Displacement and relocation from protected areas: Towards a biological and historical synthesis

The displacement of people has been a central feature of 20th century nature conservation all over the world. This issue of relocation has lately acquired centre-stage in debates on biodiversity conservation in India. Between 1969 and 2001, the area under national parks and sanctuaries in India grew ten-fold to cover 5 % of the total landscape. This expansion of protected areas was accompanied by displacement of an estimated 49,000 to 120,000 forest-dwelling people during the 20th century. Further large-scale  displacements from tiger habitats are planned during the next decade, in response to the recent crises of forest degradation and local animal extinctions. When and how should such relocation be done, if at all? How does one analyse the efficacy of such relocation in terms of conservation and social justice? These questions are easier to pose than to answer.