Socially innovative territories in the face of neo-extractivism: (Re)inventing nature conservation and communitarian development in Latin American and Peruvian Private Protected Areas

The PhD research is part of an international collaborative project funded by VLIR-UOS (Belgium). This project seeks to trigger the sustainable development potential of rural areas with high poverty levels and under the social, economic and environmental threats of extractive industries in the Global South. It aims to stimulate sustainable rural development in the North of Peru through socially innovative and community-based conservation in the Chaparri Reserve region. Complementary academic partners and stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors will produce new knowledge in a collective process of action-research. This multi-actor process involves further consolidation of the Chaparri Reserve from a pilot case-study (previous South Initiative: see www.chaparri.pe) into an inter-/trans-disciplinary in-situ living laboratory (current project). Outcomes of this project include: (i) Empowering local communities, by co-creating a rural development observatory, installing a fund for pilot projects and advancing policy recommendations; (ii) Increasing academic capacities, by creating a new research center on sustainable development at Trujillo University; (iii) Supporting Peru in achieving its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals and Aichi Targets.