Biodiversity conservation programs have assumed increasing importance
worldwide to stem the tide of species loss and habitat degradation,
including tropical deforestation. Conservation organizations such as Conservation International focus the bulk of their
efforts on "biodiversity hotspots," which are ecologically rich
areas of the planet that face intense threats from human action. Interestingly,
these biodiversity hotspots also tend to be social and political
hotbeds; places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia,
and the Philippines feature violent conflict, political instability,
and economic stagnation. Social and political hotbeds in
many cases also feature burgeoning popular movements that link
nature protection, local development, and social justice.
My research in this area seeks to untangle the complex social
processes and negotiations that unfold where conservation interventions
seek to limit human use of natural resources in order to protect
ecologically valuable areas. In exploring the politics of
nature protection, I also examine applied measures--such as institutional design, organizational restructuring, and conflict resolution--to overcome
the inevitable organizational and political challenges that emerge.
Publications in this area:
Brechin, S.R., P.R. Wilshusen, C.F. Fortwangler, and P.C. West. 2003 Contested Nature: Promoting International
Biodiversity with Social Justice in the Twenty-first Century. Albany:
SUNY Press.
Individual Chapters:
Wilshusen, P.R., S.R. Brechin, C.F. Fortwangler, and P.C. West. 2003. "Contested Nature: Conservation and Development at the Turn of the 21 st Century." (Pp. 1-24).
Wilshusen, P.R. 2003. "The Political Contours of Conservation: A Conceptual View of
Power in Practice." (Pp. 41-58).
Wilshusen, P.R. 2003. "Territory, Nature, and Culture: Negotiating the Boundaries of
Biodiversity Conservation in Colombia's Pacific Coastal Region." (Pp. 73-88).
Brechin, S.R., P.R. Wilshusen, and C.E. Benjamin. 2003. "Crafting Conservation Globally and Locally: Complex Organizations
and Governance Regimes." (Pp. 159-182).
Wilshusen, P.R. and R.E. Murguía. 2003. "Scaling Up From the Grassroots: NGO Networks and the Challenges of Organizational Maintenance in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula." (Pp. 195-216).
Brechin, S.R., P.R. Wilshusen, C.F. Fortwangler, and P.C. West. 2003. "The Road Less Traveled: Toward Nature Protection with Social
Justice." (Pp. 251-270).
Wilshusen, P.R., S.R. Brechin, C.F. Fortwangler, and P.C. West. 2002. "Reinventing a Square
Wheel: Critique of a Resurgent 'Protection Paradigm' in International
Biodiversity Conservation." Society and Natural Resources 15:17-40.
[PDF format]
Brechin, S.R., P.R. Wilshusen, C.F. Fortwangler, and P.C. West. 2002 "Beyond the Square
Wheel: Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding of Biodiversity
Conservation as Social and Political Process." Society and
Natural Resources 15:41-64. [PDF format]
Wilshusen, P.R. 2000. Local Participation
in Conservation and Development Projects: Ends, Means, and Power
Dynamics. Pp.
288-326 in Clark, Willard, and Cromley (eds.). Foundations
of Natural Resource Policy and Management . New Haven: Yale
University Press.
