The newly established, DFG funded research consortium “Commodifying the Wild” aims to contribute to a better understanding of the trans-regional ecological, social, and political dimensions of the commodification of natural “wild” resources, thus helping to improve our comprehension of human-wilderness relations in general. Future Rural Africa researchers Eric Kioko (Project C03 Green Futures) and Clemens Greiner (C02 Energy Futures) are Principal Investigators in the newly established consortium, alongside Boris Braun from the University of Cologne.
“Commodifying the Wild” comprises two projects, each of which explores the interplay between a globalized economy and perceived untouched “wild” nature from a different angle. In the project S(m)elling the ‘Wild’: The Political Ecology of Arboreal Essential Oils and the Making of Olfactory Resources, the Principal Investigators Eric Kioko and Clemens Greiner investigate the commodification processes of the so-called „wilderness“, particularly in relation to the „making“ of fragrant resources, alongside PhD students Manuel Standop and Anna Cèline Schäfer. Additionally, in the project Showcasing the Wild: Commodification and Standardization in Tropical Freshwater Fish Value Chains – Current and Historical Perspectives, Principal Investigator Boris Brown alongside PhD students Ajeng Larasati and Edward Ofori-Annor investigate the transformation of tropical freshwater fish, a piece of ‘exotic or authentic wilderness’, into tradeable ornamental commodities and its social and environmental externalities.
Click here for more info about the Research Consortium “Commodifying the Wild”.
