Presentation short abstract

This paper seeks to untangle some of the complexities of international policy translation. Through the lens of Colombia’s OECM “boom”, I will explore how the dual spatial and temporal pressures produced by 30x30 set in motion of range of policy outcomes.

Presentation long abstract

This paper seeks to untangle some of the complexities of international policy translation. Through the lens of Colombia’s OECM “boom”, I will explore how the dual spatial and temporal pressures produced by 30x30 set in motion of range of policy outcomes. In Colombia, the baggy concept of 'shared governance' acted as a vehicle of power which enabled the state to expand its virtual ‘conservation estate’. This estate – calculated in spatio-numeric form – extends horizontally via polygons and GPS layers, on virtual displays. Hectares bound, amassed, and exhibited in a dual move of recognition through reporting to a global digital database. I will argue that ambitious commitments, once downscaled, can become instruments of bureaucratic expansion rather than plural governance. Finally, I consider the care-ful work of policy brokers, who stay with the trouble and attempt to clean up the mess.