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Have ‘life plans’ delivered on their transformative aspirations for Indigenous empowerment through conservation? Evidence from four watersheds in the Peruvian Amazon

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  • Ravikumar, Ashwin
  • Ojeda del Arco, Alonso Pérez

Abstract

This paper presents among the first comparative empirical studies on the implementation of “life plans” in the Amazon region. Life plans are tools aimed at advancing Indigenous empowerment, conservation efforts, and rural development objectives. Rooted in the transformative planning traditions originating in the 1970s, Indigenous organizations and conservation non-profits have championed life plans as alternatives to conventional development strategies that can promote ecosystem health and human well-being rather than narrowly emphasizing incomes and economic growth. Focusing on the Peruvian Amazon, this study explores how life plans have worked in practice. Despite the substantial impact of these plans on the globally significant ecosystems of the region, their effects have not been subjected to rigorous study until now. Drawing on data from 120 semi-structured interviews and 285 focus group participants across twelve Indigenous communities spanning four diverse watersheds, this paper investigates the extent to which life plans have facilitated transformative changes. We show that connections to broader social movements are vital in ensuring that life plans do not inadvertently reinforce existing political and economic structures. The exploratory study reveals that while life plans have enhanced collaborative conservation efforts in pre-established co-management structures, they have not fundamentally transformed historically strained relationships between communities and environmental agencies. Moreover, our results indicate that communities struggle to leverage state resources through life plans without robust advocacy institutions. Despite not directly altering rural power dynamics, life plans have, in certain instances, enabled communities to articulate visions of a future that are less extractive and more ecologically sustainable. We urge international climate justice movements, political ecologists including degrowth scholars, and planners to study and critically support life plans and Indigenous institutions advocating for them.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravikumar, Ashwin & Ojeda del Arco, Alonso Pérez, 2025. "Have ‘life plans’ delivered on their transformative aspirations for Indigenous empowerment through conservation? Evidence from four watersheds in the Peruvian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:190:y:2025:i:c:s0305750x25000579
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.106972
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Melgris José Becerra & Jorge Adriàn Flores Rangel & Claudio Ubiratan Gonçalves & Gabriel Ibrahin Tovar, 2021. "The Indigenous Territories and Local Sustainable Development in the Amazon Region," Springer Books, in: R. B. Singh & Soumendu Chatterjee & Mukunda Mishra & Andrews José de Lucena (ed.), Practices in Regional Science and Sustainable Regional Development, pages 69-112, Springer.
    2. Robert Fletcher, 2012. "Using the Master's Tools? Neoliberal Conservation and the Evasion of Inequality," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(1), pages 295-317, January.
    3. Ravikumar, Ashwin & Chairez Uriarte, Esperanza & Lizano, Daniela & Muñoz Ledo Farré, Andrea & Montero, Mariel, 2023. "How payments for ecosystem services can undermine Indigenous institutions: The case of Peru's Ampiyacu-Apayacu watershed," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
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