Virtualism, Governance and Practice: Vision and Execution in Environmental Conservation (Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology Book 13)

Many people investigating the operation of large-scale environmentalist organizations see signs of power, knowledge and governance in their policies and projects. This collection indicates that such an analysis appears to be justified from one perspective, but not from another. The chapters in this collection show that the critics, concerned with the power of these organizations to impose their policies in different parts of the world, appear justified when we look at environmentalist visions and at organizational policies and programs. However, they are much less justified when we look at the practical operation of such organizations and their ability to generate and carry out projects intended to reshape the world. "Many scholars who examine large-scale environmentalist organisations highlight the knowledge/power and governance that underlie organisations' policies and projects as virtualising efforts to bring the world into conformity with their environmentalist thought and vision. This important collection reveals how the concerns of those critics are justified on one level, but not on another. The contributors not only examine howenvironmental organisations seek this world of conformity, but also show how these organisations are constrained in their ability to achieve their goals. The collection argues that the critics' concern with knowledge/power, governance and virtualism seems justified when we look at those organisations' environmentalist visions, policies and programs. However, they are much less justified when we look at the practical operation of such organisations and their ability to generate and carry out projects intended to reshape the world."--Jacket.