6
1
In this book, we introduce political ecology to students who are interested in
issues of environment and development, but who are not familiar with this scholarly
field, its approach and current debates within this field. We do this by introducing
theoretical concepts and theories combined with a series of empirical local case
studies mostly drawn from our own research. In these case studies, we try to show
how ‘the global’ can be studied in ‘the local’.
The case studies are both from the Global South (mostly from Africa) and the
Global North (mostly from our own country Norway). These geographical levels are
not studied in isolation, but are closely inter-connected. This is for instance the case
with how Northern pharmaceutical companies use biodiversity and local knowledge
in Tropical countries for bioprospecting of new medicines and how Northern
activists relate to this activity (7 Chap. 3); how Norway as an oil-producing nation
has become a global leader in promoting forest conservation in the Global South to
mitigate climate change (7 Chap. 6); and how international capital has shown a
relatively recent interest in accessing land for large- scale agricultural investments or
forest plantations in Africa in particular (7 Chap. 9).
In this chapter, we introduce some perspectives and research tools that are central
in political ecology. 7 Chapter 2 deals with the emergence of political ecology and
the background to different theories and perspectives that are used in the field
including some internal directions and debates. In other words, both 7 Chaps. 1 and
2 are theoretical chapters. In 7 Chaps. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 we highlight particular
themes or theoretical discussions in the field based on the presentation of various
case studies. Finally, in 7 Chap. 10 we synthesize the experiences and insights that
our approach provides at the theoretical level, and we present some thoughts about
possible ways forward for political ecology.
New syntheses and continuous integration of new theories are a hallmark of
political ecology. An important aim is to help to understand questions about
environment and society, and to do so, to produce knowledge from a broad scope
of social as well as other theories. In the following, we present what we see as ten
syntheses that may help a new reader not familiar with the field to understand what
political ecology is really about. For undergraduate students and students from
other fields than social sciences, the rest of this chapter also provides a basic
introduction to some key building blocks and discussions of social sciences as such.
1.1 First Synthesis: Social and Natural Sciences
As mentioned, political ecology is an approach that is dominated by social sciences, but aims to build a bridge to the natural sciences. The ecology focus of
political ecology has not been drawn directly from the natural science discipline of
ecology, but instead more indirectly builds on the (mostly) social science approaches
of human and cultural ecology where social groups are studied as part of ecosystems (see 7 Chap. 2).
Chapter 1 · Political Ecology on Pandora
1
In this book, we introduce political ecology to students who are interested in
issues of environment and development, but who are not familiar with this scholarly
field, its approach and current debates within this field. We do this by introducing
theoretical concepts and theories combined with a series of empirical local case
studies mostly drawn from our own research. In these case studies, we try to show
how ‘the global’ can be studied in ‘the local’.
The case studies are both from the Global South (mostly from Africa) and the
Global North (mostly from our own country Norway). These geographical levels are
not studied in isolation, but are closely inter-connected. This is for instance the case
with how Northern pharmaceutical companies use biodiversity and local knowledge
in Tropical countries for bioprospecting of new medicines and how Northern
activists relate to this activity (7 Chap. 3); how Norway as an oil-producing nation
has become a global leader in promoting forest conservation in the Global South to
mitigate climate change (7 Chap. 6); and how international capital has shown a
relatively recent interest in accessing land for large- scale agricultural investments or
forest plantations in Africa in particular (7 Chap. 9).
In this chapter, we introduce some perspectives and research tools that are central
in political ecology. 7 Chapter 2 deals with the emergence of political ecology and
the background to different theories and perspectives that are used in the field
including some internal directions and debates. In other words, both 7 Chaps. 1 and
2 are theoretical chapters. In 7 Chaps. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 we highlight particular
themes or theoretical discussions in the field based on the presentation of various
case studies. Finally, in 7 Chap. 10 we synthesize the experiences and insights that
our approach provides at the theoretical level, and we present some thoughts about
possible ways forward for political ecology.
New syntheses and continuous integration of new theories are a hallmark of
political ecology. An important aim is to help to understand questions about
environment and society, and to do so, to produce knowledge from a broad scope
of social as well as other theories. In the following, we present what we see as ten
syntheses that may help a new reader not familiar with the field to understand what
political ecology is really about. For undergraduate students and students from
other fields than social sciences, the rest of this chapter also provides a basic
introduction to some key building blocks and discussions of social sciences as such.
1.1 First Synthesis: Social and Natural Sciences
As mentioned, political ecology is an approach that is dominated by social sciences, but aims to build a bridge to the natural sciences. The ecology focus of
political ecology has not been drawn directly from the natural science discipline of
ecology, but instead more indirectly builds on the (mostly) social science approaches
of human and cultural ecology where social groups are studied as part of ecosystems (see 7 Chap. 2).
Chapter 1 · Political Ecology on Pandora