trends-in-kenya/

Dr June Rubis – maias – human
relations in Sarawak, Borneo
■ “I, therefore, argue it is necessary to consider how we
approach Indigenous naming, knowledges and stories
in conservation work and also in our citational practices.
It is these ideas of knowing the maias beyond ‘to
protect’ but rather to connect, in place that maintains
orang utan-human relations as more than an abstract(-
ed) species with conservation value. In other words, we
must know the maias beyond its mostly charismatic and
conservation value, and carefully think through its
embodied co-relations with place and Ibans or other
Indigenous peoples living in same lands.” (Rubis, 2020)

Environmental Non-
Governmental Organizations are
deeply connected to human
rights abuses & neocolonialism
■ https://youtu.be/9J6iJg6NUOA

Concepts like the ‘half earth’
hypothesis (EO Wilson) are a
reimagining of land grabs as
‘ecological futurism’
■ EO Wilson put forth a concept of the ‘half earth project’

The Half-Earth project:
repackaging colonialism and
land grabs as ‘ecological
futurism’
■ “Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life is a 2016 book by
the biologist E. O. Wilson, in which the author proposes
that half of the Earth's surface should be designated a
human-free natural reserve to
preserve biodiversity.[1] Wilson noted that the term "Half-
Earth" was coined for this concept by Tony Hiss in
his Smithsonian article "Can the World Really Set Aside
Half the Planet for Wildlife?"[2][3”
■ Source: Wikipedia.org

EO Wilson –
racist ideologies

Weekly reflection question:
Drawing on the guidance given by both of this week’s readings, how do
we decolonize western conservation spaces?