25
1
chapter we present our selection of some main building blocks of contemporary
political ecology.
Is it really possible, in specific studies, to apply perspectives from all the ten
syntheses outlined above? There are certainly few people who get the chance to
conduct extensive studies where they can really go deeply into all these aspects. It
will always be necessary to make practical delimitations of scope. However, for
students and scholars, political ecology offers a starting point with a rich and
nuanced combination of perspectives, and from these students can choose to
emphasize specific aspects in their own research.
When we have listed these ten syntheses, we are also aware that there are
other themes, theories and approaches that are applied in political ecology that
also could have been highlighted in this first book chapter. This book therefore
gives an introduction to our approach to political ecology, and how we as scholars understand and use this approach. The examples and case studies we present throughout the book are therefore also mostly taken from our own research.
There are therefore themes within and perspectives on political ecology that we
do not deal with or only briefly mention, such as urban political ecology and
Science and Technology Studies.
1.12 The Other Chapters in this Book
As mentioned earlier, 7 Chap. 2 is a theory chapter where we go through the main
aspects of the short history of political ecology. 7 Chapter 3 presents bioprospecting, which is an economic activity where companies (usually in the Global North)
elaborate new market products from biological samples and sometimes also based
on traditional knowledge about use (often in the Global South). In 7 Chap. 3 we
also provide a conceptual framework for studying discourses and narratives, and
we compare claims within these social constructions with research knowledge
about practices. Our discourse-practice perspective is also demonstrated in several
of the subsequent chapters.
In 7 Chap. 4, we discuss the establishment and social impacts of protected
areas and show examples of a gap between a widespread discourse of communitybased conservation and practices of centralized and top-down governance.
7 Chapter 5 introduces feminist political ecology. We present examples of the
application of this approach in studies of the establishment and management of
protected areas.
7 Chapter 6 is about approaches to mitigate climate change, with an emphasis
on efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in
developing countries (REDD). 7 Chapter 7 is about two classic themes in political
ecology – degradation and marginalization. We show how pastoralists are marginalized politically and economically through the use of different arguments that
constitute part of a modernization discourse. In addition, we point out how claims
about environmental degradation with poor empirical foundations and blamed on
pastoralists have contributed to this marginalization.
1.12 · The Other Chapters in this Book
1
chapter we present our selection of some main building blocks of contemporary
political ecology.
Is it really possible, in specific studies, to apply perspectives from all the ten
syntheses outlined above? There are certainly few people who get the chance to
conduct extensive studies where they can really go deeply into all these aspects. It
will always be necessary to make practical delimitations of scope. However, for
students and scholars, political ecology offers a starting point with a rich and
nuanced combination of perspectives, and from these students can choose to
emphasize specific aspects in their own research.
When we have listed these ten syntheses, we are also aware that there are
other themes, theories and approaches that are applied in political ecology that
also could have been highlighted in this first book chapter. This book therefore
gives an introduction to our approach to political ecology, and how we as scholars understand and use this approach. The examples and case studies we present throughout the book are therefore also mostly taken from our own research.
There are therefore themes within and perspectives on political ecology that we
do not deal with or only briefly mention, such as urban political ecology and
Science and Technology Studies.
1.12 The Other Chapters in this Book
As mentioned earlier, 7 Chap. 2 is a theory chapter where we go through the main
aspects of the short history of political ecology. 7 Chapter 3 presents bioprospecting, which is an economic activity where companies (usually in the Global North)
elaborate new market products from biological samples and sometimes also based
on traditional knowledge about use (often in the Global South). In 7 Chap. 3 we
also provide a conceptual framework for studying discourses and narratives, and
we compare claims within these social constructions with research knowledge
about practices. Our discourse-practice perspective is also demonstrated in several
of the subsequent chapters.
In 7 Chap. 4, we discuss the establishment and social impacts of protected
areas and show examples of a gap between a widespread discourse of communitybased conservation and practices of centralized and top-down governance.
7 Chapter 5 introduces feminist political ecology. We present examples of the
application of this approach in studies of the establishment and management of
protected areas.
7 Chapter 6 is about approaches to mitigate climate change, with an emphasis
on efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in
developing countries (REDD). 7 Chapter 7 is about two classic themes in political
ecology – degradation and marginalization. We show how pastoralists are marginalized politically and economically through the use of different arguments that
constitute part of a modernization discourse. In addition, we point out how claims
about environmental degradation with poor empirical foundations and blamed on
pastoralists have contributed to this marginalization.
1.12 · The Other Chapters in this Book