Simon Batterbury
University of Melbourne, Geography, Faculty Member
- Clark University, Geography, AlumnusLancaster University, Lancaster Environment Centre, Faculty Member, and 3 moreadd
- University of Melbourne (Prof. Envt. Studies). Was Professor of Political Ecology, Lancaster University, 2017-1019. ... moreUniversity of Melbourne (Prof. Envt. Studies). Was Professor of Political Ecology, Lancaster University, 2017-1019. Mainly working on resource access challenges in West Africa and the Pacific, and also on bike revolutions in western cities. Editor, Journal of Political Ecology.
*Papers at http://simonbatterbury.net/pubs
*Website http://simonbatterbury.netedit
This open access book provides a unique overview of geographical, historical, political and environmental issues facing the French overseas territory New Caledonia, also called “Kanaky” by the indigenous Kanak people, who outnumber... more
This open access book provides a unique overview of geographical, historical, political and environmental issues facing the French overseas territory New Caledonia, also called “Kanaky” by the indigenous Kanak people, who outnumber citizens of European and other origin. New Caledonia has seen a long and complex struggle for decolonization, but is still on the United Nations’ list of “Non-Self Governing territories” and there is little sign of change following three referendums on independence and extensive negotiations with France. The archipelago possesses around a quarter of the world’s nickel deposits, giving it additional strategic importance when demand for the mineral is strong. The islands have unique biodiversity, and Caledonian coastal lagoons have been listed as UNESCO world heritage sites since 2008. The book offers detailed insights into the environmental and human geographies of the archipelago, with a focus on the linksbetween environmental protection and extensive mining operations, between political independence struggles and continued wellbeing and economic development, and the differing visions for the future of the islands. This multidisciplinary volume, one of the few to appear in English, appeals to researchers, students and policy makers across the environmental, social and political sciences.
Research Interests:
Link to all papers SPJ Batterbury
Research Interests:
This chapter is an introduction to "Geographies of New Caledonia-Kanaky", edited by Matthias Kowasch and Simon Batterbury. The archipelago is a "biodiversity hotspot" with high species endemism, ultramafic soils and nickel resources that... more
This chapter is an introduction to "Geographies of New Caledonia-Kanaky", edited by Matthias Kowasch and Simon Batterbury. The archipelago is a "biodiversity hotspot" with high species endemism, ultramafic soils and nickel resources that have been mined extensively for nearly 150 years. It remains a territory of France, and after three referendums on independence, decolonisation is an unfinished and ongoing process that still divides communities in their interpretation of history and their aspirations for the future. The 21 chapters of the book, including this introduction and the conclusion, reflect different themes and offer cultural, political, social and ecological perspectives. New Caledonia-Kanaky (NC-K) is a "window on the world" in terms of decolonisation paths, environmental and social justice, racial inequality, biodiversity and the impacts of mining. The book has seven parts: (1) biodiversity, environmental protection and policies; (2) fisheries and agriculture; (3) extractive industries, mining development and waste management; (4) land reform and urban development; (5) cultural heritage, languages and education; (6) small-scale politics and gender questions; and lastly (7) decolonisation and political independence.
Research Interests:
Matthew Gandy's Commentary in Area (2023) criticised the decision of the national funder UKRI to mandate that all books resulting from the research that it funds must be published open access (OA) from 2024. This raises many issues of... more
Matthew Gandy's Commentary in Area (2023) criticised the decision of the national funder UKRI to mandate that all books resulting from the research that it funds must be published open access (OA) from 2024. This raises many issues of importance to geographers. We argue that scholars in the discipline need to fight for affordable and ethically produced OA books, not ‘legacy’ modes of publishing. In particular, books produced by scholar- led OA presses will not harm the reputation of departments or individual scholars, and they also have the potential to reduce significant financial barriers to accessing books across the globe. A more powerful critique must be to challenge the continued ‘enclosure’ of books, and the denial of OA by academic publishers and university presses. ................This commentary is part of a forthcoming collection responding to Matthew Gandy’s 2023 commentary ‘Books under threat: Open access publishing and the neoliberal academy.' in Area, 2024
Research Interests:
To increase urban cycling, we need more than extra cycling infrastructure, we need a culture change. A worldwide movement of community bike workshops, also known as Bike Kitchens, can help. Bike kitchens offer tools, second-hand parts and... more
To increase urban cycling, we need more than extra cycling infrastructure, we need a culture change. A worldwide movement of community bike workshops, also known as Bike Kitchens, can help. Bike kitchens offer tools, second-hand parts and bikes, and convivial help with repairs. They are also hubs for community development.
Research Interests:
Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African... more
Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African agrarian-based communities. This article draws from ethnographic research on Cameroon to contribute to bridging this gap. We argue that lineage and patronage considerations intersect to determine beneficiaries and losers during LSLA. Second, we show that LSLA tend to re-entrench existing inequalities in power relations that exist within communities in favour of people with traceable ancestral lineage. Concomitantly, non-indigenous groups especially migrants, bear the brunt of exclusion and are unfortunately exposed to severe livelihood stresses due to their inability to leverage patronage networks and political power to defend their interests. We submit that empirical examination of the impacts of land acquisitions should consider the centrality of power and patronage networks between indigenes and non-indigenes, and how this socio-cultural dichotomy restricts and/or mediates land acquisition outcomes in Cameroon.
