Ngo landscapes in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala

Political dimensions of conservation abound. The biosphere-reserve model, h owever, depoliticizes the landscape by neglecting politics as a shaper of e cologies. To illustrate this process of depoliticization, I examine discour ses about environmental degradation, power structures engaged in implementi ng conservation measures, and emerging landscapes in the Maya Biosphere Res erve. Conservationist discourses hold migrant farmers responsible for defor estation and land degradation in the Peten, to the neglect of wider socioec onomic conditions that perpetuate poverty in Guatemala. Sociospatial conseq uences include misdirected projects and landscapes that reflect the goals o f nongovernmental organizations, not local people's needs and aspirations.