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Conservation's Friends in High Places: Neoliberalism, Networks, and the Transnational Conservation Elite

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  • George Holmes

    (George Holmes is a Leverhulme Fellow in the Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, UK. His interests are in the social impacts of protected areas and in the politics of protected area creation, particularly around private protected areas in the context of neoliberal conservation. He has previously published work on elite conservation networks in the Dominican Republic and on local resistance to protected areas.)

Abstract

Global conservation has changed over the last two decades. As conservation NGOs have grown in size and stature, they have increasingly turned to businesses and market mechanisms and they are increasingly replacing the state in delivering conservation programs. This article argues that at the heart of global conservation lies a small, well-connected elite, made up of directors and senior staff of key conservation NGOs, state politicians and bureaucrats, corporate directors, scientists, celebrities, and media actors. This elite network works as influence, ideas, and money are spread in formal spaces, such as conferences and meeting rooms, and in informal occasions such as social events. Drawing on emerging studies of conservation bureaucracies and NGOs, this article outlines the workings and structure of this elite, illustrated through four detailed vignettes. It situates the elite in the emerging literature on neoliberalism, arguing that this elite is at the forefront of driving the neoliberalization of conservation. © 2011 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • George Holmes, 2011. "Conservation's Friends in High Places: Neoliberalism, Networks, and the Transnational Conservation Elite," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:11:y:2011:i:4:p:1-21
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    Cited by:

    1. Hejnowicz, Adam P. & Raffaelli, David G. & Rudd, Murray A. & White, Piran C.L., 2014. "Evaluating the outcomes of payments for ecosystem services programmes using a capital asset framework," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 83-97.
    2. Koot, Stasja & Fletcher, Robert, 2021. "Donors on tour: Philanthrotourism in Africa," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. George Holmes, 2012. "Biodiversity for Billionaires: Capitalism, Conservation and the Role of Philanthropy in Saving/Selling Nature," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(1), pages 185-203, January.
    4. Alfie ChristopherByron Gaffney & Darrick Evensen, 2020. "Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Learning from CITESCoP17," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 3-10, February.
    5. Nasiritousi, Naghmeh & Hjerpe, Mattias & Buhr, Katarina, 2014. "Pluralising climate change solutions? Views held and voiced by participants at the international climate change negotiations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 177-184.
    6. George Holmes, 2015. "Markets, Nature, Neoliberalism, and Conservation through Private Protected Areas in Southern Chile," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(4), pages 850-866, April.
    7. Peter R Wilshusen & Kenneth Iain MacDonald, 2017. "Fields of green: Corporate sustainability and the production of economistic environmental governance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(8), pages 1824-1845, August.
    8. Kashwan, Prakash, 2017. "Inequality, democracy, and the environment: A cross-national analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 139-151.

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