Research Interests:
Given a history in political ecology of challenging hegemonic “scientific” narratives concerning environmental problems, the current political moment presents a potent conundrum: how to (continue to) critically engage with narratives of... more
Given a history in political ecology of challenging hegemonic “scientific” narratives concerning environmental problems, the current political moment presents a potent conundrum: how to (continue to) critically engage with narratives of environmental change while confronting the “populist” promotion of “alternative facts.” We ask how political ecologists might situate themselves vis-a-vis the presently growing power of contemporary authoritarian forms, highlighting how the latter operates through sociopolitical domains and beyond-human natures. We argue for a clear and conscious strategy of speaking power to post-truth, to enable two things. The first is to come to terms with an internal paradox of addressing those seeking to obfuscate or deny environmental degradation and social injustice, while retaining political
ecology’s own historical critique of the privileged role of Western science and expert knowledge in determining dominant forms of environmental governance. This involves understanding post-truth, and its twin pillars of alternative facts and fake news, as operating politically by those regimes looking to shore up power, rather than as embodying a coherent mode of ontological reasoning regarding the nature of reality. Second, we differentiate post-truth from analyses affirming diversity in both knowledge and reality (i.e., epistemology and ontology, respectively) regarding the drivers of environmental change. This enables a critical confrontation of contemporary authoritarianism and still allows for a relevant and accessible political ecology that engages with marginalized populations likely to suffer most from the proliferation of post-truth politics.
ecology’s own historical critique of the privileged role of Western science and expert knowledge in determining dominant forms of environmental governance. This involves understanding post-truth, and its twin pillars of alternative facts and fake news, as operating politically by those regimes looking to shore up power, rather than as embodying a coherent mode of ontological reasoning regarding the nature of reality. Second, we differentiate post-truth from analyses affirming diversity in both knowledge and reality (i.e., epistemology and ontology, respectively) regarding the drivers of environmental change. This enables a critical confrontation of contemporary authoritarianism and still allows for a relevant and accessible political ecology that engages with marginalized populations likely to suffer most from the proliferation of post-truth politics.
Research Interests:
This conclusion summarizes some of the key contributions of political ecology to understanding complex risks, showing how this book places them in a political economy of the environment, across space and over time.
Research Interests:
The "sociality" of cycling has broader ramifications for mobility transitions. While infrastructure engineering and other planning efforts may "attract" more cyclists to the roads, we introduce key aspects of the culture of bicycle... more
The "sociality" of cycling has broader ramifications for mobility transitions. While infrastructure engineering and other planning efforts may "attract" more cyclists to the roads, we introduce key aspects of the culture of bicycle mobility, which is boosted by social movements like Critical Mass, and organizations including community bike workshops. They respond to particular social needs across race, class and gender, but also create broader "demand" for cycling, through socialization, enlisting new cyclists, lobbying, and bike-friendly actions. The "bikespace", drawing on Lefebvre, forms the "software" that complements, and builds, a cycling culture.
Research Interests:
Report of work carried out as one of the first visiting research fellows at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, VUB, Brussels in 2015. An investigation into Brussels and Berlin community bicycle workshops as contributors to community... more
Report of work carried out as one of the first visiting research fellows at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, VUB, Brussels in 2015. An investigation into Brussels and Berlin community bicycle workshops as contributors to community economies and sustainable urban transport.
Research Interests:
In the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, conflict and difference between Indigenous Kanak people and European settlers has existed at least since the 1850s. We interrogate the geopolitical ecology of these islands, which is... more
In the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, conflict and difference between Indigenous Kanak people and European settlers has existed at least since the 1850s. We interrogate the geopolitical ecology of these islands, which is deeply wedded to natural resource extraction, and is instrumentalized in political debate, power struggles, conflict, and the mining sector. Territoriality, including changes to political borders and access to land, has promoted the interests of the key actors in shaping the future of the islands. Violence in the 1980s was followed by the Matignon Accords (1988) and three provinces were established (North, South, Loyalty Islands). The South Province is governed by a party loyal to France, and the others are in the hands of the Indigenous Kanak independence movement seeking full decolonization and independence. The strengthened regional autonomy that emerged from the creation of provinces has permitted the Kanak-dominated ones to control certain political competencies as well as to guide economic development much more strongly than in other settler states, notably through a large nickel mining project in the North Province. Provincialization has not diminished ethnic divisions as French interests hoped, as signaled by voting in the close-run but unsuccessful 2018 referendum on independence from France. We explore the ironies of these efforts at territorial reordering , which are layered on significant spatial and racial disparities. Re-bordering has enabled resurgence of Kanak power in ways unanticipated by the architects of the Accords, but without a guarantee of eventual success.
Research Interests:
There are several lessons emerging from a political ecological analysis of the 2019/2020 bushfire disaster.
Research Interests:
El Pacífico colombiano ha sido imaginado vacío en términos sociales y lleno de recursos naturales y biodiversidad. Estos imaginarios han permitido la creación de fronteras de control que históricamente han despojado a afrodescendientes e... more
El Pacífico colombiano ha sido imaginado vacío en términos sociales y lleno de recursos naturales y biodiversidad. Estos imaginarios han permitido la creación de fronteras de control que históricamente han despojado a afrodescendientes e indígenas de sus territorios ancestrales. Este artículo examina la territorialización en los océanos, tomando como referencia el Golfo de Tribugá. Muestra como comunidades afrodescendientes y actores no estatales se ven obligados a usar el lenguaje de recursos, en vez del de arraigo socio-cultural, para negociar los procesos de territorialización marinos.
