Coping with Changing Environments: Social Dimensions of Endangered Ecosystems in the Developing World

First published in 1999. A collection of empirical research and theoretical reflection on the modelling of environmental change from a social perspective. The focus is on the endangered ecosystems in the developing world and examples are given from Asia, Africa and Latin America. After Regions at Risk (Kaspersons et al, 1995 UNO University Press) it is the second compilation that focuses on regional empirical evidence with regard to Global Environmental Change. On a national and European level, it gives an overview of regional studies coming from the first German Priority Programme on the Social Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. The introductory and concluding parts of the book reflect the strictly interdisciplinary approach of the research programme and form a step towards the understanding of human driving forces and responses to Global Change rooted in regional transformation processes. The book offers a source of information and theoretical guidelines for the newly evolving scientific community of Global Change Research; including teachers, politicians and anyone involved in social and environmental policy and planning.

Table of Contents:
1. Endangered Ecosystems and Coping Strategies Towards a Conceptualization of Environmental Change in the Developing World Beate Lohnert and Helmut Geist 2. Coping with Vulnerability and Unsustainability, The Case of Nepalese Upland Farmers Hans-Georg Bohle 3. Hydropower, Rice Farmers and the State, The Case of Deforestation in Laos Thomas Krings 4. Debating Vulnerability, Environment and Housing, The Case of Rural-Urban Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa Beate Lohnert 5. Soil Mining and Societal Responses, The Case of Tabaco in Eastern Miombo Highlands Helmut Geist 6. Changes of Land Use and Institutions in Natural Resource Management, The Case of the Tanzanian Maasailand Sven Schade 7. Drought Hazards and Threatened Livelihoods, Environmental Perceptions in Botswana Fred Kruger 8. Enviromental Conversation, Land Tenure and Migration, The Case of the Atlantic Rainforest in Southeast Brazil Florian Duckmann 9. Why Herd Animals Die, Environmental Perception and Cultural Risk Management in the Andes Barbara Gobel 10. Risks and Coping Strategies of a Vulnerable Group in the Dominican Dry Forest, The Case of Charcoal Burners in Chalona Veronika Ulbert 11. Actors, Structures and Environments, A Comparative and Transdisciplinary View on Regional Case Studies pf Global Environment Change Gerhard Petschel-Held, Matthais K.B Ludeke and Fritz Reusswig