Reckoning with elitism and and racism in conservation: Q&A with Colleen Begg

[UngulateNerd92]

• Long-running concerns about discrimination, colonial legacy, privilege, and power dynamics in conservation have come to the forefront with the recent resurgence of the social justice movement. But will this movement lead to lasting change in the sector?
• South African conservationist Colleen Begg says that meaningful transformation will require dedicated and sustained efforts to drive real change in conservation.
• Begg, who co-founded both the Niassa Carnivore Project in Mozambique and Women for the Environment, Africa, says that conservationists in positions of power need to open themselves to criticism and change, while creating pathways for new leaders and ideas to come forward.
• Begg spoke about these issues and more in a recent conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing last year, long-running concerns about discrimination, colonial legacy, privilege, and power dynamics in conservation have gained prominence, forcing many organizations in the sector to reckon with their origins and how they operate. Current and historic injustices against Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the name of establishing protected areas, racism and abusive practices within institutions, representation in leadership, and disparities in funding and advancement opportunities are but a few of the areas that have drawn particular attention over the past year. But while there is certainly an uptick in reflection and discussion, it’s unclear whether this period will result in lasting, meaningful change or if the sector will revert back to business-as-usual.

Colleen Begg, a South African conservationist who co-founded the Niassa Carnivore Project in Mozambique, says she isn’t sure either, but meaningful transformation won’t come on its own — it will require dedicated and sustained efforts to drive real change.

“I have had more conversations about privilege, racism, and sexism in conservation in the last three years than before but there is still such a long way to go,” Begg told Mongabay during a recent interview. “To me conservation really is one of the last bastions of racism and exclusion on the continent and it is very resistant to change.”

Reckoning with elitism and racism in conservation: Q&A with Colleen Begg

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I read this earlier on mongabay and thought it was a really thought provoking piece even if it mostly refers to an African phenomenon (but I know it can also be seen too in only recently post colonial countries in this region of the world like Belize and Guyana).

I thought some of the authors points towards solutions were a little bit hazy and poorly articulated in parts which detracted from her argument and I think that the BLM and George Floyd / US centric references were not really relevant (perhaps they would have been if the article was discussing some of the controversy surrounding anti poaching units brutality and murders in Kenya or South Africa).

However the general message of the article was a valid one and well intentioned IMO.

I've always thought that Conservation in many parts of Africa has a really unavoidable residual underbelly of colonialism about it (perhaps Ethiopia would be the exception?) and for that reason I wouldn't personally want to work in conservation there.

I don't want to sound like I am an advocate of "woke ideology" (which I am not) but I do think the authors suggestion that this is a problem that needs to be seriously addressed is correct.

The conclusion in which the author explicitly lays out the difference between real world Conservation and academia and academic research was brilliant and I'd love to see an article specifically focused on that issue as that is another very conspicuous elephant in the room that is rarely discussed or acknowledged in the world of Conservation.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I think another issue I see is that the challenge of inclusion and barriers of entrance in Africa in some ways is not just one based on race as in black and white but also on ethnic groups.

There are prejudices based on tribal and ethnic lines held in sub Saharan Africa that are just very difficult to ignore and have their manifestation in conservation too.

For example I've seen and read plenty about the inclusion of Bantu and Swahili and Zulu and Masai Conservation practitioners and individuals occupying leadership positions in conservation NGOS and within governments.

However I've never heard of marginalized indigenous ethnic groups (who could be perhaps the most promising Conservationists given their close contact with the natural world and knowledge of it) such as the San / Khoisan or the Dogon or the Baka and Mbuti peoples being included or given leadership roles.

In fact it seems that ethnic groups who already occupy more privileged positions within society due to dominant tribal status are able to obtain these kind of positions and employment and then often proceed to brutalize indigenous peoples like the San or Dogon or Baka peoples.

Those kind of dynamics seem to me to be cynically just another kind of and expression of colonialism albeit one of one sub Saharan African ethnic group who are more recent colonizers of a region towards another sub Saharan African peoples who are indigenous.

I think that realities like these can often get ignored when the focus is diluted by woke reductive rhetoric or when the discussion avoids for whatever reason the many nuances that are present.