Digital Geographies of Neoliberalised Nature and Conservation in Patagonia-Chile: Data, Maps, Platforms, and the Reconfiguration of ‘Natural’ and Conservation Spaces

Over the last few decades, digital technologies have transformed many aspects of our social life. They have become inherent in how we socialise with each other; how we perceive places, how we trade goods, products and services; and even in how we implement systems of planning and governance of places. This 'digitalization of human life' has triggered the emergence of numerous conceptual, empirical, and methodological approaches that have converged into a common research focus: Digital Geographies. This thesis is rooted in the scholarly impetus of Digital Geographies by investigating the role that digital data, maps and platforms play in the neoliberalisation of nature and conservation governance, particularly in the Patagonia-Aysén, Chile. Drawing upon poststructuralist strands within political ecology, this thesis empirically investigates how digital data, maps and platforms have produced and reproduced the neoliberalisation of nature and conservation by reinforcing the commodification of nature and conservation spaces as tourism products. The poststructuralist political ecology perspective foregrounds how authoritative organisations advance discourses and strategies to lead people to act as self-regulated environmental subjects who participate in conservation businesses such as ecotourism. This theoretical approach also emphasises the biopolitical component of neoliberal conservation by arguing that it implies persuasively including people in a system of valuation of natural spaces reliant on their tourist-economic attributes. This thesis identifies digital technologies as crucial means for exercising a persuasive, rather than coercive, power that aims to lead ordinary people to participate, consciously or unconsciously, in the neoliberalisation of nature and conservation through tourism. This thesis concludes that the analysed spatial technologies are part of emerging techno-politics that supports the touristification of nature and conservation, which includes the production of natural and conservation spaces as tourism commodities. This investigation identifies three techno-political dynamics as driving forces that underpin digitally-mediated touristification of nature and conservation: i) digital amplification of a neoliberal institutional discourse of nature through online user-generated content; ii) digital production of governmentalized (or ‘environmentalised’) and neoliberalised conservation spaces and spatialities through conservation mapping; and iii) digital modulation of people's behaviour towards participating in neoliberal-based valuation systems of nature and conservation spaces through digital tourist platforms.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geography

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Astaburuaga Peña, Juan P.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Gaillard, J. C.
• Martin, Michael
• Leszczynski, Agnieszka

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/65520

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/65520