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The paper discusses the notion of ‘environmental subjectivities’ developed by Arun Agrawal. Questioning how environmentally conscious subjects appear in regimes of conservation, the author advocates analyzing environmental policies from the perspective of the changing relations between marginalized localities and their institutions. This article confronts his approach with biocultural conservation which acknowledges environmental practices in these marginalized communities, without however delegating management to them. The case of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve in Colombia, where artisanal fishermen have developed strong environmental identities while resisting conservation in everyday life, highlights the need to analyze plural and competing ‘environmental subjectivities’. Built on the observation of the daily practices of fishermen, this article advocates for a re-politicized analysis of how ‘environmental subjectivities’ vary. Instead of describing the adoption of a common concern about the environment, it describes ‘environmental subjectivities’ as plural, contradictory, embedded in mechanisms of social distinction and negotiations between administrators and citizens at the margins who seek to participate in the government of the environment.