Vol. 5 · No. 2 · 2001 · pp. 104-124 (21)

Dawn Chatty

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Wildlife conservation schemes, which by design set out to protect endangered fauna and flora, have a relatively recent history in northern Arabia. Their philosophical underpinnings, though, stem from a long African colonial and postindependence tradition. In East Africa and elsewhere, pastoral populations were long ago forced off their grazing lands, in order to create parks and sanctuaries for wildlife and tourists (Howell 1987, McCabe et al. 1992, Turton 1987). The assumption then was that local populations overstocked and overgrazed the natural environment and were thereby obstacles to effective natural resource management. 'Scientific' management of these areas required the removal of the indigenous population for the long-term benefit of these wildlife preserves. Over the past decade however, there appears to have been a change of heart, and some conservationist circles do now hold conceptual discussions of 'conservation with a human face' (Bell 1987), and the need for community participation (Cernea 1991, IIED 1994). Studies based on a few promising examples of African conservation efforts are now emerging, where indigenous human populations appear to be effectively integrated into conservation and development projects (IIED 1994).