Piers Blaikie

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Piers Macleod Blaikie
Born (1942-01-29) 29 January 1942 (age 81)
Helensburgh, Scotland
Known for Political ecology

Piers Macleod Blaikie (born 29 January 1942) is a Scottish geographer and scholar of international development and natural resources, who worked until 2003 at the School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia. [1] His contribution to development has been in four areas:

Contents

Background

Blaikie was born in wartime Scotland, in Helensburgh. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read the Geography Tripos (1964) and completed a PhD (1971). He lectured in geography at the University of Reading from 1968 to 1972, before spending 33 years at the University of East Anglia, in the School of Development Studies, where he eventually became Professor. He retired in 2003 but remained professionally active.

Major contributions

Of all his work his best known is the small volume published in 1985 Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries. [2] In this book, and elsewhere, he argues that soil erosion should not only, or even mainly, be thought of as being the result of mismanagement, overpopulation or for environmental reasons but can often be due to the effects of political economy on poor farmers. His earliest work was based on the case of Nepal, where the marginalisation of peasant farmers onto steep slopes has resulted in erosion. Blaikie writes "A principal conclusion of this book is that soil erosion in lesser developed countries will not be substantially reduced unless it seriously threatens the accumulation possibilities of the dominant classes" (p. 147). [3]

Blaikie's legacy from this book was the beginnings of regional political ecology, a particular approach to understanding the economic and political drivers of resource degradation and particularly the lack of access to natural resources suffered by poor or marginalised people. In Land Degradation and Society (1987) the approach received further development. Blaikie regards an environmental problem as rooted in processes operating at different nested scales, moving from the local to the international political economy. The job of the political ecologist is to work out how these scaled factors interrelate. [4] In AIDS in Africa Blaikie and UEA colleague Tony Barnett applied the approach to understanding the contemporary AIDS crisis in Africa, based on substantial fieldwork in East Africa. [5]

The first edition of At Risk (1994) applied the approach once again to a range of so-called 'natural' disasters, which were found to be significantly magnified by inequality and capitalist greed, leaving affected people in a 'reproduction squeeze'. This they called the 'pressure-release model', [6] where root causes – power, structures, resources, political systems, economic systems lie behind disaster pressures – e.g. lack of local institutions, rapid urbanisation. These lead to unsafe conditions – physical environment, local economy, vulnerability, public actions. On the physical side of the equation is a natural hazard. Risk=hazard+vulnerability.

Piers Blaikie has two children, Calum and Freya Blaikie, and 6 grandchildren, Iris, Etta, and Mari Blaikie, and Albie, Iona, and Xanthe Conway.[ citation needed ]

By this stage in the 1990s, political ecology had 'arrived' as a framework in the social sciences, and critiques began to be heard concerning the rigidities of some aspects of the framework. At Risk was rewritten and reissued in 2004, responding to these criticisms. [7]

Recognition

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster</span> Event or chain of events resulting in major damage, destruction or death

A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters are routinely divided into either "natural disasters" caused by natural hazards or "human-instigated disasters" caused from anthropogenic hazards. However, in modern times, the divide between natural, human-made and human-accelerated disasters is difficult to draw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political ecology</span> Study of political, economic and social factors about environmental issues

Political ecology is the study of the relationships between political, economic and social factors with environmental issues and changes. Political ecology differs from apolitical ecological studies by politicizing environmental issues and phenomena.

Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to its natural physical state. Degradation is an evolution, different from natural evolution, related to the local climate and vegetation. It is due to the replacement of primary plant communities by the secondary communities. This replacement modifies the humus composition and amount, and affects the formation of the soil. It is directly related to human activity. Soil degradation may also be viewed as any change or ecological disturbance to the soil perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural disaster</span> Major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth

A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake. The severity of the damage depends on the affected population's resilience and on the infrastructure available. Examples of natural hazards include: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, earthquake, hail, heat wave, hurricane, ice storm, landslide, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, typhoon, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, winter weather.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crisis</span> Unstable or dangerous event or situation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socioeconomics</span> Social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes

Socioeconomics is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local or regional economy, or the global economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land degradation</span> Process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by human-induced processes

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental issues in Haiti</span>

Environmental issues in Haiti include a historical deforestation problem, overpopulation, a lack of sanitation, natural disasters, and food insecurity. The major reasons for these environmental issues are corruption, foreign intervention by the U.S and human exploitation, and the embezzlement of taxpayers' funds for personal gains. In addition, there is not sufficient protection or management of the country's natural resources. Other environmental issues, such as decreases in precipitation and more severe natural disasters, will likely arise in Haiti as a result of climate change. Experts agree that Haiti needs to adopt new policies to address both the issues that already exist and to prepare for the effects of climate change.

