ABSTRACT

Liberation Ecologies brings together some of the most exciting theorists in the field to explore the impact of political ecology in today's developing world. The book casts new light on the crucial interrelations of development, social movements and the environment in the South - the 'bigger' half of our planet - and raises questions and hopes about change on the global scale. The in-depth case material is drawn from across the Developing World, from Latin America, Africa and Asia. The issues raised in contemporary political, economic and social theory are illustrated through these case studies. Ultimately, Liberation Ecologies questions what we understand by 'development', be it mainstream or alternative, and seeks to renew our sense of nature's range of possibilities.

chapter 1|45 pages

LIBERATION ECOLOGY

Development, sustainability, and environment in an age of market triumphalism

chapter 2|23 pages

CONSTRUCTING NATURE Elements for a poststructural political ecology

Elements for a poststructural political ecology INTRODUCTION: THE DISCOURSE OF NATURE AND THE NATURE OF DISCOURSE

chapter 4|24 pages

MOVEMENTS, MODERNIZATIONS, AND MARKETS

Indigenous organizations and agrarian strategies in Ecuador

chapter 5|15 pages

DISCOURSES ON SOIL LOSS IN BOLIVIA Sustainability and the search for socioenvironmental “middle ground”

Sustainability and the search for socioenvironmental “middle ground” THE EROSION PROBLEM IN BOLIVIA

chapter 6|23 pages

MARXISM, CULTURE, AND POLITICAL ECOLOGY

Environmental struggles in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands

chapter 7|17 pages

DEFINING DEFORESTATION IN MADAGASCAR

chapter 8|23 pages

CONVERTING THE WETLANDS, ENGENDERING THE ENVIRONMENT

The intersection of gender with agrarian change in Gambia

chapter 9|17 pages

GENDER AND CLASS POWER IN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS

Case studies from Indonesia and West Africa

chapter 10|22 pages

FROM CHIPKO TO UTTARANCHAL Development, environment, and social protest in the Garhwal

Development, environment, and social protest in the Garhwal Himalayas, India

chapter 11|33 pages

THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF AGRARIAN REFORM IN CHINA

The case of Heilongjiang Province

chapter 12|10 pages

CONCLUSION

Towards a theory of liberation ecology