From Coercive to Carceral Conservation: Reframing Conservation through Abolition Ecologies

Critical social science research on conservation practice has long articulated the tactics that emerge out of a history of carcerality, environmental racism, colonialism, and violence against oppressed peoples. Despite these critiques, there has been little change in how conservation is conceptualised and implemented, resulting in the continuation of violence, racism, and injustice. Abolition ecologies offer a framework to see the world through a carceral lens and imagine an abolitionist future for conservation. Using Kenya as a case study, we outline the three ways that carcerality is apparent in and integral to contemporary conservation practices: legal/juridical, technoscience, and privatisation. Illuminating the carcerality of conservation practices, we posit, allows scholars and practitioners to begin to imagine and work towards a more just and liberatory conservation movement, one that minimises the perpetuation and reproduction of white supremacy, violence, and environmental injustice.