Conservation and/or extraction? Exploring the links between indigenous people and the environment in eastern DRCongo.

Indigenous peoples have been repeatedly displaced from their ancestral lands in the name of conservation (Dowie, 2012). To deliver on the dual imperatives of environmental protection and social justice, a growing number of NGOs, activists and academics are calling for indigenous peoples to be given greater control over their lands and resources inside protected areas (for example, Minority Rights Group and Forest Peoples Program). However, we know very little about how indigenous peoples relate to their ancestral forests decades after having been displaced from them for conservation purposes. Do they go back to living a traditional, ecologically sustainable lifestyle? Or do they come to view their customary lands and resources as an opportunity for extraction and economic gain? This research project will address this fundamental gap in our understanding through an in-depth analysis of Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where groups of indigenous Batwa people recently returned after decades living outside its boundaries. Concretely, I will examine how the Batwa now relate to their ancestral forests inside the park; and the extent, trajectory and causes of environmental changes (principally tree cover loss) that have followed their return. To conduct the research, I will develop an innovative mixed methods toolkit whereby satellite images of tree cover changes inside the park will then be 'ground-truthed' with ethnographic techniques during fieldwork. The research findings will be published in at least 1 high-impact journal, 1 policy brief and 1 blog post. I will also present the key conclusions at 1 academic and 1 policy-oriented conference. The project effectively represents a bridge between my PhD, which focussed on conservation conflicts around Kahuzi-Biega National Park, and an FWO postdoctorate project, where I will combine satellite and ethnographic data to study conservation, armed conflict and environmental change more broadly in Africa's Great Lakes region.

Keywords:CONGO, ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT, CONSERVATION

Disciplines:Ecological anthropology