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Copyright

Sian Sullivan; Ute Dieckmann; Selma Lendelvo

Published On

2024-08-02

Page Range

pp. 1–20

Language

  • English

Print Length

20 pages

Etosha-Kunene Conservation Conversations

An introduction

Chapter of: Etosha Pan to the Skeleton Coast: Conservation Histories, Policies and Practices in North-west Namibia(pp. 1–20)
This introductory chapter describes how the Etosha- Kunene Histories research project, for which this edited volume forms a key contribution, addresses the challenge of conserving biodiversity-rich landscapes in Namibia’s north-central and north-west regions, while reconciling historical contexts of social exclusion and marginalisation. This edited volume, originating from an international workshop held in July 2022, explores the intricate interplay between local and global events shaping the “Etosha Kunene” conservation landscape. The workshop featured diverse participants from Namibian institutions, international universities, and various conservation organisations. Our discussions emphasised the complex histories and contemporary dynamics of conservation policies, highlighting the tension between biodiversity protection and social equity. The volume is organised into five parts: historical policy analysis, post-independence conservation approaches, ecological management issues, the impact of historical contexts on contemporary landscapes and communities, and lion conservation within Community-Based Natural Resource Management frameworks. This work aims to contribute to sustainable and inclusive conservation practices that honour both the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

Contributors

Sian Sullivan

(author)
Professor of Environment and Culture at Bath Spa University
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0522-8843
http://www.futurepasts.net/

Sian Sullivan is Professor of Environment and Culture at Bath Spa University. She is interested in discourses and practices of difference and exclusion in relation to ecology and conservation. She has carried out long-term research on conservation, colonialism, and culture in Namibia (www.futurepasts.net and www.etosha-kunene-histories.net), and also engages critically with the financialisation of nature (see www.the-natural-capital-myth.net). She has co-edited Political Ecology: Science, Myth and Power (2000), Contributions to Law, Philosophy and Ecology: Exploring Re-embodiments (2016), Valuing Development, Environment and Conservation: Creating Values that Matter (2018), and Negotiating Climate Change in Crisis (2021).

Ute Dieckmann

(author)
Anthropologist at University of Cologne
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9640-6942
https://www.xoms-omis.org/

Ute Dieckmann is an anthropologist at the University of Cologne and currently German Principal Investigator for Etosha-Kunene Histories (www.etosha-kunene-histories.net), supported by the German Research Foundation and the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council. She has carried out long-term research in Namibia on colonialism, nature conservation and indigeneity. For many years, she has worked at the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek, doing research with and advocacy for marginalised and indigenous communities in Namibia and was coordinator of the Xoms |Omis Project (https://www.xoms-omis.org/). She has edited Mapping the Unmappable? Cartographic Explorations with Indigenous Peoples in Africa (2021) and co-edited Scraping the Pot? San in Namibia Two Decades After Independence (2014).

Selma Lendelvo

(author)
Associate Research Professor at University of Namibia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9793-6950

Selma Lendelvo is an associate research professor in life sciences, and currently the Director for the Centre for Grants Management and Resource Mobilization at the University of Namibia (UNAM) with a research and project management experience spanning over 20 years. Her work and publications have mainly been on community-based natural resources management and rural development including cross-cutting aspects such as gender and climate change. Selma also works closely with the government and other practitioners on the ground to strengthen natural resources management, conservation and community development in Namibia and beyond. She serves on the Namibia National Committee for the Rio Conventions, the Namibian Nature Conservation Board and the Namibia Association for CBNRM Support organisations (NACSO). Her collaborations with regional and international partners have been instrumental in shaping and advancing her research and professional career.