270 pages / I theorize and offer some evidence that humans inadvertently risk exacerbating the loss of maintenance-dependent species on private land by using species-based land-use regulation to seek other benefits. Drawing evidence primarily from the US, I argue that such regulation poses a risk to maintenance-dependent species, that humans routinely disregard this risk, and that this disregard widely serves to defend the power of individuals and organizations to use such regulation to seek other benefits. I suggest this implies that with constraints on public funding, humans might improve the survival of some species by clarifying the purpose of such regulation and considering openly refraining from such regulation for some species. I also suggest such change might depend on articulating the issue as whether the survival of a species could ever depend on individuals having a right to conserve or maintain it without selectively incurring harm from regulation intended to save it.

This dissertation examines the shifting and multi-scalar governance of oil and gas projects in Peruvian Amazon. Using cases studies of oil extraction in blocks 1AB (192), 8 in Loreto (2006 to 2015), and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for the expansion of the Camisea gas project in block 88 in Cusco, this dissertation explores how environmental decision-making processes of oil and gas projects are structured and enacted. In doing so, this study sheds light on the shifting interactions, negotiations, struggles and (at times) open conflicts between actors that define why, how and where hydrocarbon projects take place in the Amazon. Recognizing the variety of actors, I organize my analysis around government institutions, indigenous mobilizations, environmental assessments and the economic distribution of revenues from oil and gas projects. From my analysis I argue that resource extraction is changing substantially the relationship between the government and the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon. These changes involve profound changes in indigenous rights and the creation of new institutions and capacities in the state to address the social-environmental effects of extractive industries. The surge of social-environmental conflicts and the influence of international finance institutions have prompted the Peruvian government to reform the institutional framework regulating resource extraction. This reforms are taking place amid the globalization of indigenous rights, discourses, and laws (such as the Prior Consultation Law) granting special rights to indigenous peoples. However, power-knowledge asymmetries in the decision-making processes (such as the environmental assessments) tend to increase the sense of mistrust among the local populations, resulting in increasing social-environmental conflicts. In addition, the uneven distribution of benefits from resource extraction is creating regional disparities, increasing the dependency of some regions on resource extraction. An examination of the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment process for the expansion of the Camisea project in block 88 exposes unresolved practices of representation and citizenship of the indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. However, overall, Amazonian indigenous people’s struggles are shifting the traditional national, social, and political life. They are ethnic minorities and citizens struggling for their rights to participate in decision-making processes and in the distribution of economic benefits from extraction, both particularity and equality.

abstract: Decades of research confirms that urban green spaces in the form of parks, gardens, and urban forests provide numerous environmental and social services including microclimate regulation, noise reduction, rainwater drainage, stress amelioration, etc. In post-industrial megacities of the twenty-first century, densely populated, violent and heavily polluted such as Mexico City, having access to safe and well-maintained green public space is in all respects necessary for people to maintain or improve their quality of life. However, according to recent reports by the Mexican Ministry of Environment, green public spaces in Mexico City are insufficient and unevenly distributed across the sixteen boroughs of the Mexican Distrito Federal. If it is known that parks are essential urban amenities, why are green public spaces in Mexico City scarce and so unevenly distributed? As a suite of theoretical frameworks, Urban Political Ecology (UPE) has been used to study uneven urban development and its resulting unequal socio-ecological relations. UPE explores the complex relationship between environmental change, socio-economic urban characteristics and political processes. This research includes a detailed analysis of the distributive justice of green public space (who gets what and why) based on socio-spatial data sets provided by the Environment and Land Management Agency for the Federal District. Moreover, this work went beyond spatial data depicting available green space (m2/habitant) and explored the relation between green space distribution and other socio-demographic attributes, i.e. gender, socio-economic status, education and age that according to environmental justice theory, are usually correlated to an specific (biased) distribution of environmental burdens and amenities. Moreover, using archival resources complemented with qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with key actors involved in the creation, planning, construction and management of green public spaces, this research explored the significant role of public and private institutions in the development of Mexico City's parks and green publics spaces, with a special focus on the effects of neoliberal capitalism as the current urban political economy in the city. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2015

