Beyond the Biophysical: Knowledge, Culture, and Power in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management

Beyond the Biophysical provides a broad overview of agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) scholarship and practice that lies beyond the biophysical, emphasizing instead epistemological, cultural, and political foundations of NRM. The volume is oriented toward professionals with expertise in agriculture and natural resource management scholarship and practice, but who lack exposure to the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of critical theory, the anthropology of development, ecological anthropology, and other relevant scholarship. It therefore follows common standards of academic rigour, but minimizes the use of jargon, integrates detailed case studies with conceptual syntheses, and attempts to move from critique to concrete recommendations for scholarship and practice. The volume seeks to foster a more nuanced and responsible engagement with local communities and the natural world among NRM scholars and practitioners. Dedication.- Foreword.- Preface.- Introduction.- 1. Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, and 'Development' Beyond the Biophysical.- PART 1: Beyond Biophysical Assumptions.- 2. Beyond the Invisible: Finding the Social Relevance of Soil Nutrient Balances in Southern Mali.- 3. The 'Demonization' of Rainforest Migrants: What Conservation Means to Poor Colonist Farmers.- 4. Beyond Biodiversity: Culture in Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation in the Himalayan Foothills.- 5. Local Knowledge and Scientific Perceptions: Questions of Validity in Natural Resource Management Knowledge.- PART 2: Power Dynamics at the 'Development Interface'.- 6. 'Opting Out': A Case Study of Smallholder Rejection of Research in Western Kenya.- 7. Natural Resource Management in an Urban Context: Rethinking the Concepts of 'Community' and 'Participation' with Street Traders in Durban, South Africa.- 8. The Deliberative Scientist: Integrating Science and Politics in Forest Resource Governance in Nepal.- 9. Common Property Regimes: Taking a Closer Look at Resource Access, Authorization, and Legitimacy.- PART 3: Institutional Disjunctures and Innovations.- 10. Innovative Farmers, Non-Adapting Institutions: A Case Study of the Organization of Agroforestry Research in Malawi.- 11. Framing Participation in Agricultural and Natural Resource Management Research.- 12. Anthro-Apology? Negotiating Space for Interdisciplinary Collaboration and In-Depth Anthropology in the CGIAR.- 13. Who is Fooling Whom? Participation, Power, and Interest in Rural Development.- Index.