This new paper in Geoforum concerns elephant-based ecotourism in Tangkahan, Sumatra. It analyses how value is created through encounters between mahouts (elephant handlers) and elephants, and subsequently through the encounters between tourists and elephants. It is open access. Many thanks to Ni’am Lubabun and Joost Jongerden for working together on this! It was a great…Read more New paper. Selling captive nature: Lively commodification, elephant encounters, and the production of value in Sumatran ecotourism, Indonesia

Check out my latest paper, in the free access journal the Journal of Political Ecology: Enjoying extinction: philanthrocapitalism, jouissance and 'excessive environmentourism' in the South African rhino poaching crisis. It is part of an exciting special issue: Political ecologies of extinction (edited by Bram Büscher). The full paper can be accessed via https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.2984. The abstract:…Read more New paper: Enjoying extinction: philanthrocapitalism, jouissance and ‘excessive environmentourism’ in the South African rhino poaching crisis

Happy to announce my latest paper 'Donors on Tour: Philanthrotourism in Africa' that I wrote with Rob Fletcher. It has now been published in the flagship journal in tourism studies, the Annals of Tourism Research. The paper theorizes the niche tourism concept of what we term 'philanthrotourism', in which NGOs organise trips to development projects…Read more New paper! Donors on tour: Philanthrotourism in Africa

A new paper is out, about the crucial role of critical social science in conservation. This initiative was led by Kate Massarella, who did a truly great job weaving together so many opinions and ideas in one paper for a great journal (Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability), and foregrounding the CON-VIVA project! The highlights and…Read more New paper! Transformation beyond conservation: How critical social science can contribute to a radical new agenda in biodiversity conservation

Happy to announce my latest paper in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. The process was led by Chantal Wieckardt of LANDac and co-authored by Nadya Karimasari and myself. This time it's not about (southern) Africa, but Indonesia. I expect some more work on Indonesia coming out in the next few years. Here is the abstract:…Read more New paper: Environmentality, green grabbing and neoliberal conservation: The ambiguous role of ecotourism in the Green Life privatised nature reserve, Sumatra, Indonesia