Gen Yamakoshi

I have been researching on conservation of wild animals and their habitat, the forest, in West Africa. Historically, nature conservation in Africa has been depending on establishment and monitoring of conservation areas, with a top-down approach by colonial governments and African nations. In order to establish conservation areas, local people were evicted and severe restrictions on livelihood, especially on hunting, were enforced, that overburdened local communities in Africa. At the same time, the main beneficiaries of conserved natures were often wealthy people of international societies from Western countries or Japan who consumed Africa’s natural beauty as exotic products. These circumstances of African nature conservation contain conflict inducing mechanisms and have indeed created many conflicts. I will study the conflicts related to nature conservation and natural resource management in local communities in Africa, that are involved in the global network of “nature consumption.”