Saving African Nature

An Ecological Mission and the Violence of History

Guillaume Blanc, Helen Morrison

• Publisher: Polity
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781509568697
  9781509568680
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781509568703
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

During the colonization of Africa, European colonists set about creating game reserves in Africa, convinced that they would find in Africa a nature that no longer existed in Europe. After independence, and with the help of UNESCO and the WWF, African leaders continued to 'protect' the same nature, a nature that the whole world wanted to be pristine, wild and without humans – a timeless Garden of Eden. The consequences of this story are well known: millions of Africans were expelled from the land on which they had lived for generations.

But how did this happen? Who organized this continuity between the colonial era and the era of independence? Guillaume Blanc answers these questions by immersing himself at the heart of a strange global ecological mission, launched in 1961: the 'African Special Project'. He tells the story of this project by bringing to life four worlds: the world of gentleman experts who saw Africa as the world's last natural refuge; the world of East African colonists who were retraining as international experts; the world of African leaders who sought to control their peoples while satisfying the demands of their Western partners; and finally, the world of local farmers and their families living on the land who were forced to adapt or abandon their homes. These men do not speak of the same nature, but step by step, their worlds draw closer together until they meet – and this is where violence erupts.

This impressive book lays bare the violence inherent in the creation of African game reserves and national parks and documents a hidden dimension of colonialism and its legacies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Quote
• Maps
• Introduction. Violence in a natural environment: From why to how
• 1. Protecting Africa from the Africans: The world of the expert gentlemen
• 2. Saving the East African stronghold: The world of those who stayed
• 3. Governing Ethiopia: The world-nation of African leaders
• 4. Living in a national park: The global village of the anonymous
• Epilogue. A little nature, (far) too much humanity
• Acknowledgements
• Acronyms
• Bibliography
• Index
• End User License Agreement