NGOs

"Disempowering Democracy: Local Representation in Community and Carbon Forestry in Africa"

In this special issue on Disempowering Democracies, Melis Ece, James Murombedzi and Jesse Ribot show how, though all major agencies intervening in community-based and carbon forestry – such as international development agencies, conservation institutions, and national governments – state that their interventions must engage local participation in decision making, forestry interventions conversely weaken local democracy.

"Democracy in the Woods"

In this special issue on Disempowering Democracies, Dan Brockington reviews the book Democracy in the Woods: Environmental Conservation and Social Justice in India, Tanzania, and Mexico (Studies in Comparative Energy and Environmental Politics) by Prakash Kashwan.

"Charismatic Species and Beyond: How Cultural Schemas and Organisational Routines shape Conservation"

Monika Krause and Katherine Robinson follow up on the observation that charismatic species attract a disproportionate amount of attention and resources in international conservation by investigating how cultural schemas and organizational routines shape resource allocation in conservation more broadly.

"Persistent Neoliberalisation in PES: Taxes, Tariffs, and the World Bank in Costa Rica"

In this Special Section on the Green Economy in the South, Brett Sylvester Matulis considers Costa Rica’s national “payments for ecosystems services” (PES) programme. He explores World Bank / Costa Rica relations and market-oriented interventions to the financing of ecosystem service payments and explains that (despite inherent contradictions inhibiting market formation) neoliberal actors within the state can still implement mechanisms designed to approximate markets.

International Organizations and Environmental Protection: Conservation and Globalization in the Twentieth Century

International Organizations and Environmental Protection comprehensively explores the environmental activities of professional communities, NGOs, regional bodies, the United Nations, and other international organizations during the twentieth century. It follows their efforts to shape debates about environmental degradation, develop binding intergovernmental commitments, and—following the seminal 1972 Conference on the Human Environment—implement and enforce actual international policies.

Environmental Knowledge and Environmental Politics in Portugal: From Resistance to Incorporation

This article traces the development of environmentalism in Portugal, and particularly the role of environmental NGOs as producers of expert knowledge to be used in policy making. The Portuguese environmental movement has professionalized rather than formalizing as green political parties. Portuguese environmentalism has adapted and evolved under authoritarian regimes, neoliberalism, European integration, and the financial crisis.

"Moving Beyond the Nation State? Reflections on European Environmental History"

This historiographical essay outlines and discusses major trends within European environmental history by highlighting recent discussions and future possibilities regarding collaboration across national borders and contexts, and ultimately arguing for more transnational cooperation within the field of environmental history.