The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies
Saint Lucia’s rural landscape is more forested today than at any time in at least seventy-five years (probably much longer). This change is profoundly significant given widespread efforts to achieve sustainable development on small-island states like Saint Lucia. Yet, this seemingly good-news story runs contrary to most conventional narratives about the worsening state of the environment in the Caribbean and elsewhere. How did this remarkable change come about? What role did government, the private sector and other actors play in this? What are the links between this environmental change and wider changes in the Saint Lucian economy, politics and society? Is there more to this story than meets the eye? These questions are explored in this interdisciplinary study of changing human-environment relations since the Second World War.

The Greening of Saint Lucia is based on the results of a long-term, field-based research project that began in 2006. It entails the application of a novel research methodology for doing human-environment research (ACE: abductive causal eventism) that the author co-developed with a colleague from Rutgers University. This causal-historical methodology allows for the rigorous integration of findings derived from natural and social science sources, including ecological and air photo assessments, interviews, secondary data sources, and archival investigations.

1131660436
The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies
Saint Lucia’s rural landscape is more forested today than at any time in at least seventy-five years (probably much longer). This change is profoundly significant given widespread efforts to achieve sustainable development on small-island states like Saint Lucia. Yet, this seemingly good-news story runs contrary to most conventional narratives about the worsening state of the environment in the Caribbean and elsewhere. How did this remarkable change come about? What role did government, the private sector and other actors play in this? What are the links between this environmental change and wider changes in the Saint Lucian economy, politics and society? Is there more to this story than meets the eye? These questions are explored in this interdisciplinary study of changing human-environment relations since the Second World War.

The Greening of Saint Lucia is based on the results of a long-term, field-based research project that began in 2006. It entails the application of a novel research methodology for doing human-environment research (ACE: abductive causal eventism) that the author co-developed with a colleague from Rutgers University. This causal-historical methodology allows for the rigorous integration of findings derived from natural and social science sources, including ecological and air photo assessments, interviews, secondary data sources, and archival investigations.

50.0 In Stock
The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies

The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies

by Bradley B. Walters
The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies

The Greening of Saint Lucia: Economic Development and Environmental Change in the West Indies

by Bradley B. Walters

Overview

Saint Lucia’s rural landscape is more forested today than at any time in at least seventy-five years (probably much longer). This change is profoundly significant given widespread efforts to achieve sustainable development on small-island states like Saint Lucia. Yet, this seemingly good-news story runs contrary to most conventional narratives about the worsening state of the environment in the Caribbean and elsewhere. How did this remarkable change come about? What role did government, the private sector and other actors play in this? What are the links between this environmental change and wider changes in the Saint Lucian economy, politics and society? Is there more to this story than meets the eye? These questions are explored in this interdisciplinary study of changing human-environment relations since the Second World War.

The Greening of Saint Lucia is based on the results of a long-term, field-based research project that began in 2006. It entails the application of a novel research methodology for doing human-environment research (ACE: abductive causal eventism) that the author co-developed with a colleague from Rutgers University. This causal-historical methodology allows for the rigorous integration of findings derived from natural and social science sources, including ecological and air photo assessments, interviews, secondary data sources, and archival investigations.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9789766407056
Publisher: The University of the West Indies Press
Publication date: 02/05/2019
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

BRADLEY B. WALTERS is Professor of Geography and Environment, Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada. His publications include Causal Explanation for Social Scientists: A Reader (co-edited with A.P. Vayda) and Against the Grain: The Vayda Tradition in Human Ecology and Ecological Anthropology (co-edited with B.J. McCay, P. West and S. Lees).

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Explaining Land Use Change and Reforestation
Before Bananas
Post-War Changes in Forests and Land Use
Banana Booms and Busts
Land Tenure, Tree Planting and Forest Conservation
Migration, Labour and Land Use Change
Tropical Tourism: Blessing or Curse for Saint Lucia’s Environment?
Conclusion. The Greening of Saint Lucia
Appendix 1. Summary of Tree Species (by Habitat Type) Identified in Vegetation Surveys of Soufrière and Mamiku Watersheds in 2006
Notes
References
Index
From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Customer Reviews