Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda
In recent years, convivial conservation has been proposed as a better alternative to fortress conservation by working with marginalised communities. This is a welcome development because most of the injustices and failures of fortress conservation arose from neglecting local communities’ view of b...
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| Language: | English |
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Conservation and Society
2022
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/654 |
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| author | Christine, Ampumuza |
| author_facet | Christine, Ampumuza |
| author_sort | Christine, Ampumuza |
| collection | KAB-DR |
| description | In recent years, convivial conservation has been proposed as a better alternative to fortress conservation by working
with marginalised communities. This is a welcome development because most of the injustices and failures
of fortress conservation arose from neglecting local communities’ view of being with nature, and knowledges
of nature (plural of knowledge highlights that there are multiple ways and types of acquiring and transmitting
knowledge through generations). A critical analysis of the conservation literature indicates a disharmony between
the indigenous ways, and Northern ways of being with nature—an ontological discord in conservation. This article
considers convivial conservation as starting point to address this discord. Based on the content analysis of stories
of Batwa’s historical relations with gorillas, unstructured interviews, ethnographic village stays, and empirical
observations, we argue that open-mindedness—to learn from, to be affected by and affect our fellow dwellers on
earth (human and non-human)—marks the starting point of convivial living. Therefore, convivial conservation
can further be enriched by expanding the scope of historical reparations to include knowledges that have been
historically excluded. To do so, convivial conservation scholars need to emphasise the co-creation of knowledge
with their human and non-human counterparts. By doing so, these scholars will safeguard against marginalising
other ways of knowing, thus achieving its transformative agenda. |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:idr.kab.ac.ug:20.500.12493-654 |
| institution | KAB-DR |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Conservation and Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oai:idr.kab.ac.ug:20.500.12493-6542024-01-17T04:45:39Z Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda Special Issue: Exploring Convivial Conservation in Theory and Practice Christine, Ampumuza convivial conservation, Batwa, gorillas, indigenous ontologies, Uganda In recent years, convivial conservation has been proposed as a better alternative to fortress conservation by working with marginalised communities. This is a welcome development because most of the injustices and failures of fortress conservation arose from neglecting local communities’ view of being with nature, and knowledges of nature (plural of knowledge highlights that there are multiple ways and types of acquiring and transmitting knowledge through generations). A critical analysis of the conservation literature indicates a disharmony between the indigenous ways, and Northern ways of being with nature—an ontological discord in conservation. This article considers convivial conservation as starting point to address this discord. Based on the content analysis of stories of Batwa’s historical relations with gorillas, unstructured interviews, ethnographic village stays, and empirical observations, we argue that open-mindedness—to learn from, to be affected by and affect our fellow dwellers on earth (human and non-human)—marks the starting point of convivial living. Therefore, convivial conservation can further be enriched by expanding the scope of historical reparations to include knowledges that have been historically excluded. To do so, convivial conservation scholars need to emphasise the co-creation of knowledge with their human and non-human counterparts. By doing so, these scholars will safeguard against marginalising other ways of knowing, thus achieving its transformative agenda. Kabale University 2022-07-05T15:47:40Z 2022-07-05T15:47:40Z 2022 Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/654 en application/pdf Conservation and Society |
| spellingShingle | convivial conservation, Batwa, gorillas, indigenous ontologies, Uganda Christine, Ampumuza Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title | Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title_full | Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title_short | Living with Gorillas? Lessons from Batwa-Gorillas’ Convivial Relations at Bwindi Forest, Uganda |
| title_sort | living with gorillas lessons from batwa gorillas convivial relations at bwindi forest uganda |
| topic | convivial conservation, Batwa, gorillas, indigenous ontologies, Uganda |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/654 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christineampumuza livingwithgorillaslessonsfrombatwagorillasconvivialrelationsatbwindiforestuganda AT christineampumuza specialissueexploringconvivialconservationintheoryandpractice |