CONLAB is an interdisciplinary and comparative research project researching how conservation policies, initiatives, and projects shape labor dynamics in affected communities.

There is a rapidly developing literature on the 'human dimensions' of conservation, including critical scholarship and applied research that aims to improve practice. However, this work has largely neglected to systematically examine the role of labor in conservation despite its central importance to the day-to-day operations and management of conservation projects, to rural livelihoods and wellbeing in local communities, to conservation conflicts and project failures, and to broader understandings of conservation in relation to globalization, production and consumption.


CONLAB fills this gap using a multi-site mixed-method ethnographic approach to systematically and comparatively study how biodiversity conservation affects labor dynamics across axes of social difference and hierarchies of wage labour. We are developing and refining a novel theoretical framework for understanding local labor dynamics associated with biodiversity conservation projects as manifestations of an international conservation labor regime. Understanding this is of urgent practical and policy relevance to ensure that biodiversity conservation is ecologically effective while contributing to socially and economically just local development.


CONLAB is using a global online survey to gain a broad overview of the types of labour involved in conservation, who works in the field, and how this varies geographically. Thic complements site-based research using ethnography, semi-structured interviews and oral histories to gain a deep understanding of labour dynamics across the Global South. Study sites are yet to be fully determined, but are likely to include India, Madagascar, and Zambia. 

Timeframe:
Nov 2023 - Dec 2026
Funder:
Young Talent Grant - Norwegian Research Council
In this project
Timeframe:
Nov 2023 - Dec 2026
Funder:
Young Talent Grant - Norwegian Research Council