Against Political Ecology

7/29/2019 Against Political Ecology

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Against Political EcologyAuthor(s): Andrew P. Vayda and Bradley B. WaltersReviewed work(s):Source: Human Ecology, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Mar., 1999), pp. 167-179Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4603312 .

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Human Ecology,Vol.27, No. 1, 1999

Commentary

Against Political Ecology1Andrew P. Vayda2 and Bradley B. Walters2

INTRODUCTIONStarting with a priori judgments, theories, or biases about the impor-tance or even primacy of certain kinds of political factors in the explanationof environmental changes, self-styled political ecologists have focused theirresearch on environmental or natural resource politics and have missed orscanted the complex and contingent interactions of factors whereby actual

environmental changes often are produced. As an alternative to the presentplethora of programmatic statements on behalf of political ecology, a pro-posal is presented here for what may be called evenemental or event ecol-ogy. Our own experience in applying an evenemental approach to researchon mangrove forests of the Philippines will be drawn on for the purposeof illustration.

WHY POLITICAL ECOLOGY NOW AND WHAT IT'S ABOUTIn anthropology and related fields, the program or movement nowbeing called "political ecology" appears to have begun as a reaction tocertain features of human ecology or ecological anthropology as it waspracticed in the 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, there was reaction to

1An earlier version of this paper, with an extended illustration from Borneo rather than fromthe Philippines, was presented by Vayda at the 96th Annual Meeting of the AmericanAnthropological Association, Washington, D.C., November 22, 1997. The interest generatedby that presentation has induced us to publish the present article as a brief communicationat a time when other priorities and commitments prevent us from undertaking a longer andmore comprehensive review and analysis. The original illustration, concerning forest-productexploitation in Borneo, is summarily mentioned below.2Department of Human Ecology, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NewJersey 08901-8520.167

0300-7839/99/0300-0167$16.00/0 i 1999 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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168 Vayda and Walters

the neglect of "the political dimensions of human/environmentnterac-tions"-a neglect regardedas stemming rompreoccupationwith homeo-static or adaptive processes and, related to this, from the treatmentofhumancommunitiesas if theywerefairlyhomogeneous,autonomousunitsinvolved in, or engaging n, those processes n relation to their biotic andabiotic environments Durham,1995, p. 249;Moore, 1996, p. 125).3As a generalrule, more attention to politicalinfluences on human/environment nteractionsand on environmental hangeitself is no doubta good thing, since such influences are no doubt often important.Manyself-styledpoliticalecologists,however,go wellbeyond asking ororpayingmore attention o such influences.Problematically,heyinsist thatpoliticalinfluences-especially politicalinfluencesfrom the outside, from the so-called widerpolitical-economic ystem-are always important,arguablymore mportanthananything lse,and shouldaccordingly e givenpriorityin research see, for example,Bryantand Bailey,1997,pp. 5-7, on "puttingpolitics first").4This is a prescription or question-begging esearch(i.e.,for concentrating n factors assumed n advance to be importantand forthus missingbothother factorsandthecomplexand contingent nteractionsof factorswherebyenvironmental hangesoften are produced).

