Nature, Culture, and Ecological Awareness: Narratives from the 'Other' World

Abstract

The mainstream environmentalists in the west have generally devoted little attention to the plight of communities, affected the most by changes in the environment, whether through large scale displacement for environmental conservation or through capitalist exploitation of resources, o r eve n through exposure to toxic materials. An exclusive focus on conservation has also taken the attention away from the pressing need for dealing with deeper issues underlying environmental degradation, for example, over-consumption by the First World citizenry and the Third World e lite which is leading to increasing deforestation and depletion of ocean resources.