DeepSummary
The podcast features an interview with Professor Tom Lekan about his book 'Our Gigantic Zoo: A German Quest to Save the Serengeti.' He discusses how the father-son duo of Bernhard and Michael Grzimek, German conservationists and filmmakers, played a pivotal role in popularizing the Serengeti National Park as a global destination for wildlife tourism. The book explores the tensions between the Grzimeks' global conservation efforts and the local realities and rights of indigenous communities like the Maasai pastoralists.
Lekan explains how the Grzimeks' quest to save the Serengeti from 'overpopulation' and modernization stemmed from anxieties about modernity, Americanization, and the legacies of Nazism and colonialism. Their efforts to remake the Serengeti into a 'gigantic zoo' for the world's last great mammals often sidelined the traditional land use practices and cultural significance of the landscape for local communities.
The interview delves into the conflicts that arose post-independence when Tanzania's leader Julius Nyerere initially embraced the Grzimeks' vision for wildlife-based economic development but later resented the meddling of foreign conservationists. Lekan argues that the episode highlights the problematic crisis narratives and technocratic solutions that often erase local knowledge and sovereignty over natural resources.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The book explores how the German conservationists Bernhard and Michael Grzimek popularized the Serengeti National Park as a global conservation site and tourist destination.
- The Grzimeks' efforts stemmed from anxieties about modernity, Americanization, and the legacies of Nazism and colonialism.
- Their vision of remaking the Serengeti into a 'gigantic zoo' for the world's last great mammals often sidelined local indigenous communities' rights and practices.
- Post-independence, tensions arose as Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere initially embraced the Grzimeks' vision for wildlife-based economic development but later resented foreign conservationists' meddling.
- The episode highlights the conflicts between global conservation efforts, decolonization, national sovereignty, and indigenous rights over natural resources.
- Lekan critiques the problematic crisis narratives and technocratic solutions promoted by conservationists that often erase local knowledge and sovereignty.
- The book examines the continuities between colonial and postcolonial approaches to conservation that persisted despite decolonization.
- Lekan argues for greater recognition of local communities as environmental stewards rather than impediments to conservation.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So I think there are parallels and fractures between the global and local that are uncomfortable. And they come out of that imperial era. They traversed the period of decolonization and they're still with us today.“ by Tom Lekan
- “And the thing about it, Eric, that I would say about them that was, like, different from Yellowstone or Yosemite is that they were really strict scientific reserves. You had to have a permit to visit them at all. They weren't yet seen so much as tourist destinations in the way that they would become in the sixties or, you know, in the way people thought about national parks in the sixties.“ by Tom Lekan
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Episode Information
New Books in Environmental Studies
Marshall Poe
4/11/23