Moreover,somepoliticalecologistsdo not even dealwithliterally heinfluenceof politics n effectingenvironmental hangebut ratherdeal onlywith politics, albeit politicssomehow related to the environment. ndeed,it may not be an exaggeration o say that overreaction o the "ecologywithoutpolitics"of three decadesagoisresultingnowin a "politicswithoutecology," which, in violationof truthin labeling,is still billingitself as"political cology" (insteadof "natural esourcepolitics"orsimply"politi-cal anthropology"or "politicalscience")and is still claiming, n at leastsome of the many programmatic tatementsmade on behalf of politicalecology, to be seeking understanding r explanationsof "environmentalchange" (e.g., Bryant,1992, p. 13; Bryantand Bailey, 1997, p. 191 and3The"politicalecology" label has been adopted also by some overtly politicalmovementsfor their promotionof alternatives o what they regardas an inherentlyenvironmentallydestructive apitalistsystem based on constantlyexpandingproduction see, for example,MartfnezAlier, 1995).The originsof these movements eem to lie more n Marxist raditionand green environmental olitics han n reaction o anythingn the ecologicalanthropologyof earlierdecades. n order o maintain ur focusonmethodologicalssueswhich heresearchagendaandexplanatory laimsofpoliticalecologistshaveraised orus abouthuman/environ-ment interactions nd environmentalhangeas objectsof study and explanation,we do notdeal with these politicalmovements n this article.4Whatmaybe operatinghere s a confusionof generalitywithpriority. fso, then,as suggestedby Ellis (1997,p. 61) in his commentson politicized iterarycriticism,he sameillogicthatis used for inferring roma presumedpoliticaldimension n all actionsthat "politics s thedeepest and most importantconsiderationn any situation"may be used for makingtheabsurd nferencethat each of a dozen or more other kinds of factors-physical, chemical,economic, and psychological, or example-is likewise the most important nsofar as it isalso an aspector featureof all actions.



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Against PoliticalEcology 169

passim)or "ecologicalprocesses"(e.g., Moore, 1996,p. 125), even thoughwhat are actuallystudiedare political controlsor politicalcontests overnaturalresourcesand not, or at leastnot to any significant xtent, how theresourcesare affected by those controls or contests.If the object of explanation s truly to be environmentalchange, aprogrammatic lternative o politicalecology is whatmay be called evene-mental or eventecology.This does not prejudge he importanceof politicalfactors but is still duly attentive to any and all kinds of them wheneverthey are seen in the course of researchto be interestingand relevanttoexplainingparticularenvironmentalor environment-related vents.5Ourownpreferredmethod s to beginresearchwith a focus on the environmen-tal events or changesthatwe want to explainand then to work backwardin time and outwardin space so as to enable us to construct chains ofcauses and effects leadingto those events or changes.6By contrast,thepracticeof many politicalecologists, presumablyregardingaccess to re-sourcesasalwayspoliticallydeterminedand as always mportantor under-standingor explainingenvironmental hange,is to focus their researchonsuchaccess,or on change n such access,and to paylittle or no attentiontoactuallydemonstrating nvironmental ffects. Forexample,Gezon (1997),reportingon her research n Madagascar, esignatesherstudy as "politicalecology"andfocuses almostentirelyon "howpeople interactto establishand contest accessto resources." n anotherstudydescribedby one of uselsewhere(Vayda, 1997,pp. 7-10), social scientistswith a politicalecologyview of access were interpreting he exclusion of outside forest-product5A difference between evenemental or event ecology as we are advocating it here and whatLees and Bates cogently put forward in 1984 as an "event-focused approach to ecologicalstudy" is that the latter is more concerned with human responses to environmental eventsthan with the causes (including human actions) of those events. Although much more cognizantof environmental change than were the homeostasis-oriented ecological anthropologists ofthe 1960s (as represented, for example, in Vayda, 1969), Lees and Bates in 1984 werestill like them in drawing on environmental data primarily for the purpose of elucidatinghuman behavior.6Forarguments and illustrations in support of this method, see Vayda (1996, 1998a) and Rudel(in press). Deciding not in advance of research but rather finding in the actual course of it thatcertain political factors are relevant to explaining particular environmental or environment-related events can be illustrated from some of Vayda's recent research experience. In Indone-sian Borneo in 1996, he and his research collaborators found that government success inrelocating forest-cutting, pepper-farming Bugis settlers from a nature reserve despite earlierreports of the settlers' resistance to relocation could be attributed less to the decline in yieldsfrom old pepper plantations and the related factors that were initially investigated than tolittle publicized military intimidation of the settlers (Vayda and Sahur, 1996, pp. 43-47).Similarly, in the course of a research reconnaissance in southwest China in 1998, Vaydafound that the plans that he had originally made, on the basis of other researchers' projectsand reports, for a study of increases in agricultural biodiversity as a result of farmers' decisionsand actions had to be scrapped in favor of developing a project concerned not only withbiodiversity increases but also with biodiversity losses as a result of political pressures toproduce particular crops (Vayda, 1998b).



