Abstract

To advance Environmental Justice (EJ), it is crucial to analyze underlying power relations in conservation conflicts from a decolonized perspective, focusing on the sense of justice of marginalized groups. We analyze the discourse and practices deployed by Mapuche territorial organizations neighboring the Villarrica National Park (VNP), in the light of global and national debates over protected areas (PAs) that overlap ancestral territories and territorialities. We aim to understand local territorial perspectives and senses of justice regarding the VNP. Mapuche respondents critically question the state's project of de/re-territorialization of the PA. Their contestation can be interpreted as part of a grassroots process of re-territorialization. There is an ontological-political re-appropriation of the conservation territory and the reconstruction of Wallmapu, reflecting the Mapuche sense of EJ. Discourses underline the costs associated with the PA and its management. Benefits are considered in terms of safeguarding the relational values of the territory. The culturalist and functional perspective of PA management held by the State is transcended by a politicized conception of participation that fosters self-determination and safeguards the territory along with its human and non-human inhabitants. This relational perspective underlines the importance of the political and cultural recognition that residents demand. Our findings are a significant step towards understanding how the Mapuche perceive the historical debt incurred by the Chilean state with their community within the current context of conservation. This understanding is fundamental for fostering genuine intercultural dialogue and charting potential pathways towards fairer governance of PAs in Chile.

Keywords: Mapuche, Villarrica National Park, radical environmental justice, de-territorialization, re-territorialization

How to Cite:

Torres-Alruiz, M. D. & Gómez-Liendo, M. J., (2025) “Just conservation? Knowing Mapuche perspectives on environmental justice at Villarrica National Park, Chile”, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1): 5728. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.5728