Member Profiles

Ana Watson is a PhD candidate in Geography. Her background includes working on sustainability of energy projects in the Amazon as well as grassland management and conservation in the Peruvian Andes. She is interested in the complex dynamics between hydrocarbon projects, indigenous rights, biological conservation and development. The aim of her research is to understand what social constructions of environmental concerns and power relationships influence land use management and natural gas extraction in Peru’s Camisea. Camisea is Peru’s largest, oldest, and most influential natural gas extraction operation overall. It looks back on more than three decades of environmental impacts, negotiation and conflicts between indigenous communities and extraction companies, as well as political pressures, which have all shaped the face of energy in the country. Drawing on a post-structuralist political ecology framework with qualitative study case design, this research investigates power relationships in the political network and environmental discourses associated with hydrocarbon extraction in Camisea, their historical roots, connections and practices, as well as their potential influence on national environmental policies and institutional change.