Wartime protected area governance: the case of Colombia’s Alto Fragua Indiwasi National Park

Abstract

Despite its relevance for conservation in biodiversity hotspots, many of which are in the Global South and display a record of violent conflict, the relationship between protected area governance and armed conflict is underexplored. While a rich literature on protected area governance documents the existence of different governance types, ranging from state-led to community-organised conservation initiatives, thus far scholars have not examined in any depth what kinds of protected area governance arrangements and institutions emerge and operate under conditions of violent conflict. Working with a neo-institutionalist framework, the present article provides evidence regarding the impact of armed conflict on one protected area governance system in Colombia: Alto Fragua Indiwasi National Park in the southern department of Caquetá. The analysis is based on a review of the existing literature on protected area governance and armed conflict and in-depth fieldwork with key park and other stakeholders, carried out in Colombia in 2016. The research finds that despite the formidable challenges faced by the National Park Team amid armed conflict, certain conservation outcomes could still be achieved as a result of the adaptation of the park governance system.

Keywords:

• Protected areas
• governance
• armed conflict
• Alto Fragua Indiwasi National Park
• Colombia

Acknowledgements

Julia Gorricho extends her thanks to all the people who offered to partake in the interviews she conducted for this research in Bogotá, Cali and the municipalities of Florencia, San José del Fragua, Belén de los Andaquies, Yurayaco and Albania. Both authors thank the three anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments on previous versions of this research article.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Notes

1 We use these terms de jure and de facto to distinguish between, on the one hand, the exercise of authority on the basis of the prevailing official law (de jure) and factual – often unequal – power relationships that are not necessarily backed up and bound by law (de facto) on the other.

2 We selected these three conflict variables as indicators of armed conflict intensity because they are the most common aspects of armed conflict usually identified by protected area actors in the territory.

3 The Ingano people of Caquetá are among the last remaining representatives of the traditional yagé culture, which is characterised by the shamanic use of sacred plants found in the Amazon Basin. The plant is used for treating diseases and gaining access to a visionary or mythological world providing revelation, blessing, healing, and ontological security (Andritzky 1989; Dobkin de Rios 1972).

4 As per Decree 622 of 1977, a Special Management Regime (SMR) is meant to achieve compatibility between a national park and a declared indigenous territory. The SMR seeks to ensure the permanence of the indigenous community in the territory and protect its right to use natural resources and technologies compatible with the park’s conservation objectives. The SMR has to be designed and adopted jointly by the respective indigenous authorities and the National Natural Parks Agency, thus serving as an instrument for planning and managing overlapping protected areas.

5 For example, in 2006 one park ranger was seriously injured in an anti-personnel mine incident while working in the field.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julia Gorricho

Julia Gorricho is an Anthropologist (Los Andes University, Colombia) with a master’s degree in environmental studies from York University (Canada) and a PhD in environmental governance from Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, and Programme Officer for South America at WWF Germany. Working with Patrimonio Natural, USAID, and WWF Colombia and Germany, amongst other environmental organisations, over the past 15+ years, Julia has gained broad experience in biodiversity conservation in violent conflict settings, environmental governance and climate change in Colombia, the wider Amazon Biome and the Galapagos Archipelago. In 2015, she received the Marjan–Marsh Award from King’s College London (UK) for her contributions to conflict and conservation.

Markus Schultze-Kraft

Markus Schultze-Kraft is Arnhold Associate Fellow at the Georg Eckert Institute – Member of the Leibniz Association in Brunswick, Germany. Serving as Programme Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, Fellow and Leader of the Governance Research Team at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex and Associate Professor for Peace/Conflict Studies and Global Affairs at Universidad Icesi (Colombia), over the past 20+ years he has been conducting grounded research in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and the Western Balkans on violent conflict prevention/resolution, peacebuilding, peace education, security system reform, organised crime and a range of complex governance issues. He holds an MA (Diplom) in political science from the Free University Berlin, and an MPhil in Latin American studies and a DPhil in politics from the University of Oxford. Among his recent publications is the monograph Crimilegal Orders, Governance and Armed Conflict (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).