Environmental issues in Nepal include a number of issues, such as deforestation, climate change, energy and species conservation. Many of these issues have been precipitated by rapid industrialization without major environmental regulation.

A person's livelihood refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential to everyday life that are conducted over one's life span. Such activities could include securing water, food, fodder, medicine, shelter, clothing. An individual's livelihood involves the capacity to acquire aforementioned necessities in order to satisfy the basic needs of themselves and their household. The activities are usually carried out repeatedly and in a manner that is sustainable and providing of dignity. For instance, a fisherman's livelihood depends on the availability and accessibility of fish.

Deforestation during the Roman period was a result of the geographical expansion of the Roman Empire, with its increased population, large-scale agriculture, and unprecedented economic development. Roman expansion marks the transition in the Mediterranean from prehistory to the historical period beginning around 500 BC. Earth sustained a few million people 8,000 years ago and was still fundamentally pristine, but Rome drove human development in Western Europe and was a leading contributor of the deforestation around the Mediterranean.

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In its broadest sense, social vulnerability is one dimension of vulnerability to multiple stressors and shocks, including abuse, social exclusion and natural hazards. Social vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to withstand adverse impacts from multiple stressors to which they are exposed. These impacts are due in part to characteristics inherent in social interactions, institutions, and systems of cultural values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster risk reduction</span>

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) sometimes called disaster risk management (DRM) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them. The most commonly cited definition of Disaster risk reduction is one used by UN agencies such as United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): "DRR is aimed at preventing new and reducing existing disaster risk and managing residual risk, all of which contribute to strengthening resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development".

Robert W. Kates was an American geographer and independent scholar in Trenton, Maine, and University Professor (Emeritus) at Brown University.

A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that harm being realized in a specific incident, combined with the magnitude of potential harm, make up its risk, a term often used synonymously in colloquial speech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Bangladesh</span> Emissions, impacts and responses of Bangladesh related to climate change

Climate change in Bangladesh is a critical issue as the country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In the 2020 edition of Germanwatch's Climate Risk Index, it ranked seventh in the list of countries most affected by climate calamities during the period 1999–2018. Bangladesh's vulnerability to climate change impacts is due to a combination of geographical factors, such as its flat, low-lying, and delta-exposed topography, and socio-economic factors, including its high population density, levels of poverty, and dependence on agriculture.

Community resilience is the sustained ability of a community to use available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations. This allows for the adaptation and growth of a community after disaster strikes. Communities that are resilient are able to minimize any disaster, making the return to normal life as effortless as possible. By implementing a community resilience plan, a community can come together and overcome any disaster, while rebuilding physically and economically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in the Philippines</span>

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References

  1. ↑ "Curriculum Vitae for Piers Macleod Blaikie", University of East Anglia. Retrieved on 27 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Piers Blaikie. (1985) The Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries. Longman.
  3. ↑ David Simon (ed) (2006) Fifty Key Thinkers in Development, Routledge
  4. ↑ Piers Blaikie & Harold Brookfield (1987)Land Degradation and Society. Methuen.
  5. ↑ Piers Blaikie and Anthony Barnett (1992) AIDS in Africa Belhaven Press, London
  6. ↑ "The Pressure and Release Model" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Blaikie 1994. Retrieved on 27 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Ben Wisner, Piers Blaikie, Terry Cannon and Ian Davis (2004) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. London, Routledge.
  8. ↑ "NTNU graduates record number of PhDs" NTNU, 2009. Retrieved on 27 May 2015.
  9. ↑ http://capeaag.wordpress.com/cape-honors/piers-m-blaikie/ Testimonial by Josh Muldavin
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