Naturalizing the Environment (original) (raw)
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Journal of Material Culture, 14: 147‐167, 2009
Following the closure of the mines and the crisis in agriculture, an alternative process of cultural and natural ‘heritagization’ has been taking place in certain areas of Andalusia with a marked tourist focus. Productive spaces have been transformed into post-mining and post-agrarian landscapes. The aim of this article is to analyse representations and perceptions of surroundings in these contexts through the discourse of those who have experienced these changes most acutely: farmers and miners. This interpretation invites reflection regarding the concept of nature in the western world. Nature is one of our most genuine cultural creations, but we cannot ignore that, in addition to its discursive dimension, it also has a perceptive component. Hence, the analysis carried out here seeks to gain a more in-depth understanding of the perceptive frames through which nature acquires meaning and significance. The dual perceptive and discursive dimension of nature yields a more comprehensive understanding of how landscapes become spaces for resistance and identity.
2013
Beyond the boundaries of a physical space, places, as a means where it is registered the way in which man relates to the world, contain multiple spatiotemporal realities. Its reading requires, therefore, a look that can decipher the universe of ecological, historical, perceptual and cultural relationships that characterize them. However, at the present time, technique and reason seem to have tipped the balance on the tangible values against the intangible ones, banishing to oblivion its cultural, perceptual, emotional and phenomenological components. This article takes a brief look at a range of experiences that, from different disciplines involved with space, allow us to approach a collective and timeless readability of the place. These looks fruit of memory, the experience and creativity, show a very clear direction to serve the project from its identity. In this context, to visualize the information and bring out elements and relations forgotten or unknown, is in itself a creativ...
Since the end of the last century, the empirical evidence that the natural limits to growth were being overstepped (García, 2004) supposed an increase in environmental awareness and led to a search for answers of different kinds. Most of these answers are part of the neoliberal politics that reconcile economic development with environmental sustainability. One of these solutions is the creation of protected areas. In this paper we analyse, Þ rstly, the growth of protected areas in Europe and how we should perceive that growth. Then, we pay special attention to the theoretical implications of the concept of a “Natural Park”, one of the most common kinds of protected area in Spain. Subsequently, based on our research in the Albufera Natural Park (Spain) and one of the reserve areas, “El Tancat de la Pipa”, we present the limitations and possibilities of these spaces. The analysis of the discourses, produced through interviews and discussion groups, contextualizes the social representations of this habitat according to their connection with the different social sectors and unravels the meaning given to this area. For the traditional sectors, “El Tancat de la Pipa” is perceived as an expropriation of their land. For environmental technicians, the area represents an object of environmental, educational and scientiÞ c consumption. For the ecology movements, it is a “renaturalized” area that is in keeping with developmentalism. And Þ nally, for modernization consumers, this zone means a place for consumption that should receive “more marketing” and be transformed into a “theme park” for family leisure.
The worldwide expansion of nature conservation initiatives has attracted a great deal of attention among political ecologists. Concerned about the effects on people and the environment, critical scholars have attempted to identify the drivers of conservation, and how power operates. Conservation policies, practices and conflicts have generated a large literature about the role of states, expert bureaucracies, private corporations, NGOs and technologies of government. In this article I aim to extend this literature by paying attention to a largely neglected field of power relations, defined by the efforts made by new inhabitants of natural protected areas, who have moved to these new locations and have strived to construct and maintain an idyll wherein they can enjoy a new, 'natural life.' Using Bourdieu's notions of cultural capital and habitus, I demonstrate that, in certain places, it is in the everyday practices of making a natural protected area a new home where power relations unfold more subtly, although no less intensely. I illustrate this empirically with a particular case study: the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park in southeastern Spain. I examine the role played by neo-rurals in the establishment of this protected area, present an ethnographic account of their everyday practices, and link them