The Perception of the Environment

The Perception of the Environment
Author: Tim Ingold
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 644
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000504662

In this work Tim Ingold offers a persuasive new approach to understanding how human beings perceive their surroundings. He argues that what we are used to calling cultural variation consists, in the first place, of variations in skill. Neither innate nor acquired, skills are grown, incorporated into the human organism through practice and training in an environment. They are thus as much biological as cultural. To account for the generation of skills we have therefore to understand the dynamics of development. And this in turn calls for an ecological approach that situates practitioners in the context of an active engagement with the constituents of their surroundings. The twenty-three essays comprising this book focus in turn on the procurement of livelihood, on what it means to ‘dwell’, and on the nature of skill, weaving together approaches from social anthropology, ecological psychology, developmental biology and phenomenology in a way that has never been attempted before. The book is set to revolutionise the way we think about what is ‘biological’ and ‘cultural’ in humans, about evolution and history, and indeed about what it means for human beings – at once organisms and persons – to inhabit an environment. The Perception of the Environment will be essential reading not only for anthropologists but also for biologists, psychologists, archaeologists, geographers and philosophers. This edition includes a new Preface by the author.

Development, Environment and Sustainable Livelihood

Development, Environment and Sustainable Livelihood
Author: Soumyendra Kishore Datta
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2014-10-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1443869031

This book is the outcome of an international conference held in the Department of Economics, Burdwan University, in 2013. The major part of the conference had been related to development, environment and livelihood issues which are also in some way linked to the theme of the ongoing DRS project in the Department, pertaining to issues on rural livelihood. The achievement of higher economic growth is one of the principal objectives of current government policies, and involves intensive resource development programmes with equitable access and distribution of output. It is a great challenge for developing countries and the only vehicle which can bring these countries out of poverty. India’s development path is based on its unique resource endowments. As a welfare state, its overriding priority lies in generating its citizens’ wellbeing with the multifarious programmes of eradicating poverty through providing means of earning income for a sustainable livelihood. While a number of programmes have been undertaken by the Government with the aim of eliminating poverty, the purpose of generating an all-round enhanced livelihood opportunity based on the creation of an improved ambience is only partially served by such programmes. The recent focus, therefore, has been on the assets/processes/activity framework concerned with not only poverty reduction, but also promoting sustainable livelihood enhancing strategies and access to assets like human capital, physical assets, social capital, financial capital and natural capital. In terms of the sustainable livelihood framework, livelihood comprises the activities, the assets, the capabilities and the access that combine to determine the standard of living attainable for an individual. A livelihood is deemed to be sustainable when it can absorb unforeseen shocks and recover from stresses and uncertainties, while maintaining or enhancing the capability and asset base both at present and for future periods without distorting the natural resources and creating social unrest. This book is composed of seventeen papers covering the socio- developmental aspects and natural resources connected with the concept of sustainable livelihood, as well as livelihood issues intimately linked with the farm and non-farm sectors and impacted by gender aspect.

Environmental Change, Livelihood Issues and Migration

Environmental Change, Livelihood Issues and Migration
Author: Avijit Mistri
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2019-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9811387354

This book deals with the out-migration from the UNESCO designated Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in India. It focuses on the question whether out-migration is a consequence of environmental change or livelihood issues and development deficit. It investigates the processes of migration from a broad spectrum, exploring a wide range of economic, social, and demographic factors along with environmental stressors. The processes of migration studied and empirically illustrated include migration stream, migration pattern, reasons for migration, the nexus between migration and social network, aspiration and different human, economic and physical capital. The book adopts a modelistic approach called the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) to investigate whether migration from Sundarban is an environmental migration or not. In addition it uses the risk perception approach of people’s cognition or ‘affective imagery’ to examine the degree of perceived environmental risk in the means of living, especially farming and fishing, of the islanders of Sundarban. The book will be of interest to researchers and academicians in the areas of migration studies, geography, political science, sociology and economics.

Environments and Livelihoods

Environments and Livelihoods
Author: Koos Neefjes
Publisher: Oxfam
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2000
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780855984403

This book is intended to be used to support the campaigning and lobbying work of local and international development organizations, to improve the formulation and implementation of development strategies and to strengthen participatory project planning, monitoring and impact assessment in poverty and environmental change.

Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development

Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development
Author: Ian Scoones
Publisher: Practical Action
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2015
Genre: Community development
ISBN: 9781853398742

Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development looks at the role of social institutions and the politics of policy, as well as issues of identity, gender and generation. The relationships between sustainability and livelihoods are examined, and livelihoods analysis situated within a wider political economy of environmental and agrarian change.

