Introduction – An Amphibious Anthropology: The Production of Place at the Confluence of Land and Water

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Gagné ◽  
Mattias Borg Rasmussen

Amid global climate change and an uneven global political economy that preys on natural resources, landscapes are reshaped at the confluence of land and water, concretely and abstractly. Focusing on the production of place, we suggest that at their point of convergence, there is relational ontology between land and water. This constitutive relationality is the basis of what we call an amphibious anthropology. By foregrounding temporality, movement, and ways of knowing, we aim to grasp the experience of places at the confluence of land and water and to probe into the specificities of life in such landscapes or into various amphibious anthropologies.

Author(s):  
Hilary Bambrick

Purpose The extraction of natural resources has long been part of economic development in small islands. The damage to environment and health is extensive, even rendering once productive islands virtually uninhabitable. Rather than providing long-term benefits to the population or to the environment, the culture of “extractivism” – a nonreciprocal approach where resources are removed and used with little care or regard to consequences – has instead left many in far more fragile circumstances, increasingly dependent on external income. The purpose of this paper is to show how continued extractivism in small islands is contributing to global climate change and increasing climate risks to the local communities. Design/methodology/approach Through a series of case studies, this paper examines the history of extractivism in small islands in Oceania, its contribution to environmental degradation locally and its impacts on health. Findings It examines how extractivism continues today, with local impacts on environment, health and wellbeing and its much more far-reaching consequences for global climate change and human health. At the same time, these island countries have heightened sensitivity to climate change due to their isolation, poverty and already variable climate, whereas the damage to natural resources, the disruption, economic dependence and adverse health impacts caused by extractivism impart reduced resilience to the new climate hazards in those communities. Practical implications This paper proposes alternatives to resource extractivism with options for climate compatible development in small islands that are health-promoting and build community resilience in the face of increasing threats from climate change. Originality/value Extractivism is a new concept that has not previously been applied to understanding health implications of resource exploitation thorough the conduit of climate change. Small-island countries are simultaneously exposed to widespread extractivism, including of materials contributing to global climate change, and are among the most vulnerable to the hazards that climate change brings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
MJ Rahman ◽  
JA Syeda ◽  
M Nasser

Several direct empirical time series investigations of global climate change and its impact have been studied by several world famous researchers. Some researches regarding local climatic change and its impact have been published but the time series properties of the variables related to national as well as local climate are yet to be able to have proper attention. The presence or absence of unit roots in these time series or inappropriate statistical tools may challenge the validity of the interpretations of their results and implies that cointegration analysis can be used to investigate the relation among variables. This article attempts to deduce time series properties of temperature, rainfall and humidity of Dinajpur district.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v6i2.22109 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 6(2): 127-137 2013


Author(s):  
Saritha Vara ◽  
Manoj Kumar Karnena ◽  
Bhavya Kavitha Dwarapureddi ◽  
Bhavannarayana Chintalapudi

There has been intensification regarding environmental consciousness in recent decades with increased attention on generated waste. This might not be one of the most imperative of problems but surely is the one that is most instantaneously manageable. An individual may not be directly influenced by global climate change, the destruction of the rain forests, disasters like Chernobyl and Bhopal; nevertheless, the constant disposal of garbage is happening endlessly, immediate to us and is definitely under our control. One of the prime reasons for the tremendous increase in solid waste is disposable products, that are readily availability and disposed after a single use. Use of disposable products in all areas from food packing, product packing, hospitals, etc., continues to increase despite limited landfill space and dwindling natural resources. This has led to the term “throw-away society.” In the present article, the authors focus on such products which are growing in the market and highlight the environmental effects once they are discarded. In this context, their efforts are to make significant contributions that could be applied to the support of designing and environmental labeling disposable products. This is in an effort to promote production and consumption of product options which can be characterized for lowering environmental impacts.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurens Landeweerd ◽  
Monique Surette ◽  
Corry van Driel

This paper gives an account of the issues at play in Europe with regard to the transition to a bio-based economy. Agricultural crops have always been used for the production of food, feed, fibre and fuel. The Model T Ford—the first mass produced car—originally ran on bioethanol, and wood has been in use as a source for energy ever since the discovery of fire. What is new is that the balance between agricultural uses is changing under the pressure of an increasing need for food and feed, as well as the new need for biofuels and biomaterials. At the basis of this change lie several serious issues related to the current use of bio-based feedstock to secure energy supply, the future depletion of natural resources and global climate change. Innovations in industrial biotechnology are expected to play a crucial role in dealing with these issues in biomass use.


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