| 41. |
- Jørgensen, Dolly
(författare)
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Rethinking rewilding
- 2015
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 65, s. 482-488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The term 'rewilding' sounds as if it should have a straightforward meaning 'to make wild again'. But in truth the term has a complex history and a host of meanings have been ascribed to it. Rewilding as a specific scientific term has its beginnings as a reference to the Wildlands Project, which was founded in 1991 and aimed to create North American core wilderness areas without human activity that would be connected by corridors. Words, however, do not stand still they change over time and take on new meanings, while sometimes simultaneously retaining the older sense. Employing Foucault's idea of historical genealogy, this article examines how the term rewilding was historically adopted and modified in ecological scientific discourse over the last two decades. This investigation probes what and, by extension, when and where, rewilding refers to as it has moved into various geographies across the globe. It then examines how the term has moved outside of science and been adopted by environmental activists as a plastic word. Taken as a whole, rewilding discourse seeks to erase human history and involvement with the land and flora and fauna. Such an attempted split between nature and culture may prove unproductive and even harmful. A more inclusive rewilding is a preferable strategy.
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| 42. |
- Karlsson, Bengt G., 1961-
(författare)
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The imperial weight of tea : on the politics of plants, plantations and science
- 2022
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 130, s. 105-114
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cultivation of tea has had major impact on societies and environments across the world. It has been the cause of imperial wars, colonial appropriations of territories and capitalist exploitation of people and ecologies. In this article, I am particularly concerned with the British empire of tea, what preceded it and its afterlife in the former colonies. Research on tea within the social sciences and humanities have mainly concentrated on the precarious situation of plantation laborers. Informed by recent scholarship in multispecies- and critical plant studies, I seek to trace the intimate relations between people and plants. Taking a cue from James C. Scott’s “grain hypothesis,” I suggest an “imperial crop hypothesis” asking if there are any particular attributes of the tea plant that lend itself to imperial ambitions. In this I straddle between a political ecology concerned with power, resources and infrastructures that enabled the British to establish its empire of tea, and a multispecies approach that foregrounds the entangled ecologies of plant life. I concentrate on four particular moments of this history: the British “discovery” of tea grown by indigenous peoples in the hills of the newly annexed Ahom kingdom in the early 19th century; the establishment of the Assam plantations during second half of the 19th century; the travel of tea across the Indian Ocean and the making of Kenyan tea industry during the 20th century; and, finally, the development of purple tea, a new variety of tea projected as the tea plant for the 21st century.
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| 43. |
- Kenney-Lazar, Miles, et al.
(författare)
-
Greening rubber? Political ecologies of plantation sustainability in Laos and Myanmar
- 2018
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 92, s. 96-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the past decade, the cultivation of rubber trees has expanded rapidly throughout the Mekong region to non-traditional rubber growing areas of Laos and Myanmar. Prompted by rising prices from 1990 to 2010 and government agro-industrialization policies, farmers and investors have rushed to plant the new boom crop. A latex price crash in 2011, however, has made it more challenging for small-scale producers to earn an income, leading to uneven social-ecological transformations and economic consequences. Several proposals have been made to address these challenges by transforming rubber into a more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable crop. In this paper, which emerged from one such project to investigate the potential for green rubber, we argue that the sustainability of rubber is a challenging and elusive prospect - particularly in resource frontier contexts like Laos and Myanmar. Concepts like sustainability or green production are vague and malleable. They can be imbued with a variety of contradictory meanings, which often do not address the most socially and environmentally problematic aspects of cash crop expansion. Sustainable rubber, if rigorously and specifically defined, would be exceedingly difficult to reach in both countries, due to the ways in which political-economic and governance factors interact with the biophysical and social characteristics of the crop. Instead, we recommend using sustainability as a political tool for highlighting the most harmful socio-environmental impacts of rubber and generating debate concerning the best ways to address these, thus limiting unsustainable practices.
