Exploring the trade-offs between conservation action and the dynamics of armed conflict around protected areas: the case of the Virunga National Park (Republic Democratic of the Congo)

Autor: Homand, Jennifer
Přispěvatelé: Marullo, Maria Chiara, Arévalo Salinas, Alex Iván, Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Ciències de la Comunicació
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Popis: Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Estudis Internacionals de Pau, Conflictes i Desenvolupament. Codi: SBG119. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017 The focus on this research is in the area of national parks and their role in violent conflict. Such a study is important because it has rarely been discussed. Conflict literature focuses on the interaction of specific natural resources on the initiation and perpetuation of conflict and much debate has just emphasized the pertinence of resource scarcity and abundance. The role of space, particularly environmentally-significant areas, has been subject to limited interrogation. The dissertation explores the relationship between occupation of these spaces by armed groups and the desire to acquire peace. Furthermore, by situating the study sites within their historical and political context, the dissertation also investigates linkages to political ecology models which seek to explain how environmental changes shape wider political and economic processes and how they in turn shape environmental change. This work undertakes a case study approach, focusing on the Virunga National Park in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has been subject since the nineties to the world’s deadliest conflict in the post-World War II era. The thesis concludes that national parks do influence by virtue of their status as state-owned entities; by their possession of valuable resources; and by the strategic value of their location. Therefore, the role of environmentally-significant spaces in armed conflict is worthy of further empirical analysis in studies of political ecology.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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