Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Rise of Remote Sensing in Conservation in the Peten, Guatemala

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Summary: Micha Rahder, doctoral student in Anthropology at the University of California Santa Cruz, under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Mathews, will conduct research on the role of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) sciences in forest conservation in Guatemalans Maya Biosphere Reserve. Remote sensing technologies, such as satellite imagery, along with GIS computer programs that can analyze complex multi-scalar spatial data, are emerging as key instruments in the global conservation toolbox. This project will investigate the production of scientific knowledge enabled by remote sensing and GIS, and the ways in which this knowledge is used and transformed in application by conservationists. Randers research will address the following central questions: 1) What political and material effects do remote sensing and GIS have in the Petén, and how do the people producing, using, or being described by these sciences grapple with these effects? 2) How do these technologies figure into the production of Natural landscapes and social difference? 3) What new possibilities for contestation or collaboration are emerging along with the rise of remote sensing and GIS technologies in Guatemalan conservation? These questions will be addressed through twelve months of ethnographic research in multiple geographic and institutional spaces, including participant observation among remote sensing scientists and conservation practitioners; in-depth interviews with scientists, conservationists, and local community members; and archival analysis of remote sensing reports and publications. Intellectual Merit: This project will make a significant theoretical contribution to science & technology studies by examining scientific knowledge production in one of the most impoverished developing countries in the Western hemisphere. The research will also contribute to discussions on the politics of conservation practice, studies of cartography, and discussions of senses of place. Broader Impacts: Project results will be communicated across disciplines and to conservation organizations working in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, encouraging collaboration between anthropologists, scientists, and conservation practitioners in addressing global conservation issues.