ABSTRACT
Ecological Economics from the Ground Up takes a unique and much-needed bottom-up approach to teaching ecological economics and political ecology, using case studies that focus on a wide range of internationally relevant topics, to teach the principles, concepts, methods and tools of these fields, which are seen as increasingly important in the context of the current triple social, economic and environmental crisis.
This book provides learning materials which are grounded in the experience of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), with case studies chosen by CSOs and developed collaboratively with leading ecological economists. The case studies come from Europe, India, Latin America, and Africa, and are presented thematically along three lines: 1) social metabolism and accounting methods, 2) institutions and participation, and 3) valuation and environmental policy tools. Core tools, concepts and glossary terms are embedded in topics chosen as a matter of urgency by activist organizations, related to mining and fossil fuel extraction, integrated transport infrastructure development, deforestation and agro-fuel production, sustainable tourism, waste management, wetlands and water management, payments for ecosystem services, natural disasters and hazards, and corporate accountability.
Ecological Economics from the Ground Up has been designed to be an accessible learning aid for students of the sustainability sciences and for those CSOs that have recognised the value that ecological economics and political ecology tools and methods hold for their research and advocacy work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |32 pages
Introduction: NGOs and ecological economics
part |1 pages
PART I Social metabolism: key theories, concepts and methods
chapter |20 pages
Aid, social metabolism and social confl ict in the Nicobar Islands
chapter |34 pages
The mining enclave of the Cordillera del Cóndor
chapter |21 pages
The Manta–Manaus project: nature, capital and plunder
chapter |30 pages
High-speed Transport Infrastructure (TAV) in Italy
chapter |23 pages
Let them eat sugar: life and livelihood in Kenya’s Tana Delta
chapter |26 pages
South Africa’s minerals-energy complex
part |1 pages
PART II Participation and institutions: key theories, concepts and methods
chapter |22 pages
Local governance and environment investments in Hiware Bazar, India
chapter |26 pages
Participatory forest management in Mendha Lekha, India
chapter |34 pages
Forestry and communities in Cameroon
chapter |36 pages
The waste crisis in Campania, Italy
chapter |24 pages
The sedentarization of Tibetan Nomads: conservation or coercion?
part |1 pages
PART III Valuation and environmental policy: key theories, concepts and methods