ABSTRACT
Can conservation based on ecotourism survive in the presence of an industrial gold mine? Over the course of fifteen years, this question has pervaded my research with Biangai speakers living in the villages of Elauru and Winima (Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea). Interestingly, the counter question—can industrial mining survive in the presence of a conservation area?—was easily dismissed for its apparent absurdity. State and corporate power and international demand, coupled with local desires, seems to favor mining outright. Of course, in developing nations, mining wins. But why? Here I want to consider the possibility of both questions by highlighting how current conceptualizations of these supposedly competing resource regimes make them quite comparable for communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG). As other contributors to this volume also note, the overlap of ecotourism and extractive regimes offer an interesting vantage point from which to critically engage the theoretical insights suggested independently by each.
