Batwa Gorillas and the Ruhija Road:

a relational perspective on controversies at

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Christine Ampumuza
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Outline
• Aim
• Aim

• Bwindi at a glance

• Approach

•Research Question

• Results

• Conclusion

• Significance 2
Aim

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Bwindi at a
glance
• Biodiversity hotspot : interventions to
protect this diversity

• But also.. Hotspot controversies –

enduring public disagreements

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Batwa Marginalization

• Restitution of their Forest

ownership and access

Versus

• Development options
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 Gorilla Habituation

• Good conservation
measure

Versus

• Exploitation of gorillas
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 Paving the Ruhija
Road

• Conservation arguments

Versus

• Socio-economic arguments
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The Problem

• Passive subjects
• Disagreements only
negative forces
• Foreclosure of
possibilities
THUS: SEEMING IMPASSE AT BWINDI

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Approach

•Relational perspective -
- Key assumption: reality produced
in interactions during our daily
practices

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 Research Question
What are the roles of human,
animal and material agency in
producing controversies at
Bwindi?

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Methods
• Following actors

5 ethnographic village visits

 4 walks
5 drive along trips
123 unstructured interviews
134 documents
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 Results - Multiple Batwa-ness
• Marginalized

• Entrepreneurs

• Forest ecology experts

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Results – Incoherent gorilla-
ness • Conform to
scripts and rules

• Defy scientific
assumptions

• Contribute to
their own
conservation
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Results – the Ruhija road
multiple
•No road

•Ecological road

•Tourist road
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 Conclusion
Results

• Multiple interactions –
inconclusive debates

• Not always negative – open

up possibilities for innovation
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So what?

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Co-existence?
Convivial conservation Buntynski Email

Living with gorillas? Lessons

from historical convivial
relations between the
Batwa and gorillas at
Bwindi, Uganda.

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 Learning from &
working with....

• WUR MSC Student’s ACT PROJECT

• ATLAS Africa and UWA’s Request

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Thank you for listening

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Batwa Gorillas and the Ruhija Road:
a relational perspective on controversies at
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Christine Ampumuza
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