From CHARLES de HAES
Fred Pearce rightly points out that conservationists often find themselves
caught in a conflict between governments who, for good economic and ecological
reasons, want to preserve national parks, and local people, who wish to
exploit their environment.
But he is wrong in describing the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as
an organisation pursuing conservation strategies which exclude indigenous
peoples’ rights, are incompatible with the long-term interests of local
people, or are developed and implemented without these people. Had he cared
to look at the WWF programme in Africa, Asia and Latin America, he would
have discovered: Programmes in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia,
Tanzania and Malawi, to help concerned local people to maintain, develop
and promote forms of sustainable utilisation of wildlife which will provide
income to these local people and protect the resource.
A programme in India to establish a rural community movement to protect
biodiversity of local crop races by using them for land rehabilitation.
Programmes in the Philippines and Irian Jaya to foster agro-forestry
and sustainable forms of coastal fisheries.
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Programmes in Thailand to implement, with local people, sustainable
rural development around national parks.
Programmes in Latin American countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, Panama
and Brazil, to help indigenous people to promote their land rights, while
supporting them in maintaining and developing traditional forms of resource
use, which are the only ones proven to be sustainable in the moist tropics.
Programmes for environmental education in Madagascar, Zambia, Cameroon
and other countries, which carefully follow up our assessment, quoted by
Pearce, that ‘the concept of a Westerner carrying our environmental education
in developing countries is presumptuous’. These programmes are, without
exception, designed and implemented by locals. There are no ‘teams from
the WWF’, who would have to be educated.
It is useful to receive accurate and up-to-date criticism, but it is
misleading and counter-productive for criticism to be based on arguments
which professional conservationists have taken to heart and have been acting
upon since the World Conservation strategy was jointly published a decade
ago by WWF, IUCN and UNEP.
Charles de Haes Director General WWF Gland, Switzerland
