Journals at the University of Arizona
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Towards a green modernization development discourse: the new green revolution in Africa
No full textSince the Rio+20 conference, 'greening' economies and growth has been key in international politics. Leading policy actors and businesses frame the emerging green economy as an opportunity to realize a triple-bottom line – people, planet and profit – and support sustainable development. In practice, two key trends stand out: in the global North, the main component of the green shift seems to imply technological and market-based solutions in the renewable energy sector. While this is also important in the global South, here green economy implementation is often interpreted as environmental protection along with modernization of, and shifts in access to and control over, natural resources ('green sectors'). In the case of the latter, combined with persisting high rates of poverty, we claim that the post-Rio+20 context has revitalized a 'green' version of modernization to become the leading discourse and approach within international development; namely green modernization. A wide range of development initiatives across the global South – with significant support from international businesses amidst a general private turn of aid – are framed in this light. We use the new, Green Revolution in Africa to illustrate how modernization discourses are reasserted under the green economy. What is new at the current conjuncture is the way in which powerful actors adopt and promote green narratives around long-standing modernization ideas. They recast the modernization trope as 'green.' In particular, we focus our discussion on three linked components; technology and 'productivism', the role of capital and 'underutilized' resources, and, lastly, mobility of land and people.Keywords: green economy; green modernization; the new Green Revolution in Africa; agri-business; climate smart agriculture; development discours
Subsistence marine fishing in a neoliberal city: a political ecology analysis of securitization and exclusion in Durban, South Africa
No full textIn post-apartheid South Africa, the blue economy has been identified as an untapped resource for creating employment and stimulating economic growth. However, in the port city of Durban, subsistence fishing has formed an important component of both the livelihood and identity of individuals living in marginalized communities adjacent to the harbor for over a century. However, since America's 9/11 terrorist attacks a number of new international laws and regulations have shaped local legislation and policies which seek to exclude the public from accessing the harbor area. As a consequence, increased security measures have contributed to an increasingly closed off space, where increased barriers to access have effectively isolated the harbor from the surrounding city, and restricted entry to local fishers. As a result, fisherfolk have been forced to contest their exclusion from the harbor, risking expulsion or arrest to continue practicing their livelihoods. Utilizing a political ecology framework, and integrating perspectives drawn from over a decade of qualitative fieldwork, this article explores how securitization narratives operate as a tool for the neoliberal exclusion of the poor from public space. Analysis suggests that the securitization of Durban's harbor has served to bar entry to the poor towards participating in South Africa's blue economy, while allowing elites exclusive access to marine resources.Key Words: Indian Ocean, securitization, blue economy, South Africa, subsistence fishing, neoliberalism, public spac
Materializing the blue economy: tuna fisheries and the theory of access in the Western Indian Ocean
No full textMany African countries are progressively embracing the blue economy. African islands of the western Indian Ocean, however, have been involved in it for more than twenty years through the exploitation of their 'blue gold': tuna. In this article, we use Ribot and Peluso's (2003) "theory of access" to map the different ways actors access tuna under diverse socio-economic contexts and how power relations are created through different mechanisms of access. We show that rights-based mechanisms such as fishing access agreements are highly questionable for their fairness and sustainability but bring benefits such as funding for fisheries-related infrastructures and projects. We also show that access to the resource is dependent on knowledge held by fishers, on technological advances as well as on diverse labor relations. These mechanisms significantly impact the quantity of fish that can be accessed by artisanal versus industrial market sectors, and generate narratives of unequal access to tuna. Furthermore, we take into consideration the materiality of tuna as a highly mobile resource in a space of fluid boundaries, to show how the fish can be an actant in shaping access but also how fishing practices can produce new materialities. Based on the above evidence, we propose an enhancement of the theory of access to consider the role of materiality of the resources and the sea. We conclude that to ensure that tuna fisheries continue to contribute to the blue economy of African islands, stakeholders need to balance between the diverse benefits produced by the fisheries and the uneven power relations that can arise, and to integrate the impact of a material sea and fish in this reflection. Keywords: fishers, knowledge, materiality, power relations, spatiality of the sea, technology, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelle
Political ecology of adaptation: claiming a critical biomimicry for the Anthropocene
No full textIn this article, the authors appropriate the concept of adaptation within the framework of political ecology, in order to critically rethink the principle of biomimicry as a strategy capable of contributing to the construction of a sustainable society, in an era plagued by deleterious effects generated by the socioeconomic system. The article uses the concept of «sustainability» as an emancipatory practice not only intricate with environmental issues but mostly with political matters. A political ecology of adaptation should allow, then, to understand adaptation in terms of the political commitments involved and the social interests at stake. The authors propose an adaptation criterion that allows redesigning the technosphere to harmonize the biophysical processes and social development. These criteria are not only intended to provide solutions to the design problem, but also to contribute to overcome unequal geographical development and the cynicism that supports it.Keywords: Technological adaptation; technosphere; vulnerability; sustainable innovation; political sustainabilit