Informadas por sus epistemologías acuáticas, las comunidades osteras reclaman su autoridad sobre el mar a través de la creación de un área marina protegida. Usan instrumentos del estado para asegurar el acceso y control local, subvirtiendo el marco jurídico del mar como
bien público de acceso abierto. El área protegida representa un lugar de resistencia que irónicamente somete a las comunidades a tecnologías disciplinarias de conservación. Palabras clave: afrodescendientes, Colombia, conservación, geografías del mar, áreas marinas protegidas, territorio
Informadas por sus epistemologías acuáticas, las comunidades osteras reclaman su autoridad sobre el mar a través de la creación de un área marina protegida. Usan instrumentos del estado para asegurar el acceso y control local, subvirtiendo el marco jurídico del mar como
bien público de acceso abierto. El área protegida representa un lugar de resistencia que irónicamente somete a las comunidades a tecnologías disciplinarias de conservación. Palabras clave: afrodescendientes, Colombia, conservación, geografías del mar, áreas marinas protegidas, territorio
Research Interests:
Batterbury SPJ and T Dant. 2019. The imperative of repair: fixing bikes – for free. In F. Mar-tinez and P. Laviolette (eds.). Repair, Brokenness, Breakthrough: Ethnographic Responses. New York: Berghahn. P249-266. ISBN 978−1−78920−331−8... more
Batterbury SPJ and T Dant. 2019. The imperative of repair: fixing bikes – for free. In F. Mar-tinez and P. Laviolette (eds.). Repair, Brokenness, Breakthrough: Ethnographic Responses. New York: Berghahn. P249-266. ISBN 978−1−78920−331−8
This chapter discusses how we can interrupt the cycle of consumption and disposal to reuse a relatively simple and ubiquitous item – the bicycle. We compare two projects that are non-commercial, community-based and involve volunteers who recycle, redistribute and assist with the repair of bicycles. The first is a project that repairs donated bikes and gives them to asylum seekers and refugees who have moved into an urban area. The repair of lives broken by the disruption of seeking refuge in another country are being helped with the life-enhancing mobility of a bicycle. The second, is a network of community bike workshops open to anybody, which help owners to keep their bikes on the road by teaching maintenance skills (Batterbury and Vandermeersch 2016). Being able to repair their bike frees the user from having to pay and wait for a professional service to recover their velomobility. Both types of project operate at the margins of the system of capitalist production and consumption in which bicycles are originally manufactured. Both counter the tendency of advanced industrialised societies to-wards consuming new replacement goods rather than repairing the broken.
This chapter discusses how we can interrupt the cycle of consumption and disposal to reuse a relatively simple and ubiquitous item – the bicycle. We compare two projects that are non-commercial, community-based and involve volunteers who recycle, redistribute and assist with the repair of bicycles. The first is a project that repairs donated bikes and gives them to asylum seekers and refugees who have moved into an urban area. The repair of lives broken by the disruption of seeking refuge in another country are being helped with the life-enhancing mobility of a bicycle. The second, is a network of community bike workshops open to anybody, which help owners to keep their bikes on the road by teaching maintenance skills (Batterbury and Vandermeersch 2016). Being able to repair their bike frees the user from having to pay and wait for a professional service to recover their velomobility. Both types of project operate at the margins of the system of capitalist production and consumption in which bicycles are originally manufactured. Both counter the tendency of advanced industrialised societies to-wards consuming new replacement goods rather than repairing the broken.
Research Interests:
Academic critique drives most political ecology scholarship. An engaged and affirmative political ecology, however, is practiced in scholarly, everyday and activist communities. Many academic political ecologists, including some founding... more
Academic critique drives most political ecology scholarship. An engaged and affirmative political ecology, however, is practiced in scholarly, everyday and activist communities. Many academic political ecologists, including some founding figures like Piers Blaikie, take an interest in the '‘relevance'’ of their work and wish to remain '‘engaged'’ with the communities and policy actors that their research identifies as vital for positive social and environmental change. A biographical approach provides clues to what makes '‘affirmative'’ scholarship important and viable. Research engagement, and particularly activism, is desirable but often deemed to be nonconformist by the research culture of Western research universities and organisations. I argue for a more affirmative political ecology, illustrated with examples from research work in an international development project in West Africa. The use of participatory research techniques can reveal injustices, but in this case it was less successful at redressing power imbalances. The more general conclusion is that strong engagement can be effective and satisfying. As environmental problems and injustices worsen, it is essential.
Research Interests:
This brief note identifies the consequences of land acquisitions in peri-urban spaces around the cities of Bamako and Ségou, Mali. This contributes to debates surrounding the rapid expansion of African cities faced with rapid rural-urban... more
This brief note identifies the consequences of land acquisitions in peri-urban spaces around the cities of Bamako and Ségou, Mali. This contributes to debates surrounding the rapid expansion of African cities faced with rapid rural-urban migration and new arrivals settling in precarious conditions. West Africa has a long history of urbanisation, in some cases accompanied by highly productive and intensified land use. It is, therefore, vitally important to question whether formal property rights within peri-urban spaces are a viable option to secure rights for those most marginal and/or recently disposed of their rural land holdings. What are some alternative formalisation mechanisms, which avoid the hazards associated with formal titling, and address the precarious tenure conditions in peri-urban zones?
Research Interests:
These two books were a pleasure to read. They tackle the history of ideas about regions deemed “marginal,” and the ideas and practices that have kept them so. Sayre and Davis deal, respectively, with misperceptions held about the marginal... more
These two books were a pleasure to read. They tackle the history of ideas about regions deemed “marginal,” and the ideas and practices that have kept them so. Sayre and Davis deal, respectively, with misperceptions held about the marginal and arid U.S. West, and global arid lands (with a focus on the Sahara and its fringes).
Research Interests:
Este conjunto de artículos discute e investiga las condiciones y situación de las Universidades Públicas de 14 países de todo el globo, por parte de importantes académicos de cada país. Analiza la productivización y mercantilización de la... more
Este conjunto de artículos discute e investiga las condiciones y situación de las Universidades Públicas de 14 países de todo el globo, por parte de importantes académicos de cada país. Analiza la productivización y mercantilización de la universidad pública en una era de recortes y falta de apoyo político e institucional. Discute la pérdida de criterios y horizontes de valoración de los académicos y sus escuelas y universidades, su sometimiento al sistema de evaluación cuantométrico que es inadecuado e injusto, y propone la necesidad de organizar una acción conjunta global de los académicos conscientes de esta pérdida de criterios para defender y situar en su puesto la enseñanza superior universitaria y su función vital en el desarrollo social.
