What is it about?
This paper looks at the way the National Trust go about conserving an area of lowland heath in the UK and how they manage a conflict with the local community. It takes a particular sociological view known as 'Actor Network Theory' which looks at the impact of non-humans as well as humans on society.
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Why is it important?
This paper looks at conservation from a different perspective. It examines in detail the way that the National Trust and government departments manage a 'site of special scientific interest' (SSSI). The removal of trees to retain the special features of the lowland heath is controversial. The paper shows some of the ways in which that controversy is dealt with by the National Trust and the difficulty the local community have in opposing the tree felling. The purpose is not to demonstrate that one side is right or wrong but to examine the difficulties in deciding what should be done in a case where there is a dispute and the way the most powerful group is likely to succeed in their aim.
Perspectives
The research is based in a place I have visited regularly over the past 15 years. I attended the community meeting which started my interest in this as a research project. Prior to this I was not aware of the SSSI status of the site and knew little of its history. I have, however, previously researched communities and the ways in which people belong in places. The meeting brought together a large group of people in a way I hadn't seen before here which seemed to demonstrate a feeling that this place, which used to be common land, still belongs to the people who live here.
Julia Bennett
Durham University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Whose Place Is This Anyway? An Actor-Network Theory Exploration of a Conservation Conflict, Space and Culture, September 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1206331217734182.
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