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collectorsfrom certainvillage landsin Borneo as a conservationmeasurepreventing he local extinctionof the Aquilaria reesfromwhich he valuedaromaticforest product, gaharu (also called aloes wood or eaglewood),maybe obtained.Little or no attemptwasmade, however,by these socialscientists o obtaindataon the actual tatusof Aquilariapopulations n theirstudy area, and they ignored biologicalstudiessuggesting hat Aquilariaextinction was not likely to occur in an area before outside collectorsabandon t, regardlessof whetherany action to excludethem is takenbylocal villagers.7Furthermore,omepoliticalecologistshave put their practice nto theserviceof a populistpoliticalagendaand the "greenromanticism"f think-ing that devolvingcontrol over resourcesto local communitiesso as tomitigatecertain nfluences rom the widerpolitical-economicystemmusteffect moresustainableuse of the resources.For these politicalecologists,changes resulting n greater communitycontrol over resources thereforerank high on both political and researchagenda. These points will bediscussed urther n relationto the Philippinecase to be described.8

THE RATIONALE FOR EVENT ECOLOGYAS AN ALTERNATIVEWhyarewe proposingevenementalor eventecologyas an alternativeto political ecology? For one thing, the proposalis consistentwith bothphilosophicalandpracticalarguments or lettingresearchbe guidedmoreby open questionsabout why events occur than by restrictivequestionsabout howtheyare affectedbyfactorsprivilegedn advancebythe investi-gator. But it should be understoodthat being guided by open questions

7Apoliticalecologyview of accesshas been set forthmoresystematically yRibot and Peluso(n.d.), who state the following:". . . in tracingout from the most local structures f forestcontrol to larger social and political-economicelations . . accessanalysisdemonstrateshow localphysicalaccess o forests s shapedbycontrolovermarketaccessand aborcontrolsembedded n relationsof authority nd social dentity...." This view of access,presentedalso in Ribot (1998), is entirelyconsistentwith the followingcharacterization f politicalecologyby Peluso:". . . politicalecologyemphasizeshesocialrelationswithinwhichactorsareembeddedandwhichaffect heways heyuse theenvironment . . [and]political cologyassumes that largersocial structures ndpolitical-economic rocesseswill affectthe actionsof localresourceusers. . . . Thesestructuresndprocesses reexaminedn amoresystematicmanner, herefore...." (Peluso,1992,p. 51, emphasis n original)8SomeAmazonian videnceon the failureof community egulation or sustainable se (e.g.,Rudel, 1995,p. 504, citing CoelloHinojosa,1992,on the EcuadorianAmazon;Anon., 1993,ConklinandGraham,1995,p. 703,on the BrazilianAmazon)also bearson these pointsandhas been citedby one of us elsewhere Vayda,1997,p. 5; Vayda, 1998a,p. 574). That thereareexceptions o thegreenromanticismf political cologistswith apopulistpoliticalagendais indicatedby Li (1996, p. 501), who arguesfor consciouslymisrepresentingommunitiesas "sites of consensusand sustainability"n orderto "strengthenhe propertyclaims ofpotentiallydisadvantaged roups."



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Against Political Ecology 171

does not meanconsideringall conceivablecauses or else having he licenseto consider any conceivableevent or action as a cause, no matter howremote from the events to be explained. What it does mean is takingourselves,eitheractuallyor by means of thoughtexperiments, o the timeandplaceof those eventsandthenaskingourselveswhatantecedenteventsoccurring henand there couldhave broughtaboutthe outcomesof interestto usandcouldhavekept things romturningoutdifferently. notherwords,the possibilitieswe considershouldnot be confinedto those prescribedbyany single or simple agendaor theory, but, at the same time, the causeswe consider and seek evidence for should, as Moore (1978, p. 377) hassuggested,be concrete events specific to concretesituations.We thinkthere is a lot to be said in favor of being guidedmore byopen questions n ourresearch,and we will indeed say morein the courseof describingand discussing he illustrativeresearchin the Philippines.9There is, however,a secondgeneralpoint to be made aboutour proposalin light of all the hype and hooplain socialscience about politicalecologyas an emergingfield or subfield. The point is that our proposal,unlikepoliticalecologists'programmatictatements,conforms o the heuristicallyproductivepracticeof distinguishingields or subfieldson the basisof whatis to be explained(in thiscase, environmental vents or changes) and noton the basis of a priori judgments, heories,or biases about what will dothe explaining.

