1963-2018 - 55 years of Research for Social Change

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Back | Programme Area: Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Change

In Defense of Livelihood: Comparative Studies in Environmental Action



Edited volume by John Friedmann and Haripriya Rangan.

This book presents case studies of innovative practices of local groups in Brazil, India, Mexico, Senegal and Tanzania in their attempts to protect the environments their livelihood depends upon. It integrates both macro- and micro-level analyses, and questions some common assumptions about environmental degradation and human needs. The contributors argue that progress along a sustainable development path requires transferring resources, responsibility and power to local communities directly affected by processes of environmental change. They warn, however, against romantic visions of collective action; local action is constrained by economic, political and social circumstances, and progress made at local level can easily be overwhelmed by national and international agendas. These obstacles to empowerment, it is concluded, can be addressed in part by local people’s efforts to form themselves into a constituency that is able to demand accountability from leaders at different levels.

Contents: Introduction: In Defense of Livelihood - John Friedmann and Haripriya Rangan;
1. Beyond Participation: Empowerment for Environmental Action in Tanzania’s West Usambara Mountains - Richard J. Massaro; 2. Regenerating the Gum Arabic Economy: Local-Level Resource mangement in Northern Senegal - Mark Schoonmaker Freudenberger; 3. Dams, Displacement, and Development: A Resistance Movement in Southern Brazil - Mark D. McDonald; 4. The Struggle of the Seringueiros: Environmental Action in the Amazon - Michelle A. Melone; 5. Sustainalbe Livelihoods in the Urban Milieu: A Case Study from Mexico City - Keith Pezzoli; 6. Romancing the Environment: Popular Environmental Action in the Garhwal Himalayas - Haripriya Rangan; 7. People versus the State? Social Forestry in Kolar, India - ShivSharan Someshwar
  • Publication and ordering details
  • Pub. Date: 1 Jan 1993
    Pub. Place: Bloomfield
    ISBN: 1 56549 020 7
    Type: Paperback
    From: Kumarian Press