Throughout history, the world has witnessed a lot of conflicts, differences and various forms of unrest as a result of both environmental and human factors especially in the highly protected areas. The universality of human nature and the innate need for gratification has manifested itself in different forms of storm and stress in different parts of the world. This phenomenon is manifestly evident in the literature presented by different scholars and authors several centuries and decades ago. Although human beings strive to achieve civil competence, the need by individuals and groups to satisfy their varied needs is inevitable. According to Lewis (1993), this is the major source of most conflicts that have confronted human nature all along history in relation to the protected areas. Apart from the circumstances, most situations that historically provoked differences among humans involved conflict of interest, to an extend that human beings could differ and fall into loggerheads with one another or between a group and another as a result of differences in opinions, ideas and beliefs. Below is an illustration of how human beings have been driven by circumstances and interests into different forms of conflicts over protected public areas in a historical context.
Poverty has been one of the major causes of confrontation amongst people and groups of different economic statuses. Poverty, which results in the need to strive for physiological satisfaction as an essential human need often pushed individuals with varied personal and family needs to deviate from socially or legally acceptable means in order to gratify their needs by whichever means available. Historically, protected areas such as the parks were frequently invaded by people against the law with an aim of fulfilling their needs through unacceptable means that majorly involved illegally endangering plant and animal life (Lewis, 1993). This phenomenon is also evident in India. According to Tucker (1991), Indian peasants constantly engaged in pouching of the protected species of birds which were deemed highly endangered. After pouching, they could then sell them to the town-based trader. Therefore, poverty can be viewed as a universal cause of conflicts in almost all parts of the world. On the other hand, the legislators and policy implementers who enforced laws that prohibited such acts did so with an aim of preserving the nature and its beauty (Muir, 1896).
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While most laws were set up with a reason by the policy makers such as the state and the city or the country, most of them are simply perceived as secondary. For instance, shepherds who lived and grazed near Yosemite National Park frequently engaged in running battles with the police who guarded the park (Muir, 1986). This manifests how differently the laws and regulations that were put up to guard and guide and guard public belongings were perceived and interpreted among the locals. Such differences in interpretations and perceptions comprised a common source of conflicts between community members and the state or authorities in leadership and management over these highly protected areas.
Differences in interests were also common several decades ago. Such differences can be attributed to the fact that the world was witnessing revolutions that came with changes in the nature of people’s lifestyles. According to Lewis (1993), one of the major challenges towards conflict management and resolution is dealing with conflicting parties and trying to get them to abandon their personal interests and pursue interests that are at stake. Such differences perpetually resulted in conflicts among groups that held conflicting interests. For instance, at Yosemite National Park, Muir (1896) vividly describes how shepherds pursued their own interests to graze their flocks of sheep under careful observation of the presence of policemen who were tasked with a responsibility of ensuring that the park remained free from intruders. This shows how sharply the interests of the local residents conflicted with the interest of the state.
Failure to distinguish between ideal and real situations also prompted people into conflicts in the past. Ideal situation is what people or the society at large expected and wished to happen. On the other hand, real situation refers to what the situation was in actual sense. Looking at the circumstances presented by Tucker (1991), the local people failed to distinguish the ideality from reality of shifting cultivation. They thought it was all right to go on practicing shifting cultivation. However, the British officials had identified the danger in shifting cultivation and wanted to bring it to an end by encouraging people to settle in permanent homes because the land was increasingly becoming limited. The aftermath of the British officials’ intervention was a prolonged conflict.
Human nature in general deserves attention. If the required attention is denied to individuals or groups, the resulting situation is likely to cause serious conflicts. According to Lewis (1993), failing to involve people in the process of decision-making especially in matters that directly affect them is potentially disastrous. It often results in retaliation and resistance from the people who are directly affected by the newly set laws or policies. Historically, most problems that led to conflict were as a result of dissatisfaction with the laws amongst members of the society or community regarding the community’s highly protected areas such as parks. They thought it was too hard to survive with the changed situation. If the process of decision-making and policy stipulation is considerate of the interests and suggestions from the local people, chances that conflicts would erupt become minimal. However, humans are generally resistant to change and change is inevitable. The only way in the past was to move on with changes and impose them on the public.
In a nutshell, conflicts in the protected areas in the past days were caused by several factors and circumstances, some of which were unavoidable. Some of the major factors that resulted in conflicts among people included: poverty which entailed limited resources available for use by a rapidly increasing population pressure in different parts of the world. Another source of conflicts was the difference in interests amongst individuals and groups. While every group had its own interests and opinions, it was difficult to consider everyone’s interests. Others included lack of the much needed attention in decision-making, failure to clearly distinguish between real and ideal situations, incorrect perception of laws among other factors. Generally, most historical conflicts surrounding protected areas were caused by the inevitable need for change.
References
Lewis, C. (1993). Nature in the Crossfire. Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas: the Law of Mother Earth, E. Kemf and E. Hillary, Editors .
Muir, J. (1896). The national parks and forest reservations. Sierra Club Bulletin , 1 (7), 271-284
Tucker, R. P. (1991). Resident peoples and wildlife reserves in India: the prehistory of a strategy. Resident peoples and national parks: Social dilemmas and strategies in international conservation , 40.
