Against political ecology

Background

In anthropology and related fields, "political ecology" emerged as a reaction to human ecology's perceived neglect of political influences on human-environment interactions. While acknowledging the benefit of increased attention to these influences and environmental change, many political ecologists prioritize external political-economic factors in research, potentially overlooking other crucial interactions. Some scholars focus solely on environment-related politics, neglecting actual environmental impacts. Illustrative research in the Philippines, concerning mangrove forest degradation and policy changes devolving management to local communities, provides context. These policy shifts aim for equitable resource access and sustainable forest management, addressing both inequality and environmental degradation.

Goals and Methods

The authors propose evenemental or event ecology as an alternative to political ecology's predisposition towards political factors. This approach investigates all relevant factors in explaining specific environmental events. To do this, the authors begin by focusing on environmental changes and then trace the chains of causes and effects. This contrasts with political ecology's emphasis on resource access without always demonstrating environmental impacts. To illustrate this, the authors use the Philippines’ mangrove forests in Bais Bay and Banacon Island as a case study. Observing mangrove reduction and expansion due to human activities, the study assesses these changes and their causes, considering socioeconomic and political influences after examining the environmental events.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Research in Bais Bay and Banacon Island showed substantial human influence, causing mangrove expansion, contraction, and changes in structure and species. Efforts to explain these environmental shifts revealed diverse causal events. Wealthy landowners cleared mangroves for fishponds, yet some elites also heavily invested in planting and protecting mangroves. Poor fisherfolk planted mangroves for various uses and tenure security. Local land claims often drove mangrove claims. Planted areas sometimes converted to more profitable uses. Widespread cutting for fuelwood and construction altered forest composition, leading to monocultures and potentially reducing species diversity. Biophysical factors like wave damage and pests frequently destroyed young plantations. Market value and reproductive biology explained monoculture dominance. Attributing special causal significance solely to political factors can lead to inaccuracies; an event ecology approach, appraising actual environmental changes and considering all relevant factors (political, biological, physical), offers advantages.