ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors address the emerging social work theories, and the influences that have shaped them, drawing out their similarities and differences. They focus on the theoretical developments to build their own theory of social work and disaster practice. The authors draw attention to critical factors that nuance and shape these approaches. They present various manifestations of environmental theories; each tends to challenge contemporary capitalist societies as being guilty of exploiting the natural environment. The authors outline the dominant social work theories of the environment developed over the last 30 years. These include ecofeminist social work, ecological social work, deep ecology, green social work and social transformation theories. These theories have emerged from different parts of the world in response to growing concerns about environmental disasters, the vulnerability of people living in poverty and the growing awareness that social work is largely absent from global negotiations and actions.