Research Interests:
Masters degrees that offer a broad understanding of environmental issues have been taught in universities since the 1960s. As the problems, they address have increased in severity and become global in scale and reach, higher education... more
Masters degrees that offer a broad understanding of environmental issues have been taught in universities since the 1960s. As the problems, they address have increased in severity and become global in scale and reach, higher education offerings have flourished accordingly. Today, environmental Masters degrees offer a variety of specializations, are often embedded within university environmental institutes or centers, and they lead thousands of students into environmental careers, as activists, advocates, policymakers, technicians, resource managers, and researchers. They provide an opportunity to understand and critically debate mainstream concepts, like sustainability, the green economy, ecological resilience, environmental services, and good governance. The severity of environmental crises also requires a more radical curriculum: critiques of economic growth (including green growth), social and environmental justice, and the political ecology of unequal access to resources. In light of these complex demands and growing opportunities for environmental programs to address social and environmental justice, we discuss a unique and successful model for interdisciplinary environmental Masters teaching at a large Australian university that has juggled promotion of justice in its program along with meeting financial targets imposed by the neoliberal regime prevalent in Australia's underfunded higher education sector. The program has a distinctive approach to interdisciplinary learning, permitting a very wide range of student choice, and unified teaching efforts across ten Faculties. This has required agile administration, and strong defense of an unusual approach to the management of environmental pedagogy. The Master of Environment program illustrates how taught postgraduate programs can offer an alternative space for personal, institutional and environmental commitment to social and environmental justice.
Keywords: Training; Australia; Environmental education; Social justice; Higher education.
Keywords: Training; Australia; Environmental education; Social justice; Higher education.
Research Interests:
Large-scale land acquisitions are widespread in Africa. In the 2000s, Africa became a 'grabbers’ hotspot', following global concerns over food security and fuel supplies. Land, with its available water potential, was acquired by a wide... more
Large-scale land acquisitions are widespread in Africa. In the 2000s, Africa became a 'grabbers’ hotspot', following global concerns over food security and fuel supplies. Land, with its available water potential, was acquired by a wide range of private and public actors, including sovereign governments, on African soil. Ineffective legal, political and institutional processes have permitted large-scale land acquisition to the detriment of local communities. There are increasing tensions with local communities who suffer from dispossession of land and natural resources and lack power, made worse where there are no mechanisms for relocation or compensation. Rural populations do, however, mobilize grass-roots agency to contest ‘dispossession’. In Cameroon, corporate accumulation of land is supported for its national-level benefits, but this pits government against local communities with women often being the biggest losers from loss of farmland. 'Green grabbing', justified on environmental grounds, also affects local livelihoods. Communities are not necessarily adverse to commercial agriculture if they are able to exercise more control over it.
Research Interests:
There have been a range of protests against the high journal subscription costs, and author processing charges (APCs) levied for publishing in the more prestigious and commercially run journals that are favoured by geographers. But open... more
There have been a range of protests against the high journal subscription costs, and author processing charges (APCs) levied for publishing in the more prestigious and commercially run journals that are favoured by geographers. But open protests across the sector like the ‘Academic Spring’ of 2012, and challenges to commercial copyright agreements, have been fragmented and less than successful. I renew the argument for ‘socially just’ publishing in geography. For geographers this is not limited to choosing alternative publication venues. It also involves a considerable effort by senior faculty members that are assessing hiring and promotion cases, to read and assess scholarship independently of its place of publication, and to reward the efforts of colleagues that offer their work as a public good. Criteria other than the citation index and prestige of a journal need to be foregrounded. Geographers can also be publishers, and I offer my experience editing the free online Journal of Political Ecology.
Research Interests:
Batterbury, S.P.J. and J. Byrne. 2017. Australia: reclaiming the public university? In a special collection, W. Halffman and H. Radder (eds.) International responses to the Academic Manifesto: reports from 14 countries. Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 2017: 23-33. (ISSN 2471-9560)more
In a provocative article published in 'Minerva' in 2015, Halffman and Radder discuss the Kafkaesque worlds that academics in the Netherlands now find themselves in, as an underfunded university sector predates upon itself and its... more
In a provocative article published in 'Minerva' in 2015, Halffman and Radder discuss the Kafkaesque worlds that academics in the Netherlands now find themselves in, as an underfunded university sector predates upon itself and its workforce (2015, p. 165-166). Their Academic Manifesto observes that Dutch tertiary institutions have become obsessively focused on ‘accountability’ and pursue neoliberal-style imperatives [forced upon them] of ‘efficiency and excellence’. They paint a portrait of academics under siege, untrusted, and constantly micro-managed. The pursuit of so-called efficiency has involved accountability systems that are themselves wasteful, driving seemingly endless institutional restructuring. Moreover, institutions have become obsessed with star-performers in research, driven by competitive targets that undergird global rankings. Metrics – publication outputs, journal quality, citations, impact and grant revenue – produce a culture of competition and sometimes, mercenary behaviours, on the part of academics and managers. While there may be beacons of light, they are heavily shielded in the article, which makes for depressing reading. Their provocation prompts two questions, to which we will try to respond through our own experiences and review of Australia's adoption of,and resistance to, higher education reform:
1.How does Australia compare?
2.What can Australian universities and their staff do?
1.How does Australia compare?
2.What can Australian universities and their staff do?
Large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) by foreign interests is a major driver of agrarian change in the productive regions of Africa. Rural communities across Southwest Cameroon are experiencing a range of political... more
Large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) by foreign interests is a major driver of agrarian change in the productive regions of Africa. Rural communities across Southwest Cameroon are experiencing a range of political conflicts resulting from LSLA, in which commercial interests are threatening local land-use practices and access to land. This paper shows that the struggle to maintain or redefine livelihoods generates tension between inward competition for and outward contestation of claims to land. In Nguti Subdivision, the scene of protests against a particular agribusiness company, there is continued debate over ideas about, inter-ests in, and perceptions of land and tenure. The authors show how top-down land acquisition marginalises land users, leading to conflicts within communities and with the companies involved, and conclude that for an agro-project to succeed and avoid major conflicts, dominance by elite interests must give way to a more inclusive process.