The irresistible solution: rationale and risks of extending water limits through desalination in the case of Gotland, Sweden
No full textWater resources are under increasing pressure, and there are tensions between increasing demand and the natural limits to potable water supply. Authorities must find solutions that fulfil societal demands without compromising environmental integrity. As one way to counteract water deficits, desalination has evolved as an attractive solution. This technology is contested and associated with a variety of social, environmental and economic consequences; yet it is increasingly used. In Sweden, the technology is rare but recent droughts have spurred interest. On the island of Gotland, where Sweden's first larger desalination plant was inaugurated in 2016, we examine the perceived benefits and drawbacks of desalination as well as the decision-making process that led up to its implementation. Through qualitative analysis of public documents and stakeholder interviews, we identify mechanisms that contributed to desalination becoming a favored solution. We find that it is associated with a number of benefits that are in line with broader development goals, against which its drawbacks are considered to be acceptable or externalized. Desalination extends natural limits to permit development, delaying deeper social and economic restructuring. Rather than arguing against desalination per se, we emphasize the risk of the depoliticization of water supply through technocratic decision-making, the normalization of scarcity and certain technologies, and the urgency that builds around increasing water supply 'at any economic cost.' These tendencies obscure drawbacks, limitations and conflicting interests. They foreclose the questioning of resource intensive development. In order to invoke transformation towards long-term sustainability of Gotland's water supply, policy-makers should seek to diversify their sources of knowledge and encourage more open democratic debate around alternative regional development pathways.Keywords: desalination, natural limits, water scarcity, Gotland, political ecology, technocracy, depoliticization, normalizatio
The unequal vulnerability of Kurdish and Azeri minorities in the case of the degradation of Lake Urmia, Iran
No full textThis article explores the differences between the vulnerability of two ethnic minorities faced with the same environmental disaster, along with the causes of those disparities. Set in the context of the degradation of Lake Urmia in north-western Iran, the study problematizes the unequal access to political power of the Kurdish and Azeri minorities and the historical dynamics of marginalization and empowerment. It links those dynamics with the current differential vulnerability of the members of the two minorities living in proximity of the lake, who have traditionally been dependent on agriculture as a means of subsistence. The degradation of the lake has severely affected the agricultural production in the region through the salinization of irrigation water and the degradation of arable land. The study focuses on households in the proximity of the lake with the goal of exploring to what extent their ethnicity determines their vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the face of the disaster. We find that ethnic politics plays a role in the access to irrigation water and the potential for income diversification, as well as being a component of the coping capacity embedded in social networks. Additionally, we find that ethnicity is a determinant of the availability of economic resources, and strongly influences the knowledge of – and willingness to participate in – governmental and non-governmental projects to mitigate the effects of the environmental disaster.Key words: vulnerability, ethnicity, Iran, political power, minorities, environmental degradation, Lake Urmi
Remaking settlements for sustainability: the Simpler Way
No full textIn view of the global resource and ecological situation, per-capita resource consumption rates in the rich world probably need to be reduced by 90%. This can only be done if there is a "de-growth" transition to some kind of Simpler Way centered on mostly small, highly self-sufficient and self-governing communities in control of local economies within a culture that is not focused on material wealth. It is not surprising that the viability of such a vision is typically regarded as implausible. The aim of this study is to show that normal outer city suburbs could be restructured along the lines required to cut global impacts by the necessary amount, while improving the quality of life. Data on typical Australian consumption rates, food production yields, suburban geographies, etc. is used to estimate the achievable reductions. The theoretical conclusion that such reductions could be made aligns with a study of the Dancing Rabbit Eco-village in northeast Missouri. Heavy cuts in resource consumption cannot be made without extreme change in economic, political, settlement and cultural systems.Key words: The Simpler Way, de-growth
Resource sovereignty and accumulation in the blue economy: the case of seabed mining in Namibia
No full textFollowing its global emergence, the blue economy agenda is now touted as a mechanism through which the Republic of Namibia can achieve long-term sustainable and equitable growth. In (re)defining the ocean, seabed mining has been central to these discussions. Drawing on fieldwork and semi-structured interviews undertaken with key actors in Namibia and South Africa, between 2016 and 2017, as well as recent policy debates and discourse surrounding the potential extraction of marine phosphate in Namibia this article critically examines the framing of the marine environment as an extractive space. The blue economy presents opportunities for new forms of capitalist accumulation and this has resulted in struggles over who can accumulate in the marine sphere. This article therefore analyses the emerging and competing claims to sovereignty over this "new" resource frontier, including by state and non-state actors, and identifies which actors have been included or excluded from the blue economy agenda. In discussing sovereignty over this frontier and resources therein, it undertakes a rigorous analysis of the complications created by the ocean as a three-dimensional, voluminous, "borderless" space.Key Words: Namibia, seabed mining, sovereignty, frontier, blue economy, EE
EARLY FETAL HYDROPIC CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MODERATE DILATATION OF THE BRAIN VENTRICULAR SYSTEM: A CLUE TO A POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN CERVICAL LYMPHATIC ENGORGEMENT AND VENTRICULAR DILATATION?
