Political Ecology:
Poverty and Conservation
in the Tropics
Feb 25–Mar 17 ■ 2009 ■ 9h00–12h00 ■ San Cristobal, Galapagos
Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences
Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Instructors:
Carlos F. Mena, Ph.D.
cmena@usfq.edu.ec
Manuel F. Peralvo, PhDc.
peralvomf@mail.utexas.edu
Office Hours: TBD
Phone: 297-1700 (Ext. 1362)
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE
Political Ecology analyzes the complex links between society and nature. It is not a concise
theory but a collection of ideas, approaches, and methods that based on political economy,
ecosystem science, and peasant studies challenge the notion that environmental problems are
created by simple causal mechanisms. Political ecology questions how management practices,
political and economic structures, and ecosystems are connected to produce different
ecological patterns and socioeconomic processes, for example, deforestation or types of
access and control over the resources. The objective of this class is, using a theoretical
toolkit, case studies, and qualitative methods, to obtain a deeper understanding of the
relationships between poverty and environment, and the role of conservation efforts, in
shaping these relationships.
COURSE CONTENTS AND SCHEDULE
Feb 26:
Basic concepts
Feb 27:
Brief history of the field
Feb 28:
Political economy, land degradation and society
Mar 2:
Local people and conservation
Mar 3:
The Galapagos Case: Protected Areas and Conservation
Mar 4:
Poverty, Land Tenure and Environment
Mar 5:
Ecuador: Colonization, agricultural frontiers and deforestation
Mar 6:
Midterm exam
Mar 9:
Livelihoods, development and the environment I
Mar 10:
Livelihoods, development and the environment II
Mar 11:
Fieldtrip: Fisheries and Ecotourism in Galapagos
Mar 12:
Neoliberalism and environmental governance
Mar 13:
Political landscapes: patterns and structures
Mar 16:
Future trends in the field: critiques and new perspectives
Mar 17:
Final Project Presentation
COURSE STRATEGY, ASSIGNMENT AND GRADING

This course uses active learning approaches (e.g., interactive lecturing,
teacher/student lead discussions, in-class writing, case studies, debates, etc.) which
will help you to “think critically” about environmental problems.

There will be two tests (essay type), a midterm exam to be taken in class and a final
exam or final project to be developed during the class. The tests will cover discussion
papers, study cases, and fieldwork reports.

Each student is expected to present and lead the discussion of a paper at least once
during the cycle.

All the class is expected to participate in the discussion.

During this module, a fieldtrips will be made to analyze the situation of the fisheries
and tourism in San Cristobal.

There will be a short final project (groups of two students) where groups will be in
charge of selecting an specific environmental problem and analyze it in light of
Political Ecology concepts.

Grading is divided as: Class participation 30%, article presentation 20%, midterm
exam 15%, report of fieldtrip 15%, final project 20% (10% written report, 10% oral
report).

