Practising 'biodiversity': the articulation of international, national and local science/policy in Guinea

摘要

'Biodiversity' has become a central organizing concept both in international environmental debate, and among government departments, donors and non-governmental organizations in the Republic of Guinea. This article explores how international imperatives around biodiversity are articulating with existing and historically-shaped practices of science and policy in Guinea, and the extent to which villager's perspectives gain (or fail to gain) influence and authority. At least four sets of science/policy practices currently characterize biodiversity conservation, including: (1) the listing of plant and animal species; (2) the exploration of ecosystem dynamics through 'cutting edge' computer modelling techniques; (3) the harnessing of traditional plantmedicines, linked with discussion of biopiracy; and (4) the promotion of 'semi-wild' plants, such as oil palms. Each set of practices involves different social relations and funding of science, different international networks, and different political discourses, while each also carries wider importance in shaping national and local social categories and identities. A common feature is that the framing and institutional/funding imperatives linked to international biodiversity debates have promoted practices which reproduce western, colonial distinctions between nature and culture in ways which compromise attempts at 'participatory' conservation.