to the conflicts that have emerged with other social groups, with whom they compete for the right to use and access local resources. L'expansion mondiale des initiatives de conservation de la nature a attiré beaucoup d'attention chez les écologistes politiques. Préoccupée par les effets sur les personnes et l'environnement, les chercheurs critiques ont tenté d'identifier la façon dont le pouvoir fonctionne dans la conservation. Il y a maintenant pluiseurs ouvrages sur la politique, les pratiques et les conflits sur la conservation de la nature, avec un accent sur le rôle de l'état, des bureaucraties d'experts, des entreprises privées, des ONG et des technologies de gouvernement. Dans cet article, je fais attention à un domaine largement négligé: les relations de pouvoir entourant les efforts déployés par les nouveaux habitants de zones naturelles protégées, qui ont déménagé dans ces nouveaux lieux et se sont efforcés de construire et d'entretenir une idylle dans laquelle ils peuvent profiter d'une nouvelle «vie naturelle». Les notions de Bourdieu, le capital culturel et habitus, sont utiles, afin de démontrer qu'au cours des pratiques quotidiennes de fonder un nouveau foyer dans une zone naturelle protégée, où les relations de pouvoir se dérouler de façon plus subtile, mais non moins intense. J'illustre cela avec une étude de cas: le parc naturel de Cabo de Gata-Nijar dans la région sud-est de l'Espagne. Je examine le rôle joué par les néo-ruraux dans l'établissement de cette zone protégée, et je présente un compte rendu ethnographique de leurs pratiques quotidiennes. Ces pratiques sont liées aux conflits qui ont émergé avec d'autres groupes sociaux, avec lesquels ils sont en concurrence pour le droit d'utiliser et accéder aux ressources locales. La velocidad con la que las políticas de conservación se han expandido a lo largo y ancho del planeta en épocas recientes ha atraído poderosamente la atención de aquellos que desarrollan su trabajo dentro de la ecología política. Preocupados por el impacto de estas políticas sobre las poblaciones locales y los ecosistemas, numerosos autores se han esforzado por desenmascarar las relaciones de poder y el papel jugado por determinados actores clave, como son el estado, los mercados, las tecnologías de gobierno, los procedimientos burocráticos y las ONGs medioambientalistas. Mi intención en este artículo es contribuir al estudio de las relaciones de poder en las políticas de conservación mediante el análisis de un campo por ahora bastante inexplorado: el de las prácticas cotidianas y los estilos de vida de aquellos que cambian su lugar de residencia habitual y se mudan a espacios naturales protegidos en busca de una vida alternativa dentro de lo que para ellos es un ambiente idílico. Mi estudio se centra en un caso concreto: el Parque Natural Cabo de Gata-Níjar, en el sureste del estado español. En estas páginas muestro el papel que la población neorrural ha jugado en la declaración de este espacio como protegido, analizo etnográficamente sus estilos de vida y prácticas cotidianas y exploro, haciendo uso de las nociones de capital cultural y habitus de Bourdieu, la relación que existe entre estos estilos de vida y estas prácticas cotidianas con los conflictos que han surgido en este espacio desde la introducción de políticas de conservación.
If we accept that landscape is the perceptible result of the dynamic relationship process between a specific human group and an environment, this definition, which enjoys the most acceptance among those people who 'make landscape', immediately raises certain questions: What is the role of the person who aims to create landscapes, if landscape is a process that takes place on its own? To what point does this affect the relationship between people and their daily setting? This article initially aims to explore the consequences of that paradox through a first hypothesis: the intrinsically political nature of the landscape project. This hypothesis springs from the intention of describing the evolution of the reflection on this political role of making landscape, in which 'landscape makers' constantly find themselves affected by the balance of power established between institutions and people. Subsequently, analysis will be conducted on a series of key periods in the history of the political landscape in which landscape makers endeavour to find their place. Pictures of the recent history of my city appear interspersed within the text, in order to illustrate what has been described.
Nature in the man-made landscape
This essay looks to explore the typologies of nature and the result of human intervention. It discusses the origins of man’s dissociation with natural world as a result of permanent settlement and sense of superiority. Examining the changing balance of nature through the development of agricultural, urban and industrial landscapes and the subsequent narratives. Additionally looking at environmental issues and the current dilemma of climate change faced by modern society and how this relates back to the ideas discussed within. The main aim is to show that ultimately man’s involvement with nature is of self-interest.