Between conservation and care: Ontological mixtures and juxtapositions in protected areas of Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

Based on the discussion of the declaration of the Lanín volcano as a Mapuche sacred natural site, this article rethinks the relationship between conservation and care from an ethnographic perspective, paying special attention to the relationship between the entities volcano and pijan mawiza. The exploration occurs within the framework of the intercultural proposal behind the co-management of the National Parks in Argentina. I argue that the “multiculturalist” perspective based on interculturality and “dialogues of knowledge” has turned conservation and care into interchangeable synonyms, but that this translation renders invisible the possibility of addressing—from an ontological perspective—other worlds struggling to exist. The article reflects on the potentials of care to pluralize conservation based on juxtapositions of, and mixtures with, other forms of making world(s).