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE PHILIPPINESThis illustrations drawn romfield researchdone by Walters n 1997on the causes andconsequencesof mangroveforest plantingand cuttingin BaisBay and BanaconIsland,Philippines.Mangrovesarea class of treethatgrowin sheltered, ntertidalareasthroughout he tropics.Mangrovesare recognizedas ecologically mportantbecausethey constitute fisheriesand wildlife habitatand build land and protect shorelines from erosion.Because humansettlements endto concentratealong coastlines,mangroveforests are often harvestedfor wood and fish/shellfishproducts,serve asstorm buffersto property,and are frequentlycleared for settlement andaquacultureponds (Baconguiset al., 1994;Primavera,1995). The wide-spreaddegradation ndwholesaleclearingof mangrove orests scommonly

9Wehave said more alsoin otherpublications e.g.,in Vayda,1996,1998a,VaydaandSahur,1996,pp. 50-51; Walters tal., 1999).The kindofpointmadeby Mooreabout heconcretenessand situation-specificityf the causesappropriateor us to consider s discussed urtherbyvariousauthors oncernedwiththeexplanatory se of counterfactual nalysis see, for exam-ple, Fearon, 1996, p. 66; Griffin,1993, pp. 1101-1104;Hawthorn,1991, pp. 107, 187, andpassim; Tetlock andBelkin, 1996,pp. 7-8, 23-25; Weber, 1949,pp. 165ff).



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cited as one of the Philippinenation's most pressingenvironmental on-cerns.Recent changesto forestryand coastalresourcespolicyin the Philip-pineshaveemphasized he need to devolvegreatermanagementauthorityfrom state agencies and large,commercial ntereststo local communitiesand households(DENR, 1993, 1996;Gibbset al., 1990;PomeroyandPido,1995). To achieve this, the Departmentof Environmentand NaturalRe-sources(DENR) is usinghouseholdandcommunity-basedenurial nstru-mentswhichgive leaseholdersusufructcontrolof forests, includingman-groves, for stipulatedperiodsof time (usually25 years). Underlyingthisshift in policy emphasis o more decentralizedmanagements the arguablyimportant ocial goal of promotinggreaterequityin access to the nation'snaturalresources.At the same time, it is assumedthat devolution to thelocal level will lead to moreeffective,sustainable orestmanagement.Thetwin plagues of Philippinedevelopment-inequality and environmentaldegradation-are thus seen as being addressed imultaneously.The political ssueof decentralization f control over forest resourcesis certainlyan important ubjectandpresumablywould be of considerableinterestto personswhostudypowerrelations n the Philippines, speciallyas such relations nfluence he environment.Forexample,Broad andCava-nagh (1993, pp. 74-80),in examiningenvironmental hanges n the Philip-pine provincesof BataanandNegrosOccidental,describehowelites, tryingto furtherenrichthemselves and supportedby export-orientednationaldevelopment policies, have destroyed vast tracts of mangrovesfor thedevelopmentof capital-intensiveprawnfarms. The authorssuggest thatthe poor fisherfolk iving in these coastal areas are more inclined to beconcernedaboutthe environment ecauseof theirdirectrelianceoncoastalresources or their livelihoods.Implicit n theiranalysis s the assumptionthat environmentallydestructive outcomes would be more likely to beaverted f the localfisherfolkwere endowedwith more secureaccesscontrolover mangrovesandother coastal resources.As the followingillustrationwill show, some of the sites studiedbyWaltersweresimilarly haracterized y highlyunequaldistribution f land,and this has hadinteresting mplicationsorthemangroveshere.However,the actualenvironmentaleffects of this distributionwere more complexthan wouldbe expectedfrom the analysisby Broad andCavanagh 1993),and were often inconsistentwith theirunderlyingassumptionsabout thecauses of mangrovedegradationandconservation.The impetusfor Walters'studycame fromobservationsof importantenvironmental hanges nmangrovesntwospecific itesinthePhilippines:Bais Bay in Negros Orientaland Banacon Island in Bohol. Naturalman-grove forests in both sites had been dramatically educedin distributionsince the SecondWorldWar,andremainingnaturalmangroveswere highly



