DoubleD

Thanks for the interesting quotation from a fictional book which highlights the natural vs human conflict in land use in Africa today.

Also the mental conflict of urban out of touch Westerners in understanding the natural world.

It is interesting to note the two statements above actually show the callousness of the average "greenie". Many times I have read the average "greenie" or perservationist allows for no empathy for the local populations in wildlife rich regions, for example in Africa. I have heard and read many times these same ignorant "greenies" even call for the human populations to be reduced eg war, death, diseases - to allow of "more animals".

But on their other hand they "care" for the cute, beautiful, cuddly animals.

Then for many of us that actually have visited Africa, and perhaps hunted there and spoken to locals, the issues are not so simple. Several times I have heard the locals' complete callousness to animals as well. Often these people get their livelihood from the Parks and Game populations, yet I remember one cook saying the animals in the Maasai Mara should be exterminated and the land used for farming.

Regarding the coming of European man to Africa which seems such a "hair trigger" for some at the moment, the very coming of European settlers created these conflicts. The reduction in tribal wars, decreases in ever present famines, stock destruction, diesease epidemics, introduction of alternative crops, removal of genocidal and "evil" traditions and cultures, allowed massive population increases. People expanded into previously unsettled areas, deforested large areas of once pristine country, pushed wildlife populations into smaller and smaller areas, often less suitable for the plagues of goats, sheep and cattle, or marginal for farming. Today in Africa, India, Brazil, the areas of wilderness and Parks are ever more so looked at with envious eyes and encroached upon wherever possible.

While it may be callous for the out of touch Westerner "greenie" to ignore the plight of poor people in these countries, the populations wanting to further and further encroach on areas of wildnerness and Parks must also take responsibility for their own actions, their uncontrolled breeding (I met a "Chief" in the Zambezi valley with 65 children), their destructive habits on the natural environment, and take responsibility SOON!

Tourism whether game viewing and sight seeing or hunting tourism is a valuable export earner for many countries only exceeded by mining royalties for forex earnings. If the people don't learn to look after their own futures why should we?

Aid from the West should never be for free. I wonder if aid was able to be cut-off 100% how long it would take for many of these countries to return to similar to what they were only one hundred years ago?

It is by no means a simple topic or issue.