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Conflicting Frames about Ownership and Land Use Drive Wildfire Ignitions in a Protected Conservation Area

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Abstract

The creation of protected conservation areas may result in protracted conflicts between stakeholders. In this study we examine the drivers of anthropogenic wildfire ignitions in the National Park of “los Alerces” (NPA) in Patagonia, Argentina. The NPA was established in 1937 to protect the native “andino-patagónico” forests from wildfires as well as preserving its scenic beauty and native flora and fauna. At the time of its creation state authorities prohibited all extractive human activities in the “intangible”—fully protected—“National Park” section, while other regulated extractive and ecotourism activities were allowed to continue in the “Natural Reserve” section in an effort to accommodate the historical entitlements of the displaced populations of “pobladores” (settlers) that had been living in the NPA for over a century. Here we interviewed the main stakeholder groups—“pobladores”, forest rangers and administrators, ecolodge owners and angler club members—to identify the drivers of wildfire ignitions in the park. Wildfires have been singled out by state authorities as the main threat to the NPA though considerable scientific uncertainty exists regarding their complex ecological effects. This study argues, based on the human and biophysical system data collected, that two conflicting cultural frames exist within the NPA that provide the necessary backdrop for understanding the drivers of wildfire ignitions. In turn, these findings raise puzzling dilemmas for the main theoretical approaches that have been used to inform and design conflict management strategies in protected conservation areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Empresa School of Global and Public Affairs, Calle de María de Molina, 13, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Seijo

  2. National Scientific and Technical Research Council CONICET, Andean Patagonian Forest Research and Extension Center, Forest Engineering University of Patagonia, Ruta 259 km 16, 24, Esquel, 9200, Chubut, Argentina

    Maria Marcela Godoy & Guillermo Defossé

  3. Forest Engineering University of Patagonia, Ruta 259 km 16, 24, Esquel, 9200, Chubut, Argentina

    Dante Guglielmin & Omar Picco

  4. Coordinación de Análisis de Riesgo Ambiental, Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible de la Nación, San Martín 459, CABA, 1004, Chubut, Argentina

    Cecilia Ciampoli

  5. College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 15018, 86011, AZ, Flagstaff, USA

    Samuel Ebright

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  1. Francisco Seijo
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  2. Maria Marcela Godoy
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  3. Dante Guglielmin
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  4. Cecilia Ciampoli
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  6. Omar Picco
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  7. Guillermo Defossé
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Correspondence to Francisco Seijo.

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Seijo, F., Godoy, M.M., Guglielmin, D. et al. Conflicting Frames about Ownership and Land Use Drive Wildfire Ignitions in a Protected Conservation Area. Environmental Management 65, 448–462 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01265-w

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