Militarisation

Question 1

Critical analysis of militarisation trend

Militarisation is the integration of military approaches with conservation practices, it is fundamentally unjust
Consequences: cultures of mistrust and surveillance, alienation of local communities
The political economy of militarisation: driven by demand from private actors. E.g. Operation Lock in South Africa, 1980s - funded by WWF-International and carried out by KAS Enterprises who also gathered intelligence on anti-apartheid activists
Commodification of militarisation of conservation itself by enticing consumers to fund armed efforts through campaigns

Answer 1

Duffy et al (2019)

Question 2

Militarisation overview.

Overview of increasing military style technologies being used to contribute to a ‘war’ to save biodiversity.
Also outlines the discursive construction of poaching: its wider global system of trading and historical background of criminalisation due to colonisation.
It is more accurately termed ‘extra-legal’ hunting, remvoing the negative and criminalising connotations of the words ‘illegal’ or ‘poaching’

Answer 2

Duffy (2014)

Question 3

The ‘war’ narrative in conservation.

Advocates of militarisation ignore the complex underlying historical, social, economic and political drivers of poaching
The creation of ‘poaching’ is linked to a historical legacy of colonialism - game laws implemented to only allow British sport hunters.
‘Poor’ narrative: there is a booming poaching industry driven by demand from wealthy industrial communities
Evidence that ‘shoot to kill’ policy ends up being more active and preventive

Answer 3

Simlai (2015)

Question 4

Case study, Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park, South Africa, the world’s most concentrated site of rhino poaching. Rhinos are seen as an extension of the country’s own natural heritage, justifying a violent response. Nature as a form of national identity
Poaching is a highly organised and transnational commodity chain.
Militarised response: more than 300 poachers killed over the last 5 years, but rates continue to increase.
➡ broader and intensifying pattern of militarisation transforming conservation practice around the world
➡ conservation delineates and produces space, since its qualities, once articulated with particular assumptions, authorise militarisation

Answer 4

Lunstrum (2014)

Question 5

Case study. FPE of poaching, S Africa

The intersection of green militarisation with local gender norms and dynamics remains underexamined.
Despite the risk of death, men engage in poaching because of gendered norms surrounding provision for their families. Displacement and drought have made subsistence-based livelihoods more difficult.
Rhino poaching syndicates tap into this local poverty and offer a risky but lucratic opportunity.
Widowed women literally embody the human consequences of the violent political economy of poaching.

Answer 5

Masse et al (2021)