Muddying the divide between land and waterThis interdisciplinary collection delves into the experiences and meanings of life in environments where water levels and availability are in constant flux. Amphibious Anthropologies brings together a global set of case studies, from Italy’s historic marshes to the tidal pools of the Bahamas, to show how living with unpredictable wetness has become crucial in the age of climate crisis. The book introduces “amphibio...

Limited, finite, contaminated, unavailable or expensive, water divides people all around the globe. We all cannot do without water for long, but can for long enough to fight for it.This commonsensical narration of water conflicts, however, follows a pattern of scarcity and necessity that is remarkably unvaried despite different social and geographical contexts.Through in-depth case studies from around the globe, this volume investigates this similarity of narration—confront...

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) reviews cutting-edge research and links theory with practice to further our understanding of this important approach's contribution to natural resource management. It addresses IK's potential in solving issues such as coping with change, ensuring global food supply for a growing population, reversing environmental degradation and promoting sustainable practices. It is increasingly recognised that IK, which has featured centrally in resource management for millenni...

What the struggle over the Indonesian rainforests can teach us about the social frictions that shape the world around usRubbing two sticks together produces heat and light while one stick alone is just a stick. It is the friction that produces movement, action, and effect. Anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing challenges the widespread view that globalization invariably signifies a clash of cultures, developing friction as a metaphor for the diverse and conflicting ...

What accounts for the persistence and spread of "commoning," the irrepressible desire of people to collaborate and share to meet everyday needs? How are the more successful projects governed? And why are so many people embracing the commons as a powerful strategy for building a fair, humane and Earth-respecting social order? In more than fifty original essays, Patterns of Commoning addresses these questions and probes the inner complexities of this timeless social paradigm. The b...

Presents ecology and current environmental studies from an anthropological point of viewThe Environment in Anthropology presents ecology and current environmental studies from an anthropological point of view. From the classics to the most current scholarship, this text connects the theory and practice in environment and anthropology, providing readers with a strong intellectual foundation as well as offering practical tools for solving environmental probl...

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is a model of forest management in which a community takes part in decision making and implementation, and monitoring of activities affecting the natural resources around them. CBFM provides a framework for a community members to secure access to the products and services that flow from the landscape in which they live and has become an essential component of any comprehensive approach to forest management.In this volume, Nicholas K. Menzies...

Our Extractive Age: Expressions of Violence and Resistance emphasizes how the spectrum of violence associated with natural resource extraction permeates contemporary collective life.Chronicling the increasing rates of brutal suppression of local environmental and labor activists in rural and urban sites of extraction, this volume also foregrounds related violence in areas we might not expect, such as infrastructural developments, protected areas for nature conservation, an...

This authoritative reference work gives timely information on the global politics of water. Readers will find case studies on a variety of complex water situations, from the Okavango River that flows through Angola, Namibia and Botswana, to the Euphrates-Tigris of the Upper Persian Gulf.With the current threat of climate change and increasing demand on water resources, the book gives valuable insight into an increasingly politicized topic. Politics of Water is a welcome addition to...

"Raquel Sosa Elízaga has assembled an incredibly complete set of analyses of inequality written by a range of scholars about a wide range of issues. Incomparable essential reading."- Immanuel Wallerstein, Senior Research Scientist, Sociology, Yale UniversityOver recent decades, living conditions in poorer countries have deteriorated, leaving us faced with the present phenomenon of global inequality. Arguably the biggest challenge of the 21st Century is the c...

Sociological literature tends to view the social categories of race, class and gender as distinct and has avoided discussing how multiple intersections inform and contribute to experiences of injustice and inequity. This limited focus is clearly inadequate.Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change is an edited volume of 49 international, interdisciplinary contributions addressing global climate change (GCC) by intentionally engaging with the issues of race, gender, and clas...

Rural poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders. Dr Chambers contends that researchers, scientists, administrators and fieldworkers rarely appreciate the richness and validity of rural people's knowledge or the hidden nature of rural poverty. This is a challenging book for all concerned with rural development, as practitioners, academics, students or researchers.