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Paper short abstract:

We outline the social justice implications of how remote sensing data could alter the governance of lands targeted for biodiversity conservation. We then discuss the networks and discourses surrounding the use of remote sensing in conservation landscapes in Spain, the UK, Guatemala, and Kenya.

Paper long abstract:

Recent years have seen rapid improvements in the availability and resolution of remote sensing data, together with major advances in the infrastructures and analytical techniques needed to process and interpret these data. But how will these advances shape the governance of lands targeted for conservation, and with what consequences for the wellbeing of those living in conserved lands? We start by presenting four potential answers to these questions, drawing on the digital development and critical data studies literatures to outline scenarios of stasis, socio-environmental synergy, dual disbenefits for people and ecologies, and complex trade-offs. We then present the preliminary results of a scoping review on how remote sensing data are being used in the governance of conservation landscapes in Spain, Guatemala, the UK, and Kenya. We reflect on the discourses surrounding the use of remote sensing technologies and data for conservation in these four socio-political contexts and under which circumstances these emerged. We also discuss the notions of data justice, either explicitly outlined or implicit, within these discourses. Our presentation will highlight some of the important social justice and development implications emerging from increasingly data-driven environmental governance, and discuss the needs and opportunities for interdisciplinary socio-environmental research to address these challenges going forward.