Kull, CA & SPJ Batterbury (2017) L’environnement dans les géographies anglophone et française : émergence, transformations et circulations de la political ecology. In Humanités environnementales. Enquêtes et contre-enquêtes, edited by... more
Kull, CA & SPJ Batterbury (2017) L’environnement dans les géographies anglophone et française : émergence, transformations et circulations de la political ecology. In Humanités environnementales. Enquêtes et contre-enquêtes, edited by Blanc, G, É Demeulenaere & W Feuerhahn. Paris: Les publications de la Sorbonne, 117-138.
Kull, CA & SPJ Batterbury (2016) La géographie face aux défis environnementaux dans le monde anglophone. Dans Manifeste pour une géographie environnementale, Chartier, D & E Rodary (éditeurs scientifiques). Paris: Les Presses Sciences Po,... more
Kull, CA & SPJ Batterbury (2016) La géographie face aux défis environnementaux dans le monde anglophone. Dans Manifeste pour une géographie environnementale, Chartier, D & E Rodary (éditeurs scientifiques). Paris: Les Presses Sciences Po, pp. 227-255.
Dans le monde anglophone, la relation de la discipline géographique aux aspects politiques des problèmes environnementaux a su évoluer en tant que domaine de recherche et mode d’engagement. Un certain nombre des changements générationnels et disciplinaires clés ne relèvent pas seulement de changements de paradigme tels que les a définis Thomas Kuhn, mais aussi du contexte social plus large dans lequel s’inscrivent les idées et les savoirs. Si, au début des années 1970, la discipline échoua à s’impliquer dans le champ interdisciplinaire émergent des études environnementales, dans la décennie suivante la combinaison des préoccupations écologiques et d’un souci de justice sociale a conduit à la naissance d’un nouveau sous-domaine particulièrement pertinent pour l’action face aux problèmes d’environnement, la political ecology. Les géographes anglophones s’inscrivant dans ce courant sont aujourd’hui en position de mener des recherches couvrant la science des changements environnementaux et les dynamiques sociales qui les causent – ce qui ouvre des perspectives de collaborations plus étroites avec leurs collègues français.
Dans le monde anglophone, la relation de la discipline géographique aux aspects politiques des problèmes environnementaux a su évoluer en tant que domaine de recherche et mode d’engagement. Un certain nombre des changements générationnels et disciplinaires clés ne relèvent pas seulement de changements de paradigme tels que les a définis Thomas Kuhn, mais aussi du contexte social plus large dans lequel s’inscrivent les idées et les savoirs. Si, au début des années 1970, la discipline échoua à s’impliquer dans le champ interdisciplinaire émergent des études environnementales, dans la décennie suivante la combinaison des préoccupations écologiques et d’un souci de justice sociale a conduit à la naissance d’un nouveau sous-domaine particulièrement pertinent pour l’action face aux problèmes d’environnement, la political ecology. Les géographes anglophones s’inscrivant dans ce courant sont aujourd’hui en position de mener des recherches couvrant la science des changements environnementaux et les dynamiques sociales qui les causent – ce qui ouvre des perspectives de collaborations plus étroites avec leurs collègues français.
Research Interests:
... CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Cordell, Dennis D. (b. 1947, d. ----. Author: Gregory, Joel W. Author:Piché, Victor. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0813381681 ). VOLUME/EDITION: PAGES... more
... CONTRIBUTORS: Author: Cordell, Dennis D. (b. 1947, d. ----. Author: Gregory, Joel W. Author:Piché, Victor. PUBLISHER: Westview Press (Boulder, Colo.). SERIES TITLE: YEAR: 1996. PUB TYPE: Book (ISBN 0813381681 ). VOLUME/EDITION: PAGES (INTRO/BODY): xiv, 384 p ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any... more
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without ...
Research Interests:
A collection of 22 papers discuss the broad problems of land degradation in the tropics and address the main social and policy issues. In Part I two chapters provide an introduction to the text and discuss the use of remote sensing data... more
A collection of 22 papers discuss the broad problems of land degradation in the tropics and address the main social and policy issues. In Part I two chapters provide an introduction to the text and discuss the use of remote sensing data for analysis of land degradation. In Part II, four ...
Research Interests:
Ocean sustainability initiativesin research, policy, management and developmentwill be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five... more
Ocean sustainability initiativesin research, policy, management and developmentwill be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five intervention areas for social engagement and collaboration with marine social scientists, and in doing so we appeal to all ocean science disciplines and non-academics working in ocean initiatives in industry, government, funding agencies and civil society. The five social intervention areas are: (1) Using ethics to guide decision-making, (2) Improving governance, (3) Aligning human behavior with goals and values, (4) Addressing impacts on people, and (5) Building transdisciplinary partnerships and co-producing sustainability transformation pathways. These focal areas can guide the four phases of most ocean sustainability initiatives (Intention, Design, Implementation, Evaluation) to improve social benefits and avoid harm. Early integration of social knowledge from the five areas during intention setting and design phases offers the deepest potential for delivering benefits. Later stage collaborations can leverage opportunities in existing projects to reflect and learn while improving impact assessments, transparency and reporting for future activities.