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degraded,apparently rom humanuse (de Leon etal., 1991;Walters,1995,1997). At the sametime, mangrovesn certainareaswereactuallyshowingevidence of expanded distribution,apparentlythe direct result of localpeoples' plantingand protecting mangrovetrees (Cabahug et al., 1986;Walters,1995).The researchwas thus guidedby the desire,first,to assessmore precisely the natureof the environmentalchanges in question and,second,to understand he actualcausesof these changes.Answering hesequestionsrequired hat we consider he potentialcausal nfluenceof socio-economicandpolitical actors, ncluding esourceaccessand tenure.Unlikemost studies npoliticalecology, however,ouranalysisbegan with a carefulconsiderationof the actual environmental hanges that requiredexplana-tion, and then worked outward n space and backward n time in searchof relevant causal influences.For example,between the 1940s and 1970s, wealthylandownerswithpropertyadjacent o the coast,as well as severalambitious ow andmiddle-income entrepreneurs, leared large tracts of mangrove orest to developfish ponds to raise milkfish Chanoschanos) for domesticmarkets.Someof these pondswerelater converted o prawnproductionduring he prawnboom of the 1980s, though most have since reverted to milkfish.Thus,mangrovedeforestationn Bais antedated he capital-intensive ndexport-orientedpoliticaleconomyof prawnfarming.Furthermore, ome of theseelitessubsequentlynvestedheavily nplantingandprotectionof significantstandsof mangroveforest on the perimetersof their properties.In fact,with the exceptionof a local ecologicalreserve,the largestand arguablybest protectedstandsof mangroveforests in North and South Bais Bayaremanagedbylocal elites andentrepreneurswhoacknowledge heimpor-tance of having mangroves o protect their fishpondsand lands and whohave the means to plantand effectively protectlargeareas.Poor fisherfolk,manyof themlandless,have also claimed smallareasnear their homes for planting mangrovesfor bunsod (fish corral) poles,stormprotection,and tenuresecurity.Governmentextensionagents actingunderthe auspicesof aforementionedpolicieshaverecently acilitated hisprocessby allocatingmangrove tewardshipenurecontracts o manysuchhouseholdsin Bais and elsewhere.Planting n these areasis, nonetheless,very uneven in space and over time. For one, we discovered that manysites aresimplynotecologically uitable ormangroves, ndrepeatedeffortsto plantin these areashave failed for thisreason.Theprovisionof tenurialinstruments o fisherfolk n areasecologicallyunsuitable or plantinghasprovento be a largelyfutile exercisein mangrovemanagement.'0"These findingsmirror xperiences rom other sites in the Philippineswhere tenurial nstru-ments have been used as a basis for local mangrovereforestationand management H.Calumpong nd J. H. Primavera, ersonalcommunication).



