In 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue,...Show moreIn 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue, appropriate responses to it and responsibility to be taken. As linkages were drawn between the perception of the rainforest fires as a global environmental problem, and ramifications for the pursuance of economic interests, the case of the political discussion around the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires is illustrative of valuations of the environment within a Global Political Economy (GPE) context. In order to further understanding of these valuations, this thesis looks into the use of particular conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales, which both come forward in political ecology literature. Through a textual analysis of statements by civil society actors, Amazonian countries and foreign governments, it finds that ecological change is made political, and political legitimacy is created or limited for different involved actors, through references to the value of the Amazon rainforest and the scale of this value. This leads to the conclusion that conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales reflect and have implications for the ways in which we define environmental problems, politicize the environment and allocate forms of environmental responsibility to different actors.Show less
In 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue,...Show moreIn 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue, appropriate responses to it and responsibility to be taken. As linkages were drawn between the perception of the rainforest fires as a global environmental problem, and ramifications for the pursuance of economic interests, the case of the political discussion around the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires is illustrative of valuations of the environment within a Global Political Economy (GPE) context. In order to further understanding of these valuations, this thesis looks into the use of particular conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales, which both come forward in political ecology literature. Through a textual analysis of statements by civil society actors, Amazonian countries and foreign governments, it finds that ecological change is made political, and political legitimacy is created or limited for different involved actors, through references to the value of the Amazon rainforest and the scale of this value. This leads to the conclusion that conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales reflect and have implications for the ways in which we define environmental problems, politicize the environment and allocate forms of environmental responsibility to different actors.Show less
