Killing for Conservation: Wildlife Policy in Zimbabwe

by Rosaleen Duffy

Is African wildlife threatened by the economic practices of Africans? Should trade in ivory and rhino horn be banned altogether? The issue of wildlife conservation in Africa has captured the public imagination in the industrialized world, where the prevailing view is that wildlife must be saved and preserved at all costs in the interests of global environmental good. However, casting wildlife conservation as a politically neutral issue masks the complex economic, political, and social realities of African communities. In Killing for Conservation, Rosaleen Duffy presents the search for a solution to the human versus wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe as a case study of wider issues in the realm of global environmental politics. What are the economic consequences of a strict preservationist policy for local economies versus a more balanced approach to sustainable utilization? Should the international community deprive developing countries of the right to use their natural resources for the economic benefit of their populations? How can community development and wildlife preservation be welded together to serve the needs of both? Duffy’s keen analysis underlines the essentially political nature of conservation amid international rhetoric that presents it as an apolitical matter of saving animals.

Genres: Africa

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a phenomenally researched and incredibly lucid account of different wildlife policies undertaken in Zimbabwe and elsewhere. It goes into the ivory trade and bush meat debate; but mostly deals with the effects of state policy on something as tricky as conservation - where the line between protecting the environment and leaving space for local people to operate within the margins is often so hard to draw.

Just a very clear outline on a thorny issue - what all monographs should strive for when delving into the bush.