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Why does land management so often fail to prevent soil erosion, deforestation, salination and flooding? How serious are these problems, and for whom? This book, first published in 1987, sets out to answer these questions, which are still some of the most crucial issues in development today, using an approach called ‘regional political ecology’. This approach acknowledges that the reason why land management can fail are extremely varied, and must include a thorough understanding of the changing natural resource base itself, the human response to this, and broader changes in society, of which land managers are a part. Land Degradation and Society is essential reading for all students of geography, agriculture, social sciences, development studies and related subjects.
Rather than being a book about ‘development’ per se, this work, first published in 1975, is instead a book about ideas about development, designed for those drawn by a concern over social injustice into the development field. In a selective review of theory, which gives particular emphasis to the spatial dimension in Western, Marxist and neo-Marxist thought, Harold Brookfield traces the evolution of ideas about world inequality and the problem of development from the days before the ‘underdeveloped countries’ were considered to be a major problem, through the years dominated by ‘economic growth’, to the more searching approaches of the contemporary era. The central argument of the book is that development is a ‘totality’, which cannot properly be understood by separation into parts. The ‘developed’ and ‘underdeveloped’ countries constitute one interdependent system, and change in one cannot be understood without consideration of the other.
Small farmers are often viewed as engaging in wasteful practices that wreak ecological havoc. Exploring Agrodiversity sets the record straight: Small farmers are in fact ingenious and inventive and engage in a diverse range of land-management strategies, many of them resourcefully geared toward conserving resources, especially soil. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, this book provides in-depth analysis of agricultural diversity and explores its history.
Small farmers are often viewed as engaging in wasteful practices that wreak ecological havoc. Exploring Agrodiversity sets the record straight: Small farmers are in fact ingenious and inventive and engage in a diverse range of land-management strategies, many of them resourcefully geared toward conserving resources, especially soil. They have shown considerable resilience in the face of major onslaughts against their way of life by outsiders and government. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, this book provides in-depth analysis of agricultural diversity and explores its history. The book also considers the effect of the "gene revolution" on small farmers and reviews the effects of the "green revolution" in Asian countries. In conclusion, it questions whether the diverse agricultural practices employed by small farmers can survive modern pressures and the global ambitions of the biotechnology industry.
This book surveys the social conditions of family farming across the world and the conditions of its survival into the twenty-first century.
The essential guide to the world's most influential development thinkers, this authoritative text presents a unique guide to the lives and ideas of leading contributors to the contested terrain of development studies. Reflecting the diverse, interdisciplinary nature of the area, the book includes entries on: * modernisers like Hirshman, Kindleberger and Rostow * dependencistas such as Frank, Cardoso and Amin * progressives like Prebisch, Helleiner and Streeten * political leaders enunciating radical alternative visions of development, such as Mao, Nkrumah and Nyerere * progenitors of religiously or spiritually inspired development, such as Gandhi and Ariyaratne * development-environment thinkers like Blaikie, Brookfield and Shiva. This is a fascinating and readable introduction to the major figures that have shaped the field, ideal for anyone studying or working in the area.
Rather than being a book about ‘development’ per se, this work, first published in 1975, is instead a book about ideas about development, designed for those drawn by a concern over social injustice into the development field. In a selective review of theory, which gives particular emphasis to the spatial dimension in Western, Marxist and neo-Marxist thought, Harold Brookfield traces the evolution of ideas about world inequality and the problem of development from the days before the ‘underdeveloped countries’ were considered to be a major problem, through the years dominated by ‘economic growth’, to the more searching approaches of the contemporary era. The central argument of the book is that development is a ‘totality’, which cannot properly be understood by separation into parts. The ‘developed’ and ‘underdeveloped’ countries constitute one interdependent system, and change in one cannot be understood without consideration of the other.
Fiji is a country whose recent political instability can be directly traced to its distinctive colonial and post-colonial experience. For one particular region of Fiji the authors examine the environmental, social and economic aspects of this experience, at scales ranging from national and regional to island, village and household. Discussions in Third World geography, regional economics and development planning have been full of rhetoric about 'underdevelopment', 'centre-periphery relations' and 'dependency', but seldom are the actual processes which give rise to these phenomena examined in detail. In this book the authors explore in depth the interrelations between the island landscape, the cultural geography of the islanders and the intrusive values and opportunities of the market economy. Some important lessons are to be learnt from the gap between what might be predicted from abstract theories of development and what is actually happening in the real world of politicians, planners, farmers and fishermen.
This very welcome book offers important insights into the logic of development in Malaysia, as well as its impact on local struggles for land rights. Amity Doolittle has written an exemplary work that utilizes ethnography, political economy, and historical analysis. An impressive, well-written, and well-researched book. - American Anthropologist
Presents ecology and current environmental studies from an anthropological point of view The Environment in Anthropology presents ecology and current environmental studies from an anthropological point of view. From the classics to the most current scholarship, this text connects the theory and practice in environment and anthropology, providing readers with a strong intellectual foundation as well as offering practical tools for solving environmental problems. Haenn, Wilk, and Harnish pose the most urgent questions of environmental protection: How are environmental problems mediated by cultural values? What are the environmental effects of urbanization? When do environmentalists’ goals an...