Designing Protocols and Participatory Methods for Inclusive and Just Conservation
Research Location:
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Conservation Partners:
Cátedra Libre de Pueblos Originarios (UNTDF) and Instituto de Cultura, Sociedad, y Estado de (UNTDF)
Student Researcher
Manvi Nair, Undeclared, data science focusFaculty Mentor
Dr. Mara DicentaProject Description
Rewilding is a conservation strategy that aims to reverse biodiversity declines and promote ecosystem function by allowing wildlife and ecosystem processes to reclaim areas no longer under human management. For rewilding efforts to be effective and ethical, there is a need to ensure that rewildling efforts involve, empower, support, and do not harm local communities who interact with and whose livelihoods and well-being are connected to these systems.
Tierra del Fuego and its natural protected areas are World Heritage Sites, counting with pristine subantarctic forests, the most austral RAMSAR designated wetlands in the world, and a “hemispheric site” for the shorebird reserves. As a reservoir of pristine ecosystems and unique biodiversity assemblages, public and private actors are increasingly finding ways to create coast, marine, and land reserves through global organizations and new forms of ecotourism and heritage industries.
However, these projects are creating tensions in Tierra del Fuego for at least two reasons: they are often designed without consulting the communities and they sometimes use the language of ecotourism to justify practices that are non-sustainable (including the construction of a touristic coastal road that is radically altering ecosystems and archaeological sites, or the promotion of intertidal tourism in a fragile region) or non-inclusive (including the appropriation of lands for conservation parks and resorts). Moreover, Indigenous peoples in Tierra del Fuego who are concerned with these practices and their environmental outcomes are often excluded from decision-making processes affecting their territories. Given the region's complex history, their voice and participation are not being considered on equal terms, and they are often included in conservation plans once the agendas and goals are already decided.