Grading scale: A=100-91, B=90-81 , C=80-71, D=70-61, F=<60
COURSE READINGS
Feb 26:
Basic concepts
1. Robbins P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. First ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing. 242p. Chapter 1
Feb 27:
Brief history of the field
2. Bryant 1998. Power, knowledge and political ecology in the third world: a review. Porgress in
Physical Geography 22(1):79-94
3. Robbins P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. First ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing. 242p. Chapter 2
4. Zimmerer and Bassett. 2003. Political Ecology . The Guilford Press. 310p. Chapter 1:
Approaching Political Ecology: Society, nature and Scale in Human-environment Sudies
in Political Ecology
Feb 28:
Political economy, land degradation and society
5. Peet R. 1999. Theories of development. First ed. New York: The Guildford Press. 234 p.
6. Blaikie P, Brookfield H. 1987. Land Degradation and Society. London: Metheun. 296p.
7. Robbins P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. First ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing. 242p. Chapter 5
Mar 2:
Local People and Conservation
8. Robbins P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. First ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing. 242p. Chapter 8
9. Zimmerer and Bassett. 2003. Political Ecology . The Guilford Press. 310p. Chapter 2: Young E.
Balancing conservation with development in Marine-Dependent Communities: Is
Ecotourism an Empty Promise?
10. Zimmerer and Bassett. 2003. Political Ecology . The Guilford Press. 310p. Chapter 3:
Strategies for authenticity and Space in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Peten, Guatemala
Mar 3:
The Galapagos Case: Protected Areas and Conservation
11. Baine M, et al, 2007. Coastal and marine resource management in the Galapagos Islands
and the Archipelago of San Andres: Issues, problems and opportunities. Ocean &
Coastal Management 50: 148–173
12. Davos et al., 2007. Zoning of marine protected areas: Conflicts and cooperation options in the
Galapagos and San Andres archipelagos Ocean & Coastal Management 50: 223–252
13. Heylingsa P and M. Bravo. 2007. Evaluating governance: A process for understanding how
co-management is functioning, and why, in the Galapagos Marine Reserve Ocean &
Coastal Management 50: 174–208
Mar 4:
Poverty, Land Tenure and Environment
14. Gray and Moseley. 2005. A geographical perspective on poverty–environment interactions.
The Geographical Journal, 171(1) 9–23
15. Lu Holt F. 2005. The Catch-22 of Conservation: Indigenous Peoples, Biologists, and Cultural
Change. Human Ecology 33(2) 199-215
16. Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons, Science, Vol. 162, No. 3859: 1243-1248
Mar 5:
Ecuador: Colonization, agricultural frontiers and deforestation
17. Rudel TK; Bates D, Machinguiashi, R. 2002. A Tropical Forest Transition? Agricultural
Change, Out-migration, and Secondary Forests in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Annals of the
Association of American Geographers, Volume 92, Issue 1: 87 - 102
18. Jokisch B. 2002. Migration and Agricultural Change: The Case of Smallholder Agriculture in
Highland Ecuador. Human Ecology, Vol. 30, No. 4, 523-550
19. Bilsborrow RE, Barbieri A, Pan W. 2004. Changes in Population and Land Use Over Time in
the Ecuadorian Amazon. Acta Amazonica. VOL. 34(4) 2004: 635 – 647
Mar 6:
Midterm exam
Mar 9:
Livelihoods, development and the environment I
20. Ellis F. 1999. Rural livelihoods and diversity in developing countries. First ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. 273 p. Chapters 1 and 6
21. Rocheleau D, Edmunds D. 1997. Women, men and trees: Gender, power and property in
forest and agrarian landscapes. World Development 25(8):1351-71.
22. Leach M, Mearns R, Scoones I. 1999. Environmental entitlements: Dynamics and institutions
in community-based natural resource management. World Development 27(2):225-47.
Mar 10:
Livelihoods, development and the environment II
23. Coomes OT, Barham BL, Takasaki Y. 2004. Targeting conservation-development initiatives in
tropical forests: insights from analyses of rain forest use and economic reliance among
Amazonian peasants. Ecological Economics 51(1-2):47-64.
24. McSweeney K. 2004. The dugout canoe trade in Central America's Mosquitia: Approaching
rural livelihoods through systems of exchange. Annals of the Association of American
Geographers 94(3):638-61.
25. Schroeder RA. 1997. ''Re-claiming'' land in the Gambia: Gendered property rights and
environmental intervention. Annals of the Association of American Geographers
87(3):487-508.
Mar 11:
Fieldtrip: Fisheries and Ecotourism in Galapagos
Mar 12:
Neoliberalism and environmental governance
26A. Chapin, M. 2004. A challenge to Conservationists. World Watch magazine: 17-31.
26B. McAfee, K. 1999. Selling nature to save it? Biodiversity and the rise of green
developmentalism. Environment and Planning D 17(2) 133 – 154.
27. Liverman, D.M. and S. Vilas. 2006. Neoliberalism and the Environment in Latin America.
Annual Review of Environment and Resources 31:327-363.
28. Bury, J. 2005. Mining mountains: neoliberalism, land tenure, livelihoods and the new Peruvian
mining industry in Cajamarca. Environment and Planning A 37:221-239.
Mar 13:
Political landscapes: patterns and structures
29. Sundberg, J. 1998. NGO Landscapes in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. The
Geographical Review 88(3):388-412.
30. Walker, P and L Fortmann. 2003. Whose landscape? A political ecology of the
‘exurban’ Sierra. Cultural Geographies 10:469-491.
31. Zimmerer KS, Bassett TJ. 2003. Political Ecology: An Integrative Approach to Geography and
Environment-Development Studies. New York: The Guilford Press. 310p. Chapter 7.
Mar 16:
Future trends in the field: critiques and new perspectives
32. Robbins P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. First ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing. 242p. Chapter 11
33. Walker PA. 2005. Political ecology: where is the ecology.? Progress in Human Geography
29(1):73-82.
34. Robbins P. 2006. The politics of barstool biology: Environmental knowledge and
power in greater Northern Yellowstone. Geoforum 37: 185-199.
Mar 17:
Final Project Presentations