Abstract
I present the results of my M.A. thesis, which serves as the foundation for my future doctoral dissertation. I examined how and why the Impenetrable Forests, located in the Gran Chaco ecoregion in northern Argentina, became a national protected area shaped by the international NGO Tompkins Conservation and its national branch, the Rewilding Foundation. I focused on the creation of El Impenetrable National Park to examine the environmental tactics through which this NGO gained legitimacy and control over this territory. Building on Political Process Theory and Resource Mobilization Theory, the study argues that the convergence of the sustainable development paradigm and neoliberal restructuring opened new political and economic opportunities for big international NGOs in the Global South. In Argentina, these shifts enabled Tompkins Conservation and Rewilding Foundation to operate through a repertoire of environmental tactics, including land acquisition, species reintroduction (rewilding), the articulation of specific “languages of valuation” on nature, and territorial settlement (eco-settling). I relied on a qualitative methodology, which included document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant observation during fieldwork, and archival research. The thesis finds that the NGO has expanded territorial power in Argentina by stepping into roles often abandoned by the state, especially in rural, marginalized areas. The results raise questions about territorial sovereignty, environmental governance, and the involvement of local communities in decision-making processes. This case contributes to critical debates on green grabbing, eco-extractivism, and the reconfiguration of conservation in Latin America, highlighting how global environmental models are negotiated, contested, and localized in national contexts.
Presenters
Marina RuizPhD Student, Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University, Louisiana, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Environmental Governance,Conservation,Green Grabbing,NGO,Protected Areas,Latin America
