Book Reading 'Im Namen der Tiere'

On Tuesday, February 11, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dutch investigative journalist Olivier van Beemen to Freiburg who presented his new book "Im Namen der Tiere".

Across three and a half years and 300 interviews, van Beemen conducted research on the work of African Parks, an organization controlling the majority of African protected areas. To the outside world, the NGO presents itself as a success story that makes a significant contribution to species and nature conservation.

Van Beemen's research, however, reveals the dark side of the organization: human rights violations, displacement of indigenous communities, and a decline in the number of protected wild animals in the areas managed by African Parks. Behind this stands a network of neo-colonial structures and a few European billionaires, whose donations are crucial for the future conservation of African biospheres.

The problematic nature of this was addressed by van Beemen in his lecture, which provided crucial insights into the research process and the results. The event was complemented by a reading of selected passages from the newly translated book and a discussion with Dr. Lerato Thakholi, assistant professor of sociology at Wageningen University.

We are very pleased about the overwhelmingly positive response to this event and would like to thank everyone for their interest and questions.