Introduction: Towards Critical Environmental Security M.Schnurr & L.Swatuk What Are We Really... more Introduction: Towards Critical Environmental Security M.Schnurr & L.Swatuk What Are We Really Looking For? From Eco-violence to Environmental Injustice P.Stoett Climatic Security and the Tipping Point Conception of the Earth System C.Russill Insecurities of Non-Dominance: Re-Theorizing Human Security and Environmental Change in Developed States W.Greaves Water and Security in Africa: State-Centric Narratives, Human Insecurities L.Swatuk Avoiding the Resource Curse in Ghana: Assessing the Options P.Arthur Sexual Violence, Coltan and the Democratic Republic of Congo S.Whitman 'The Elephant in the Room?' Peak Oil on the Security Agenda S.Mulligan Dirty Security? Tar Sands, Energy Security and Environmental Violence P.Le Billon & A.Carter Loud Bangs and Quiet Canadians: An analysis of oil patch sabotage in British Columbia, Canada C.Arsenault Bodies on the Line: The In/Security of Everyday Life in Aamjiwnaang S.Wiebe Afterward: Ecoviolence, Security, Geopolitics S.Dalby
The problem of forest degradation and loss has become the concern of many countries. To address t... more The problem of forest degradation and loss has become the concern of many countries. To address this challenge, some collaborate in sustainable forest management. The most successful outcomes, however, are observed where local participation is an essential part of conservation efforts. In Ghana, forests have experienced various degrees of exploitation over the years, resulting in their ecological decline. Despite its designation as a protected area for biodiversity and ecosystem services, the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in Ghana has been significantly impacted by deforestation, illegal mining, and other destructive activities. The purpose of this paper is to examine ecologically based management approaches that could be adopted to generate beneficial outcomes for all forest stakeholders and actors in Ghana. The study sampled forest stakeholders in Kwabeng, the administrative capital of the Atewa West District, to understand forest governance challenges and outline strategies for over...
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks, 2009
The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by ... more The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by the libraries of Wageningen University and Research Centre and some 15 associated libraries. Holding data are added to each record.
The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by ... more The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by the libraries of Wageningen University and Research Centre and some 15 associated libraries. Holding data are added to each record.
This collection is concerned with revisiting and redefining the political economy — both empirica... more This collection is concerned with revisiting and redefining the political economy — both empirical and theoretical — of foreign policy in the South as we approach the twenty-first century: the position of post-colonial states in the post-Bretton Woods and post-Cold War world. Neither this volume nor the interaction upon which it is based could have proceeded over the last five years without timely financial support from several funding agencies and genuine intellectual commitment and integrity from many colleagues. Generous financial assistance has been provided since the late 1980s by the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada for research and workshop support on ‘Surviving at the Margins’, ‘The Political Economy of Security and Democracy in the Third World’, and ‘The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in the Third World in the 1990s’, respectively. Amongst the products of this continuing international and interdisciplinary collaboration are Swatuk and Shaw (eds) Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s (1991), Shaw and Korany (eds), ‘Special Issue: The South in the New World (Dis)Order’, and Shaw and Okolo (eds), The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in ECOWAS (1994). Together these interrelated projects on comparative regions in the South have also generated conference panels and papers at ASA, BISA, CAAS, CASID and ISA and a series of individual and joint articles.
Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s: Canadian and Comparative Per... more Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s: Canadian and Comparative Perspectives SWATUK Larry A.
