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

摘要：加州大学圣克鲁斯分校人类学博士生Micha Rahder将在Andrew Mathews博士的指导下，对遥感和地理信息系统（GIS）科学在危地马拉玛雅生物圈保护区森林保护中的作用进行研究。遥感技术，如卫星图像，以及可以分析复杂的多标量空间数据的GIS计算机程序，正在成为全球保护工具箱中的关键工具。该项目将调查利用遥感和地理信息系统产生的科学知识，以及自然资源保护者如何利用和转化这些知识。兰德斯的研究将解决以下核心问题：1)遥感和地理信息系统在petsamn中有什么政治和物质影响，以及生产、使用或被这些科学描述的人们如何与这些影响作斗争？2)这些技术如何影响自然景观和社会差异的产生？3)随着遥感和地理信息系统技术在危地马拉自然保护领域的兴起，争论或合作出现了哪些新的可能性？这些问题将通过在多个地理和机构空间进行为期12个月的人种学研究来解决，包括遥感科学家和保护实践者的参与观察；深入采访科学家、环保人士和当地社区成员；以及遥感报告和出版物的档案分析。智力价值：该项目将通过考察西半球最贫困的发展中国家之一的科学知识生产，为科学和技术研究做出重大的理论贡献。该研究还将有助于讨论保护实践的政治，地图学研究和地方感的讨论。更广泛的影响：项目结果将跨学科交流，并与在玛雅生物圈保护区工作的保护组织交流，鼓励人类学家、科学家和保护从业者之间的合作，解决全球保护问题。

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.