Presentation short abstract

This presentation analyses the conservation labor regime underlying the environmental protection of the Doñana wetlands. Drawing on ethnographic research, I show how environmental measures draw on hegemonic representations of agricultural work and reproduce the subordination of migrant labour.

Presentation long abstract

This presentation analyses the conservation labor regime within which the environmental protection measures of the Doñana wetlands are embedded. Doñana is a protected area in south-west Spain that has, once again in recent years, received national and international attention due to the impact of groundwater extraction on an ecosystem widely regarded as unique. Bordered by Europe’s leading berry-producing region, Doñana is currently the setting for one of Europe's most significant agricultural conservation conflicts. Following extensive national and international media coverage of the effects of groundwater extraction on the protected area, the regional and national governments have agreed on an official set of measures intended to mitigate the impact of agricultural activities on the Doñana Natural Space. Drawing on an ongoing ethnographic project, this presentation explores how hegemonic representations of agricultural work have shaped the conservation plans currently being implemented. Through an analysis of the measures currently in place based on interviews with local and regional actors, I demonstrate the role that government-backed conservation measures play in perpetuating the subordination of agricultural laborers to a regional coalition of agri-industrial interests. Rather than solving the Doñana groundwater crisis, I argue that the measures are likely to accelerate the relocation of agricultural capital and redraw the frontiers of a regional geography of depletion.