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Paper short abstract

Based on the case of Upemba (UNP) in the DRC, this paper examines agrarian dynamics in a conservation context. It explores how rural populations negotiate the tensions between conservation imperatives and broader regional processes of agrarian change, and in doing so, contribute to shaping rurality.

Paper long abstract

Nature conservation plays a significant role in shaping rural areas by enclosing land, regulating activities, and controlling access to resources. This relationship is well documented (West 2006), and its implications are often quite visible. However, the broader regional dynamics in which conservation areas are embedded, as well as the agency exerted by rural people, are often overlooked.

On the outskirts of Upemba National Park (DRC), agrarian dynamics and ruralities are shaped by multiple narratives and interests. The region has been the subject of competing economic and political projects, such as turning it into a protected area or a food-producing region for the mines of the Copperbelt. Recently, it is becoming a new frontier for agriculture and mining. Viewed from below, rural populations have engaged in these dynamics in diverse ways, depending on the historical period, geographical location, and their social position. For them, the park is sometimes perceived as a partner, sometimes as a repressive force, leading to participation in or contestation of conservation projects. At the same time, recent agrarian transformations -particularly the expansion of commercial rice agriculture- create new opportunities and highlight differentiated peasant trajectories that shape rurality.

Drawing on ongoing ethnographic fieldwork (seven months) and archival research, this paper argues that, to comprehend agrarian dynamics and rurality in this conservation context, it is crucial to better understand how rural populations navigate the dialectical relationship between conservation and broader regional processes. What does it imply for rural communities to live on the park’s outskirts and the Copperbelt’s edge?