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| 44. |
- Lindberg, Jonas, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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China’s belt and road initiative: The need for livelihood-inclusive stories
- 2021
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 121, s. 138-141
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most ambitious global investment ventures in modern times, with the stated ambition to generate inclusive development processes through improved connectivity. Recent literature increasingly interprets the BRI as uneven, complex and dynamic, and there is growing focus on its environmental consequences. However, especially given the official narrative of inclusive development, surprisingly little attention has so far been paid to the livelihood politics produced where the BRI is implemented. This short paper critically reviews recent BRI literature on southern and eastern Asia. The main argument is that the current focus on economic and political dimensions of the BRI at national and international scales has left out an understanding of local issues. In conversation with recent calls for more grounded political understandings of the BRI, as well as attentiveness to its environmental consequences, we conclude by outlining some of the benefits of adding detailed livelihood analyses to the existing body of research on the BRI.
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| 45. |
- Maandi, Peeter, 1975-
(författare)
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The silent articulation of private land rights in Soviet Estonia : a geographical perspective
- 2009
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 40:3, s. 454-464
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With an explicit focus on the spatial articulation of landownership, this paper explores various ways in which pre-Soviet land rights were expressed in rural Estonia during the Soviet period (1940–1941, 1944–1991). Drawing on cartographical analyses and interviews made in the rural district of Muhu, the paper demonstrates that people who owned land before the Soviet occupation kept track of the officially annulled pre-Soviet land rights, by relating to inertial landscape elements as memory-aids. To local inhabitants the landscape, in which past and present structures always merge, provided substantial evidence in support of the idea of legal continuity of pre-Soviet land rights. Hence, the post-Soviet land restitution reform often implied a re-discovery or re-expression of property rights that had been silenced, but not lost.
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| 46. |
- McLean, Jessica, et al.
(författare)
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Decolonising strategies and neoliberal dilemmas in a tertiary institution : Nurturing care-full approaches in a blended learning environment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 101, s. 122-131
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New learning and teaching methods such as 'blended learning' are increasingly promoted within higher education institutions. Such methods-especially those which replace slow scholarship and/or people with digital technologies-run the risk of reinforcing neoliberal learning spaces and perpetuating processes of 'deep colonization' (Rose, 1996). We argue that these new learning and teaching methods must be grounded in critical pedagogies to avoid extending neoliberal agendas in the university context. Furthermore, we propose these methods require careful student and teacher reflection, coupled with conscientious attempts at decolonising existing educational institutions and pedagogies (Radcliffe, 2017). In this article we explore the intersections and disconnections between critical pedagogy, attempts at decolonising the classroom, and flexible learning approaches like blended learning. We draw on our collective experiences as both teachers and students who are continuously learning-learning-teachers and learning-students-within the context of a higher level subject entitled 'Rethinking Resource Management' which is taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. A blended learning approach is practiced by the learning-teachers of this course, in an effort to situate their responsibilities and shift their pedagogy towards decolonizing approaches. In this dialogue between learning-teachers and learning-students, we argue that while blended learning can provide opportunities to improve learning experiences and support decolonising pedagogies, constraints that arise from a neoliberal university context, such as the reframing of students as clients and the prioritisation of money-saving approaches, can moderate such promise. Further, decolonising education requires more than what can be delivered by blended learning approaches in isolation. They also fundamentally require a careful reconfiguration of responsibilities in a relational and multidirectional manner, of learning-teachers, learning-students and the broader learning-institution context. So while the learning-teachers' efforts at decolonising the classroom and better engaging with learning-students remain partial, they are deeply valued by many learning-students and are important tentative contributions towards nurturing more 'care-full' decolonising learning spaces. The article offers a critical discussion of the issues raised in a dialogue between learning teachers and learning-students of Rethinking Resource Management, and considers what we can contribute to broader debates in decolonising learning, the blended learning trend and structural changes in universities. We offer this instance of care-full teaching and learning as a case study that emphasises dialogue, in multiple modes, to renegotiate power relations, and to advocate caution in moves toward top-down entrenchment of digital teaching modes.
