Presentation short abstract

This essay critiques colonial conservation through the Traffic Light Displacement Model, advocating Indigenous-led, relational, and ethical futures. It challenges dominant narratives and calls for political ecology rooted in justice, story, and sovereignty.

Presentation long abstract

This essay introduces the Traffic Light Displacement Model (TLDM) to critique how colonial conservation practices continue to displace Indigenous peoples from their lands under the guise of environmental protection. Drawing on global case studies and Indigenous scholarship, it exposes how protected areas often reproduce red (exclusion), amber (conditional access), and green (symbolic inclusion) forms of displacement. The manuscript challenges dominant conservation narratives that erase Indigenous sovereignty and relational worldviews, arguing that ethical conservation must be Indigenous-led, place-based, and grounded in justice. By weaving together stories of resistance, policy critique, and decolonial alternatives, the essay contributes to political ecology’s commitment to pluralism, accountability, and transformation. It calls for conservation futures that honour Indigenous knowledge systems, uphold land rights, and foster reciprocal relationships with Country. This work speaks to the conference’s theme by foregrounding the diverse origins of conservation conflict and imagining multiple futures rooted in Indigenous resurgence and ecological care