Contested Nature

Brechin Steven R. West Patrick C. Wilshusen Peter R. Fortwangler Crystal L.

ISBN 10: 0791457761 / ISBN 13: 9780791457764

Published by State University of New York Press, 2003

About this Item

PRINT ON DEMAND pp. 338 Acknowledgements.

Seller Inventory # 18923401

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Contested Nature
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0791457761
• ISBN 13: 9780791457764
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Contends that effective biological conservation and social justice must go hand in hand.

How can the international conservation movement protect biological diversity, while at the same time safeguarding the rights and fulfilling the needs of people, particularly the poor? Contested Nature argues that to be successful in the long-term, social justice and biological conservation must go hand in hand. The protection of nature is a complex social enterprise, and much more a process of politics, and of human organization, than ecology. Although this political complexity is recognized by practitioners, it rarely enters into the problem analyses that inform conservation policy. Structured around conceptual chapters and supporting case studies that examine the politics of conservation in specific contexts, the book shows that pursuing social justice enhances biodiversity conservation rather than diminishing it, and that the fate of local peoples and that of conservation are completely intertwined.

About the Author

Steven R. Brechin is Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University. He is the coauthor (with Patrick C. West) of Resident Peoples and National Parks: Social Dilemmas and Strategies in International Conservation. Peter R. Wilshusen is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Bucknell University. Crystal L. Fortwangler is Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College.