abstract: The Kilombero Valley lies at the intersection of a network of protected areas that cross Tanzania. The wetlands and woodlands of the Valley, as well as the forest of surrounding mountains are abundant in biodiversity and are considered to be critical areas for conservation. This area, however, is also the home to more than a half million people, primarily poor smallholder farmers. In an effort to support the livelihoods and food security of these farmers and the larger Tanzanian population, the country has recently targeted a series of programs to increase agricultural production in the Kilombero Valley and elsewhere in the country. Bridging concepts and methods from land change science, political ecology, and sustainable livelihoods, I present an integrated assessment of the linkages between development and conservation efforts in the Kilombero Valley and the implications for food security. This dissertation uses three empirical studies to understand the process of development in the Kilombero Valley and to link the priorities and perceptions of conservation and development efforts to the material outcomes in food security and land change. The first paper of this dissertation examines the changes in land use in the Kilombero Valley between 1997 and 2014 following the privatization of agriculture and the expansion of Tanzania’s Kilimo Kwanza program. Remote sensing analysis reveals a two-fold increase in agricultural area during this short time, largely at the expense of forest. Protected areas in some parts of the Valley appear to be deterring deforestation, but rapid agricultural growth, particularly surrounding a commercial rice plantation, has led to loss of extant forest and sustained habitat fragmentation. The second paper focuses examines livelihood strategies in the Valley and claims regarding the role of agrobiodiversity in food security. The results of household survey reveal no difference or lower food security among households that diversify their agricultural activities. Some evidence, however, emerges regarding the importance of home gardens and crop diversification for dietary diversity. The third paper considers the competing discourses surrounding conservation and development in the Kilombero Valley. Employing q-method, this paper discerns four key viewpoints among various stakeholders in the Valley. While there are some apparently intractable distinctions between among these discourses, consensus regarding the importance of wildlife corridors and the presence of boundary-crossing individuals provide the promise of collaboration and compromise. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2015

Water insecurity is one of the biggest socio-environmental challenges of our time. As water gets scarce, already disempowered groups become further marginalized. Throughout the last decades “good” water governance has been presented by global institutions and organizations as a key concept to render water management more effective, sustainable and democratic. However, general theories of “good” governance have been criticized for being gender-blind and for failing to recognize how governance is adopted at a local level, leading to different outcomes for people based on their social identity. The aim of this thesis is to identify water governance arrangements in Caltongo, a peri-urban community in Mexico City, and analyze what outcomes these arrangements have for women. The thesis builds on a feminist political ecology framework that cuts through both theory and method. Empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with women and community leaders in Caltongo. The analysis builds on a model that uses three concepts to define governance: resources, mechanisms and outcomes. The results of this analysis show that the strategies that women in Caltongo draw from to access water are based around political involvement, cash payment for water services and social networks. The outcomes are different for different women depending on their ability to use these strategies.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDTS.pdf: 1322255 bytes, checksum: 44546fda21145874c28aba1095bc16f4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The emergence of the term "sustainability" practiced in the world from the 80 end has been replaced by an extensive design, based on the appropriation and politicization that academically involved in the maturation studies in order to provide a more defined space for discussion of theory and practice in public policies aimed at sustainability. The main objective of the research was to analyze the concepts of urban sustainability and identifying convergences and divergences found in the literature. The general strategy used research was the literature review for this study have probing nature on a theme still insufficient, especially with regard to different approaches to territorial urban sustainability. The general steps of the research are: 1 choice of authors who discuss the terms of sustainable development, sustainability, political ecology, rural urban sustainability, moderate environmentalism, until reaching the border of interest, territorial urban sustainability; 2- analysis of the terms and concepts discussed by each author; 3- analysis of the discussion advance in chronological order; 4 collation and analysis of convergence of discussions between authors; 5- analysis of the differences in terms and concepts. They were used as evidence sources to consult the books, electronic articles, academic papers, magazines and other materials of literary sources published in tangible media and intemet, able to bring relevant information to the realization of this study. The results refer to: 1- analysis of how each author appropriated the terms and concepts; 2- definition of each concept discussed; 3- discussions of convergence of identification; 4- advance the discussions in chronological order; 5- amflise divergences between authors, terms and concepts. The results indicate that the use of terms and concepts allows derivations as each form of ownership and still have the other dimensions of lifting sustainability can be discussed, but that are not easily identified in the literature. / O surgimento da expressão “sustentabilidade” praticado no mundo a partir do final da década de 80 foi substituído por uma concepção extensa, baseado na apropriação e na politização, que academicamente implicou no amadurecimento de estudos com o propósito de proporcionar espaços mais definidos para discussão da teoria e da prática dentro de políticas públicas voltadas a sustentabilidade. O objetivo principal da pesquisa foi analisar os conceitos sobre sustentabilidade urbana e identificar as convergências e divergências encontradas na literatura. A estratégia geral de pesquisa utilizada foi a revisão bibliográfica, por este estudo ter natureza de sondagem sobre um tema ainda insuficiente, especialmente ao que se refere às diferentes abordagens sobre sustentabilidade urbana territorial. As etapas gerais da pesquisa são: 1- escolha dos autores que discutem sobre os termos desenvolvimento sustentável, sustentabilidade, ecologia política, sustentabilidade urbana rural, ambientalismo moderado, até se chegar ao termo de interesse, sustentabilidade territorial urbana; 2- análise dos termos e conceitos discutidos por cada autor; 3- análise do avanço da discussão seguindo uma ordem cronológica; 4 agrupamento e análise das convergências das discussões entre autores; 5- análise das divergências entre termos e conceitos. Foram utilizados como fontes de evidências a consulta a livros, artigos eletrônicos, trabalhos acadêmicos, matérias de revistas e outras fontes literárias, publicadas em meios tangíveis e na intemet, capazes de trazer informações relevantes para a concretização deste estudo. Os resultados obtidos referem-se a: 1- análise de como cada autor se apropriou dos termos e conceitos; 2- definição de cada conceito discutido; 3- identificação de convergências de discussões; 4- avanço das discussões seguindo a ordem cronológica; 5- amflise das divergências entre autores, termos e conceitos. Os resultados indicam que a utilização de termos e conceitos possibilita derivações conforme cada forma de apropriação e ainda apresentam o levantamento de outras dimensões da sustentabilidade que podem ser discutidas, mas que não se identificam facilmente na literatura.

