DISPLACEMENT FOR CONSERVATION: LIVELIHOOD ADAPTATIONS TO NATIONAL PARKS IN EAST AFRICA

Abstract

This thesis examines the livelihood implications of exclusionary conservation policies in East Africa. Specifically, it evaluates the livelihood adaptations of indigenous groups in reaction to national parks-induced displacement. Current conservation schemes have linkages to the original colonial-era scramble for Africa, which instituted sweeping changes to customary land access and use. This thesis utilized an adapted version of the Impoverishment Risks for Displaced Populations framework to conduct case studies of multiple indigenous groups displaced and living adjacent to both Mount Elgon National Park and Serengeti National Park. Indigenous adaptations indicate that reactions to conservation-based displacement follow similar patterns. Displaced groups are not passive victims and instead, turn to legal and extralegal methods to reassert land access and use, which can become a destabilizing force. This thesis argues that similar adaptation strategies may facilitate the construction of more effective conservation policies.