The postwar conservation boom in British colonial Africa

In the period immediately following the war, four international political and economic trends converged to transform the content, implementation, and enforcement of wildlife and national park laws in East and Central Africa. One was the initiation of the British colonial development and modernization agenda for Africa. Second was the rising importance in Africa of the scientific expert in agriculture and natural resources management, particularly in wildlife conservation. Third was the establishment and expansion of international commercial air travel which encouraged, and made possible, mass tourism on a global scale. Fourth was the emergence and increasing importance of international conservation organizations in setting and implementing a national park and wildlife conservation program in Africa. Each of these four trends will be explored in the sections that follow. Though a detailed comparison with national park and conservation policies outside of this region is not intended, there are important parallels with and connections to events in the United States and internationally that will be highlighted throughout. For example, tourism provided an important economic motivation for national park development in both the United States and Africa, but it took quite different forms in each location. Furthermore, advances in scientific wildlife management just prior to and following the second world war were reshaping conservation laws and policies in countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Financial, technical, and scientific support to implement new conservation practices in British colonial Africa came from both the United States and Great Britain. Before moving into the analysis of the four postwar trends in Africa and elaborating on these and other international connections, it is necessary to first establish the status of wildlife and the character of conservation laws and practices in the decades leading up to 1945.