Abstract
Conservation science and practice mirror racist notions of colonialism, prolonging a cycle in which policies and programs disregard land access. Many conservation leaders operate from a culture of land exclusion, focusing on nature to generate wealth, deeming the number of individuals removed from the commons as progress. By the turn of the 21st Century, government conservation policies compensated private actors and groups for voluntarily adopting market-based mechanisms aimed at land conservation. Despite the emergence of various conservation programs, the data show that White Americans primarily benefit from federal conservation payments. However, the fragmentation of Black land ownership allows the USDA to give financial and technical resources to those seeking to develop a land trust and employ conservation practices through easements. The article concludes by advocating Agroecology as a model to engage with indigenous African knowledge systems to ensure that social justice is paramount in the strategies for conservation.
Recommended Citation
Chavers, Monyai
(2026)
"Environmental Inequities in Conservation Policies and Practices: A Brief Overview,"
Professional Agricultural Workers Journal:
Vol. 10:
No.
1, 4.
Available at:
https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol10/iss1/4