Who Gets to Know about Nature? Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services through an Intersectional Lens

Abstract

Intersectionality originates in feminist critical theory as a perspective for analyzing categories of difference and relations of power. In this article we explore how the categories of ’human’ and ’nature’ are made meaningful in relation to each other and assemble an intersectional analytical lens drawing on theories from the fields of ecofeminism, critical animal studies and posthumanism. A common theme in these fields is the dualistic construction and representation of humans and nature as separate entities and we study how such dualism plays out in relation to issues of knowledge and subjectivity. The analytical lens is engaged to explore the concepts of biodiversity and eco-system services, which have emerged as keywords for conceptualizing human-nature relations in environmental research and policy. We assess debates around the concepts of biodiversity and eco-system services in scholarly publications, and how these reflect, reinforce, or contest dualistic and hierarchical constructions of human-nature relations. We look for principal tendencies, as well as challenging perspectives and voices.