On this episode of “Death in The Garden,” we spoke to conservationist Dr. Aby Sène, professor of Parks and Conservation Area Management at Clemson University, where she researches the intersection between rural development and conservation, race and nature, nature-based tourism, and protected area governance in both the US and in Africa. In this episode, we discuss the colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy that scaffolds much of the conservation movement, and the societal forces that perpetuate it. We talk about the history of conservation and its relationship to eugenics, as well as the elite powers that currently uphold extractive industries in the so-called “conservation” areas they own and manage, as well as the ways that extractive industries are being permitted to off-set their ecological damage by supporting fortress conservation. Ultimately, we dive into the broader conditions that have made this sort of land-grabbing and social/cultural/spiritual/physical dispossession possible, discussing how the results and human rights violations on the ground are a symptom of a larger system, one which has forced people off their land and into a wage economy which does not benefit them. We discuss how the ultimate goal of conservation should be a world where conservation isn’t necessary at all, and finally, we discuss how these same forces are dispossessing Black farmers in the United States.

Give Aby a follow on Twitter, and read her articles below for more information about the current state of conservation as she sees it:

Land Grabs and Conservation Propaganda

Western Nonprofits are Trampling Over Africans’ Rights and Land

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Aby, so stay tuned for our film interview with her! This is huge, nuanced topic, but Aby’s passion should inspire us all.

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