This paper examines the intrinsic relationship between the Western model of nature conservation and the forced removal of pastoralists, the Maasai, in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The...Show moreThis paper examines the intrinsic relationship between the Western model of nature conservation and the forced removal of pastoralists, the Maasai, in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The historical background contextualises the origins of so-called fortress conservation in the colonial period and the establishment of protected areas. The research takes a political ecology approach to establish a connection between nature conservation activities of international actors, national policymaking in conservation areas and the impact on the Maasai’s livelihood. The case of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area illustrates the enhancement of securitised nature conservation concerning biodiversity protection of ecosystems. However, this approach excludes indigenous peoples from the discourse of ecosystem protection and is inherently neo-colonial. For a better understanding, it argues for the equal inclusion of indigenous peoples in nature conservation efforts.Show less
In the conventional literature on human-environment relations in the Middle East, the environment is often treated as a dominant variable in explaining adverse social, economic, and political...Show moreIn the conventional literature on human-environment relations in the Middle East, the environment is often treated as a dominant variable in explaining adverse social, economic, and political realities. This deterministic way of interpreting the relationship between the Middle Eastern environment and its inhabitants has been subject to critique from a growing body of literature on political ecology. Although some political ecology research has challenged environmental deterministic assumptions by exploring the role of natural resources in environmental challenges in the Gulf, previous works have not yet provided a comprehensive analysis of various environmental dimensions in a single case study context. This thesis aims to fill this gap in the literature by asking: What is the role of natural resources in engaging with environmental challenges in relation to water, food, and energy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? This thesis examines the political-ecological metabolisms of three strategies employed to address environmental challenges in relation to water, energy, and food in the UAE: desalination, solar energy, and land grabs. With an explicit focus on power, this study reveals that humans and nature are intertwined, challenging the conventional academic wisdom.Show less
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are financial incentives provided to rural communities on the condition that they modify their agricultural practices to limit their ecological impact and...Show morePayments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are financial incentives provided to rural communities on the condition that they modify their agricultural practices to limit their ecological impact and supply environmental goods purchased by a group of beneficiaries. In Ecuador, PES schemes have continued to be implemented in the paramo highlands from the early 2000s to the present as part of a global, neoliberal wave in environmental governance, which has fostered the idea that economic valuation is the key for addressing environmental externalities. While PES have been conceptualised as instruments for inclusive development because monetary transfers can positively impact poverty alleviation, their control by more powerful investors calls for a consideration of the extent to which their governance arrangements truly enable benefits to be distributed fairly between services providers and consumers. Therefore, adopting a political ecology theoretical lense, this paper will analyse how the implementation of PES schemes as tools for addressing environmental externalities has impacted social relations and the governance of natural resources in the Ecuadorian highlands from the early 2000s to the present. Focusing on two PES programs from Ecuador, FONAG and Socio Bosque, it will argue that power asymmetries between rural communities and service buyers have enabled the latter to increasingly gain control over resource governance. By analysing their impact on ownership regimes, neoliberal conceptualisations on environmental management, and social relations at the community level, the paper will conclude that PES schemes reproduce the political, cultural and socio-economic divide between urban and rural centres. As such, it will contribute to the academic literature by highlighting the mechanisms through which these programs reinforce rural communities’ marginalised position in Ecuadorian society.Show less
An introduction to the main concepts of evolution and cultural evolution, followed by a normative argument that provides a naturalistic justification to the democratic system in an open society....Show moreAn introduction to the main concepts of evolution and cultural evolution, followed by a normative argument that provides a naturalistic justification to the democratic system in an open society. The main line of argument can be summarized as follows: democracy as a system has internalized the main dynamics of the evolutionary process (being variation and selection) but then transposed to the context of cultural evolution through memes (instead of genes). Politics can be understood as the arena in which memes compete for the attention of brains, and copy themselves in the process and in which they are subsequently selected against the memetic background. The democratic system provides a stable system in which this can happen, which is most conducive to the original function of ethics (which is the avoidance/resolution of altruism failures), which in turn provides a justification for its adoption from a naturalistic point of view.Show less
This thesis argues that previous literature dealing with water scarcity conflicts and politics inside river basins misses out on important factors determining water scarcity. Hence, a political...Show moreThis thesis argues that previous literature dealing with water scarcity conflicts and politics inside river basins misses out on important factors determining water scarcity. Hence, a political geography and political ecology perspective is utilized in order to link international relations, political economy and geography. With this combination, concepts like food security, land-lease deals and their link with water scarcity are examined in order to illustrate that water scarcity is much more than water equity principles often found in transboundary river interaction between specific states. This thesis specifically focuses on the Nile Basin, most notably Egypt and Ethiopia in particular, and argues that many players from all over the world through investments and discursive practices interfere with Nile water allocation indirectly and obscurely. Hence, just hammering out a legal framework with Nile Basin riparians in not enough and should looked for in economic and discursive practices surrounding water scarcity.Show less
