Porous Conservation: The Complex History of Residents in National Parks in Latin America

This article analyzes the changing relations between national parks and people in Latin America between the 1930s and the present. In this region, conservation policies initially showed flexibility, eventually adopted a restrictive model but for the most part failed to enforce it, and, after political struggles to expand rights and benefits, developed alternative conservation initiatives. Rather than fortresses, these historical eras demonstrate a porous version of conservation where aims evolved and to a considerable extent restrictions went unenforced. Even where intentions to encircle parks behind fences and fines emerged, state capacity and desire to implement restrictions proved tenuous. Our notion of porous conservation contrasts with the dominant global narrative of conservation that focuses on displacement. We contend that first, in the 1930s, people were welcomed and even needed within national parks. Next, in the 1960s, the notion of uninhabited parks became widespread, and some residents were evicted. Yet, because most parks were created in sparsely populated areas and states had limited resources, most inhabitants remained in place and were joined by thousands of newcomers, albeit with limited rights and benefits. Finally, by the 1990s, new conceptions of what nature conservation could do and whom it might serve became embedded in protected areas grappling with the fact of residents living within them. When parks are viewed within a regional context, a complex history of national parks emerges with varied spatial configurations that highlight the importance of policy changes and contrast aspirations with reality.