There is a global movement to “close the circle” of citizen bicycle use and repair, in community bicycle workshops where people repair their own bikes, or help others, also recycling parts and components. In the process, enthusiasm for... more
There is a global movement to “close the circle” of citizen bicycle use and repair, in community bicycle workshops where people repair their own bikes, or help others, also recycling parts and components. In the process, enthusiasm for cycling is increased, friendships flourish, and in a small way, urban automobility is challenged.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Report of work carried out as one of the first visiting research fellows at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, VUB, Brussels in 2015. An investigation into Brussels and Berlin community bicycle workshops as contributors to community... more
Report of work carried out as one of the first visiting research fellows at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, VUB, Brussels in 2015. An investigation into Brussels and Berlin community bicycle workshops as contributors to community economies and sustainable urban transport.
Research Interests:
agrarian transformations in the global SouthCICRED Policy Paper number five Rural populations and agrarian transformations in the global South Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year since records began (Bureau of Meteorology, 2020). From November 2019 and into January 2020 we have experienced fires of a new magnitude. There have already been almost 40 lives lost, 6,000... more
2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year since records began (Bureau of Meteorology, 2020). From November 2019 and into January 2020 we have experienced fires of a new magnitude. There have already been almost 40 lives lost, 6,000 properties burned to the ground, and an area larger than England and Wales has burned across four states. The continent needs a combination of better preparedness, heeding Indigenous tradition and knowledge, pushing those in power to heed the gravity of the emergency, pulling back on fossil fuel exploitation and the hemorrhaging of poorly taxed corporate profits that results from it, and blaming the real culprits. For engaged political ecologists, we have work to do on all of these. We need Federal level recognition and full participation in strong international and national climate actions, assistance to affected communities and households from all three levels of government, listening to and acting with Australian youth who have had enough of climate...
Research Interests:
In this chapter we relate New Caledonia's geopolitical history to key themes in political ecology. This small island territory exemplifies many of the problems experienced by the world's few decolonized states. Recent referendum... more
In this chapter we relate New Caledonia's geopolitical history to key themes in political ecology. This small island territory exemplifies many of the problems experienced by the world's few decolonized states. Recent referendum results on independence from France conceal a geopolitical ecology of struggle going back to the mid 1800s, one that led to the slow reorientation of a mineral rich colonial island territory towards devolution of political power, but not yet to independence. The colonial period led to land dispossession, forced labour and genocides imposed on indigenous Kanak clans. But the lesson for political ecologists is not the usual one of oppressive colonial regimes discriminating against an indigenous minority, with capitalist firms overriding indigenous territory and culture and pillaging natural resources. This happened in abundance in the past, but today it has been possible for an indigenous Kanak minority to turn natural resource wealth some way to its o...
Research Interests:
Large-scale land acquisitions are widespread in Africa. In the 2000s, Africa became a 'grabbers’ hotspot', following global concerns over food security and fuel supplies. Land, with its available water potential, was acquired by a... more
Large-scale land acquisitions are widespread in Africa. In the 2000s, Africa became a 'grabbers’ hotspot', following global concerns over food security and fuel supplies. Land, with its available water potential, was acquired by a wide range of private and public actors, including sovereign governments, on African soil. Ineffective legal, political and institutional processes have permitted large-scale land acquisition to the detriment of local communities. There are increasing tensions with local communities who suffer from dispossession of land and natural resources and lack power, made worse where there are no mechanisms for relocation or compensation. Rural populations do, however, mobilize grass-roots agency to contest ‘dispossession’. In Cameroon, corporate accumulation of land is supported for its national-level benefits, but this pits government against local communities with women often being the biggest losers from loss of farmland. 'Green grabbing', justif...
Research Interests:
Keynote II argued that the “context” for smallholder farming has a significant effect on livelihood outcomes and the success of technological interventions. “Context” includes adaptive skill, and a wide set of constraints. African farmers... more
Keynote II argued that the “context” for smallholder farming has a significant effect on livelihood outcomes and the success of technological interventions. “Context” includes adaptive skill, and a wide set of constraints. African farmers are quite capable of managing their own genetic resources, innovating, finding markets and diversifying livelihood systems in the absence of severe structural constraints, as Paul Richards, Mike Mortimore, Robert Netting and others have argued. But the “constraints” operating in African and Asian farming systems have been magnified in recent decades by large scale land acquisitions, conflicts over land tenure, city growth, environmental challenges and displacement through civil war and rebel groups. Responding to these problems is a necessary precursor to achieving any widespread success through external technical interventions; food security and ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ first involves recognising, understanding and tackling different forms of v...
Research Interests: Geography and Agriculture
Los investigadores en ecologia politica no son los arquitectos de los problemas de medio ambiente y de justicia social que estudian. Su presencia en universidades y debates politicos es el “sintoma de una vasta transicion global” en... more
Los investigadores en ecologia politica no son los arquitectos de los problemas de medio ambiente y de justicia social que estudian. Su presencia en universidades y debates politicos es el “sintoma de una vasta transicion global” en proceso en estos momentos, la cual ha “producido” especialistas en ecologia politica que anhelan —y son capaces de hacerlo— investigar y comprender elementos de esa transicion (Robbins, 2015). Las desigualdades, los problemas de medio ambiente y las luchas por los recursos resultado del crecimiento economico y las desigualdades de poder son tan severas que un campo como la ecologia politica tenia que aparecer, junto a las organizaciones activistas y los movimientos de justicia medioambiental descritos en otras partes de esta revista.
Research Interests:
The purpose of this chapter is to trace the historical and socio-political context of “environment-in-geography”, including key moments as well as epistemological and institutional debates. We highlight in particular a sub-field called... more
The purpose of this chapter is to trace the historical and socio-political context of “environment-in-geography”, including key moments as well as epistemological and institutional debates. We highlight in particular a sub-field called “political ecology”. In doing so, we transgress geography’s disciplinary boundaries, as the roots of this approach are found as much in anthropology as in geography, and the current political ecology community of practice spans the social sciences and beyond. But as this book addresses a Francophone audience, and given the important role of political ecology in recent developments in French environmental geography, this disciplinary focus is justified. We conclude with a section on geography in France.
