A political ecology of sovereignty in practice and on the map: The technicalities of law, participatory mapping, and environmental governance

Abstract

This article examines the relationships between representations and operations of sovereignty in natural resource governance. We advance a 'political ecology of sovereignty', examining the participation of non-state actors in resource governance processes. We particularly argue that processes of integrating subaltern populations through mapping local ecological knowledge can modify effective governance practices while nonetheless reproducing the legibility of state sovereign authority and its territorial boundaries. Exploring the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline in Canada, we suggest that state jurisdictional authority is secured through incorporating indigenous interests as a delimited ge..