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174 Vayda and WaltersThe situation is furthercomplicatedby the fact that local peoples'claims o mangroves re often more aboutclaims o landthanthey are aboutthe trees standingon them(Walters,1998b).Forexample,we documentednumerouscases of mangrovesites being claimed and planted but subse-quentlycutbyfisherfolkwhohadattainedsufficient apital o convert heirmangroveareas into what they viewed as economicallymore productiveuses (fishponds,housesites, etc.). In at leastone recentcase,a smallgroupof landlesspersonsclaimeda mangrovearea,cut the treesthere, developedthe basic infrastructure n the site (dikes and drainagecanals),and then

soldthe pondto a personwho could afford he capital nvestmentsneededfor a functioningaquacultureoperation.In short,there is clear evidencethat manylocal peoples' plantingand protectionof mangroves,howeverapparently ompatiblewith conservation n the shortterm,is often moti-vated mainly by other concerns,such as wantingto establish and claimsand associateddevelopmentrights hatmightotherwisebe takenby neigh-bors or outsiders.11ttainingsecurityof tenurehashadimportant mplica-tions for mangroves n Bais, but by no means has it assured successfulplantingand conservationof mangrovesby eitherpooreror richerhouse-holds.So far,we have focusedhere on instancesof the clearingor creationof entire standsof forest.The researchalso revealed that the compositionand structure f manyexisting oreststandswerebeingalteredas a resultofwidespreadcuttingfor fuelwood andconstructionmaterials.For example,ecological surveysof mangrovesrevealed the presenceof as many as 15differentspecies of trees, althoughsites differeddramaticallyn terms ofspecies compositionand only five or six species were ubiquitousacrossmany sites. These same surveysalso revealed that cuttingof individualtreesfor fuelwoodand constructionmaterialswasthe mostubiquitous ormof microstructuralisturbancen both naturalandplantedforests and that,among other effects, this cuttinghad reduced the mean live basal areaof forestsby nearlyhalf. Subsequent nterviewsof local mangroveusersconfirmed hese generalobservationsand showedthat,while virtuallyallspeciesare cut forfuelwood,onlycertain peciesarecut for useas construc-tion materials."Justas similarmotivations, ather hanconservation, ave been behindsome attempts oestablish he marine eserves-for example, nPapuaNewGuinea Polunin,1984,p. 273)-that havebeenprematurely ailedasPacific slanders' traditionalonservationmeasures"(see, for example,Johannes,1978,1981,Chap.5). Similarly,n discussingwhetherconserva-tion is practicedby certainDayakvillagers n Borneorainforests,Vayda(1997, p. 7) hasreferred o theirrestricting ccessto theirterritories ot, as some observershaveassumed,for the sake of conservation, ut rather or the sake of reserving o themselves he profitsfrom ntensified xploitation f particularorestproductsn demandbytradersat particulartimes (cf. the discussionaboveon restriction f accessto village ands n Borneo).



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The most economicallyvalued uses of mangrovewood in both studyareas today are for posts in fishtrap,fish corral (bunsod), and home con-struction.Bunsod,in particular, re abundant n both areas andthere areactive, albeit highlyinformalmarkets or buying and selling bunsodposts.In Banacon,mangroveposts are also boughtand sold within and to neigh-boringislandsfor constructionof homes, fences and the like. For this use,unlike the use of wood for fuel, there is a clear preferencefor "bakau"(Rhizophora p.) because the wood is particularlytrong and durableandthe trees tend to grow straighter han most other common species. Oneconsequenceof this sthatmanypersonswhohavemadeclaims o mangroveareas orthepurposeof plantation stablishment"high-grade"hem subse-quentlyfor bakauby cuttingbackandweedingout less valuedspecies.Aswell, the highlyunusualreproductivebiologyof bakau makes it relativelyeasy to propagateand plant comparedto other commontrees, including"pagatpat" (Sonneratiasp.), "piapi" and "bungalon" (Avicennia sp.).Bakau are viviparous,which means that the seeds germinateand elongateinto stemswhile still attached o the motherplant.These elongatedpropa-gulesareeasilydetachedwhenripeandwillquicklysproutroots and leaveswhen stuck several inches deep into mud in a suitable environment.R. mucronata,n particular, ruitsprofuselyand so tends to be collectedandplantedin muchlargerquantities hanR. apiculata.No doubtit is becauseof its economicvalue and ease of planting hatbakaudominatesmostmanaged orest stands.Infact,mostmangroveareasclaimed, planted, and managed by local people tend to be virtual treemonoculturesof R. mucronata,n contrast o even heavily cut,unmanagedmangrove areas, which tend to be characterizedby three or more treespecies (Walters,1998a).Thisfindinghasimportant cological mplicationsbecause t suggests hat theproliferation f localplantingandmanagementmay exact a cost in termsof reducedspecies diversity,even if it leads tolocal expansionof mangrove orest distribution.Equally nteresting s theclear influenceof ecologicalandbiologicalfactors-specifically, the varieddistributionandreproductivebiologyof differentspecies-on subsequentpatternsof mangroveutilization,planting,and management.In summary, esearchon mangroves n Bais Bay and BanaconIslandhas shownthat human nfluenceon these forests is substantial.Efforts toexplainparticular nvironmentalhanges-including specificcasesof forestexpansionor contraction ndchanges nforeststructure ndspeciescompo-sition-revealed the causal nfluenceof a varietyof events,including ometo whichpoliticalecologistswould be likelyto have been attracted or thepurposeof explainingenvironmental hanges.The expansionof aquacul-ture and the clearingof mangroves orsettlementby landlessareexamplesof such, although he case studyshould serve as a caveatto politicalecolo-



