Virtualism, Governance and Practice Vision and Execution in Environmental Conservation

About this book

Many people investigating the operation of large-scale environmentalist organizations see signs of power, knowledge and governance in their policies and projects. Virtualism, Governance and Practice indicates that such an analysis appears to be justified from one perspective, but not from another. The chapters in Virtualism, Governance and Practice show that the critics, concerned with the power of these organizations to impose their policies in different parts of the world, appear justified when we look at environmentalist visions and at organizational policies and programs. However, they are much less justified when we look at the practical operation of such organizations and their ability to generate and carry out projects intended to reshape the world.

Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction James G. Carrier and Paige West

Chapter 1 Virtualism and the Logic of Environmentalism Vassos Argyrou
Chapter 2 New Nature: On the Production of a Paradox Maarten Onneweer
Chapter 3 A Culture of Conservation: Shaping the Human Element in National Parks Kathy Rettie
Chapter 4 A Bridge Too Far: The Knowledge Problem in the Millennium Assessment Colin Filer
Chapter 5 Creolising Conservation: Caribbean Responses to Global Trends in Environmental Management Tighe Geoghegan
Chapter 6 Uncivil Society: Local Stakeholders and Environmental Protection in Jamaica Andrew Garner
Chapter 7 'The Report Was Written for Money to Come': Constructing and Reconstructing the Case for Conservation in Papua New Guinea Flip van Helden

Conclusion: Can the World Be Micromanaged? Josiah McC. Heyman

Notes on Contributors
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

James G. Carrier has taught and done research in Papua New Guinea, the United States and Great Britain. For the past decade he has studied the relationship among local fishers, conservationists and the tourism sector in Jamaica. He has published extensively on this research and on environmental protection generally.

Paige West is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University. She had conducted research on the linkages between environmental conservation and international development, the material and symbolic ways in which the natural world is understood and produced, and production, distribution, and consumption of various commodities. Her work is focused on Papua New Guinea.