Thread by @jaredmargulies

.@elephantfamily's *incredible* lantana elephants have landed in the UK, part of their #CoExistence campaign. In the spirit of productive discussion, a thread on the use of language of coexistence, connectivity and indigenous knowledge in conservation 1/17
standard.co.uk/news/uk/elepha…

I'm attached to (and love) these elephants, I've seen them being made. They were produced in the same place where I conducted my dissertation research. I know the artists and their work and support it 100%- it's important (and beautiful). @tidefortusks @UA_Athletics? 2/17

But I don't think the language in this campaign mirrors the intent of the creators or what conservation coexistence means in a landscape of ongoing fights over indigenous displacement and dispossession. 3/17

The #CoExistence campaign is a response to “the increasing overlap between the human and animal world, which is in part responsible for the spread of deadly zoonotic diseases.”

Isn't fostering that overlap what coexistence would signal? This seems to be about...distance? 4/17

The campaign "marks a unique moment in time when a global reduction in human activity is having a positive effect on wildlife ... this ‘great pause’ ... is helping guide us on how to best share space with animals on our crowded planet."

#natureishealing vibes? @kaibosworth 5/17

The campaign "tell[s] the story of our over-populated planet, the effect of human encroachment on wild spaces and the inspiring ways we can coexist with all the other living beings that make our world magical."

The website features a graph of rising human population 🧐 6/17

Reported in The Eve. Standard: "All proceeds will go to the work of Elephant Family, including securement of wildlife corridors to enable safe movement for animals and people, the expansion of national parks and the protection of indigenous and tribal knowledge."

Danger! 7/17

Note two major (and disconcerting) things here:
1) a discussion of protection of tribal knowledge but not LAND.
2) A discussion of funding the expansion of national parks and "securing" wildlife corridors. 8/17

Facts: National Parks in India displace adivasis of their land. "Securing corridors" is the new green grab of India, with corridors becoming folded into protected areas through changes in land status.
Corridors = chance for more adivasi dispossession, more exclusion. 9/17

Exclusionary conservation+green grabs are not #Coexistence and most certainly do not represent not the protection of tribal knowledge.

Esp. disconcerting here is the coupling of overpopulation/'humans are the virus' vibes alongside adivasis as teachers of living in harmony 10/17

"The herd...were created by the tribal communities who live alongside their real-life counter parts in complete harmony."

If adivasis already coexist w/ elephants, supporting adivasi sovereignty would therefore mean supporting coexistence, right? 11/17

It seems odd then that monteary gains of this campaign are meant to support enclosing land via protected areas. In the Nilgiris there are still adivasis struggling to have their claims through the forest right act recognized. 12/17

There are still adivasi settlements (often claimed by conservationists as illegal) within National Parks. Designating corridors would only expand PAs and further marginalize adivasi communities in these landscapes. Something is amiss. 13/17

What's also troubling is language that follows about how through the campaign "the Adivasi community...was able to reconnect with its natural heritage."

Somehow I don't think the adivasi community needed an external funder to help them "reconnect" with their "heritage" 14/17

This is already too long of a fragmentary thread/essay. But In conclusion, I would encourage folks to remain vigilant to ever-metastasizing forms of green-washing such as through the guise of upholding 'indigenous knowledge' or 'coexistence.' 15/17

I'm not even sure the organization really gets what is happening here in these discursive moves and collapses through #coexistence. For all I know it could be hiring a marketing firm for this sort of thing. But it smacks of #30x30 and #HalfEarth narratives in new clothes 16/17

*But*-these elephants-made of lantana camara, a terrible invasive weed that has exploded in part THROUGH exclusionary protected area management techniques that don't honor adivasi land management knowledge, are beautiful and the people who made them deserve our support. Fin.

paging @anweshadatta @trishantsimlai @MMehtta @biosec_erc @BuscherBram @atree_org @jevgeniy_b @AdeniyiAsiyanbi @danbrockington @rosie__cooney @torbenja

Also, if you want to learn more about the creators of these elephants, check out The Real Elephant Collective: therealelephant.com/about-us

.@therealeleco

@AdivasisMatter @Survival