Refugee Studies Programme
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford
Conference
Displacement, Forced Settlement and Conservation
9-11 September 1999
It is estimated that 10 million people are displaced from their homes
and communities each year through a combination of civil unrest,
armed conflict, development projects (especially dam construction)
and other interventions. The RSP has in recent years undertaken to
study many of these aspects of forced migration. The disruption to
human lives and livelihoods which have resulted from recent wildlife
conservation and other environmental protection projects have not,
however, been studied systematically. Each year hundreds of
thousands of mobile people, located in difficult-to-reach, marginal
areas are displaced and often forced into permanent settlements in
order to set aside land for the conservation of wildlife. These
peoples consist of slash and burn agriculturalists, agro-
pastoralists, pastoralists, hunters and gatherers, traders, tinkers
and travellers. Their attachment to land is of a different nature
from settled communities and thus their displacement, and deprivation
in the face of conservation efforts is often ignored or unrecognized.
This conference aims to bring together anthropologists, wildlife
conservation specialists and ecologists to examine the impact which
wildlife conservation and other environmental protection projects
have on the lives and livelihoods of the often mobile,
difficult-to-reach, and marginal peoples who inhabit the same
territory and ecological niches. The conference also aims to examine
critically the popular concept of bringing indigenous populations
into the management and running of conservation efforts. There are
lessons to be learned from recent efforts in community managed
conservation and the conference will welcome discussion and analysis
which mediates the points of view of anthropologists, ecologists and
zoologists.
The Conference will be held at St Anne's College, Woodstock Road,
Oxford. The fee is stlg200 for institutions and stlg75 for individuals for
all three days (including registration, refreshments and conference
pack; excluding accommodation and meals). A limited number of places
at a reduced rate will be available for students.
For further information and registration form, please contact:
Dominique Attala
Conference Secretary
Refugee Studies Programme
Queen Elizabeth House
21 St Giles, Oxford
OX1 3LA
Main Tel: +44-(0)1865 270722
Direct Tel: +44-(0)1865 270272
Fax: +44-(0)1865 270721
Email: [log in to unmask]
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