Search titles
Displaying results 1 to 10 of 29.
Capital and Inequality in Rural Papua New Guinea »
Edited by: Bettina Beer, Tobias Schwoerer
Publication date: July 2022
That large-scale capital drives inequality in states like Papua New Guinea is clear enough; how it does so is less clear. This edited collection presents studies of the local contexts of capital-intensive projects in the mining, oil and gas, and agro-industry sectors in rural and semi-rural parts of Papua New Guinea; it asks what is involved when large-scale capital and its agents begin to become significant nodes in hitherto more local social networks. Its contributors describe the processes initiated by the (planned) presence of extractive industries that tend to reinforce already existing inequalities, or to create and socially entrench novel inequalities.
The studies largely focus on the beginnings of such transformations, when hopes for social improvement are highest and economic inequalities still incipient. They show how those hopes, and the encompassing socio-political transformations characteristic of this phase, act to produce far-reaching impacts on ways of life, setting precedents for and embedding the social distribution of gains and losses. The chapters address a range of settings: the PNG Liquid Natural Gas pipeline; newly established eucalyptus and oil palm plantations; a planned copper-gold mine; and one in which rumours of development diffuse through a rural social network as yet unaffected by any actual or planned capital investments. The analyses all demonstrate that questions around land, leadership and information are central to the current and future social profile of local inequality in all its facets.
The Absent Presence of the State in Large-Scale Resource Extraction Projects »
Edited by: Nicholas A. Bainton, Emilia E. Skrzypek
Publication date: August 2021
Standing on the broken ground of resource extraction settings, the state is sometimes like a chimera: its appearance and intentions are misleading and, for some actors, it is unknowable and incomprehensible. It may be easily mistaken for someone or something else, like a mining company, for example.
With rich ethnographic material, this volume tackles critical questions about the nature of contemporary states, studied from the perspective of resource extraction projects in Papua New Guinea, Australia and beyond. It brings together a sustained focus on the unstable and often dialectical relationship between the presence and the absence of the state in the context of resource extraction. Across the chapters, contributors discuss cases of proposed mining ventures, existing large-scale mining operations and the extraction of natural gas. Together, they illustrate how the concept of absent presence can be brought to life and how it can enhance our understanding of the state as well as relations and processes forming in extractive contexts, thus providing a novel contribution to the anthropology of the state and the anthropology of extraction.
‘The Absent Presence fills a major gap in our knowledge about the relationship between states and companies – at a time when resource extraction seems to be more contested than ever. Bainton and Skrzypek have curated an incredibly impressive volume that should be read by all those interested in exploring corporate and state power, and the ever-present impacts of extraction. A highly recommended read.’
— Professor Deanna Kemp, Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of Queensland
‘Countless books have been written on the sovereign state and how it imposes a particular kind of order on economic and social interactions. What is original and compelling about this collection is the portrait of how two very different states converge when it comes to “extractive ventures”. From the presumption of exclusive sovereignty over mineral resources, to the bargains that are struck with major (often global) corporations, and the relative indifference to environmental impacts, there is a remarkable consistency in the patterns that are referred to as “state effects”. These effects are brought from the background to the foreground in this book through the blending of creative and critical thinking with detailed empirical research.’
— Tim Dunne, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland
‘This brilliant and intriguing title provides a timely contribution to understanding the actual functions and strategies of state (and state-like) institutions in resource arenas. The dialectics of presence-absence and its refractions at different levels and scales of government allow the authors to go beyond stereotypes about the (strong, weak, failed or corrupt) state, highlighting more commonalities than expected between Papua New Guinea and Australia, and even New Caledonia.’
