Enjoying extinction: philanthrocapitalism, <i>jouissance</i>, and 'excessive environmentourism' in the South African rhino poaching crisis

Abstract

From 2007 to 2015, rhino poaching grew rapidly in and around Kruger National Park, South Africa. And though poaching numbers have declined since then, the 'poaching crisis' and its consequences continue to influence rhetoric and practice in the area, including continuing public outcries that the rhino is close to extinction. This discourse of extinction is also prevalent among the luxurious tourist lodges on private nature reserves of the Greater Kruger Area that attract wealthy tourists. In response, some lodges started initiatives in which tourists can join the fight against rhino poaching. These tourist activities share important similarities with 'philanthrocapitalism',in which wealthy philanthropists address social and environmental challenges drawing on the same business principles that made them successful. Based on research on the tourism industry, I explore the political ecology of such high-end, 'environmentourist' activities. I argue that philanthropic environmental tourist activities are based on a reductionist articulation of the rhino poaching crisis. They de-politicize it from its socio-economic and historical context and are 'excessive', in that they produce and legitimize exorbitant forms of privatized, luxurious tourism and consumerism as a solution for social and environmental crises. Moreover,such 'excessive environmentourism' allows wealthy tourists to enjoy 'doing good'in a very specific way, best captured by the term 'jouissance.' Jouissance is a particular type of ambivalent enjoyment that includes fascination with dark and horrific elements (i.e. poached rhinos and the idea that these animals are at the brink of extinction). I conclude that jouissance functions as a core motivation for wealthy tourists to engage in touristic experiences precisely because it enables them to believe they can overcome the dark sides of their own excesses ironically by 'doing good', grounded in excessive consumption.

Fossilized conservation, or the unsustainability of saving nature in South Africa

“…bottled water, but also swimming pools etc. ), transport and a continuous promotion of excessive consumption of luxury items (like cold champagne), and more (Koot, 2021). 12 Finally, all this links to the 'braai' meat culture that is deeply engrained in the country and especially related to conservation (Brandt and Josefsson, 2017).…”

Political ecologies of extinction: from endpoint to inflection-point. Introduction to the Special Section

“…Indeed, there is such a rich field of research to be set up around the question of extinction that this Special Section only scratches the surface. Important areas for further research that the articles in this Special Section point at, amongst others, are the connections between extraction and conservation in relation to extinction (Le Billon, 2021;Nel, 2021;Meszaros Martin and Pedraza, 2021), the relation between new digital technologies and studying, knowing and understanding extinction processes (Kiggel, 2021), the relations between extinction, de-extinction and a broader cryo-politics of life (Wrigley, 2021), the relation between psycho-analytic dynamics and extinction (Koot, 2021), how biopower affects extinction and responses to it (Thakholi, 2021) and how extinction fears can in fact be profitable and conducive to, rather than an indictment of, contemporary capitalism (Büscher, 2021).…”

“…Stasja Koot (2021) introduces the term 'environmentourism' to understand how tourism activities get (re)configured around their (potential) impact on the environment, in this case the conservation of rhino. Focusing on the rhino-poaching crisis in Southern Africa, Koot zooms in on how wealthy tourists are enabled to become part of activities to 'save the rhino' from extinction, and so experience the thrill of being at the forefront of conservation.…”

The biopolitics of private conservation: jeopardizing labor and rhino to optimize capital?

“…First, as with the legalization of domestic trade in rhino horn, the relocation program purports to be in the interest of rhino populations. However, as Koot (2021) notes, these initiatives further the economic interests of the private wildlife economy by legitimizing conspicuous consumption. Second, this affirms Fletcher's (2010) observation that states, and capital can employ multiple environmentalities to 'save', in this case, rhino populations.…”

“…I analyze these interventions as biopolitical because they are meant to make rhinos live. However, this article argues that interventions to protect rhino from extinction ironically prioritize the profitability of the wildlife economy through the creation of commodities such as horn and the creation of luxury tourism (Koot, 2021).…”