Contested Nature: Promoting International Biodiversity with Social Justice in the Twenty-first Century

How can the international conservation movement protect biological diversity, while at the same time safeguarding the rights and fulfilling the needs of people, particularly the poor? Contested Nature argues that to be successful in the long-term, social justice and biological conservation must go hand in hand. The protection of nature is a complex social enterprise, and much more a process of politics, and of human organization, than ecology. Although this political complexity is recognized by practitioners, it rarely enters into the problem analyses that inform conservation policy. Structured around conceptual chapters and supporting case studies that examine the politics of conservation in specific contexts, the book shows that pursuing social justice enhances biodiversity conservation rather than diminishing it, and that the fate of local peoples and that of conservation are completely intertwined.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1. CONTESTED NATURE Conservation and Development at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century Peter R. Wilshusen, Steven R. Brechin, Crystal L. Fortwangler, Patrick C. West PART I: POLITICS, POWER, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 2. THE WINDING ROAD Incorporating Social Justice and Human Rights into Protected Area Policies Crystal L. Fortwangler 3. EXPLORING THE POLITICAL CONTOURS OF CONSERVATION A Conceptual View of Power in Practice Peter R. Wilshusen 4. WANDERING BOUNDARIES AND ILLEGAL RESIDENTS The Political Ecology of Protected Area Deforestation in South Sumatra Indonesia from 1979 to 1992 Steven R. Brechin 5. TERRITORY, NATURE, AND CULTURE Negotiating the Boundaries of Biodiversity Conservation in Colombia's Pacific Coastal Region Peter R. Wilshusen 6. UNMASKING THE "LOCAL" Gender, Community, and the Politics of Community-Based Rural Ecotourism in Belize Jill M. Belsky 7. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ECOTOURISM Pendjari National Park and Ecotourism Concentration in Northern Benin Patrick C. West, Crystal L. Fortwangler, Valentin Agbo, Michael Simsik, Nestor Sokpon 8. PRIVATIZING CONSERVATION Jeffrey Langholz 9. THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF BIOPROSPECTING IN AMAZONIAN ECUADOR History, Political Economy, and Knowledge Michael K. Dorsey PART II: INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES Conceptual Tools for Constructing Biodiversity Conservation with Social Justice 10. CRAFTING CONSERVATION GLOBALLY AND LOCALLY Complex Organizations and Governance Regimes Steven R. Brechin, Peter R. Wilshusen, Charles E. Benjamin 11. THE REGIONAL APPROACH IN NORTHERN MADAGASCAR Moving Beyond Integrated Conservation and Development Lisa L. Gezon 12. SCALING UP FROM THE GRASSROOTS NGO Networks and the Challenges of Organizational Maintenance in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Peter R. Wilshusen, Raúl E. Murguía 13. YOUR PARK, MY POVERTY Using Impact Assessment to Counter the Displacement Effects of Environmental Greenlining Charles Geisler 14. THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF COMMUNITY-BASED COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT San Salvador Island, Philippines Patrick Christie, Delma Buhat, Len R. Garces, Alan T. White 15. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED Toward Nature Protection with Social Justice Steven R. Brechin, Peter R. Wilshusen, Crystal L. Fortwangler, Patrick C. West WORKS CITED LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS INDEX

About the Author :
Steven R. Brechin is Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University. He is the coauthor (with Patrick C. West) of Resident Peoples and National Parks: Social Dilemmas and Strategies in International Conservation. Peter R. Wilshusen is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Bucknell University. Crystal L. Fortwangler is Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College.