The militarisation of conservation and occupational violence in Sikumi Forest Reserve, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Discussions around the militarisation of conservation have largely focused on violence meted out against subsistence and commercial poachers in, and around, protected areas. Overlooked is violence experienced by perpetrators of such violence. Using lived experiences of anti-poaching in Sikumi Forest Reserve—a state forest managed by Zimbabwe's Forestry Commission—this article examines working experiences of paramilitary personnel. Empirical evidence shows that, in the process of implementing state militarised conservation practices, paramilitary personnel are subjected to violence perpetrated by the state through its authorities. I discuss this violence in the context of occupational violence and make two arguments. The first is that the range of victims of militarised conservation violence goes beyond local communities and commercial poachers to include paramilitary personnel perpetrating such violence. Related to this argument is the second argument that occupational violence has an exacerbating effect on everyday persistent violence. I conclude that aspects of occupational violence, such as displayed in Sikumi Forest Reserve, should be understood as part of broader green violence.