Introduction: Towards Critical Environmental Security M.Schnurr & L.Swatuk What Are We Really... more Introduction: Towards Critical Environmental Security M.Schnurr & L.Swatuk What Are We Really Looking For? From Eco-violence to Environmental Injustice P.Stoett Climatic Security and the Tipping Point Conception of the Earth System C.Russill Insecurities of Non-Dominance: Re-Theorizing Human Security and Environmental Change in Developed States W.Greaves Water and Security in Africa: State-Centric Narratives, Human Insecurities L.Swatuk Avoiding the Resource Curse in Ghana: Assessing the Options P.Arthur Sexual Violence, Coltan and the Democratic Republic of Congo S.Whitman 'The Elephant in the Room?' Peak Oil on the Security Agenda S.Mulligan Dirty Security? Tar Sands, Energy Security and Environmental Violence P.Le Billon & A.Carter Loud Bangs and Quiet Canadians: An analysis of oil patch sabotage in British Columbia, Canada C.Arsenault Bodies on the Line: The In/Security of Everyday Life in Aamjiwnaang S.Wiebe Afterward: Ecoviolence, Security, Geopolitics S.Dalby
The problem of forest degradation and loss has become the concern of many countries. To address t... more The problem of forest degradation and loss has become the concern of many countries. To address this challenge, some collaborate in sustainable forest management. The most successful outcomes, however, are observed where local participation is an essential part of conservation efforts. In Ghana, forests have experienced various degrees of exploitation over the years, resulting in their ecological decline. Despite its designation as a protected area for biodiversity and ecosystem services, the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in Ghana has been significantly impacted by deforestation, illegal mining, and other destructive activities. The purpose of this paper is to examine ecologically based management approaches that could be adopted to generate beneficial outcomes for all forest stakeholders and actors in Ghana. The study sampled forest stakeholders in Kwabeng, the administrative capital of the Atewa West District, to understand forest governance challenges and outline strategies for over...
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks, 2009
The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by ... more The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by the libraries of Wageningen University and Research Centre and some 15 associated libraries. Holding data are added to each record.
The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by ... more The Wageningen UR Library Catalogue contains bibliographic data on books and periodicals held by the libraries of Wageningen University and Research Centre and some 15 associated libraries. Holding data are added to each record.
This collection is concerned with revisiting and redefining the political economy — both empirica... more This collection is concerned with revisiting and redefining the political economy — both empirical and theoretical — of foreign policy in the South as we approach the twenty-first century: the position of post-colonial states in the post-Bretton Woods and post-Cold War world. Neither this volume nor the interaction upon which it is based could have proceeded over the last five years without timely financial support from several funding agencies and genuine intellectual commitment and integrity from many colleagues. Generous financial assistance has been provided since the late 1980s by the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada for research and workshop support on ‘Surviving at the Margins’, ‘The Political Economy of Security and Democracy in the Third World’, and ‘The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in the Third World in the 1990s’, respectively. Amongst the products of this continuing international and interdisciplinary collaboration are Swatuk and Shaw (eds) Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s (1991), Shaw and Korany (eds), ‘Special Issue: The South in the New World (Dis)Order’, and Shaw and Okolo (eds), The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in ECOWAS (1994). Together these interrelated projects on comparative regions in the South have also generated conference panels and papers at ASA, BISA, CAAS, CASID and ISA and a series of individual and joint articles.
Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s: Canadian and Comparative Per... more Prospects for Peace and Development in Southern Africa in the 1990s: Canadian and Comparative Perspectives SWATUK Larry A.
This is the course syllabus for an e-course I will be offering through the University of Waterloo... more This is the course syllabus for an e-course I will be offering through the University of Waterloo in September 2015.
Bridging the Rift: the 'new' South Africa in Africa , 1997
Now 23 years old, this publication took a continent-wide focus to explore what a post-apartheid S... more Now 23 years old, this publication took a continent-wide focus to explore what a post-apartheid South Africa might mean for the rest of the continent.
This collection of Southern African case studies is intended to contribute to the burgeoning lite... more This collection of Southern African case studies is intended to contribute to the burgeoning literature on transboundary water governance (TBWG) particularly as it applies to areas of the Global South. Specifically, the collection interrogates the idea of the ‘boundary’. Transboundary Management is most commonly conceived of as the management of surface and groundwater shared by two or more sovereign states. This conceptualization is codified in international law devised in the first instance as bilateral agreements concerning specific uses of (primarily surface) water, often along specific stretches of river. Through time, these practices have been upscaled to generalized principles expressed as rules, norms and procedures for the management of all ‘international rivers’. While the world’s states seem to be moving steadily toward an accepted framework for transboundary water resources management (TBWRM), it should be noted that the de facto use of much of the world’s shared freshwater resources remains outside this mostly ideal-typical framework. Indeed, in contrast to the rationally constructed framework for the management of water in all its forms and across all uses, de facto management – at whatever social scale – reflects water’s changing role and place within the history of uneven global development.
