Box 400712 Washington D.C.

Box 400712 Washington D.C.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology presents a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the rapidly growing field of political ecology. Located at the intersection of geography, anthropology, sociology, and environmental history, political ecology is one of the most vibrant and conceptually diverse fields of inquiry into nature-society relations within the social sciences. The Handbook serves as an essential guide to this rapidly evolving intellectual landscape. With contributions from over 50 leading authors, the Handbook presents a systematic overview of political ecology’s origins, practices and core concerns, and aims to advance both ongoing and emerging debates. While there are numerous edited volumes, textbooks, and monographs under the heading ‘political ecology,’ these have tended to be relatively narrow in scope, either as collections of empirically based (mostly case study) research on a given theme, or broad overviews of the field aimed at undergraduate audiences. The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology is the first systematic, comprehensive overview of the field. With authors from North and South America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere, the Handbook of Political Ecology provides a state of the art examination of political ecology; addresses ongoing and emerging debates in this rapidly evolving field; and charts new agendas for research, policy, and activism. The Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology introduces political ecology as an interdisciplinary academic field. By presenting a ‘state of the art’ examination of the field, it will serve as an invaluable resource for students and scholars. It not only critically reviews the key debates in the field, but develops them. The Handbook will serve as an excellent resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and is a key reference text for geographers, anthropologists, sociologists, environmental historians, and others working in and around political ecology.

As multilateral agencies, social movements, and state authorities worldwide struggle to cope with the effects of large-scale development projects, the problem of displacement remains unresolved. This volume seeks to address displacement as a broad and multilayered phenomenon. A series of illustrative case studies drawn from around the globe provide causal accounts of why and how displacement occurs, what its effects on communities, ecosystems, and economies look like, and the normative or ethical positions held by key actors involved. Contributors offer economic, political, and cultural analyses, as well as extensive ethnographic field research, to present a picture of displacement that illustrates the depth and the breadth of the issue.

Mountains cover a quarter of the Earth’s land surface and a quarter of the global population lives in or adjacent to these areas. The global importance of mountains is recognized particularly because they provide critical resources, such as water, food and wood; contain high levels of biological and cultural diversity; and are often places for tourism and recreation and/or of sacred significance. This major revision of Larry Price’s book Mountains and Man (1981) is both timely and highly appropriate. The past three decades have been a period of remarkable progress in our understanding of mountains from an academic point of view. Of even greater importance is that society at large now realizes that mountains and the people who reside in them are not isolated from the mainstream of world affairs, but are vital if we are to achieve an environmentally sustainable future. Mountain Geography is a comprehensive resource that gives readers an in-depth understanding of the geographical processes occurring in the world’s mountains and the overall impact of these regions on culture and society as a whole. The volume begins with an introduction to how mountains are defined, followed by a comprehensive treatment of their physical geography: origins, climatology, snow and ice, landforms and geomorphic processes, soils, vegetation, and wildlife. The concluding chapters provide an introduction to the human geography of mountains: attitudes toward mountains, people living in mountain regions and their livelihoods and interactions within dynamic environments, the diverse types of mountain agriculture, and the challenges of sustainable mountain development.

Written by leading international authors, this book presents a comprehensive review of forests in mountain regions, and their sustainable development. Based on a report prepared by the IUFRO Task Force in Sustainable Mountain Development, for the IUFRO Congress to be held in August 2000. The book addresses current issues and initiatives, and defines research needs. Key global issues and addressed is in general articles, while specific regional topics are described and highlighted within each chapter in shorter case studies. Case studies are drawn from all continents, examples including Mexico, Central Europe, Cameroon, Tanzania, Chile, Korea, New Zealand and many others. Contributions have been included from nearly 100 world experts, making this volume the definitive, state-of the art review of its subject.

-- Thomas Lovejoy, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.