Research Interests:
Labour of Love: An Open Access Manifesto for Freedom, Integrity, and Creativity in the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences, is the result of an LSE Research Infrastructure and Investment–funded workshop entitled Academic Freedom,... more
Labour of Love: An Open Access Manifesto for Freedom, Integrity, and Creativity in the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences, is the result of an LSE Research Infrastructure and Investment–funded workshop entitled Academic Freedom, Academic Integrity and Open Access in the Social Sciences, organised by Andrea E. Pia and held at the London School of Economics on September 9, 2019.
Research Interests:
Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African... more
Despite the proliferation of literature on large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in Africa, few empirical studies exist on how patronage networks combine with socio-cultural stratification to determine the livelihood outcomes for African agrarian-based communities. This article draws from ethnographic research on Cameroon to contribute to bridging this gap. We argue that lineage and patronage considerations intersect to determine beneficiaries and losers during LSLA. Second, we show that LSLA tend to re-entrench existing inequalities in power relations that exist within communities in favour of people with traceable ancestral lineage. Concomitantly, non-indigenous groups especially migrants, bear the brunt of exclusion and are unfortunately exposed to severe livelihood stresses due to their inability to leverage patronage networks and political power to defend their interests. We submit that empirical examination of the impacts of land acquisitions should consider the centrality of p...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Perceptions of food systems and food acquisition decisions are grounded in specific socio-economic and environmental contexts. Working in two relatively affluent urban communities in Melbourne, Australia and San Diego County, USA, this... more
Perceptions of food systems and food acquisition decisions are grounded in specific socio-economic and environmental contexts. Working in two relatively affluent urban communities in Melbourne, Australia and San Diego County, USA, this article explores the ways that individuals perceive their food systems, where they acquire food, and their definitions of ‘local’ sourcing. Surveys and interviews reveal a clear discrepancy between the ideals and the reality of food acquisition decision-making, particularly the desire to eat ‘local food’. Survey respondents' realities do not live up to their expectations. These practices can largely be explained by the interplay between the respondents' perceived priorities, food preferences, dietary requirements, and decision-making constraints in particular urban geographies. Further research is needed on the role of perceptions in food decision-making in specific geographic contexts.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Continuing the work to make publishing accessible and just, with updated recommendations toward the commonification (and away from the commodification) of open access
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper examines the process by which East African refugee women from Somalia have adapted to an unfamiliar, urban environment on the South Acton Estate, West London, UK. The paper considers various aspects of the ‘material’ urban... more
This paper examines the process by which East African refugee women from Somalia have adapted to an unfamiliar, urban environment on the South Acton Estate, West London, UK. The paper considers various aspects of the ‘material’ urban environment including housing, pollution, and health, alongside its effects on social relations, culture, and women’s access to urban space. Women have found settling in and adapting to the Estate environment to be difficult. A language barrier has proved a fundamental deterrent to women's’ independence, and restricts their access to public facilities and other services provided by the local public authority. Somali women are wary of trusting people who are not from their clan or sub-clans, which also affects their access to available services. The process of adapting to the British urban environment and to housing conditions for Somali refugee women can be eased by understanding and working around cultural and language barriers.
Research Interests:
Academic critique drives most political ecology scholarship. An engaged and affirmative political ecology, however, is practiced in scholarly, everyday and activist communities. Many academic political ecologists, including some founding... more
Academic critique drives most political ecology scholarship. An engaged and affirmative political ecology, however, is practiced in scholarly, everyday and activist communities. Many academic political ecologists, including some founding figures like Piers Blaikie, take an interest in the '‘relevance'’ of their work and wish to remain '‘engaged'’ with the communities and policy actors that their research identifies as vital for positive social and environmental change. A biographical approach provides clues to what makes '‘affirmative'’ scholarship important and viable. Research engagement, and particularly activism, is desirable but often deemed to be nonconformist by the research culture of Western research universities and organisations. I argue for a more affirmative political ecology, illustrated with examples from research work in an international development project in West Africa. The use of participatory research techniques can reveal injustices, but...
Research Interests:
This policy paper is part of a series of three papers on three main themes of the population-environment-development (PED) interlinkages. This series has been commissioned to internationally reputed experts by CICRED following the... more
This policy paper is part of a series of three papers on three main themes of the population-environment-development (PED) interlinkages. This series has been commissioned to internationally reputed experts by CICRED following the conclusion of the PRIPODE research programme in 2007. A first version of this paper was presented by the author during the international colloquium on " Population, development and Environment in the South " held at UNESCO, Paris, on March 21-23 2007. PRIPODE is a programme launched in 2003 with support from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foster research initiatives on PED issues in developing countries. It has sponsored 20 different research projects in 17 countries. Description of the programme and of its findings is available on PRIPODE website (pripode.cicred.org).
THE TERM 'SAHEL' is derived from the Arabic word for 'edge' or border, and describes a transitional zone forming the southern border of the Sahara desert. The West African Sahel runs for at least 4500km from Senegal... more
THE TERM 'SAHEL' is derived from the Arabic word for 'edge' or border, and describes a transitional zone forming the southern border of the Sahara desert. The West African Sahel runs for at least 4500km from Senegal through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, and blends into the slightly less arid Sudano-Sahel belt to its southern edge (Fig. 1). Semi-arid West Africa is a fast-changing and diverse region, containing a vast range of environments, ethnic groups, and landscapes. It was once home to powerful empires which profited from trans-Saharan trade, but with the arrival of the European colonial powers it became increasingly marginalised from world political and economic affairs. Problems of land degradation, water and food shortage cause frequent hardship and disruption for the indigenous farmers and herders. Today, droughts are frequent and many individuals lack secure access to the grazing and farming land they need. Non-agricultural income is scarce...
