Guillaume Blanc - The Invention of Green Colonialism

1 Cover

2 Title Page The Invention of Green Colonialism GUILLAUME BLANC Translated by Helen Morrison polity

3 Copyright Originally published in French as L’invention du colonialisme vert. Pour en finir avec le mythe d’Éden africain. Préface de François-Xavier Fauvelle © Flammarion, Paris, 2020 This English edition © Polity Press, 2022 1892 maps of Ethiopia: ‘Carta dimostrativa dell’ Etiopia’. Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 101 Station Landing Suite 300 Medford, MA 02155, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-5090-6 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition. For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

4 Preface to the English Edition: History as a Starting Point Notes

5 Acknowledgements

6 Introduction

7 1 Deconstructing Our Beliefs, (Re)thinking Nature Social injustice and ecological absurdity Green colonialism Understanding Africa through Ethiopian history Notes

8 2 Turning Africa into Parkland (1850–1960) Eden and its fall The ecological impact of colonization The myths underpinning colonialism From game reserves to national parks Nature idealized and exploited Colonial organizations, international institutions Notes

9 3 A Special Project for Africa (1960–1965) The beginnings of the WWF The myth of the lost forest The colonists leave; the experts remain The truth of networked texts Notes

10 4 The Expert and the Emperor (1965–1970) A certain idea of Africa Making the colonial dream come true The diaspora of experts Laying down the law in Africa? A global game Protecting nature, wielding power Notes

11 5 Violence Below the Surface of Nature (1970–1978) One national park, (too) many actors The myth, the state and the peasant UNESCO and the dictator Notes

12 6 The Sustainable Development Trap (1978–1996) Nature remains a national issue Nature remains a colonial idea A new way of seeing Africa? A new way of seeing the Africans New ethic, old ways Notes

13 7 The Fiction of the Community Approach (1996–2009) The spectre of degradation A useful myth Parks for people, against the people The disintegration of the community The people sacrificed to world heritage Notes

14 8 The Roots of Injustice (2009–2019) A new poverty A different park for different people Beyond nature: absurdity A never-ending injustice Notes

15 Conclusion Notes

16 Afterword: Looking Ahead Notes

17 Index

18 End User License Agreement

1 IntroductionEthiopia and its first three national parks

1 Cover

2 Table of Contents

3 Title Page

4 Copyright

5 Preface to the English Edition: History as a Starting Point

6 Acknowledgements

7 Introduction

8 Begin Reading

9 Conclusion

10 Afterword: Looking Ahead

11 Index

12 End User License Agreement

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GUILLAUME BLANC

Translated by Helen Morrison

polity

Originally published in French as L’invention du colonialisme vert. Pour en finir avec le mythe d’Éden africain. Préface de François-Xavier Fauvelle © Flammarion, Paris, 2020

This English edition © Polity Press, 2022

1892 maps of Ethiopia: ‘Carta dimostrativa dell’ Etiopia’. Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Polity Press

65 Bridge Street

Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

101 Station Landing

Suite 300

Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-5090-6

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.