Abstract
This report draws on fieldwork done in Machu Picchu, Peru in order to critique the Wittemyer et al . (2008) study on population growth around protected areas. I disagree with the study's emphasis on reducing people's motives to economic drives alone. The study separates the political from the economic by attempting to fix motives as economic calculations. I argue that a homogenous social process does not drive the population of the protected area. The approach used by Wittemyer et al . (2008) risks constructing a dichotomy that frames inhabitants of protected areas as either 'needy' or 'greedy', and fails to recognise that protected areas can form different kinds of political spaces for locals. In Machu Picchu the failure to recognise political space leads to many misunderstandings between locals and conservationists. The paper is a reminder that even for locals, protected areas involve discursive and political relations and the construction of a public sphere that has its own drive and momentum.
Highlights
In this article, I will draw on fieldwork done in the district ofMachu Picchu where I have been collecting ethnographic data since 2001 (Luciano 2005)
An account of population growth, tourism developments, and a description of communicative acts between conservation officials and locals in Machu Picchu help to illustrate that the Wittemyer et al (2008) article supports a politics of exclusion
Machu Picchu, the surest way to infuriate residents was to be dismissive of their political space; this was especially so at the time since popular rhetoric and media discussions were filled with questions about the meaning of democracy in Peru (Luciano 2005)
Summary
I will draw on fieldwork done in the district ofMachu Picchu where I have been collecting ethnographic data since 2001 (Luciano 2005). The purpose of the discussion is to assess the Wittemyer et al (2008) study on population growth at the edges of protected areas (PAs), using the nature sanctuary of Machu Picchu as an example.
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