People or bust

Kenya and Sri Lanka are an oceanapart. But they are also wide apartfrom each other in their strategies forwildlife conservation. While the formeris moving towards involving the community, the latter remains stuck in anti-people conservationist strategies. Inorder to protect the world's biodiversity,the Sri Lankan government, like theIndian government - talks of solidarityamongst South Asian official bullies! -has decided to destroy its own culturaldiversity, which is just as important toprotect as biodiversity.

On November 10, 1983, Sri Lankacreated a new national park, whichmade the Wanniya-laeto, also known asthe Veddahs, people who have lived onthe island for over 28,000 years, illegalcitizens in their own land. Till theSinhalese arrived, about 2,500 years ago,the Wanniya-laeto, who now numberonly 2,000, were all over the island. TheCommittee for Human Rights established by the American AnthropologicalAssociation (AAA) a few months ago, hassent its first letter of protest to the SriLankan Prime Minister against thetreatment of the Wanniya-laeto people,who can no longer continue in their traditional ways as forest-dwellers. SaysWiveca Stegeborn, a graduate student atSyracuse University, "Over the centuries, the Warmiya-laeto have graduallyretreated and retreated, until now theyhave no place to go except this last patchof jungle that's now been taken awayfrom them in the name of making it agame park." The Wanniya-laeto havebeen forced out of the jungle, they havespilt into several far-flung villages,where they cannot follow their traditional ways. They have become dependent on government welfare or have toundertake the most menial labour.

For the first time, the AAA is turningactivist and joining other groups toprotest against the executing of theOgoni leaders in Nigeria and the seizingof Yanornami Indian tribal lands inBrazil and Venezuela by gold miners.One reason for the new activismamongst anthropologists is the realisation that the rate of disappearance ofcultures has become a serious problem.Says one anthropologist at theUniversity of Washington, "At least athird of the world's inventory of humancultures have disappeared completelysince 1500 AD." Many anthropologistsalso feel indebted to these threatenedpeople. As Tom Greaves, chairperson ofthe Committee for Human Rights putsit, "When you live for months in a community, when the success of your fieldwork depends on the generosity and patience of people who probably didn'tinvite you but who took you in any way,a bond of friendship and mutual obligation results. When they encounterabuse, we feel a need to act."

Sadly, the Sri Lankan government isnot only mindless and stupid - likeIndia, if I may add - but is essentiallyplaying out a game that the West wantsit to play. First, the Europeans came toinhabit the Americas and indulged in abrutal cultural massacre. Then in the20th century, some descendants of thesecriminals discovered biodiversity andwildlife conservation as areas of concernand began to educate the stupid ThirdWorlders on the importance of savingthe tiger even if it meant destroying thepeople. These goons got institutions likeWorld Wide 'Fund for Nature andnumerous others to flourish all over theworld and then backed up the brownconservationists by sending their PrincePhilips to meet the local Prime Ministersand Presidents, which, naturally,impressed them no end. Of course,these sahibs and their bureaucrats couldnot come up with any humane, and culturally and nationally relevant strategyto save the wildlife and the people ontheir own. They could not even thinkahead about how ineffective would theirstrategy be in the long run.

Well, at least, that arch conservationist country, Kenya, is learning abelated lesson. Stung by all the criticismof Richard Leakey, who arrogantly putelephants above the Masai and finallygot thrown out for political differenceswith President Daniel Arap Moi, thegovernment has encouraged 840 Masaifamilies to set up the country's firstcommunity wildlife sanctuary - theKimana. Community Wildlife Sanctuary(KCWS). The KCWS borders the famousAmboseli National Park and is ownedby the Masai people. All tourist revenuegoes to them. The first week brought amere 17 tourists and us $170. Paul L OleNangoro, KCWS chairperson, estimatesthat the park must earn us $130,000 inthe first year to win over his, communities doubters. Already, the Masai are changing their attitude towards themuch hated wildlife - lions which killtheir cattle and elephants which destroytheir crops. Two months ago, 40 warriors assembled to kill a pride of lionsthat had devoured 15 goats. ButNangoro and his colleagues convincedthem that it was not a good idea becauseof the benefits that the sanctuary wouldbring to them over time.

The Community Wildlife Service -as the Kenyan programme is called -aims to enroll nomads and farmers inconservation programmes, for profit tothe local people. In principle, I don't seeany reason why the programme will notsucceed, provided the governmentensures that it is widely publicised sothat tourists throng. Besides, Westernfirms heavily dominate Kenyas tourismindustry and these will ultimately bethreatened by the community sanctuaries, The government will thus have tokeep a strict control over the industry. Iam sure the people will play their role,but whether the government will play itsexpected role hilly is still to be seen.