Presentation short abstract

The prioritization of area-based conservation strategies can perpetuate social, political, and historical structures rooted in colonial legacies. This critical examination of two conservation governance schemes of the Peruvian Amazon provides lessons to foster more just conservation strategies.

Presentation long abstract

The prioritization of area-based conservation strategies can perpetuate social, political, and historical structures rooted in colonial legacies. Even when the current Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework aims for conservation targets that “recognize and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities” (CBD, 2022), conservation governance still relies on assumptions and data based on western knowledge, privileging certain perspectives in decision-making. The lack of critical recognition, dialogue, and action among various knowledge-holders, rights-bearers, and stakeholders exacerbates (in)justices in conservation and human-nature relationships (Petriello & Stronza, 2020; Shanee, 2019; Tengö et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2023). This issue is particularly evident in (post)colonial territories where marginalization discourses in conservation are continually reproduced by state actors and others with decision-making power (Collins et al., 2021). This research focuses on understanding the dynamics of conservation prioritization in the Peruvian Amazon looking at two conservation strategies. One that embodies the collaboration between Indigenous Peoples and the Estate under the National Protected Area system, and another that highlights the role of local communities in forest conservation outside the National Protected Area system. This paper is based on preliminary findings, which point at the tensions and negotiations happening in avant-garde conservation governance schemes where certain knowledges and priorities take the shape of data to become more visible than others. By critically reflecting on the justice dimensions of data (Pritchard et al., 2022), this paper seeks to provide critical lessons for conservation prioritization and action towards more equitable strategies that resist marginalization and support just, decolonizing futures.