No full textThe aim of this study is to assess whether early cervical lymphatic obstruction is associated with a sonographically detectable dilatation of the ventricular system in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. In particular, the objective is to assess whether fetuses with non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF), cystic hygroma, or enlarged nuchal translucency (NT) have a greater atrial width/biparietal diameter (AW/BPD) ratio than normal at time of the combined first trimester screening scan. This retrospective study included 96 first trimester fetuses (33 normal and 63 with various degree of cervical lymphatic engorgement). Inclusion criteria were CRL in the 45-84 mm range and availability of one or more three-dimensional volume datasets of the fetal head, acquired from the BPD plane. Each three-dimensional volume dataset was opened and multiplanar correlation employed to align the three orthogonal planes. The ratio between the atrial width and the BPD (AW/BPD ratio) was used to evaluate the possible presence of increased amount of cerebrospinal fluid. Abnormal cases were placed into 4 categories: 1)enlarged non-septated NT 2.5-3.9 mm, nohydrops; 2) grossly enlarged non-septated NT/ edema 3.9 mm; 3) cystic hygroma and/or NIHF; 4) major anomalies with NT 2.5 mm.Presence of dilatation of the latero-cervical jugular lymphatic sacs, karyotype andpresence of congenital anomalies were alsorecorded. The One-way ANOVA test was usedto compare means. Intra- and inter-observervariability were also assessed. The AW/BPDratio was found to be significantly higher infetuses with grossly enlarged NT/nuchal edemaand NIHF/septated cystic hygroma than innormal (p 0.05 and p 0.01, respectively).Also, the AW/BPD ratio was significantlyhigher in NIHF/septated cystic hygroma thanin enlarged NT 2.5-3.9 mm (p 0.05). In caseof enlarged NT (2.5-3.9 mm), the AW/BPDratio is significantly higher in presence of JLS(p 0.01). At the end of the first trimester,presence of cervical lymphatic engorgement,in terms of grossly enlarged NT, nuchaledema, septated cystic hygroma, and NIHF,is statistically associated with a moderatedilatation of the ventricular system. Of note,among fetuses with moderately enlarged NT,those with evidence of dilatation of the JLSshow a statistically significant increase in theAW/BPD ratio
IMPACT OF BODY FAT AND OBESITY ON TISSUE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT (TDC) AS A METHOD TO ASSESS BREAST CANCER TREATMENT-RELATED LYMPHEDEMA (BCRL)
No full textObesity is linked to the risk of breast cancer and treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL). Thus, knowledge of how obesity, or more specifically total body fat percentage (TBF) and body mass index (BMI), affect measurements that are used to detect or track lymphedema is clinically important. Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) is one measure used to help characterize lymphedema features, detect its presence, and assess treatment-related changes. The goal of this research was to determine the extent to which TDC values depend on TBF and BMI. TDC was measured on both forearms (2.5mm depth) in 250 women (18-72 years) along with TBF (impedance, 50KHz). TBF was 12.2%-54.4% (median=29.3%) and BMI was 14.7Kg/m2-44.3 Kg/m2 (median=22.6 Kg/m2). TDC values and interarm ratios were compared between subgroups that had TBF and BMI values in lower vs. upper quartiles. Subjects in the upper quartile had slightly lower TDC values (1.3 TDC units, p 0.01) that was at most a 5% differential. Contrastingly, TDC interarm ratios were not dependent on TBF or BMI levels. These findings suggest that when tracking lymphedema changes using the TDC method, treatment-related or temporal changes in a woman’s TBF or BMI are unlikely to significantly impact TDC values or their inter-arm ratios