UCLA

The role of philanthropy in biodiversity conservation is rapidly changing. As philanthropic foundations and wealthy donors commit massive sums to help ‘save the planet,’ they are fueling a growing discourse that coupling large-scale conservation with large-scale giving is indispensable to solving the biodiversity crisis. But is it? What would this mean, and how would this function in practice? This dissertation addresses such questions through a case study of one large-scale conservation initiative in Chilean Patagonia, established through a novel public-private partnership between the Chilean state and the U.S.-based philanthropic foundations Tompkins Conservation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Drawing on thirteen months of fieldwork and a qualitative ‘distended case approach’ methodology, it traces the origins and trajectories of this initiative and interrogates the broader implications of mobilizing philanthropic capital and donor decision-making in state environmental governance. Tompkins Conservation and The Pew Charitable Trusts attracted state buy-in for the partnership by speculating on the value and investability of national parks as economic assets. Reflecting a logic of conservation-as-development, this disrupted an entrenched state logic of conservation-versus-development that had derailed previous attempts to protect the region. Yet, this research finds that the execution of conservation-as-development in Chile – largely facilitated by these philanthropic foundations – is mimicking and reproducing key dynamics of extractive-led development, raising critical doubts about the appeal and feasibility of conservation-as-development as a green transition alternative.