Este artículo discute los procesos de modernización minera que se han dado en Latinoamérica, particularmente en el contexto de una nueva geografía de industrialización tardía cuyo centro gravitacional ha girado hacia las economías del Este asiático. A través de la crítica marxista de la ecología, se pretende explicar la manera en que tanto el territorio como el ser humano se han visto despojados de su especificidad concreta para pasar a ser parte de los poderes enajenados del capital. La intensificación en el uso del suelo que se da tras la robotización y computarización de la actividad minera no solo ha convertido el entorno biogeofísico en un momento constitutivo de las fuerzas de producción: también ha implicado la transformación sistemática de campesinados en muchedumbres que se desempeñan como meros apéndices de los sistemas técnicos de la extracción, o como poblaciones sobrantes. El llamado superciclo de materias primas se inserta de esta manera en una nueva fase de acumulación mundial, cuya determinación concreta es el incremento en la productividad a través de la automatización de la maquinaria y la fragmentación de la subjetividad productiva de la clase obrera internacional. / This article addresses the processes of technological modernization that have taken place in Latin America’s mining industry, especially in the context of a new geography of late industrialization whose gravitational center has shifted towards East Asian economies. Through the Marxist critique of ecology, the paper explains the ways in which both human and nonhuman natures have been emptied of their concrete specificity in order to be transformed into the alienatedpowers of capital. The intensification in land use that has followed the robotization and computerization of large-scale mining has not only reconfigured the biogeophysical environment into a constitutive moment of the forces of production, but also entailed the systematic transformation of peasantries into dispossessed multitudes that act as mere appendages of technical systems of extraction, or as surplus populations. The reorganization of the mining industry into global supply chains requires rethinking extraction beyond primary commodity production, and interrogating its organic unity with the modern mode of production generally considered.

The new, hybrid scholarly field of political ecology, focused on the twenty-first century’s innovation-driven economy, has perspectives useful in studying an earlier “global” or “knowledge” economy that emerged in Spain’s sixteenth century colonial enterprise. This essay explores the production of tin-enameled pottery (majolica; loza) in Spain and its colonies, particularly the viceroyalty of Peru, through the field’s dual emphasis on the political (the ethno-religious persecution of Muslims, and the mercantilist trade policies of Christian Spain) and the ecological (resource availability and use).Political-ecological concepts such as “business clusters,” “gatekeepers,” and “pipelines” can be applied to the many factors influencing the history of development of this ware in Spain and Ibero-America. In contrast to today’s economy, attitudes toward innovation in pottery were rather ambivalent, and innovations were primarily introduced from outside Spain (especially from Italy) rather than internally developed. Early tin-enameled ware produced in the Andes follows traditional Hispano-Moresque green and black decoration, unlike in Mexico, where it was relegated to second-class status. Blue painting arrived late, but it is not known if this was because the potters who settled in the Andes were primarily morisco refugees or a consequence of lack of access to cobalt igment because of the region’s distance from Spain. / El nuevo campo de la ecología política, enfocada en la economía del siglo XXI e impulsada por la innovación, tiene perspectivas útiles en el estudio de la economía más temprana del «conocimiento» o «global» que surgió en el siglo XVI.Este ensayo explora la producción de cerámica mayólica o loza en España y sus colonias, en particular, el virreinato del Perú, a través del doble énfasis de la política (la persecución étnico-religiosa de los musulmanes, y el mercantilismo de la España cristiana) y de la ecología (disponibilidad y usos de recursos). Conceptos tales como «clústeres empresariales», «guardabarreras» y «tuberías» se pueden aplicar a los factores que influyen en la historia del desarrollo de esta cerámica.En contraste con la economía actual, las actitudes hacia la innovación fueron un tanto ambivalentes y las innovaciones fueron introducidas principalmente desde fuera de España (sobre todo, en Italia) en lugar de desarrollarse internamente.La loza producida en los Andes que siguió a la decoración tradicional hispano-morisca de verde y negro, y la pintura azul llegaron tarde, quizás, como consecuencia de que los alfareros que arribaron a los Andes fueron principalmente refugiados moriscos o por la falta de acceso a los pigmentos de cobalto.

