Resumen

Following a period of confidence within conservation circles that co-management would provide a solution to the social ills of conservation projects, the approach is suffering growing criticism. This case study contributes to scholarship on co-management by exploring the process in the Ashaninka Communal Reserve (ASCR), a protected area in Peru’s Selva Central. It has been argued that co-management constitutes an ‘anti-political’ tool for state expansion into indigenous lives, recasting people’s relationships with their territories and resources in line with dominant precepts for rational resource management. While aspects of the ASCR’s management seemingly fit this disempowering paradigm, recently some Ashaninka actors have used co-management as an opportunity to actively transform habitual power asymmetries. This article explores the process of creating an overarching management plan (Master Plan) for the Ashaninka Communal Reserve and makes a contribution to contemporary theory regarding participatory protected area management.