CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT: THE CHANGING FACE OF LANDANDCONSERVATION INPOSTCOLONIAL AFRICAOLD -NEW PRACTICES ?2 0 1 2Old Land-New Practices?
The Changing Face of Landand Conservation in Postcolonial Africa11th – 14th September 2012, Rhodes University, Grahamstown,South AfricaA joint initiativebetween Rhodes University, University of the Free State and University ofWitwatersrand.Old Land-New Practices?The Changing Face of Landand Conservation in Postcolonial Africa11th – 14th September 2012, Rhodes University, Grahamstown,South AfricaA joint initiativebetween Rhodes University, University of the Free State and University ofWitwatersrand. The ‘land issue’ is omnipresentacross post-colonial Africa. It is a highly contentious and contested topic, which at times hasproven explosive (Zimbabwe, Kenya), or else a persistent focus of identity politics (Tanzania, Sudan), orcentral to historically rooted struggles for equality and restitution (South Africa, Botswana). Yet, the legacyof colonial land use management from which these struggles are borne, continues to informcontemporary conservation policy practices. They are also conceptualised and legitimated by a fusion ofinternational environmental and neoliberal market agendas and regional and national policy exigencies,framed by diverse socio-economic development challenges. One of many ‘solutions’ borneof this conjuncture has been the spread of conservation and environmental protectionstrategies which promise to ‘deliver’ on the requisite national economic and environmental priorities inadherence to broader international and regional prerogatives. Such promises are bound to thesuccess of market orientated strategies for the preservation of Africa’s biodiversity. Furthermore, theyare tied to the commoditisation of wildlife and wild spaces, and the ‘mass production’ thereof in arange of state-owned, private or joint partnership ventures, including parks, farms and conservancies.The results are not yet fully comprehensible, but it is evident that the post-colonial echoes thecolonial, and in this continuity conservation and environmental protection strategies may perpetuatehistorical insecurities through the alienation of local communities from land ownership and managementpractices.
This conference was inspired byconversations amongst attendees of the Nature Inc. conference held at the Institute for SocialSciences (ISS) at The Hague in June 2011 interested in the complex issues surrounding land, conservation,and ‘security’ within an African context. It therefore aims to contribute to the development and sharingof knowledge and expertise with an explicitly pan-African focus. Specifically, it seeks tocritically engage with the nexus between post-colonial land use changes and the development of conservationinitiatives across the continent at both the theoretical and practical level with cognisance of theirhistorical precedence.
The conference will beorganised around the following themes: -Conservation as a post-colonial land use option- Historical and contemporary ecological imperialism- Land use and identity politics- Gender dynamics and conservation land use strategies- Alienation, (in)security and conflict- State and private environmental/conservation agendas- Community-based natural resource management- Market driven environmentalism and conservation in Africa- Continuities and divergences in colonial (and apartheid) andpost-colonial environmental narratives -Theoretical debates and practical realities- never the twain shallmeet?
Paper and panel proposal are dueon or before 30 March 2012
Authors will be notified no later than 11 May2012
Complete papers are due by 10 August 2012
(For more information about panels and papers,click
here.)Early bird registration closes on 31 May 2012Late registration is open from 1 June to 3August 2012
(For more information about the registrationprocess and fees, click
here.)
Please visit the conferencewebsite at: http://www.oldlandnewpractices.co.za to submit panel/paper proposals and to register for the conference. Here you will find informationabout registration, paper and panel submissions, guest speakers, fieldtrips and the opportunity topublish papers in a special edition of Journal of Contemporary AfricanStudies. Any immediate queries or commentscan be directed to
info@oldlandnewpractices.co.za We look forward to seeing you inGrahamstown in September!
The Organising CommitteeGeorge Barrett, RhodesUniversityNqobile Zulu, University ofWitwatersrandJenny Josefsson, University ofthe Free StateShirley Brooks, University of the Free State
We look forward to seeing you inGrahamstown in September!
