Political ecology examines the political dynamics surrounding material and discursive struggles over the environment in the third world. The role of unequal power relations in constituting a politicized environment is a central theme. Particular attention is given to the ways in which conflict over access to environmental resources is linked to systems of political and economic control first elaborated during the colonial era. Studies emphasize the increased marginality and vulnerability of the poor as an outcome of such conflict. The impact of perceptions and discourses on the specification of environmental problems and interventions is also explored leading on to debates about the relative merits of indigenous and western scientific knowledge. Future research needs also to address issues linked to changing air and water quality, urban processes, organizational attributes and the human body.

Power, knowledge and political ecology in the third world: a review:

Exploring the scientific discourse on cultural sustainability

Livelihoods in Cambodian fishing communities are complex and dynamic. Fluctuations in resource abundance, seasonal cycles of resource use, and changes in access create conditions that bring challenges for rural households, as do economic and policy drivers. Nonetheless, people are continuously "doing something" in response to these stresses and shocks. This paper sets out to explore how households and community members attempt to mitigate against such challenges. The analysis of livelihood stresses and shocks in two Cambodian fishing villages shows that diversification is a commonly used strategy for coping and adapting. Analyzing responses at multiple scales, with emphasis on resilience-building strategies at household and community levels, illuminates aspects of livelihoods. To study local-level perspectives of resilience, well-being was used as the surrogate of resilience, producing three clusters of responses related to economic conditions, resources, and relationships.

/pdf/exploring-strategies-that-build-livelihood-resilience-a-case-44h8keyfhs.pdf

Exploring Strategies that Build Livelihood Resilience: a Case from Cambodia

This paper examines how political ecology themes of tropical conservation and social justice become representational practices underpinning ‘alternative’ consumption in the North. The notion of commodity culture is adopted to understand the ambiguous rationalities and ethical assumptions of two sets of consumption practices. The first case considers Edenic myth-making used to assimilate concerns over tropical deforestation in the South to consumption-intensive if conservation-minded lifestyles in the North. The second case looks at fair trade and how concern about social injustice and unfair labour practices in the South is harnessed to solidarity-seeking consumption constitutive of ‘radical’ lifestyles. The paper suggests these contrasting commodity cultures broadly conform to divergent positions in red–green debates. It argues that both are weakened as a form of social and political ‘caring at a distance’ due to an uncritical acceptance of consumption as the primary basis of action.

/pdf/consuming-narratives-the-political-ecology-of-alternative-y0yxvy4kjs.pdf

Consuming narratives: the political ecology of ‘alternative’ consumption

Building on recent statements calling for greater emphasis on the roles of organized actors and civil society in development research, in this paper we analyze the utility of themes raised in current debates on social capital for pursuing such lines of inquiry. In particular, we develop a framework for linking social capital to discussions of sustainability, resource access, and livelihoods. The framework understands the sustainability of livelihoods and local economies in two dimensions: patterns of access to produced, human, natural, and social capital; and the role of social capital formation at different geographic scales in facilitating rural peoples’ access to other forms of capital, both directly and through engaging with state, market, and other civil society actors. We then use the framework to discuss a case from highland Ecuador. The case study illustrates the ways in which social capital, in the form of community, federated, and national indigenous peoples’ organizations and their inst...

Social Capital, Development, and Access to Resources in Highland Ecuador

Identifying key land degradation issues and applied research priorities.

Understanding environmental issues.

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Identifying key land degradation issues and applied research priorities.

Understanding environmental issues.