Doing politics with species. Modes of valuation, care, and conflicts among biodiversity conservation practices in the Venetian Lagoon: an ethnographic account

Abstract

This Master thesis examines how different modes of valuation, which derive from different matters of concern and care, drive conservation practices in the Venetian lagoon. Ethnographic work has been conducted especially in Lipu (Italian League for Birds Protection) natural reserves Ca’ Roman and San Nicolò del Lido, respectively in Pellestrina and Lido, from May to early November 2021. Core theoretical framework used to analyze ethnographical data is driven from Laura Centemeri’s discussions on modes of valuation of the environment, combined with Jamie Lorimer’s discussions on practices of conservation after Nature. Therefore, I consider conservation as a set of practices based on environmental valuation: attribution of value to certain material inter-dependencies. Modes of valuation and their performativity in conservation are influenced by non-human charisma, affect, acquired sensorial perceptions, sensorial choreography, observation, and naming practice. At the core of my analysis there are conflicts which arise because of contrasting ways of how environments matter. Indigenous or institutional perspectives over flagship, allochthone or autochthone and charismatic species lead to different ways of conserving or not conserving the Lagoon environment. I will underline how conservation in the Venetian Lagoon, far from being a coherent set of practices lead by institutions, is an assemblage that entails voluntarism, passion, encounters with the non-human, affective logics, and conflicts.