Herstel van natuur en cultuur in beschermde gebieden bedreigd door neo-extractivisme: de eco-territoriale beweging in het Chaparri Natuurreservaat, Peru

This PhD thesis explores the socio-political processes that rural communities in Latin America face as they work to reconnect with nature and culture within their territories, especially in light of the prevailing neo-extractivist development model. This model often leads to negative social and environmental impacts, creating conflicts that motivate both rural and urban communities to become more active in environmental governance. These communities must balance various goals, including economic gain, political influence, nature conservation, and the protection of their environmental and territorial rights. Drawing on the insights of critical and decolonial social scientists, this dissertation highlights the growth of an eco-territorial movement within socio-environmental efforts, focusing on the reclaiming of natural and cultural heritage to promote identity, independence, and care for the environment. The research specifically examines how nature conservation efforts and the expansion of protected areas fit into this neo-extractivist context, looking at new approaches that combine conservation with community development goals. Innovative governance setups, such as community and private protected areas, are becoming more appealing; however, many continue to face threats from ongoing extractivist projects that use violence and criminalize conservation efforts. This thesis addresses these issues in three ways: (1) by developing a theoretical framework that combines Latin American political ecology, ecofeminism, and the eco-territorial movement with Euro-Canadian social innovation literature; (2) by employing a participatory action research approach within a Belgian-Peruvian project, reflecting on both its challenges and the benefits, and gathering lessons learned for future international collaborations; and (3) through a detailed case study of the Chaparri Nature Reserve in Peru, which highlights the broader struggle of rural communities defending their lands against neo-extractivism while conserving natural resources. The Chaparri case study is positioned within the larger context of Latin America's neo-extractivism and socio-environmental movements, illustrating how the community's efforts reflect an eco-territorial movement focused on reclaiming identity, autonomy, and environmental protection. Through our concept of "eco-territorial governance innovations," we show how the Chaparri community serves as an example of grassroots efforts that promote social responsibility and territorial rights, thereby contributing to a regional eco-territorial movement in Peru and beyond. This movement in Chaparri illustrates how concepts of sustainability can be reshaped through the collective creation of new social, ecological, political, and cultural knowledge driven by conservation work, activism, and territorial defense. Moreover, through the analysis of the case of Chaparri, this thesis questions the role of private protected areas, going beyond the assumption that these areas are merely spaces for the elite and for neoliberalism to enter a territory. This research positions private protected areas within the broader entanglements of socio-political, legal, and ecological institutions that have historically shaped conservation in Peru and Latin America, thus demonstrating that these spaces—like many others in the conservation sector—can be reconfigured into instruments of local agency, where conservation serves not only ecological goals but also territorial and political strategies. Among key ideas emerging from studying the Chaparri movement, ecofeminism and a body-as-territory perspective provide important insights into how collective activism takes shape. These perspectives highlight that the body—particularly those of peasant women—is considered the primary territory, deeply connected to the land and shaped by historical and social contexts. Understanding one's life is, therefore, tied to understanding the land's history and our multiple connections to it. Much of the knowledge generated through participatory action research in Chaparri emerged from efforts to protect the territory against neo-extractivism, challenge dominant views of development centered on growth and profit, and envision new paths for community-led environmental sustainability, all while fostering collaborative learning processes.

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