Practising 'Patrimony' and 'Biodiversity': The Articulation of Diverse Local, National and International Perspectives in Guinea, West Africa

Our main focus in this paper is on the ideas concerning 'biodiversity' and its conservation which circulate in international organizations, and on how these relate to the national and local settings which may reproduce or rework them. These 'external' ideas are in no way homogeneous, but comprise an array of diverse perspectives, associated with different institutions and scientific traditions, which treat biodiversity in very different ways. Each of these perspectives on biodiversity constructs patrimony rather differently. In particular, each (a) focuses on different spaces, species and products, (b) holds different views of local knowledge and practice, and (c) offers different types of impetus to territorialisation.