A moderating force : conserving nature in national parks in Patagonia and Amazonia / Emily Wakild.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wakild, Emily, 1977- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National parks and reserves--Amazon River Region.

National parks and reserves.

National parks and reserves--Patagonia (Argentina and Chile).

Nature conservation--Amazon River Region.

Nature conservation.

Nature conservation--Patagonia (Argentina and Chile).

Amazon River Region--Environmental conditions.

Amazon River Region.

Latin America--Environmental conditions.

Latin America.

Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)--Environmental conditions.

Patagonia (Argentina and Chile).

South America--Patagonia.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Award-winning Latin American environmental historian Emily Wakild relates a transnational comparative history of two paradigmatic regions - the temperate southern third of South America known as Patagonia and the tropical expanse known as Amazonia. Wakild traces the development of national parks in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, explaining the historical processes that led to nature conservation at the national level. She explores the many different perspectives and priorities that contribute to deciding what makes the 'best' park and for whom - wild animals, Indigenous residents, national heritage, tourism, or climate resiliency. This wide-ranging study sheds new light on exploration, state-making, scientific practice, economic development, and nature conservation in the past to inform what this history means for our future.

Contents:

Cover

A Moderating Force: Conserving Nature in National Parks in Patagonia and Amazonia

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Contents

Introduction: A Moderating Force

Conservation's Many Pasts

A Scientifc Arc

This Book's Path

1: Nahuel Huapi (1934): Geographic Storytelling and Nationalizing Argentine Nature

Scientifc Exploration Meets Prior Land Stewardship

Drawing Scientifc Boundaries for National Landscapes

Tourism Justifes Administrative Momentum

Government Capacity in Action

2: Torres del Paine (1959): Extinction and Invasion in Chilean Landscapes

Horses and Huemuls in Ancient Lands

Coming Around

Following Animals

Forestry and Tourism

Intimate Interactions

3: Manu (1973): Doing Tropical Field Biology in a Peruvian Rain Forest

Amazonian Imaginaries and Populations

Collecting as Conservation's Antecedent

The Field Station Seeds the National Park and Vice Versa

Building Biodiversity for a New Conservation Paradigm

4: Jaú (1980): Refuges by Design in Brazilian Scientifc Communities

The Rise and Fall of a Signifcant Theory

A Landscape at Work

Scientifc Thinking on Tropical Nature Evolves

Building Administrative Capacity

Jaú Becomes a National Park

The Theory Retreats and the Parks Remain

5: The Processes of Conserving Nature in Patagonia and Amazonia

Landscapes and Populations

Timelines and Lifeways

Revolutionaries and Scientists

Regional Concepts and Conservation

Epilogue: Toward a Future of National Parks

Notes

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Epilogue

Bibliography

Abbreviations

Primary Sources

Archives and Special Collections

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Peru

United States

Germany

Oral History Interviews Conducted by Author

Newspapers and Periodicals

United States and Europe

Government Publications

Books, Articles, and Theses

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed March 20. 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Wakild, Emily. Moderating force.

ISBN:

9780197654057

0197654053

9780197654033

0197654045

0197654037

9780197654040

OCLC:

1551490761

Publisher Number:

CIPO000316879

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license