Research Interests:
In a provocative article published in 'Minerva' in 2015, Halffman and Radder discuss the Kafkaesque worlds that academics in the Netherlands now find themselves in, as an underfunded university sector predates upon itself and its... more
In a provocative article published in 'Minerva' in 2015, Halffman and Radder discuss the Kafkaesque worlds that academics in the Netherlands now find themselves in, as an underfunded university sector predates upon itself and its workforce (2015, p. 165-166). Their Academic Manifesto observes that Dutch tertiary institutions have become obsessively focused on ‘accountability’ and pursue neoliberal-style imperatives [forced upon them] of ‘efficiency and excellence’. They paint a portrait of academics under siege, untrusted, and constantly micro-managed. The pursuit of so-called efficiency has involved accountability systems that are themselves wasteful, driving seemingly endless institutional restructuring. Moreover, institutions have become obsessed with star-performers in research, driven by competitive targets that undergird global rankings. Metrics – publication outputs, journal quality, citations, impact and grant revenue – produce a culture of competition and sometimes,...
Research Interests:
Labour of Love. An Open Access Manifesto for Freedom, Integrity, and Creativity in the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences, is the result of an LSE Research Infrastructure and Investment–funded workshop entitled Academic Freedom,... more
Labour of Love. An Open Access Manifesto for Freedom, Integrity, and Creativity in the Humanities and Interpretive Social Sciences, is the result of an LSE Research Infrastructure and Investment–funded workshop entitled Academic Freedom, Academic Integrity and Open Access in the Social Sciences, organised by Andrea E. Pia and held at the London School of Economics on September 9, 2019.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Este conjunto de artículos discute e investiga las condiciones y situación de las Universidades Públicas de 14 países de todo el globo, por parte de importantes académicos de cada país. Analiza la productivización y mercantilización de la... more
Este conjunto de artículos discute e investiga las condiciones y situación de las Universidades Públicas de 14 países de todo el globo, por parte de importantes académicos de cada país. Analiza la productivización y mercantilización de la universidad pública en una era de recortes y falta de apoyo político e institucional. Discute la pérdida de criterios y horizontes de valoración de los académicos y sus escuelas y universidades, su sometimiento al sistema de evaluación cuantométrico que es inadecuado e injusto, y propone la necesidad de organizar una acción conjunta global de los académicos conscientes de esta pérdida de criterios para defender y situar en su puesto la enseñanza superior universitaria y su función vital en el desarrollo social.
Research Interests:
There have been a range of protests against the high journal subscription costs, and author processing charges (APCs) levied for publishing in the more prestigious and commercially run journals that are favoured by geographers. But open... more
There have been a range of protests against the high journal subscription costs, and author processing charges (APCs) levied for publishing in the more prestigious and commercially run journals that are favoured by geographers. But open protests across the sector like the ‘Academic Spring’ of 2012, and challenges to commercial copyright agreements, have been fragmented and less than successful. I renew the argument for ‘socially just’ publishing in geography. For geographers this is not limited to choosing alternative publication venues. It also involves a considerable effort by senior faculty members that are assessing hiring and promotion cases, to read and assess scholarship independently of its place of publication, and to reward the efforts of colleagues that offer their work as a public good. Criteria other than the citation index and prestige of a journal need to be foregrounded. Geographers can also be publishers, and I offer my experience editing the free online Journal of ...
Research Interests:
Review of Mortimore, M. Roots in the African Dust: Sustaining the Sub-Saharan drylands
Research Interests:
The "context" for smallholder farming is a political ecology of agrarian change Simon Batterbury LEC, Lancaster University simonpjb @ unimelb.edu.au http://simonbatterbury.net Keynote II by Ken Giller argued that the "context" for... more
The "context" for smallholder farming is a political ecology of agrarian change Simon Batterbury LEC, Lancaster University simonpjb @ unimelb.edu.au http://simonbatterbury.net Keynote II by Ken Giller argued that the "context" for smallholder farming has a significant effect on livelihood outcomes and the success of technological interventions. "Context" includes adaptive skill, and a wide set of constraints. African farmers are quite capable of managing their own genetic resources, innovating, finding markets and diversifying livelihood systems in the absence of severe structural constraints, as Paul Richards, Mike Mortimore, Robert Netting and others have argued. But the "constraints" operating in African and Asian farming systems have been magnified in recent decades by large scale land acquisitions, conflicts over land tenure, city growth, environmental challenges and displacement through civil war and rebel groups. Responding to these problems is a necessary precursor to achieving any widespread success through external technical interventions; food security and 'Climate Smart Agriculture' first involves recognising, understanding and tackling different forms of vulnerability, and the role of states, corporations and elites in creating it. I develop some ideas about how to do so, based on studies in Timor Leste, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Research Interests:
(N8 Agrifood conference, July 2017, Durham University) Keynote II by Ken Giller argued that the "context" for smallholder farming has a significant effect on livelihood outcomes and the success of technological interventions. "Context"... more
(N8 Agrifood conference, July 2017, Durham University) Keynote II by Ken Giller argued that the "context" for smallholder farming has a significant effect on livelihood outcomes and the success of technological interventions. "Context" includes adaptive skill, and a wide set of constraints. African farmers are quite capable of managing their own genetic resources, innovating, finding markets and diversifying livelihood systems in the absence of severe structural constraints, as Paul Richards, Mike Mortimore, Robert Netting and others have argued. But the "constraints" operating in African and Asian farming systems have been magnified in recent decades by large scale land acquisitions, conflicts over land tenure, city growth, environmental challenges and displacement through civil war and rebel groups. Responding to these problems is a necessary precursor to achieving any widespread success through external technical interventions; food security and 'Climate Smart Agriculture' first involves recognising, understanding and tackling different forms of vulnerability, and the role of states, corporations and elites in creating it. I develop some ideas about how to do so, based on studies in Timor Leste, Niger and Burkina Faso.