Political Ecology Seminar Series - Nicky Sky

Nicky Sky, CMI Bergen

Conservation labour and a political ecology of zoo-led in situ conservation

Conservation initiatives rely on labour and heavily influence local, regional and national labour dynamics outside the sector. Despite this, labour theory is yet to be properly integrated into conservation science, and it lacks a robust understanding of who works in conservation, how they are put to work, under what conditions they work, and the effects on broader labour dynamics. This increases the risk of poorly designed interventions that can fail in conservation terms and contribute to social injustices and conflicts. In the first part of this talk, Nick will outline the parts of labour theory that are most relevant to conservation, and how the CONLAB project is conducting research to apply these. In the second part of this talk, he will focus on zoos as rapidly growing but understudied actors within in-situ conservation. Variations in priorities and methods between different types of conservation organisations lead to differing effects on labour regimes. Zoos are distinct from other conservation organisations and their expansion to programmes with social, economic and enforcement facets raises questions over their ability to understand the social effects of such work and mitigate the risks.