Beyond Contesting Limits: Land, Access, and Resistance at the Virunga National Park

Nature conservation strategies at Virunga National Park, implemented post-conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), face significant resistance from local populations. While elites employ overt political contestation, peasants utilize 'weapons of the weak,' engaging in covert, everyday resistance through customary land access practices. This multi-dimensional resistance reflects broader conflict dynamics in eastern DRC while embedding them within conservation efforts, which are tightly intertwined with global dynamics. The study highlights how these resistance strategies challenge re-enclosure practices and underscores the complex interplay between local agency and global conservation frameworks.

Hochleithner, S. (2017). Beyond Contesting Limits: Land, Access, and Resistance at the Virunga National Park. Conservation and Society, 15(1), 100. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.201397