— Dr Pierre-Yves Le Meur, Anthropologist, Senior Researcher, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Joint Research Unit SENS (Knowledge Environment Society)
International Review of Environmental History: Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021 »
Edited by: James Beattie, Ruth Morgan, Margaret Cook
Publication date: June 2021
Arising from the ‘Placing Gender’ workshop held in Melbourne in 2018, this collection brings together contributions that demonstrate different approaches to undertaking gender analysis in environmental history. Focusing on non-Indigenous women and men in the Anglo-world from the mid-nineteenth century, some adopt new tools to excavate familiar terrain, while others listen closely to voices that have rarely been heard in the field. This issue argues that recasting the making of settler places in terms of their gendered production and experience not only enriches their own environmental history, but also broadens the historian’s enquiry to encompass the other lands implicated in the production of settler places.
Download for free
Not available for purchase
Cooperative Evolution »
Reclaiming Darwin’s Vision
Authored by: Christopher Bryant, Valerie A. Brown
Publication date: March 2021
Cooperative Evolution offers a fresh account of evolution consistent with Charles Darwin’s own account of a cooperative, inter-connected, buzzing and ever-changing world. Told in accessible language, treating evolutionary change as a cooperative enterprise brings some surprising shifts from the traditional emphasis on the dominance of competition.
The book covers many evolutionary changes reconsidered as cooperation. These include the cooperative origins of life, evolution as a spiral rather than a ladder or tree, humans as a part of natural systems rather than the purpose, relationships between natural and social change, and the role of the individual in adaptive radiation onto new ground. The story concludes with a projection of human evolution from the past into the future.
‘Environmental studies courses have needed a book like Cooperative Evolution for a long time. It is a boon for those teaching the complexity of the evolutionary story.’
— Dr John A. Harris, BSc(Hons) MSc PhD, School of Environmental Science, University of Canberra
‘As a regenerative, holistic-thinking farmer I daily witness the results of cooperative evolution as the seasons unfold. A pleasure to read, Cooperative Evolution gives entry to recent thinking on evolutionary processes.’
— David Marsh, MSA, ‘Allendale’, Boorowa, New South Wales, 2018 National Individual Landcarer Award recipient
‘This book is an engaging new look at ideas about evolution as we know it today. In the hands of two eminent biologists, it presents an approachable yet challenging argument. I heartily recommend it.’
— Emeritus Professor Sue Stocklmayer AO, BSc MSc PhD, Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, The Australian National University
International Review of Environmental History: Volume 6, Issue 2, 2020 »
Edited by: James Beattie
Publication date: November 2020
International Review of Environmental History takes an interdisciplinary and global approach to environmental history. It encourages scholars to think big and to tackle the challenges of writing environmental histories across different methodologies, nations, and time-scales. The journal embraces interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational methods, while still recognising the importance of locality in understanding these global processes.
The journal's goal is to be read across disciplines, not just within history. It publishes on all thematic and geographic topics of environmental history, but especially encourage articles with perspectives focused on or developed from the southern hemisphere and the ‘global south’.
Download for free
Not available for purchase
Gouvernance et gestion des aires protégées »
Publication date: September 2020
Le livre “Gouvernance et gestion des aires protégées” est une compilation de textes originaux, d'études de cas et d'exemples du monde entier. Il s’appuie sur une vaste littérature et sur les connaissances et l'expérience de nombreux acteurs des aires protégées. Ces derniers y présentent les connaissances actuelles et les idées innovantes des diverses branches de la gouvernance et de la gestion des aires protégées. Ce livre constitue un investissement dans les compétences et les connaissances des hommes et, par conséquent, dans la gouvernance et la gestion des aires protégées dont ces hommes sont responsables.
Le succès mondial du concept d'aire protégée réside dans la dualité de sa vision : protéger, sur le long terme, à la fois le patrimoine naturel et le patrimoine. Les organisations telles que l'Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature sont une force unificatrice à cet égard. Cependant, les aires protégées restent un phénomène sociopolitique et la façon dont elles sont comprises, gérées et gouvernée par les États peut toujours être le sujet de débats et de contestations. Ainsi, ce livre cherche à éclairer, éduquer et surtout à inciter les lecteurs à réfléchir à l’avenir, au passé et au présent des aires protégées.
