TThe last twenty years have witnessed a

boom in conservation, as evidenced by the

increased number of protected areas as well

as the emergence of national environmental

state and non-governmental organisations.^1

The expanding reach of international con-

servation institutions drives this boom, rang-

ing from the United Nations’ Man and the

Biosphere Programme to US based environ-

mental non-governmental organisations

(NGOs) like the World Conservation Society

and Conservation International. Many newly

created protected areas are directly or indi-

rectly funded and/or managed by such

NGOs.

In Latin American countries, neo-liberal re-

structuring of economies and the contrac-

tion of the state has given NGOs and other

international actors a great deal of say over

the direction of conservation priorities and

agendas.^2 Consequently, NGOs have come

to play a powerful role in shaping the cul-

tural politicsof conservation, in terms of

defining the specific frameworks through

which nature, environmental degradation,

and appropriate human land relations are

envisioned and acted upon.^3

One of the most important ways in which

NGOs shape the cultural poli-

tics of conservation is

through the production of

knowledge, in the form of

technical studies, research

reports, and project propos-

als. The knowledge produced

then becomes the foundation

for policy design and man-

agement plans, which in turn

directly impact the lives of

local groups. How do local

actors, as individuals and col-

lectives, engage with and

mediate the discourses and

practices of conservation? In this paper, I

explore this question with a case study

analysis of the encounters between United

Conservation aas ccultural aand ppolitical ppractice

The ccultural ppolitics oof cconservation eencounters iin tthe

Maya bbiosphere rreserve, GGuatemala

Juanita SSundberg

Summary.Neo-liberal re-structuring of economies and the contraction of the state has given non-gov-
ernmental organisations (NGOs) and other international actors a great deal of say over the direction of
conservation priorities and agendas. Consequently, NGOs have come to play a powerful role in shaping
the cultural politicsof conservation, in terms of defining the specific frameworks through which nature,
environmental degradation, and appropriate human land relations are envisioned and acted upon. One of
the most important ways in which NGOs shape the cultural politics of conservation is through the produc-
tion of knowledge, in the form of technical studies, research reports, and project proposals. The knowl-
edge produced then becomes the foundation for policy design and management plans, which in turn
directly impact the lives of local groups. How do local actors, as individuals and collectives, engage with
and mediate the discourses and practices of conservation? In this paper, I explore this question with a
case study analysis of the encounters between United States-based environmental NGOs and local people
in the Maya biosphere reserve, a protected area in Guatemala’s northern lowlands. In particular, I examine
how two different social groups negotiate, contest, and appropriate the discourses and practices of con-
servation NGOs. As I illustrate, the ways in which local actors are framed within NGO discourses have
important implications for whether or not they are included in the reserve’s decision-making processes,
with uncertain consequences for those groups whose environmental practices are deemed inappropriate to
the goals of conservation.

One oof tthe mmost

important wways iin

which NNGOs sshape

the ccultural ppoli-

tics oof cconserva-

tion iis tthrough tthe

production oof

knowledge, iin tthe

form oof ttechnical

studies, rresearch

reports, aand pproject

proposals