If a swift could fight for their existence with words: nonhuman interests and politics
Summary
Multispecies sustainability and justice can serve as narratives to support and transform nature conservation. Using discourse analysis, we study whether and how three major stakeholders engaged with such narratives to address the representation and agency of swifts. We focus on a debate on mandating ‘swift bricks’ to mitigate the loss of their nesting sites in the UK. Representation refers to acknowledging and articulating the diversity of human and swift interests. Agency refers to recognising and positioning nonhuman actors as subjects of justice. The activist-conservationist gave an imaginary voice to swifts and thus attempted to focus public attention on what these birds demand. The policymakers did not relate to realities other than human and remained impervious to nonhuman rights. We suggest creatively addressing the multispecies perspective in the standard political debates on infrastructural improvements and biodiversity net gain by rethinking the role of built infrastructures for nature conservation and restoration.
