Abstract
This paper considers increasing global reliance on privately protected areas (PPAs) and associated nature-based tourism (NBT). A targeted literature review was guided by three research questions, which sought to understand how neoliberal concepts and dynamics manifest in private forms of conservation; how private forms of conservation have manifested in Chile; and, how Chileans’ attitudes towards their government’s neoliberal policies might affect their expectations of PPAs. The search strategy resulted in 284 resources. Three dimensions of neoliberal approaches to PPAs emerged from the data each highlighting specific vulnerabilities: a loss of the social embeddedness of nature; an imposition of global, capital dynamics; and conflicting discourses and assumptions. Results suggest that, in order to improve long-term support and integration of PPAs and NBT, greater attention needs to be given to social well-being outcomes (including equity and justice concerns), building of social capital, and the preservation of local identities and histories. Additionally, regional and PPA-specific land-use planning needs to incorporate greater public engagement, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and transparent and inclusive decision-making.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2631-2648 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Sustainable Tourism |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
Funding
This research was supported by Chile's National Research and Development Agency (ANID) under ANID's Regional Program R17A10002. New private-public partnerships seem both likely and necessary in order to achieve better connections between private conservation/NBT initiatives and communities. For example, the 2017 agreement between the Tompkins Foundation and Chile included the creation of the Route of Parks – a conceptual circuit that connects and packages 17 National Parks within the Magallanes, Aysén, and Lakes Regions (Blair et al., ; Otsuki et al., ). The Route features coordinated marketing, community development support, and local outreach efforts. The route promotes a collaborative public-private approach to what the Foundation describes as “conservation-based development.” As the website describes, “The Route of Parks is a new way of thinking about the immensity of our beloved Patagonia: a vision of economic development based on conservation and ecologically-minded tourism” ( www.rutadelosparques.org/en/ ). Still, the Route’s success will ultimately depend on the willingness of local communities to incorporate its logic and strategies within their own planning, development, and priorities. For example, in early 2020, a publicly funded Territorial Integration Program (PTI), was created to focus on the integration of local interests with the Route of Parks Concept. This initiative has received funding for three years through the support of the government economic development agency (CORFO), the Lakes Regional Government, the National Tourism Agency (Sernatur), the National Forest Corporation (CONAF), and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), as well as private participation from universities, six associated communities, and tourism operators (ptirutadelosparques.org). If initiatives like PTI prove successful, and are validated by local communities, they are likely to be replicated within other parts of the increasingly integrated public-private Chilean system.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo | R17A10002 |
Keywords
- Chile
- Protected area management
- market-based conservation
- nature-based tourism
- neoliberalism
- private land conservation
