Laura Bunt-MacRury (Centro de Estudios Agropecuarios, Cusco, Peru) "The Political Ecology of Biodiversity in the Andes"

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This talk is part of the seminar series of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Wed 21 October 2026, 5pm (UK time). This event will be in person and online. You can follow it online here: https://tinyurl.com/yzm5d7k2 Abstract: In 1972, anthropologist Eric Wolf brought the term “political ecology” into anthropology, examining how power and ownership shape relationships between people and environments. The field now informs debates about development, biodiversity loss and climate change. This talk brings political ecology into the Andes through research with Indigenous weaving communities in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. It approaches weaving as part of a biocultural system linking land, water, alpacas, natural dyes, knowledge, identity and livelihoods. It asks how development, markets and conservation might support biodiversity while strengthening women’s economic agency, cultural transmission and community control over heritage and shaping future development priorities. Laura Bunt-MacRury is an anthropologist who acts as International Advisor for Ecological Research and International Partnerships for the Centro de Estudios Agropecuarios, Cusco, Peru. She is also Principal Investigator for the Global Threads project (https://www.globalthreads.org.uk/).