Description
Militarised conservation is accelerated when insecurity—violent conflict or heavily armed poaching—poses an immediate threat to wildlife and the integrity of protected areas. However, militarization often remains long after acute threats fade. To understand how violent conservation becomes an engrained state of affairs, this article proposes to focus on broader atmospheres of green militarism. It explains why rangers continue to be trained for war even without any immediate security threats. Focussing on Uganda, we show how the NRA/M government has extended military logics into nearly all civilian sectors and issues, including conservation. We explore how training curriculum and practices encourage park guards in Uganda to become ‘like soldiers’ and adopt a warfare mentality. In-depth fieldwork in Murchison Falls National Park revealed how such training represents occupational violence against the rangers themselves and contributes to their use of lethal violence against park intruders. This training is provided by the Ugandan army and through its military partnerships with the UK and US. The same curriculum for warfare is used for conservation. Therefore, militarisation is not only prompted by immediate security threats; but also the broader geopolitics of green militarism prompted by the interest of authoritarian-military governments and their international backers.
