ABSTRACT
The conservation agenda, which is generally depicted as being in the common interest of the entire global community, is seen by some as a justification for external intervention. Some states or state interests, however, appropriate the conservation concerns of international environmental groups as a means of eliciting support for their own control over productive natural resources. Indeed, some tropical developing states use conservation ideology to justify coercion in the name of conservation, often by using violence. State concerns the economic value of resources may influence conservation groups to use economic terms to justify their protection and preservation strategies. The environmental community's tacit or explicit support of coercive conservation tactics has far-reaching consequences. Local resistance to what are perceived as illegitimate state claims and controls over local resources is likely to heighten, and may lead to violent response, sabotage of resources, and degradation.
