ABSTRACT
A central theme in Third World political ecology since its inception has been the political and ecological oppression of grassroots actors by more powerful actors such as states or businesses. The ability of grassroots actors, a category which variously includes shifting cultivators, small-scale farmers, nomadic pastoralists, hunter-gatherers, poor urban dwellers or fishers, to resist the predations of the powerful is also emphasised in the work of political ecologists. Yet as various chapters in this book have shown, grassroots actors have more often than not been at the losing end of environmental struggles with their lot in a politicised environment one largely characterised by marginality and vulnerability.
