Advancing 'Environmental Subjectivity' in the realm of neoliberal forest governance: Conservation subject creation in the Lokkere Reserve Forest, India.

• 'Neoliberal interventions' are increasingly employed in forest governance. • These approaches are either top-down or empowering in nature. • These mechanisms produce either 'environmental' or 'conservation subjects'. • The latter highlights how neoliberal conservation can be made more sustainable. State-based governance mechanisms, such as the 'fortress model' and 'regulatory community', have proven to be ineffective to overcome forest degradation. Neoliberal interventions adopted by NGOs that provide economic incentives for communities to govern forests are presented as an alternative approach. This article suggests that different neoliberal interventions produce different modes of governance and may involve multiple environmentalities. The work of the NGO 'Junglescapes' in the Lokkere Reserve Forest was examined through its community engagement in, (a) lantana craft making in the village and, (b) restoration in the forest. Interviews, focus group discussion, and shadowing research took place during ten field-visits between June 2017 and June 2019. Within the neoliberal governance domain, communities engaged in village occupations were provided with economic incentives through a top-down 'neoliberal NGO apparatus'. 'Environmental subjects' resulted, by which individuals regulate their actions by reducing their dependence on the forest but not necessarily inculcating environmental norms or values. In contrast, actors employed in the forest exhibited independence, effected their own strategies, incorporated local knowledge, and achieved improved ecosystem conditions. This occurred due to the facilitation of local social interaction and leadership through a non-hierarchical 'conservation network'. An advanced form of environmental subjects emerged and are proposed as 'conservation subjects'. The latter argued as actors that are produced within a neoliberal conservation model, and are empowered and self-mobilised to act independently to conserve the ecosystem, thereby achieving more-sustainable conservation. Research results have the potential for replication across similar ecosystems, particularly within severely-degraded landscapes in India and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]