The book can be ordered directly at NOMOS or via regular book sellers.
Many countries are addressing deforestation through sustainable ecosystem management collaboratio... more Many countries are addressing deforestation through sustainable ecosystem management collaborations to achieve sustainable forest management (SFM). Successful countries recognize local participation as essential to any conservation effort. In Ghana, the country’s forest cover has experienced significant exploitation over the years leading to the less desirability and decline in ecological integrity. Despite its designation as a protected area for biodiversity and ecosystem services, the Atewa Forest in Ghana has been significantly impacted by humans through deforestation, illegal mining and many livelihood activities. Despite opposition from local communities, some state actors and international conservation organizations, the Ghanaian government has plans for bauxite mining in the Atewa Forest. This case study research drew upon the interactive governance model do address forest governance conflicts. Interview and focus group data from the fieldwork was analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six phase approach to thematic analysis. The results of the study suggest that to achieve SFM, a bottom-up, all-inclusive approach to the management of forest resources is the most recommended. The study proposes an integrative governance approach to forest governance as a starting point for solving forest governance problems and creating societal opportunities for win-win outcomes.
The Zambezi River and its many tributaries course across central-southern Africa like life sustai... more The Zambezi River and its many tributaries course across central-southern Africa like life sustaining arteries, supporting the diverse flora and fauna of the basin, including the more than 30 million people living there. The basin is a complex system made all the more complex with the advent of sovereign states, which are the result of a long history of colonial and imperial involvement in the sub-continent. While colonialism created a hodgepodge of largely incoherent state forms, the collective struggle for independence combined with the hard fact of shared river basins led to innovative and creative institution building throughout the region. The Zambezi Watercourse Commission, established in 2014, is one such example of this. River basin organizations aim to treat the access, use and management of the region’s resources in a holistic fashion. In the effort to bring fragmented social, political and economic entities together particular discourses have been developed around ‘benefit sharing’. Most recently Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a framework for action has been supplemented with (some would say supplanted by) the Water Energy Food Nexus (WEF Nexus). Lately, WEF has become WEFE, with ‘Ecosystems’ added to the mix. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities confronting the ZAMCOM region and the utility of framing concepts such as IWRM and WEFE Nexus in moving the region toward sustainable resource use and more equitable access.
In the context of critical agrarian studies, not only is it important to understand the biophysic... more In the context of critical agrarian studies, not only is it important to understand the biophysical nature of water, but it is equally important to understand the ways it is embedded in society and how the interaction between society and the natural world alters the lived reality. Thus, how water is used reflects society back to itself. While water in its natural form flows along the hydraulic gradient, more often than not, in its social form, it flows toward power. In this chapter, water is briefly described biophysically, then discussed largely in relation to human needs. The chapter argues that dominant approaches to water security are invested in the capture of available surface and ground water through large-scale infrastructure. In the words of Falkenmark and Rockstrom, they are ‘blue water biased’. It is argued here that those centrally invested in livelihood security need to challenge this bias through better articulation of such a perspective’s negative consequences. The chapter argues that critical agrarian studies should adopt a green water preference, i.e. concentrating on assisting farmers to make better use of the rainfall available to them, while simultaneously challenging and exposing the uneven outcomes deriving from state, private sector and financial capital biases toward large scale infrastructure projects. The chapter concludes that strategies for sustainability and equity in agrarian transformation must include new ways of seeing and thinking about water. Extant orthodoxies regarding resource capture and the control of nature not only harm the many but exacerbate vulnerabilities in a climate changing world.
