This dissertation examines the efforts and motives of conservation actors on Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, and situates these actors within the larger context of the Caribbean Netherlands. The... Show moreThis dissertation examines the efforts and motives of conservation actors on Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, and situates these actors within the larger context of the Caribbean Netherlands. The main research question addressed is: How are the efforts of conservation actors to protect the environment of the Caribbean Netherlands affected by the recent social and political changes and their (post) colonial context? To get at these issues, this dissertation combines insights and approaches from environmental psychology, anthropology, and Caribbean studies to investigate how and why residents of the Caribbean Netherlands engage in conservation actions. Situated in social history, cultural and environmental anthropology, public administration, and environmental science, this research aims to create a broader, less compartmentalized, picture and also addresses societal concerns. Because of its multidisciplinary and multi-method character, this dissertation produces information that will be useful in engaging more people in environmental conservation In the (Dutch) Caribbean. Show less
Everyone knows that species go extinct and biodiversity decreases. It seems obvious that this loss might have disastrous consequences. Maybe because of a cascading effect we will end up in a barren... Show moreEveryone knows that species go extinct and biodiversity decreases. It seems obvious that this loss might have disastrous consequences. Maybe because of a cascading effect we will end up in a barren moonscape – and if that does not happen, we at the very least will remain dependent on biodiversity for food, health and well-being. This publication tries to remove some fear; there are no reasons to believe that biodiversity loss will cause any kind of disaster. Nature is not like a machine that stalls if parts are being removed: a collapse of nature is not looming. And although specific species are required for practicalities, this cannot be generalized to biodiversity overall. In this book Bas Haring argues that biodiversity loss is a pity, but not a disaster. Show less
This contribution analyses the impacts of conversions of commercial – mainly white-owned – farms to wildlife-based production on access to land for farm workers and dwellers in South Africa. They... Show moreThis contribution analyses the impacts of conversions of commercial – mainly white-owned – farms to wildlife-based production on access to land for farm workers and dwellers in South Africa. They depended on informal arrangements with landowners for access, hence the notions of ‘abilities to access’ and ‘bundles of power’ are more appropriate concepts to analyze their access than bundles of rights. In post-apartheid South Africa, the state attempted to formalize farm dwellers’ land rights, but simultaneously deregulated the agricultural sector, which stimulated land concentration and land investments, and changed social relations on commercial farms. These contradictory interventions impact negatively on farm dwellers’ abilities to access to land on commercial farms. The paper furthermore demonstrates that conversions to wildlife-based production constitute one response by landowners to the changes in the agricultural sector, but also play a role in struggles about identity and belonging in post-apartheid South Africa. Show less
This dissertation examines the World Heritage status of Mt. Kenya, an alpine area in Central Kenya. The mountain joined the World Heritage List in 1997 and in 2013 the original designation... Show moreThis dissertation examines the World Heritage status of Mt. Kenya, an alpine area in Central Kenya. The mountain joined the World Heritage List in 1997 and in 2013 the original designation expanded to cover a larger area. Both events were formulated exclusively in natural scientific language. This partly echoes the natural beauty of Mt. Kenya’s landscape, but it also reverts to a range of conditions that shaped the World Heritage nomination and modification processes, this work demonstrates. These conditions include the World Heritage Convention’s rigid separation of natural and cultural heritages, reflected in its bureaucratic apparatus; the ongoing competition between two government institutes over the management of Mt. Kenya, which stems from colonial forest and game laws; the particular composition of Kenya’s political arena in respectively the late 1990s and the early 2010s; and the precarious position of white inhabitants of post-colonial Kenya, which for instance translates in constant fears for losing land rights. In sum, this dissertation argues against studies that claim that World Heritage is a state tool that chiefly serves the dissemination of nationalist propaganda. Instead, it suggests unpacking World Heritage’s technical and non-political rhetoric, to begin understanding how and why individual World Heritage Sites come about. Show less
This book is about the politics of nature conservation in late New Order and early Reformasi Indonesia. It approaches the subject through discourse analysis. Understanding politics as a struggle... Show moreThis book is about the politics of nature conservation in late New Order and early Reformasi Indonesia. It approaches the subject through discourse analysis. Understanding politics as a struggle for discourse hegemony it analyses both processes of policy- and lawmaking in Jakarta and of implementation in national parks, and their outcomes, and addresses a number of questions: Which discourses have dominated conservation policies and laws throughout history? How did Ministers, members of Parliament, state officials, NGOs and residents of national parks try to decide debates on conservation in their advantage? Which unwritten rules helped or constrained them in this effort? How did the struggle for discourse hegemony affect policy and law, policy- and lawmaking and implementation? Based on rich empirical case material the book argues that a multitude of discourses have come to co-exist which enabled actors to use arguments strategically, and that various actors have succeeded to mobilise discourses enabling them to participate in the debate without obligations. The results of this study go beyond participating in the debate on what element of sustainable development to focus on but link the policy debate to the debate on governance and rule of law. By addressing the policy discourse and the discourses structuring policy- and lawmaking and implementation, the study wants to contribute not only to the field of nature conservation but also to the field of Indonesian law and governance in general Show less
