How Changing Imaginaries of Nature and Tourism Have Shaped National Protected Area Creation in Argentine Patagonia

Abstract

Even regions of the planet widely considered to be “remote” or “pristine” like Patagonia are actually dynamic social-ecological systems with interrelated local-international connections of discourses, practices, and institutions. Yet, their study and management often do not consider this complexity. In Argentine Patagonia’s iconic landscapes, protected areas (PAs) represent a major human-nature relationship, and PA creation has been motivated by objectives ranging from geopolitical interests to biodiversity conservation. In this chapter, we employed the social imaginary framework to conduct an historical analysis of local, national, and international influences regarding the way nature and tourism are conceived and managed in national PAs. We evaluated the discourses (ideals, values, beliefs) and institutions (norms, rules, structures, stakeholders) involved in creating these PAs in Argentine Patagonia. The national PA system was legally formed in the 1930s, but initial efforts reach back as far as the early 1900s. We found that while the globalization of Patagonian conservation-based development has consolidated since the 1980s, local-international relationships extended over more than a century to co-produce these social-ecological systems.