Towards Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mountain Regions

Towards Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mountain Regions
Author: Vishwambhar Prasad Sati
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2013-12-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319035339

Sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems are far-reaching and burning issues in the wake of high growth of population, low production and per ha yield of crops and depletion of biodiversity resources. Mountainous regions of the world are facing the menace of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Further, tremendous growth in population and slow pace of development have together forced most of the population to live below poverty line. Traditionally depending upon cultivating subsistence crops for food requirement, the people living in mountainous region are unable to produce sufficient food grains to run their livelihood smoothly. The Himalayas is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and has an abundance of natural resources: land, water and forest – life sustaining factors. The geo-environmental conditions – climate and landscape further enhance the possibility of sustainable livelihoods through eco-tourism, harnessing water resources and utilizing forests and their products sustainably. Diversifying agricultural practices through cultivating cash and cereal crops and enhancing livelihood options through extensive use of timber and non-timber based forestry products can help to eradicate poverty and provide food security. This book consists of an introduction and nine chapters, covering geo-environmental setting, socio-economy and population profile, sustainable livelihoods: diversification and enhancement, livelihood analysis, development of tourism and hydroelectricity, case studies, mountain ecosystems, sustainable mountain development and also presents a conclusion.

Climate Change Impacts and Women’s Livelihood

Climate Change Impacts and Women’s Livelihood
Author: Salim Momtaz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2018-10-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0429869746

Very few studies have been conducted to explore the vulnerability of women in the context of climate change. This book addresses this absence by investigating the structure of women’s livelihoods and coping capacity in a disaster vulnerable coastal area of Bangladesh. The research findings suggest that the distribution of livelihood capitals of vulnerable women in rural Bangladesh is heavily influenced by several climatic events, such as cyclones, floods and seasonal droughts that periodically affect the region. Women face several challenges in their livelihoods, including vulnerability to their income, household assets, lives and health, food security, education, water sources, sanitation and transportation systems, because of ongoing climate change impacts. The findings have important policy relevance for all involved in disaster and risk management, both within Bangladesh and the developing countries facing climate change impacts. Based on the research findings, the book also provides recommendations to improving the livelihoods of women in the coastal communities. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and professionals in environmental management, gender and development, and climate change governance looking at the effects of and adaptation to climate change, gender issues and natural disaster management strategies.

Reducing Poverty, Protecting Livelihoods, and Building Assets in a Changing Climate

Reducing Poverty, Protecting Livelihoods, and Building Assets in a Changing Climate
Author: Dorte Verner
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2010-06-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0821383787

Climate change is the defining development challenge of our time. More than a global environmental issue, climate change and variability threaten to reverse recent progress in poverty reduction and economic growth. Both now and over the long run, climate change and variability threatens human and social development by restricting the fulfillment of human potential and by disempowering people and communities in reducing their livelihoods options. Communities across Latin America and the Caribbean are already experiencing adverse consequences from climate change and variability. Precipitation has increased in the southeastern part of South America, and now often comes in the form of sudden deluges, leading to flooding and soil erosion that endanger people s lives and livelihoods. Southwestern parts of South America and western Central America are seeing a decrease in precipitation and an increase in droughts. Increasing heat and drought in Northeast Brazil threaten the livelihoods of already-marginal smallholders, and may turn parts of the eastern Amazon rainforest into savannah. The Andean inter-tropical glaciers are shrinking and expected to disappear altogether within the next 20-40 years, with significant consequences for water availability. These environmental changes will impact local livelihoods in unprecedented ways. Poverty, inequality, water access, health, and migration are and will be measurably affected by climate change. Using an innovative research methodology, this study finds quantitative evidence of large variations in impacts across regions. Many already poor regions are becoming poorer; traditional livelihoods are being challenged in unprecedented ways; water scarcity is increasing, particularly in poor arid areas; human health is deteriorating; and climate-induced migration is already taking place and may increase. Successfully reducing social vulnerability to climate change and variability requires action and commitment at multiple levels. This volume offers key operational recommendations at the government, community, and household levels with particular emphasis placed on enhancing good governance and technical capacity in the public sector, building social capital in local communities, and protecting the asset base of poor households.

The Impact of Climate Change on Drylands

The Impact of Climate Change on Drylands
Author: Ton Dietz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2004-06-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1402019521

People have learned to adapt to risk and uncertainty in fragile dryland environments.