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| 47. |
- Meriläinen, Eija, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Re-articulating forest politics through “rights to forest” and “rights of forest”
- 2022
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 133, s. 89-100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forests, and the politics around them, are posited both as a cause of and solution to the contemporary ecological crisis. This paper explores how rights to forest and rights of forest conceptualisations can re-articulate, and potentially challenge, the problematic dominance of capitalist forest politics in Northern Finland and beyond. Conceptually, the paper combines the debates on rights-to-nature and rights-of-nature. Rights-to-nature is concerned with how people can access and use nature to support their lives. Rights-of-nature, meanwhile, highlights the nature’s intrinsic value and the rights of indigenous peoples. Combining the two perspectives might allow imagining politics of nature that is both ecologically and socially just. Empirically, the paper studies forest politics in Tornio River valley in Northern Finland through an ethnographic case study. The rights- to-nature conceptualisation associates locally with the existing use rights and ownership rights. Rights-to-nature may guarantee access to a forest, but it does not guarantee its existence. Rights-of-nature, meanwhile, associates with strong conservation, nature’s power, and indigenous land rights. However, also the rights- of-nature conceptualisation is unlikely to challenge the gradual degradation of most Northern forests, as these “boring” forests lack both recognised human stewardship and intrinsic value. Thus, in the study area the rights conceptualisations do not decisively challenge the existing forest politics, even if the framings can acquire a more radical content. Overall, this paper shows that transnational rights discourses and conceptualisations entangle with local common senses. Factoring in the local understandings is essential for re-articulating politics of nature that could receive broad local support.
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| 48. |
- Mälgand, Miina, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental awareness, the Transition Movement, and place : Den Selvforsynende Landsby, a Danish Transition initiative
- 2014
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - Kidlington : Elsevier. - 0016-7185 .- 1872-9398. ; 57, s. 40-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Transition Movement, originating in Ireland and the United Kingdom, gathers and supports community-led actions to meet the global challenges of climate change, peak oil and energy descent. In our study we analysed a Transition Network project, a Danish village built from scratch by its inhabitants and named the Self Sufficient Village (SSV). Employing the theories of constructed landscapes and placeattachment, we studied how the Transition Movement ideology shaped the constructed landscape of thevillage and influenced the inhabitants' attachment. The research team, following the grounded theory approach, conducted a field study staying in SSV. We collected data with focus groups, individual interviews and participatory observations, taking part in daily life of the community. The analysis revealed three, intertwined themes which altogether create the constructed landscape of SSV. They were named Community, Ideology, and Individual impact, respectively. Our findings showed that the community and strong social ties were predominant factors in shaping place attachment. Transition ideology and environmental awareness, although less pronounced, still turned out to be vital for the feelings of belongingness and empowerment, resulting in a positive impact of the village on the local scale. Using our case study as an example we discuss the importance of environmental concern and place attachment for similar grass-root initiatives. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 49. |
- Ness, Barry, et al.
(författare)
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Structuring problems in sustainability science: The multi-level DPSIR framework
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-9398 .- 0016-7185. ; 41:3, s. 479-488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustainability science needs approaches that allow for the integration of knowledge across disciplines and scales. This paper suggests an approach to conceptualize problems of unsustainability by embedding the Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) scheme within a multi-level institutional framework represented by Hagerstrand's system of nested domains. The proposed taxonomy helps to decipher and to better understand key casual chains and societal responses at the appropriate spatial levels for particular sustainability problem areas. To illustrate the scheme more concretely the example of recent problem-solving efforts for Baltic Sea eutrophication driven by Swedish agriculture is examined. The discussion focuses on how the scheme fulfills the four research strategy requirements within the field of sustainability science and how the scheme is distinct from alternative approaches. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 50. |
- Niedomysl, Thomas
(författare)
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Promoting rural municipalities to attract new residents: an evaluation of the effects
- 2007
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - Oxford : Elsevier BV. - 1872-9398 .- 0016-7185. ; 38:4, s. 698-709
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Throughout the 1990s, most rural municipalities in Sweden experienced population declines and were forced to face the constraints of an ageing population. To counter this development a significant share turned to place marketing campaigns and promotion in the hope of attracting new residents. This paper examines the campaign efforts of the Swedish rural municipalities and addresses the question of whether they have been successful. The main methodological approach used in the paper is the employment of a pooled regression analysis (i.e. a combination of time series and cross-sectional data) to study the effects of marketing campaigns on migration flows to rural municipalities while simultaneously controlling for other potentially influential factors. Moreover, a case study is carried out in one municipality by way of interviews and detailed descriptive analysis of migration data. The results suggest no general evidence for a positive effect of marketing campaigns on in-migration, but in a few cases a positive impact cannot be ruled out conclusively.
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