I am an environmental anthropologist with a background in primatology – this has given me a unique perspective on issues related to human-wildlife conflict, conservation, and the overall well-being and multiple livelihoods of local people in conservation zones. I have just returned from conducting two years of ethnographic field research exploring the impact of global environmental governance and conservation initiatives and polices on indigenous forest people in southwestern Uganda.
Using a multi-method approach I collected data using GIS/cultural mapping methods, oral histories, and participant observation to understand the lived experiences of people’s relationship with conservation. More specifically, my work investigates the ways that displaced Batwa communities have renegotiated their cultural identities and relationships with the forest and gorillas in response to global conservation governance and local management practices in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) and nearby region.
Dr. Melissa J. Remis 