Author: Richard MilburnPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biodiversity conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
From snow leopards in the mountains of Afghanistan to gorillas in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of the world's most iconic species and habitats are found in war zones. Eighty per cent of modern armed conflicts have occurred in biodiversity hotspots, and ninety per cent have occurred within countries containing biodiversity hotspots. Some research has been conducted into the impact of war on biodiversity, but very little has considered the impact that biodiversity has on conflict. The research for this thesis considers the extent to which the loss of biodiversity contributes to insecurity and whether the conservation and sustainable exploitation of biodiversity can support postwar recovery, based on a primary case study of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and associated fieldwork carried out in the DRC. The thesis sets out a framework of 'ecological development' to utilise conservation to address threats to security and support postwar recovery, providing a mechanism to mainstream the environment into postwar recovery. The effectiveness of the ecological development framework is assessed through an analysis of the impact of biodiversity loss on armed conflict, the effectiveness of conservation peacebuilding initiatives, and the importance of biodiversity to economic development. The thesis also uses primary research interviews to test out the validity of new approaches to conservation in regions of armed conflict, which seek to use conservation as a tool to support peacebuilding and job and wealth generation in regions of armed conflict. The conclusion of the thesis is that ecological development could provide a useful framework to better use conservation to support postwar recovery, making Protected Areas sites of revenue and job creation to help to better protect and sustainability utilise biodiversity, and in doing so to increase the resilience of postwar recovery.
