ABSTRACT

First published in 1985. This book examines wide variety of ways in which environmental deterioration, in particular soil erosion, can be viewed and the implicit political judgements that often inform them. Using the context of developing countries, where the effects tend to be more acute due to underdevelopment and climatic factors, this work aims to examine this source of uncertainty and make explicit the underlying assumptions in the debate about soil erosion. It also rejects the notion that soil erosion is a politically neutral issue and argues that conservation requires fundamental social change. This title will be of interest to students of environmental and developmental studies.

chapter 1|11 pages

The issues addressed

chapter 2|26 pages

Is soil erosion really a problem?

chapter 3|12 pages

A review of techniques and policies

chapter 4|29 pages

Why do policies usually fail?

chapter 5|28 pages

A new approach–with new problems

chapter 6|10 pages

Understanding why soil erosion occurs

chapter 8|9 pages

The other side of the coin

chapter 9|11 pages

What now?