Cent soixante neuf auteurs ont participé à la rédaction de ce livre qui porte sur tous les aspects de la gouvernance et de la gestion des aires protégées. Ils ont ainsi créé un outil de formation et de renforcement des capacités pour les agents de terrain et les gestionnaires des aires protégées ainsi que les décideurs de plus haut niveau.
La traduction de l'ouvrage est en cours et les chapitres traduits seront publiés progressivement, nous vous invitons donc à consulter le site régulièrement.
International Review of Environmental History: Volume 6, Issue 1, 2020 »
Edited by: James Beattie
Publication date: May 2020
International Review of Environmental History takes an interdisciplinary and global approach to environmental history. It encourages scholars to think big and to tackle the challenges of writing environmental histories across different methodologies, nations, and time-scales. The journal embraces interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational methods, while still recognising the importance of locality in understanding these global processes.
The journal's goal is to be read across disciplines, not just within history. It publishes on all thematic and geographic topics of environmental history, but especially encourage articles with perspectives focused on or developed from the southern hemisphere and the ‘global south’.
Download for free
Not available for purchase
Roars from the Mountain »
Colonial Management of the 1951 Volcanic Disaster at Mount Lamington
Authored by: R. Wally Johnson
Publication date: April 2020
Mount Lamington broke out in violent eruption on 21 January 1951, killing thousands of Orokaiva people, devastating villages and destroying infrastructure. Generations of Orokaiva people had lived on the rich volcanic soils of Mount Lamington, apparently unaware of the deadly volcanic threat that lay dormant beneath them. Also unaware were the Europeans who administered the Territory of Papua and New Guinea at the time of the eruption, and who were uncertain about how to interpret the increasing volcanic unrest on the mountain in the preceding days of the disaster.
Roars from the Mountain seeks to address why so many people died at Mount Lamington by examining the large amount of published and unpublished records that are available on the 1951 disaster. The information sources also include the results of interviews with survivors and with people who were part of the relief, recovery and remembrance phases of what can still be regarded as one of Australia’s greatest natural-hazard disasters.
International Review of Environmental History: Volume 5, Issue 2, 2019 »
Edited by: James Beattie
Publication date: November 2019
International Review of Environmental History takes an interdisciplinary and global approach to environmental history. It encourages scholars to think big and to tackle the challenges of writing environmental histories across different methodologies, nations, and time-scales. The journal embraces interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational methods, while still recognising the importance of locality in understanding these global processes.
The journal's goal is to be read across disciplines, not just within history. It publishes on all thematic and geographic topics of environmental history, but especially encourage articles with perspectives focused on or developed from the southern hemisphere and the ‘global south’.
Download for free
Not available for purchase
Gobernanza y gestión de áreas protegidas »
Publication date: August 2019
Gobernanza y gestión de áreas protegidas presenta un compendio de texto original, estudios de caso y ejemplos de todo el mundo, a partir de la literatura, el conocimiento y la experiencia de las personas involucradas en áreas protegidas. El libro sintetiza el conocimiento actual y el pensamiento de vanguardia de las diversas ramas de la práctica y el aprendizaje relevantes para la gestión y el gobierno de estas zonas. Se pretende que sea una inversión en las habilidades y competencias de las personas responsables de tal tarea y, en consecuencia, la gobernanza y la gestión efectivas, ahora y en el futuro.
El éxito global del concepto de área protegida radica en su visión compartida de proteger el patrimonio natural y cultural a largo plazo, y organizaciones como la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza son una fuerza unificadora en este sentido. No obstante, las áreas protegidas son un fenómeno sociopolítico y las formas en que las naciones las entienden, las gobiernan y las manejan siempre están abiertas a disputas y debates. El libro pretende ilustrar, educar y, sobre todo, desafiar a los lectores a pensar profundamente sobre las áreas protegidas, su futuro y su pasado, así como su presente.
El libro ha sido compilado por 169 autores y trata todos los aspectos de la gobernanza y gestión de áreas protegidas. Proporciona información para apoyar la capacitación en desarrollo de capacidades de los oficiales de campo, gerentes a cargo y gerentes de nivel ejecutivo.