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. 2022 Mar 30;72(6):549-559.
doi: 10.1093/biosci/biac008. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Integrating Social Justice into Higher Education Conservation Science

Robert A Montgomery  1 , Abigail M Pointer  2 , Sophia Jingo  2 , Herbert Kasozi  2 , Mordecai Ogada  3 , Tutilo Mudumba  2
Affiliations

Integrating Social Justice into Higher Education Conservation Science

Robert A Montgomery et al. Bioscience. .

Abstract

Because biodiversity loss has largely been attributed to human actions, people, particularly those in the Global South, are regularly depicted as threats to conservation. This context has facilitated rapid growth in green militarization, with fierce crackdowns against real or perceived environmental offenders. We designed an undergraduate course to assess student perspectives on biodiversity conservation and social justice and positioned those students to contribute to a human heritage-centered conservation (HHCC) initiative situated in Uganda. We evaluated changes in perspectives using pre- and postcourse surveys and reflection instruments. Although the students started the course prioritizing biodiversity conservation, even when it was costly to human well-being, by the end of the course, they were recognizing and remarking on the central importance of social justice within conservation. We present a framework for further integration of HHCC approaches into higher education courses so as to conserve the integrity of coupled human and natural systems globally.

Keywords: biodiversity; conservation; education; interdisciplinary science; social justice.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Snares to Wares Initiative is an intervention designed to conserve biodiversity by uplifting local human communities in conservation. In Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda subsistence poaching not only represents a conservation problem, but also an entrenched social justice issue. The Uganda kob (Kobus kob) is one of the primary targets of subsistence poachers (a). Peter Luhonda and Sophia Jingo removing wire snares from the national park (b). The wires used by subsistence poachers in this region often derive from radial vehicle tires (c). The local artisans of the Snares to Wares Initiative produce bespoke pieces representing animals that are subjected to poaching pressure (d). Photographs (a), (d) Tutilo Mudumba; (b), (c) Esther Ruth Mbabazi.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Statistically significant (at α = .05) differences, as measured by paired t-tests, in student responses between the pre- and postcourse surveys of the human heritage-centered conservation course.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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