“Green colonialism” – How nature conservation harms indigenous peoples | DW Documentary
A win for wildlife, a loss for humans. African nature reserves are restricting indigenous peoples’ access to rivers and forests — and, in doing so, are endangering their very existence.
In the name of protecting rhinos, lions and gorillas, Africa’s governments are handing over control of ever-larger swathes of land to NGOs such as the WWF, African Parks or the Northern Rangelands Trust — to the detriment of local indigenous populations.
At first glance, Africa’s wildlife conservation efforts look to be a good thing. The problem is: The new nature reserves systematically restrict indigenous peoples’ access to rivers and forests. That’s led environmental activists and advocates for indigenous communities to denounce what they see as a new “green colonialism”. They criticize the commercial and militarized administration of nature — in particular, the growing trade in carbon emissions credits for land long used by indigenous communities.
In Rwanda, Kenya and the Republic of the Congo, our reporter met members of communities who are now considered to be a threat to the natural environment, even though their ancestors have shared the land with wildlife here for centuries. To this day, these indigenous peoples live from small game and wild honey, or from the milk and meat of their cattle. Restrictions make it increasingly difficult for them to lead their traditional lifestyles, yet the wildlife preserves afford them few new job opportunities.
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Video “”Green colonialism” – How nature conservation harms indigenous peoples | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 04/21/2026 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.