232
10
Overview
We have in this book presented how we see this interdisciplinary field called
political ecology. In 7 Chap. 1, we used the fictional example of the planet
Pandora from the movie Avatar to demonstrate conflicts that political ecologists
study, and we presented ten syntheses to give a first introduction to what political
ecology is all about. In fact, movies, both fiction and documentary, as well as
other pieces of art and journalism, can provided cases to be analysed from a
political ecological point of view, and we mention some examples of this also in
other chapters.
Apart from such examples, the rest of this book is, however, largely drawn from
our own empirical research—and from planet Earth. We try to make sense of the
various cases by linking them to concepts and theories that are often mobilized
within political ecology, most of which are presented in 7 Chaps. 1 and 2. There is
not much written about how to do political ecology. We have therefore included some
suggestions in Methods Boxes in some of the chapters. Political ecology is about
studying the connections between global, national and local levels of environmental
governance, and by using the example of Norway combined with cases from the
South in some of the chapters, we have aimed to illustrate how political ecologies in
the Global North and South may be interconnected.
10.1 The Approach in This Book
The interconnections between political ecologies in the North and South are illustrated for instance in 7 Chap. 6 where we discuss why Norway, with an economy
largely dependent on the extraction of fossil fuels, is a world leader in using conservation of tropical forests as a major climate mitigation measure based on the principle of international cost-effectiveness. This principle implies that it allegedly is
more cost effective to mitigate climate change in a low-cost country rather than in
a high-cost country like Norway. In other words, this is a wealthy nation paying
other nations and people to bear the social costs of mitigating climate change,
instead of taking action at home. This has been the key principle of Norwegian
climate policy since the early 1990s. Recently however, there has been a mounting
internal pressure to take more of the cuts in carbon emissions at home rather than
abroad, but there is still a lack of concern for climate justice in public debates, in
terms of acknowledging the adverse effects of allegedly ‘cost-effective’ mitigation
measures on for instance forest adjacent communities.
In 7 Chap. 5, we discuss gender representation in conservation in the North
and South through a focus on feminist political ecologies with examples from
Norway, Senegal, India and Nepal. Studies in the South often tend to reveal gender
inequalities in policy-making on environmental governance. In the North, however, many take it for granted that women have gained a high degree of equity in
policy- making in all fields. The chapter shows how rural women in Norway until
recently have been denied their legal rights of political representation in processes
Chapter 10 · Stocktake and Ways Forward
10
Overview
We have in this book presented how we see this interdisciplinary field called
political ecology. In 7 Chap. 1, we used the fictional example of the planet
Pandora from the movie Avatar to demonstrate conflicts that political ecologists
study, and we presented ten syntheses to give a first introduction to what political
ecology is all about. In fact, movies, both fiction and documentary, as well as
other pieces of art and journalism, can provided cases to be analysed from a
political ecological point of view, and we mention some examples of this also in
other chapters.
Apart from such examples, the rest of this book is, however, largely drawn from
our own empirical research—and from planet Earth. We try to make sense of the
various cases by linking them to concepts and theories that are often mobilized
within political ecology, most of which are presented in 7 Chaps. 1 and 2. There is
not much written about how to do political ecology. We have therefore included some
suggestions in Methods Boxes in some of the chapters. Political ecology is about
studying the connections between global, national and local levels of environmental
governance, and by using the example of Norway combined with cases from the
South in some of the chapters, we have aimed to illustrate how political ecologies in
the Global North and South may be interconnected.
10.1 The Approach in This Book
The interconnections between political ecologies in the North and South are illustrated for instance in 7 Chap. 6 where we discuss why Norway, with an economy
largely dependent on the extraction of fossil fuels, is a world leader in using conservation of tropical forests as a major climate mitigation measure based on the principle of international cost-effectiveness. This principle implies that it allegedly is
more cost effective to mitigate climate change in a low-cost country rather than in
a high-cost country like Norway. In other words, this is a wealthy nation paying
other nations and people to bear the social costs of mitigating climate change,
instead of taking action at home. This has been the key principle of Norwegian
climate policy since the early 1990s. Recently however, there has been a mounting
internal pressure to take more of the cuts in carbon emissions at home rather than
abroad, but there is still a lack of concern for climate justice in public debates, in
terms of acknowledging the adverse effects of allegedly ‘cost-effective’ mitigation
measures on for instance forest adjacent communities.
In 7 Chap. 5, we discuss gender representation in conservation in the North
and South through a focus on feminist political ecologies with examples from
Norway, Senegal, India and Nepal. Studies in the South often tend to reveal gender
inequalities in policy-making on environmental governance. In the North, however, many take it for granted that women have gained a high degree of equity in
policy- making in all fields. The chapter shows how rural women in Norway until
recently have been denied their legal rights of political representation in processes
Chapter 10 · Stocktake and Ways Forward