Presenter(s): Caitlin Scarpelli − General Science
Faculty Mentor(s): Philip Romero, Craig Kauffman
Poster 72
Research Area: Natural and Social Science
When the word paradise comes to mind, words like prosperity, nature, and peace do as well. There is one phrase that most likely does not: armed conflict. However, over the past 70 years, armed conflict has significantly overlapped with biodiversity hotspots, areas with both high species variety and high degradation. When armed conflict causes land-use changes, resource exploitation and pollution, direct damages to ecosystem health, ecosystem services and human health occur. Conservation seeks to protect natural ecosystems, but can also protect the people who are often ravaged by conflict. This thesis examines how countries in biodiversity hotspots implemented strategies for forest biodiversity conservation in post-war periods and proposes a conservation strategy which any country could theoretically implement after armed conflict. I utilized the Most Different Systems Design, which seeks to identify similar factors between two extremely different case studies, to compare conservation efforts by the Vietnamese and Sierra Leonean governments. My time frame was 16 years after their respective conflicts ended: between 1975 and 1991 after the Vietnam War, and between 2002 and 2018 after the Sierra Leone Civil War. Both countries sought to increase their conservation capacity post-conflict, whether through increasing governmental funding, passing conservation policies, or creating protected areas. While conservation can occur through various methods, establishment of protected areas was essential for successful forest conservation. However, forest conservation was unsuccessful when local people were not consulted. Therefore, an emphasis on communication, coordination, and collaboration between departments and local people is vital for successful forest conservation.