Paper short abstract:

This presentation considers how the construction of conservation narratives both utilises and undermines indigenous identities. In particular, the use of neotropical parrots and indigenous communities as cornerstones of conservation efforts in the Caribbean and the wider Americas are expounded.

Paper long abstract:

Psittacines (parrots/macaws/parakeets) are flagship species that often become the cornerstone of neotropical conservation efforts. They are also a fundamental aspect of resource use in the Americas, with many indigenous groups capturing them as pets. The large degree of speciation and endemic nature of many psittacine species means that conservation efforts around them are often localised, small-scale, and driven by individual conservationists. The data generated, estimations of threat, and policy recommendations become especially amplified given the species' visibility and relative vacuum of land conservation in the Caribbean.

In Jamaica, the Yellow-billed and Black-billed parrots have become central priorities in the campaign against mining in the Cockpit Country forest, which has led to its designation as a protected area. The campaign relied heavily on biodiversity (specifically, parrot) conservation and the indigenous Maroons - who live on the forest's southern border. The autochthonous Maroon identity underpinned discourse around the importance of preserving the region's cultural heritage, while data outlining the rapid decline of parrot populations supported the outcry for stringent enforcement measures around domestic and international pet trade. My research so far has discovered 1) that until now nobody is aware of how - or even if - Maroons currently use the forest (this includes their relationship to parrot hunting) and 2) the impact of hunting on population numbers may have been vastly overestimated. In this presentation, I seek to explore the impact of these discoveries on conservation spaces in the Caribbean, whose narratives are often dominated by singular western voices.