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- Convenors:
-
David Shankland
(Royal Anthropological Institute)
Raymond Apthorpe (Royal Anthropological Institute)
Daniel Tower (University of Sydney)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 27 October, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This panel invites reflections on the question of the scalability of projects devoted to conservation and community. Specific case studies that identify potential success, or indeed where constraints or failures have been experienced are particularly welcome.
Long Abstract:
During our conference, we will be discussing many different excellent examples of the way that conservation and the local community interact and work together. However, how are we to understand the question of the size or the scalability of such initiatives? The problem is a familiar one within anthropology, as we frequently face the dilemma of how local understandings of specific processes can be made relevant to a wider scale. Conservation, likewise, has a similar dilemma: how is it possible to work with indigenous communities to ensure that projects which may work at a local level can be replicated to include larger areas? Reflections are invited on this question of scalability, with a particular invitation to discuss specific case studies, though explorations of the potential applicability of theoretical models drawn from other fields (eg Dunbar's Number) are also welcome. Analyses of the different constraints that may come into play; of successes, and of failures that we can learn from are equally welcome.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 27 October, 2021, -Yoanna Dimitrova (University of East Anglia) Titus Letaapo (The Sarara Foundation (TSF)) Lucandrea Mancini
Paper short abstract:
The Namunyak App is a project which aims at finding a novel way of labelling places on a map. This paper will present our project, how we belive it would benefit the Samburu and also raise a fruitful discussion on collaboration and best practices.
Paper long abstract:
Indigenous-led mapping has become a crucial tool in the struggle of Indigenous peoples to claim their rights to land and resources. We are a team of international and interdisciplinary students who are extremely passionate about finding novel ways in which we can improve people's lives. In this presentation I will give an overview of the Namunyak App project (a winner from the 2020 GEO Hack4Covid by our team) and emphasise on the importance of the active participation of Indigenous people in the mapping process itself in order to fully move beyond the colonial cartographic frame. The Namunyak App aims at creating a new way to label places on a map using local culturally relative symbols. Essentially, it encodes the geographical coordinates and translates them into four symbols which have been hand drawn by Stephen Lesiakono, a local artist. We believe that the app would allow the Samburu from northern Kenya to visualise and document their land in a dynamic, accessible and culturally relevant way. What we offer is to rethink the conventional, Western projections of maps, and combine it with local knowledge and understandings of land. Secondly, the app will be also an educational tool as it will introduce and advance the use of maps within the Samburu community. Finally, the Namunyak App is a communication tool that will improve the communication between Samburu community members, the local park rangers, and policy makers. We want to further raise a discussion regarding best practices during and post Covid-19 times.
Thomas Thornton (University of Alaska Southeast)
Paper short abstract:
Nested governance is a key requisite for (co)management at larger scales. Among Indigenous peoples, segmentary lineages can be important for of multi-scale mobilization, potentially at odds with nested units. Can the two be reconciled? We evaluate the case of Glacier Bay National Park/Preserve.
Paper long abstract:
Nested governance (Ostrom 1990) is seen as a key requisite for successful (co)management and conservation of common pool resources at larger scales. Among Indigenous peoples, segmentary lineages (spatio-temporal units) in sociopolitical organization can also be an important component of multi-scale mobilization, sometimes working at odds with modern geographically nested units (community, region, state, etc.), and thus viewed as undermining cooperative management . Can the two be reconciled? We look at examples from two ends of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, an iconic conservation landscape and World Heritage Site seeking to embrace co-management with Alaskan and Interior Canadian Tlingit and related peoples.
Daniel Tower (University of Sydney)
Paper short abstract:
This paper uses interviews and photographs to position the cultural meaning attributed to ancient sites in Iraq that were destroyed by ISIS, and how these have been used by local Assyrian NGOs to gain support for local humanitarian programs.
Paper long abstract:
Ancient heritage sites provide the foundations of national narratives. The destruction of these sites during armed conflict creates a distinct narrative of national trauma, one whose cultural importance becomes salient in negotiating post-conflict humanitarian responses. In disputed territories where there are competing narratives between two or more indigenous groups, the management of these responses can be difficult and politicised, leaving some indigenous groups without a platform to influence reconstruction, management, or conservation strategies. In this presentation, I will consider the destruction of Ancient Assyrian sites in Northern Iraq, during the ISIS Conflict. Using interviews and photographs taken in Northern Iraq, I show how cultural meaning is attributed to ancient sites by indigenous groups, and how these have been used by local NGOs to gain support for local humanitarian programs. Connecting iconoclasm at these sites to local modern Assyrian NGO strategies and demands for action, I seek to provide another perspective to the post-conflict humanitarian process.