A CASE FOR INDIGENOUS APPROACHES TO CONSERVATION, COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT, AND DE-GROWTH
Dr. Aswhin Ravikumar’s work critically examines alternative approaches to Amazonian forest conservation, with a focus on the historical impact of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs on Indigenous communities who have stewarded tropical forests for centuries. While PES programs are often praised for their neoliberal economic framework, they are not primarily designed to foster conservatio--desentivizing deforestation is not synonimous to conservation. Instead, their focus on economic growth often undermines Indigenous institutions, self-determination, and quality of life. The publication I contributed to, "How Payments for Ecosystem Services Can Undermine Indigenous Institutions: The Case of Peru's Ampiyacu-Apayacu Watershed," argues that conservation policies grounded in de-growth principles and Indigenous well-being offer more sustainable, empowering solutions.
Abstract
Payments for ecosystem services have come to dominate international policies for addressing tropical deforestation. Political ecologists, degrowth scholars, and Indigenous activists have critiqued these approaches on the grounds that by centering economic growth, they can disrupt local conservation systems and compromise forest-dwelling communities' ability to protect forests and live well. Meanwhile, Indigenous groups have developed positive alternatives to ‘green growth’ strategies, including buen vivir (good living) in Latin America. In Peru, the National Forest Conservation Program (NFCP) serves as the state's flagship initiative to address tropical deforestation in Indigenous communities by paying communities for demonstrated reductions in deforestation, so long as they invest those funds according to an agreed upon management plan. We analyzed how the NFCP has interacted with quality-of-life plans, Indigenous planning tools rooted in buen vivir. Our findings suggest that the NFCP has eroded local systems for conservation, including the minga, an Amazonian tradition of mutual aid and shared labor for subsistence livelihoods, pushing communities to replace these systems with commodity production and employer-employee relationships. We argue that instead of imposing onerous conditions and steering communities towards evermore commodity production, conservation initiatives should support the implementation of quality-of-life plans. We suggest that climate justice organizers, political ecologists, and degrowth scholars explore and advocate for such initiatives.
Contributions and Takeaways
As a research assistant on this project, I had two primary roles. First, I conducted comprehensive literature reviews of PES programs, ensuring that the sources I selected represented diverse perspectives. I also translated primary documents and interviews from Spanish to English. Most of my work was completed remotely during the summer of 2020, and I contributed to late-stage editing and read-throughs of the manuscript. Having taken several classes with Professor Ravikumar prior to joining this project, I credit him as a transformative mentor. His teachings broadened my worldview, deepened my commitment to community engagement, and sharpened my critical thinking. Rather than asking us to “solve” global issues, he encouraged us to listen to those on the frontlines—communities that have already developed grassroots solutions. His approach reinforced my belief in intersectionality within research and the importance of contributing knowledge and privilege without overshadowing other voices, lessons for which I will always be grateful.