Anthropology of Conservation NGOs

Peter Bille Larsen is an anthropologist with two decades of experience in global conservation research and practice. He teaches sustainable development, environmental anthropology, and international governance at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland. Dan Brockington directs the Sheffield Institute of International Development at the University of Sheffield, UK. His research covers conservation, agricultural change, and celebrity, entailing fieldwork in remote parts of East Africa and offices in large cities.

“The intent of the book to open up new and productive spaces of collaboration should be welcomed. It serves as a reminder to conservation NGO staff of the need to find space for reflection in practice, which may well be possible at an individual level but is challenging for an institution.” (Rob Small, Oryx, Vol. 53 (4), October, 2019)           “This book is a prime example of the high-quality scholarly work that is being produced within the framework of this new generation of critical environmental conservation studies. ... This book is to be commended for its success in addressing and transposing some of the limitations that accompanied earlier studies. … this book will be of great use to a variety of readers who seek to deepen their understanding of contemporaryenvironmental conservation.” (Katja Neves, Conservation & Society, Vol. 17 (4), 2019)

• 1. Introduction: Rethinking the Boundaries of Conservation NGOs.- 2. "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Dirty Harrys of Conservation": Revisiting the Anthropology of Conservation NGOs.- 3. Anthropology of Conservation NGOs: Learning from a Sectoral Approach to the Study of NGOs.- 4. Business, Biodiversity and New "Fields" of Conservation: The World Conservation Congress and the Renegotiation of Organisational Order.- 5. The Strategies and Effectiveness of Conservation NGOs in the Global Voluntary Standards: The Case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm-oil.- 6. Investigating Consistency of a Pro-Market Perspective Amongst Conservationists.- 7. Conservation Jujutsu, or How Conservation NGOs Use Market Forces to Save Nature from Markets in Southern Chile.- 8. Strength and Limitations of Conservation NGOs in Meeting Local Needs: The Case of REDD+ in Nigeria.- 9.  Misreading the Conservation Landscape.