Stories of the Batwa Pygmies of Buhoma, Uganda: Mountain Gorilla Protection and Ecotourism Ended the Traditional Lives of Ancient Forest-Dwelling Hunter/Gatherers Volume 1
Stories of the Batwa Pygmies of Buhoma, Uganda: Mountain Gorilla Protection and Ecotourism Ended the Traditional Lives of Ancient Forest-Dwelling Hunter/Gatherers Volume 1
Attempts to protect endangered animal species often have negatively impacted powerless indigenous people livingtraditional lifestyles. This photo-essay illustrates one such example: How the laudable effort to protect "CriticallyEndangered" mountain gorillas (and income-producing ecotourism) has affected the Batwa Pygmies of southwestUganda, in East Africa. The Batwa are one of the most ancient races on earth, who for millennia had lived alongside themountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The Ugandan ...
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Attempts to protect endangered animal species often have negatively impacted powerless indigenous people livingtraditional lifestyles. This photo-essay illustrates one such example: How the laudable effort to protect "CriticallyEndangered" mountain gorillas (and income-producing ecotourism) has affected the Batwa Pygmies of southwestUganda, in East Africa. The Batwa are one of the most ancient races on earth, who for millennia had lived alongside themountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The Ugandan government forcibly evicted the Batwa in1992, when the forest was designated a World Heritage Site and was renamed the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.The government has never assisted the Batwa with compensation, means of supporting themselves, or housing.In December 2017, photographer Tony Schwartz interviewed nine Batwa. Photographs were acquired during theinterviews, and demonstrations by the Batwa of how they previously had existed in the forest. They gave personalaccounts of their former way of life, told a story derived from their ancient and rich oral history, and related thedevastating and deadly effects the eviction has had on their lives and culture. We have reported these individual stories, experiences and perceptions, as it is our belief that the fabric of a people is comprised of individual threads.This book documents two opposing impacts of an effort to protect endangered wildlife. On the one hand, thepopulation of mountain gorillas has increased associated with their protection. On the other hand, this has come atgreat expense to the Batwa Pygmies.
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