abstract: Following harsh economic and political reforms in the 1990s, Peru became a model of a neoliberal state based on natural resource extraction. Since then social and environmental conflicts between local communities and the extractive industry, particularly mining corporations, have multiplied resulting in violent clashes and a shared perception that the state is not guaranteeing people's rights. At the crossroads of the struggle between mining corporations and local communities lay different ways of living and relating to nature. This research concerns water conflict in an urban mining setting. More precisely, this research critically analyzes water conflict in the city of Arequipa as a backdrop for revealing what water injustices look like on the ground. With one million inhabitants, Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru. Arequipa is also home to the third largest copper mine in Peru. On June 2006, social organizations and political authorities marched in protest of the copper mine's acquisition of additional water rights and its use of a tax exemption program. In the aftermath of large protests, the conflict was resolved through a multi-actor negotiation in which the mine became, through a public-private partnership, co-provider of urban water services. Through a unique interdisciplinary theoretical approach and grounded on ethnographic methods I attempt to expose the complexity of water injustice in this particular case. My theoretical framework is based on three large fields of study, that of post-colonial studies, political ecology and critical studies of law. By mapping state-society-nature power relations, analyzing structures of oppression and unpacking the meaning of water rights, my research unveils serious water injustices. My first research finding points to the existence of a racist and classist system that excludes poor and marginal people from water services and from accessing the city. Second, although there are different social and cultural interpretations of water rights, some interpretations hold more power and become hegemonic. Water injustice, in this regard manifests by the rise in power of the economic view of water rights. Finally, neoliberal reforms prioritizing development based on the extractive industries and the commodification of nature are conducive to water injustices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Justice Studies 2012

Esta dissertação de mestrado tem como tema central a mobilização políticoecológica de Decrescimento na França. Com o argumento de que o crescimento econômico destrói o meio ambiente, militantes do decrescimento acionam uma diversidade de coletivos, ações e ideias para construir uma mobilização política em forma de nebulosa. Diferente de um movimento social, de um partido político ou de um grupo com contornos bem estabelecidos, uma nebulosa é uma mobilização descentrada e aberta, que coloca em relação iniciativas distribuídas pelo território francês com a preocupação de garantir a autonomia e a particularidade de cada grupo local. A fim de discutir as implicações dessa forma de fazer política que é frequentemente considerada inovadora, esta dissertação toma como ponto de partida a nouvelle gauche, nascida em meados dos anos 1950 na França. Por meio do levantamento de algumas questões que aparecem nessa nova esquerda, discute-se as implicações do aparecimento de novas maneiras de conceber o social e agir politicamente em detrimento do marxismo, da contradição de classes e da noção de exploração por meio do trabalho. Diante da problematização do conjunto de ideias e práticas que tomava corpo naquele período, parte-se para uma discussão das continuidades e descontinuidades instauradas pelo decrescimento com relação aos movimentos precedentes, através da descrição etnográfica das relações estabelecidas pelos militantes franceses. Por fim, as novas formas de fazer política desenvolvidas pelo decrescimento são problematizadas na medida em que são aproximadas das novas formas do capitalismo. Muitas análises sugerem que a crítica tornou-se o motor do capitalismo por meio da incorporação de formas de organização social e ideológica que tem profundas afinidades com o movimento decrescimento. Dessa forma, são discutidas as contradições de um movimento que tenta colocar o crescimento em xeque. / The aim of this thesis is to discuss the degrowth movement in France. Considering that economic growth leads to environmental damages, degrowth activists state that it is necessary to create new forms of political action. Thus, many informal collectives, practices and ideas are mobilized in order to built what is called nebula of degrowth. Different from a social movement, a political party or a well defined group, a nebula is a non-centered and opened mobilization, that establishes many relations between collectives and groups spread all over the French territory. While the connections are created, many efforts are made to guarantee the differences and autonomy of the groups joined together. To discuss the implications of the nebula form of degrowth, this thesis goes back to the emergency of the nouvelle gauche, during the 1950s. Some issues that usually have shown up in this moment allows us to discuss how society and political action was reconceptualized, for example by the expulsion of marxist ideas such as class struggle and labor exploitation. The mapping of the main points of the new left in France leads us to discuss the continuities and discontinuities introduced by degrowth movement in the political scenery. After an ethnographic presentation of degrowth nebula, the conclusion is that there are many contradictions in the form the movement states social criticism. To explain what are the meanings of such contradictions, a final topic is presented: the contradictions of the contemporary capitalism. By bringing capitalism and degrowth movement aside, it is possible to see that both have similar but opposite forms.