Course:CONS200/2025WT2/Gendered green violence: Adverse affects of neoliberal fortress conservation on women

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Impacts of Fortress Conservation on Women

Women's Economic Status and Fortress Conservation

Huts in Virunga National Park

Fortress conservation disproportionately impacts women as they rely on natural resources such as firewood, water, and charcoal to provide for their families. [2] According to the World Bank, 50% of women’s income is from the forest in some form. [3] By restricting access to forested areas, fortress conservation exacerbates economic insecurity and food scarcity. [3] Women previously living in Parc National Des Virunga were displaced by Belgian conservationists and lost access to fertile croplands. They were not compensated for the loss of access or loss of resources. Resultantly, these women were forced into poverty and had to illegally enter the park to provide for their families. [2]

Young girl going to collect water in Nigeria

Fortress conservation has immediate impacts, such as sudden resource loss, but it also contributes to longer-term economic marginalization. Economic displacement, that is restricting access to protected areas and making it harder for people to continue to collect their necessities (eg. food, firewood, etc), is a prevalent issue in fortress conservation.[4] Studies suggest that economic displacement is the most common type of displacement when it comes to protected areas and people subject to it are less likely to receive compensation, both for the loss of resources and for the opportunity costs. [4] [5]In the long term, protected areas that do not allow sustainable use (71% of protected areas) may create longer-term economic inequalities.[5] This primarily impacts women, because they rely on natural resources, or sustainable use, for their income and livelihoods. [2]

Women’s Education and Fortress Conservation

Women’s education levels are often indicative of women’s health, well-being, and economic status. Educated women are more likely to have a say over their reproductive care and finances, which results in reduced child and maternal mortality rates and increased overall life expectancy. [6] However, women often have fewer opportunities to receive an education, and this disparity is more pronounced in developing countries. [6]

The negative economic impacts of fortress conservation result in poverty for the affected families, and when families experience poverty, particularly in developing nations, girls are more likely to drop out of school.[7] This is because young girls tend to take on more household tasks (eg. cooking, taking care of children, etc) than their male counterparts of the same age, especially if their mother works and the children are part of a large family.[7] Girls who drop out of school often end up taking care of their younger siblings or resort to child prostitution to earn money for their families. [7]

In many countries where school fees are high and families are facing poverty, there tends to be a pro-male bias when deciding which of their children get to continue their schooling.[8] This means boys are more likely than girls to be in school and to complete their education.

Currently, most fortress conservation projects are underway and being actively implemented in the Global South, where women and girls are already less likely to receive an education (compared to women and girls in the Global North). [7] The economic hardship or poverty brought on by fortress conservation could result in more women and girls being forced to leave school and limiting their opportunities.

Women's Risk of Gender-Based Violence and Fortress Conservation

Women living near protected areas are also particularly at risk of gender-based violence perpetrated by park rangers, as seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the Salgona National Park. Women living near the park report cases of extortion, torture, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence. [9]For instance, there is a reported case where 4 young women were accused of fishing in the river inside the park, they were then beaten and raped by a group of ICCN (International Climate Councils Network) guards; the actions of the guards were allegedly overseen by the station head.[9]

Lulilaka River, Salonga National Park

There is a similar case occurring in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, where access to the park has been limited and the traditional inhabitants, the Batwa people, have been forced into poverty as a result of lack of access to resources. [9]There are reports of young women leaving in the morning to attempt to earn some money through resource collection, and are instead raped by park rangers.[9] There are documented reports of gender-based violence, torture, and other human rights violations in protected areas in Tanzania[10] , Nepal[11] , and many other countries.

Women are more vulnerable to this abuse because they are more reliant on natural resource collection. When accessing protected areas, legally or illegally, women can become victims of assault or other attacks by forest guards or others who use the remote locations as an opportunity for these attacks.[12]

Conclusion

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References

Please use the Wikipedia reference style. Provide a citation for every sentence, statement, thought, or bit of data not your own, giving the author, year, AND page. For dictionary references for English-language terms, I strongly recommend you use the Oxford English Dictionary. You can reference foreign-language sources but please also provide translations into English in the reference list.

Note: Before writing your wiki article on the UBC Wiki, it may be helpful to review the tips in Wikipedia: Writing better articles.[13]

  1. ↑ Sample Reference
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Trogisch, Lisa (2022). "Navigating fearscapes: women's coping strategies with(in) the conservation-conflict nexus in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo". Gender, Place & Culture: 350–373. line feed character in |title= at position 63 (help)
  3. ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Wang, Ling; Wang, Enheng; Mao, Xuegang. "Sustainable poverty alleviation through forests: Pathways and strategies". Science of the Total Environment.
  4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 Brockington, David; Wilkie, David (November 5, 2022). "Protected areas and poverty". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences. line feed character in |journal= at position 15 (help)
  5. ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 Jago, Sophie (2024). "Reducing negative economic and equity implications associated with conserving 30% of the planet by 2030". Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 22: 8–11.
  6. ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 Riaz, Sofia; Pervaiz, Zahid (2018). "The impact of women's education and employment on their empowerment: an empirical evidence from household level survey". Quality & Quantity. line feed character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  7. ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Abuya, Benta; Oketch, Moses; Peter, Musyoka (2013). "Why do pupils dropout when education is 'free'? Explaining school dropout among the urban poor in Nairobi". Journal of Comparative and International Education. line feed character in |title= at position 41 (help)
  8. ↑ Shahidul, S.M; Zehadul Karim, A.H.M (2015). 40ac013257c0f8a14d223466aaaff260e9567 "Factors Contributing to School Dropout Among the Girls: A Review of the Literature" Check |url= value (help). European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences: 25–37.
  9. ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 ding-fortress-conservation-democratic-republic-congo "From Abuse To Power: Ending Fortress Conservation In the Democratic Republic of Congo" Check |url= value (help). The Oakland Institute: 1–61. 2024.
  10. ↑ Reddy, Micah (2025). project-plagued-by-allegations-of-violence-and-abuse-terminated-in-tanzania/ "$150M World Bank project plagued by allegations of violence and abuse terminated in Tanzania" Check |url= value (help). International Consortum of Investigative Journalists. line feed character in |title= at position 61 (help); line feed character in |journal= at position 42 (help)
  11. ↑ "Nepal: Violations in the name of conservation". Amnesty International. August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  12. ↑ Castañeda, Camey; Sabater, L.; Owren, C (E). n-Summ.pdf "Gender-based violence and environment linkages: Summary for policy makers" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). ICUN: 1–29. line feed character in |title= at position 27 (help); |first4= missing |last4= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Writing better articles. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].


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