Caring for unruly natures: Approaches to embrace and study subjectivity in stewardship of Cape Town’s urban baboons

Abstract

Stewardship practices underpinned by diverse values, motivations and lived experiences can sometimes impede environmental action and even cause conflict when goals seem irreconcilable. This is particularly challenging in cities, where views of what place nature should be allowed amid dense populations can vary considerably. Such situations may involve stewardship of people as much as of place, requiring tools to foster empathy for differing views and transform conflicts – not into consensus, but a base for imagination and adaptive capacity.

This paper presents findings from the www.UnrulyNatures.com project, about the highly polarised situation surrounding urban baboons in Cape Town, South Africa. With some residents shooting, and others feeding, baboons – both illegal – the polarised issue represents an extremely challenging situation for both managers and residents, with seemingly irreconcilable ideas of what urban nature is, and ought to be like. Our project investigates the human side of this human-wildlife relationship, using a uniquely developed transdisciplinary approach to study subjective perspectives at scale. We collect and synthesise personal stories at scale (N>500), through a tool called Sensemaker which invites participants into the analytical process by coding their own narratives. The second phase of the project uses scripted theatre performances to share stories back to affected communities and engage them in carefully facilitated dialogues (guided by www.Empatheatre.com). This South Africa-developed methodology helps audiences engage with complex, divisive issues and build empathy and trust, which in turn allows communities explore ways towards stewardship that acknowledges local needs and diverse perspectives.