Collaborative Event Ethnography:Conservation and Development Trade-offsat the Fourth World Conservation Congress

摘要

Ideas about conservation have shifted dramatically overthe last century. From an early focus on state-run parks andprotected areas, to the role of local communities and markets inconservation, to engaging the private sector, what conservationis and how we go about doing it continues to evolve (Adams& Hulme 2001; Brosius 2006). While there have been manyshifts, in this study we are interested in the recent emphasison 'the global' as the scale at which conservation policiesand practices are conceptualised, articulated, and (ideally)implemented (Taylor & Buttel 1992). This shift, or scaling-up, is evident in a number of trends: the emergence of 'big'international NGOs as key actors in conservation (Chapin2004); increased emphasis on conservation practice atlarge, transboundary scales (ecoregions, seascapes) dictatedostensibly by ecology (Brosius & Russell 2003); the continuedproliferation of protected areas, the dominant symbol (andmeasure) of western-influenced nature conservation (Zimmerer2006); and, of particular interest in our research, the increaseduse of international meetings and agreements to establish thegoals, targets, and means of achieving conservation.