The global effort to protect 30% of Earth’s land and water by 2030, known as the 30×30 goals, means nations across the world are expanding their protected areas. In Africa, that would mean an additional 2.59 million square kilometers, or 1 million square miles roughly — about the size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To find out what this might look like, Mongabay staff reporter Ashoka Mukpo traveled to several nations to assess the current state of conservation in key protected areas. He joins Mongabay’s podcast to describe what he’s seen in his reporting so far, and what he’s publishing next in the series. While visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, he documented allegations of extrajudicial killings of suspected bushmeat hunters by park rangers. Many in the community said they feel closed off from the revenue the park generates, and aren’t compensated adequately. “The amount [of] violence and aggressive enforcement that is, I think, generally associated with wildlife rangers has led to a lot of mistrust, a lot of alienation, and a real sense that ‘the purpose of these people is to kind of harass and impose a system that doesn’t include us, on us,’” Mukpo says. While Queen Elizabeth National Park is unique in its biodiversity, it’s not unique in its challenges. The alleged killings at the park are a consistent issue in the modern conservation model, especially in Africa, Mukpo says. He acknowledges how important enforcement action is — and says that rangers are generally…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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