Abstract :
[en] Armed conflicts are increasingly impacting protected areas. New forms of armed conflict are emerging in Africa, posing risks to additional protected areas and necessitating changes in governance systems to cope with new stakeholders such as violent extremist groups and miners. These conflicts are not related solely to resource access and power; they are also rooted in ineffective governance systems that marginalise key stakeholders such as local communities and fail to enhance their resilience. As a result, armed conflicts have adversely affected both the protected areas and the local communities that depend on them, undermining the governance of the ecosystems involved. To address these challenges, it is important to understand the drivers of the armed conflicts affecting protected areas and to identify weaknesses in existing governance frameworks. Such an understanding can help key actors to adjust strategies to improve governance, minimise biodiversity loss, enhance ecosystem services, and strengthen the resilience of local communities.
This study aims to address the following research question: What factors drive the armed conflicts impacting natural World Heritage sites in Africa? Why do some responses succeed or fail in resolving these conflicts? What role does governance play in mitigating these impacts in a transboundary context? To respond to these questions, we conducted field observations and reviewed relevant literature through Scopus, Google Scholar and the UNESCO World Heritage database to analyse the governance structures of six natural World Heritage sites currently listed on the World Heritage in Danger owing to armed conflicts. These sites include Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park in the Central African Republic, as well as the Virunga, Kahuzi-Biega and Garamba national parks, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves in Niger. We then examined three distinct case studies exemplifying various contexts: i) the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, which has been affected by armed conflict for over 25 years. In this reserve, we conducted semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, utilizing a tailored questionnaire and spatial data tools (RAdar for Detecting Deforestation) to document illegal activities; ii) the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a natural World Heritage site currently facing new forms of armed conflict in a transboundary context involving Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. Here, we administered an online questionnaire based on the Delphi technique; and iii) the Zakouma National Park in Chad, which has managed armed conflict effectively and aspires to World Heritage inscription. In this case, we analysed changes in the governance structure through questionnaires and a literature review. Our focus was on the economic, socio-political, environmental and psychological drivers of the armed conflicts influencing the management and governance of the targeted protected areas. The research indicates that protected areas as such are not the primary cause of armed conflicts but rather are affected by conflicts arising from a combination of five categories of insecurity drivers: institutional and political, environmental, economic, socio-cultural and religious, and psychological. Our findings underscore the significance of grasping the specific historical narratives and contexts that shaped the establishment of protected areas. This understanding is important for addressing any underlying conservation conflicts that could potentially lead to future armed disputes. Additionally, our results emphasise the need to enhance regional (supra-national) dynamics and coordinate development, conservation and military strategies within a transboundary framework. Adaptive governance systems and the reinforcement of local communities’ resilience are crucial for the successful resolution of armed conflicts. We recommend that long-term solutions for protected areas impacted by armed conflicts should engage local communities in the decision-making processes concerning these protected areas and strengthening their economic resilience.