How humans have used and misused water is the story of civilization itself. Water is paradoxical-... more How humans have used and misused water is the story of civilization itself. Water is paradoxical-it is ever-renewable but often scarce-and humanity's relationship to it is often contradictory. Although water is essential and non-substitutable it is often taken for granted. While it is finite and fugitive, humans flock to cities and expand agricultural enterprises as if the water will always be there in abundance. The challenges for water security are many and varied, and go to the heart of social organization. The chapter argues that seeing 'security' through different lenses reveals different sets of threats and vulnerabilities. Changing the referent object-the state, individuals, the environment-changes the context for action. Given water's central role in building political and economic power, 'water security' is generally tied to the security of the sovereign state. Actions taken in support of securing water for the state generally involve a confluence of political, economic and technical power. Over the last several decades, numerous attempts have been made to structure action in support of the greater social and environmental good. A variety of discursive framings have emerged to drive collective action. Yet, the legal and institutional frameworks for action remain state-centric, not only in terms of the primary beneficiary of water security, but in terms of the ontological framework for seeing security and insecurity. As shown in the chapter, limited formal space has been created for civil society participation, and for alternative perspectives and approaches to water security to emerge. The chapter concludes that despite numerous attempts to draw the world toward new ways of seeing water, deeply embedded interests, practices and processes ensure that efforts in support of "water security" will continue to yield highly uneven outcomes: security for some, insecurity for many.
Across the world of development practice, a great deal of faith is placed in 'participation' as a... more Across the world of development practice, a great deal of faith is placed in 'participation' as a solution to poor resource governance and management. But how to effectively bring together differently empowered actors across a sometimes diffuse socio-economic-political-environmental landscape? In this paper we reflect on the capacity of environmental education to serve as a catalyst toward cooperation. By drawing on insights from across the resource governance and management literature and exploring the particularities of the Engenho Pequeno conservation unit in Brazil, we argue that different framings of the setting and the challenge are necessary when trying to draw together groups at local level (i.e. close to the resource) and national level (i.e. those removed physically from the resource but most influential in terms of decision-making and resource mobilization capacity). In this way, environmental education can act as an advocate for more sustainable, equitable and efficient resource management.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been subject to 30+ years of neoliberal structural adjustment. In this pap... more Sub-Saharan Africa has been subject to 30+ years of neoliberal structural adjustment. In this paper I examine the impact of neoliberalism on water services in the continent, with an emphasis on big water (water in agriculture) and small water (water for people). The evidence shows a mixed outcome in terms of increased access to the quality and quantity of water people need. The dominant outcome it seems to me is a reinforcement of 'water apartheid' across the continent: more water for the few; less (or a little more, if you can afford it) for the many. Worse is the way in which neoliberal governmentality facilitates the widening of the gap between the haves and have nots on the continent. Where positive impacts have been realized, these are the by product of a particular set of circumstances, almost in spite of, not because of neoliberal reforms.
Book Review of Understanding Water Security at Local Government Level in South Africa (Palgrave M... more Book Review of Understanding Water Security at Local Government Level in South Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019) edited by Richard Meissner, Nikki Funke, Karen Nortje, Maronel Steyn appearing in Water Alternatives.
A book review in International Feminist Journal of Politics of Md Saidul Islam and Md Ismail Hoss... more A book review in International Feminist Journal of Politics of Md Saidul Islam and Md Ismail Hossain's monograph as titled above.
Many of the world's largest cities face 'day zero' scenarios-i.e. the possibility of, one day soo... more Many of the world's largest cities face 'day zero' scenarios-i.e. the possibility of, one day soon, running out of water. Water is a non-substitutable, essential, finite and fugitive resource. It is the lifeblood of cities. Cities, through global processes such as Agenda 2030 and forums such as ICLEI and World Water Week exchange best practices for achieving water security. These forums also are collective social spaces occupied by civil society organizations who share strategies and tactics, and the private sector, who compete for markets and contracts, promoting patent-protected technologies. It is these groups-states, civil societies, private sectors-coming together who determine who gets what water, when, and where. It is the job of academics to understand the how and why, and of (academic-)activists to fight for equity of access and sustainability of use. Evidence drawn from around the world and over time consistently shows that water flows toward money and power. Outcomes are generally socially inequitable, environmentally unsustainable and economically inefficient. How to shift existing processes toward improved practices is not clear, but positive outcomes do exist. In this series of papers, we compare and contrast the challenges and opportunities for urban water security with a focus on megacities. We hope to constructively contribute to a global conversation that concerns us all: how to avoid 'day zero'.
Uploads
Papers by Larry Swatuk
The book can be ordered directly at NOMOS or via regular book sellers.