9-1 Parks and People

Wildlife and the Maasai

The Story of East African Parks Since the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, there has been a growing movement among conservationists to designate large parcels of the earth as national parks or reserves. Concern over the disappearance of landscapes and wildlife fuels this worldwide movement. With thousands of endangered species listed in the International Union for the…

Where Whitemen Come to Play

National Parks & Native Peoples in the Canadian North This year Canada is celebrating the National Park Centennial. While Parks Canada, the agency in charge of national parks, should be commended for its work to date, attention should also be focused on several issues related to the Canadian National Parks system. Several national parks already exist in the north. More are planned, but much…

The Lurs of Iran

The Lur or Lor are an Iranian people living mainly in southwest and south Iran. Their exact population is not known, but they number over two million. The territories occupied by Lurs include three provinces: Luristan (the land of Lors), Bakhtiari and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed. In addition, Lurs constitute a significant proportion of the population in several provinces including Khuzistan, Fars, Ilam,…

Protected Areas and Indigenous Peoples

Different classifications which restrict access to areas are significant influences on the present & future condition of many indigenous peoples The relationship between parks and people seems clearcut. But everybody interested in conservation issues in specific countries is aware of a number of forms of protected areas other than national parks. The IUCN, a renowned non-governmental…

Foragers on the Move

San survival strategies in Botswana parks and reserves The establishment of national parks and reserves has been recommended as a major strategy for ensuring the survival of indigenous peoples and the maintenance of their cultural identity. Some view the setting up of reserves as a means of preserving traditional lifestyles and facilitating adaptation to change at a pace set by native people…

Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel now number approximately 13,000 - over half of their surviving population. Their immigration is a difficult challenge for Israel. Israeli government officials are trying to avoid the mistakes they made with the Moroccan and Yemenite Jewish immigrants of the 1950s, whose cultural heritage, identity and values were pushed aside by pressure to adapt to Ashkenasi culture. Yet…

Betelnut and Bureaucrats

A case study in Development of Cultural Resources by Local Peoples on Yap Yap is one of many specks of rock and coral making up the Western Caroline Islands of Micronesia. Nine degrees north of the equator, 1,020 kilometers southwest of Guam, with a land area of only 95 km², Yap is actually four major and six minor islands fringed by a reef. Most of the land area is hilly and thickly grown with…

The First World Conference on Cultural Parks

More than 150 delegates in the first World Conference on Cultural Parks met at Mesa Verde National Park from Sept. 16-21, 1984, to discuss 1) technology and preservation in cultural parks; 2) touristic use of cultural parks; and 3) the relationship of native cultures to cultural park planning, development and management. Participants sought to broaden concern for protection of cultural areas,…

The Final Word

What's in an image? Given the money that foreign embassies invest in public relations in the United States, it would seem that much is lost or gained depending on one's image. PR investment is well distributed - to embassy personnel who must present an appropriate image of their country in the US, to firms that are hired to lobby for the employing government, to research institutes which have…

Sea Tenure and Conservation of Coral Reef Resources in Brazil

The people who depend on marine resources have been overlooked and the exploitative versatility of commercial interests has been underestimated. The creation of the Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos (National Marine Park of the Abrolhos) in 1983 was a praiseworthy advance toward the protection of the largest concentration of coral reefs along the coast of Brazil. Threatened by dredging,…

National Park Values and Living Cultural Parks

Conflicting management demands in Alaska's New National Parklands The ten national parks, preserves and monuments created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980 and the additions to the three existing areas are the largest, most diverse and most outstanding parklands yet put into the U.S. National Park System. These natural areas have been used by people for…

Misurasata/Sandinista Negotiations

The Nicaraguan government and Misurasata, the insurgent national Indian organization, have begun formal negotiations for a treaty to end the fighting which has become endemic on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast since 1981. The process is slow because the goal is not simply a cease fire but a broad agreement to resolve the fundamental disagreements which produced the conflict. If successful, the talks…

Indigenous Cultures and Protected Areas in Central America

There are no other land use models for the tropical rain forest that preserve ecological stability or biological diversity as efficiently as those of the indigenous groups presently encountered there. The tropical Mesoamerican region contains diverse terrestrial and marine environments and is inhabited by a variety of indigenous peoples, each of which is intimately linked to the local resource…

Hunting By Indigenous Peoples and Conservation of Game Species

The goals of animal conservation and the goals of indigenous peoples wishing to hunt are not compatible in all cases. The amount of land modified by modern civilization is increasing rapidly. As a result different groups with interests in preserving the remaining land for different purposes are beginning to discuss "multiple land use" strategies. Two of the most pressing reasons for the…

Forest Resources and Rural Populations in Chiapas

Unless major changes in land use occur in southern Mexico, neither reserves nor rural communities will survive. The state of Chiapas in southern Mexico contains an extraordinarily rich biological legacy and is home to a large and growing indigenous population. Accelerating rates of primary forest loss and ecological decline threaten the resource base and consequently the continued viability of…