Communities and The Environment: Ethnicity, Gender, and the State in Community-Based Conservation

by Arun Agrawal (Editor), Clark C. Gibson (Editor)

For years environmentalists thought natural resources could be best protected by national legislation. But the poor outcomes of this top-down policy have led conservation professionals today to regard local communities as the agents of conservation efforts. According to a recent survey, more than fifty countries report that they pursue partnerships with local communities in an effort to protect their forests. Despite the recent popularity of a community-based approach, the concept of community rarely receives the attention it should get from those concerned with resource management. This balanced volume redresses the situation, demonstrating both the promise and the potential dangers of community action.

Although the contributors advocate community-based conservation, they examine the record with a critical eye. They pay attention to the concrete political contexts in which communities emerge and operate. Understanding the nature of community requires understanding the internal politics of local regions and their relationship to external forces and actors. Especially critical are issues related to ethnicity, gender, and the state.

Genres: Ecology

Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Arun Agrawal is Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Greener Pastures: Politics, Markets, and Community among a Migrant Pastoral People and a coeditor of Agrarian Environments: Resources, Representations, and Rule in India, both also published by Duke University Press.

Reviews

[Rebecca Kath · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that this is a great book for case studies, but that's as far as it goes. The ideas that are emphasized are that community-based environmental policy isn't always the best solution, and environmental reorganization shouldn't translate into institutional reorganization. I can agree with the first point, but the authors don't explore the second beyond their claim. There is clearly an agenda behind how this book is set up, and I can't approve, hence the rating. These are some really good essays on their own, though!

[Megan]

read intro, conclusion and chapters 2,3,& 5