ABSTRACT

The fossil-fuelled Anthropocene, with its attendant destruction of wildlife, originated with global capitalism. Early ‘fortress’ conservation efforts focussed on delineating protected areas, but in the latter part of the twentieth century, wildlife expanded on private and communal lands in Southern Africa through schemes allowing people to benefit directly from wildlife. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) provided people with economic incentives to coexist with wildlife, showing that in the capitalist Anthropocene, the commodification of wildlife could be a tool for its conservation. This paper reviews the history of CBNRM in Southern Africa, paying particular attention to Namibia where hunting is an important source of revenue. It concludes with a discussion of international efforts to decommodify wildlife through limiting trade and restricting trophy hunting. The shooting of ‘Cecil the Lion’ in Zimbabwe by an American trophy hunter boosted these efforts – but in the process threatened to undermine commodified forms of wildlife conservation, including CBNRM, across Southern Africa. It is an irony of history that capitalist commodification created the environmental crisis yet strategies of decommodification could prompt land-use changes which, in the absence of substantial new support to promote coexistence with wildlife, reduce rather than support wildlife and biodiversity.

摘要

以化石为燃料的人类世伴随着对野生动物的破坏，起源于全球资本主义。早期的“堡垒”保护工作侧重于划定保护区，但在 20 世纪后期，通过允许人们直接从野生动物中受益的计划，野生动物在南部非洲的私人和公共土地上扩张。基于社区的自然资源管理 (CBNRM) 为人们提供了与野生动物共存的经济激励，这表明在资本主义人类世，野生动物的商品化可能是其保护的一种工具。本文回顾了南部非洲 CBNRM 的历史，特别关注狩猎是重要收入来源的纳米比亚。最后讨论了通过限制贸易和限制战利品狩猎来使野生动植物去商品化的国际努力。一名美国战利品猎人在津巴布韦拍摄的“狮子塞西尔”推动了这些努力——但在此过程中，威胁要破坏整个南部非洲的野生动物保护商品化形式，包括 CBNRM。具有讽刺意味的是，资本主义商品化造成了环境危机，但去商品化战略可能会促使土地利用发生变化，在缺乏促进与野生动物共存的大量新支持的情况下，这会减少而不是支持野生动物和生物多样性。一名美国战利品猎人在津巴布韦拍摄的“狮子塞西尔”推动了这些努力——但在此过程中，威胁要破坏整个南部非洲的野生动物保护商品化形式，包括 CBNRM。具有讽刺意味的是，资本主义商品化造成了环境危机，但去商品化战略可能会促使土地利用发生变化，在缺乏促进与野生动物共存的大量新支持的情况下，这会减少而不是支持野生动物和生物多样性。一名美国战利品猎人在津巴布韦拍摄的“狮子塞西尔”推动了这些努力——但在此过程中，威胁要破坏整个南部非洲的野生动物保护商品化形式，包括 CBNRM。具有讽刺意味的是，资本主义商品化造成了环境危机，但去商品化战略可能会促使土地利用发生变化，在缺乏促进与野生动物共存的大量新支持的情况下，这会减少而不是支持野生动物和生物多样性。