Why ruthless eviction drive in Assam's wildlife sanctuary raises questions about rights of indigenous people.

The state should stop giving away forest land to big business establishments.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Poverty

Tanzania has scrapped Otterlo Business Corporation’s hunting tourism concession in Loliondo

Themes: FPIC, Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Poverty

Tanzania has ended a 25-year-old hunting tourism deal with a United Arab Emirates company called Otterlo Business Corporation. The deal, set up in 1992, was reported to be in exchange for millions of dollars to Tanzania’s armed forces.

Are Conservation Organisations Complicit in Ethnic Discrimination?

Themes: Conservation, Parks, Indigenous people, Human rights, Poverty

Answering this question with an example of blatantly racist and coercive imagery endorsed and propagated by two large players in the conservation world, both internationally and in India.

Guest Post by Survival International:

“If the indigenous people haven’t given their consent, then WWF has no business being there”

Themes: Conservation, FPIC, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

For decades, alarm bells have been ringing over the human rights abuses that WWF is contributing to in the Congo Basin. In its attempt to defend itself (14 October), WWF shows that it is still deaf to these concerns, and prepared to mislead the public.

Wildlife Conservation Society partners with loggers in the Republic of Congo.

Indigenous Bayaka dispossessed

Themes: Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, FPIC, Conservation

Kenya: Conservation and Indigenous peoples’ rights – not a zero sum game.

Themes: Conservation, FPIC, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks

The preamble of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples sets out that “…respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development and proper management of the environment”. Despite this emphatic international human rights standard, and the global leadership and commitment demonstrated by Indigenous Peoples throughout the world, some Indigenous communities in some parts of world continue to have their rights denied in the name of conservation.

WWF responds to Survival International’s criticisms:

“Protecting our planet is as much about respecting the rights of the people that depend on it as it is about protecting wildlife”

Themes: Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Conservation, FPIC

Recently, Survival International published a report titled, “How will we Survive?” It documents in detail the impact on indigenous communities of the national parks, logging concessions and trophy hunting zones that have been imposed on vast areas of land in the Congo Basin. The report is critical of the roles of the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society have played in conservation in the Congo.

How will we survive?

Survival International accuses WWF and WCS of supporting violence against indigenous people in the Congo Basin

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks

National parks, logging concessions and trophy hunting zones have been imposed on vast areas of land in the Congo Basin. A new report by Survival International documents how the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society have played a key role in this carve up of indigenous peoples’ lands.