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Combating parachute science in Latin America

Global Field Program (GFP) graduate Emily Utset '23 of New York, New York, was published in the journal of Conservation Biology.

Combating parachute science in Latin America

Emily Utset

Global Field Program (GFP) graduate Emily Utset '23 of New York, New York, was published in the journal of Conservation Biology. Her article examines strategies to combat parachute science in Latin America. Parachute or ‘colonial science’ sidelines local researchers on field studies conducted in their own countries. Utset's research "demonstrates the importance of fostering local, Latin American-based research to further Indigenous agency in conservation, rather than continuing to rely on Western...science." She adds that "by dismantling parachute science on both fronts, conservation work in Latin America can become more effective and equitable." Read more

As a student in Miami's biology department, Utset earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Biology through Project Dragonfly's GFP while working as an animal keeper at Central Park Zoo.