ABSTRACT
Conservation in Africa is most commonly associated with wildlife and national parks. Images of untamed landscapes and the ‘big five’ must-see mammals support calls for land and wildlife to be protected. It has long been recognised, however, that landscapes are not always as ‘untamed’ and uninhabited as at times portrayed. People live in the same areas as wildlife, seeking to graze their livestock on the same pastures and farm their crops in areas where wild animals roam (Adams and Hulme, 2001; Brockington, 2002; Fabricius, 2004). There are, in addition, many other natural resources people draw on and interact with, such as forests, fisheries and grazing land, with their own conservation and livelihood dilemmas (Nelson, 2010). This chapter focuses on the experience of conservation in relation to wildlife and protected areas, and draws, in places, on broader literature, bringing insights from other areas of natural resource governance and livelihoods.