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gists who are inclined to make generalizations bout the relationshipbe-tween such factors as wealth and income distributionand environmentalchange.Otherenvironmental hangesof interestwere found to be causedbyevents that political ecologistswould quite likely have overlooked or ig-nored. For example,probably he mostwidespread lass of eventslimitingthe spread of mangrove plantingin Bais Bay is biophysicalin nature:young mangroveplantationswere frequentlydestroyedby naturalcauses,includingwave damage, pest infestations,and entanglementby floatingseaweeds and other debris. Similarly,to explain other environmentalchanges,such as the establishment f many plantations hat are monocul-turesof one tree species,we would refer first to species-specific electioninplantingandhigh-grading y mangroveplanters,andthen,in accountingfor these practices,we would refer to decision-makingon the basis ofdifferences n not only the local market value but also the reproductivebiologyof tree species.

CONCLUDING REMARKSAs we have arguedand as the Philippinecase study and our otherillustrations how,ourconcernswithpoliticalecology arenot aboutwhetherpoliticalandpolitical-economicventscanbe important ausesof environ-mentalchange. Obviously they can and often are. Rather,our criticismsare directedat thosepoliticalecologistswho choose to privilege uchfactorsincertainways.Onewayconsistsof alwaysattributing pecialcausalsignifi-cance to these factors and not admittingthat other factors are, or maybe, more important ometimes.A more extremeway consistsof focusing

research on political events (as in the access studies to which we havereferred)and not at all or hardlyat all on environmentalones and then,without furtherado, usingthe research o makeclaims about the politicalevents as causesof environmental ventsor changes,which, alas,are onlyassumedratherthan demonstrated.The evenementalor event ecologythat we proposeas an alternativeto politicalecologyas a researchapproach fferstwoimportant dvantages.First, t requiresa more carefulappraisalof actualenvironmental hangesandthereby essens the likelihoodof inaccurate r erroneousclaimsaboutthe environmenton the basis of preconceived heoretical deas or agendas.An examplethat we have given of such claimsis Broad and Cavanagh's(1993) about differences n wealth andpower as factors n environmentaldestruction n the Philippines.This claim,as we have discussed,was notconsistently upportedby our evidence.Both rich andpoorwereinvolved,



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in complicated ways, in acts of both mangrove restoration and mangrove de-struction.There is a second important advantage. Being guided more by openquestions about why events occur than by restrictive questions about howthey are affected by factors privileged in advance by the investigator, evene-mental ecology does not prejudge political factors to be the most importantor even important at all in the case at hand, although it is still duly attentiveto any and all kinds of political factors-just as it is attentive to any andall kinds of biological or physical factors-whenever they are seen in thecourse of research to be interesting and relevant to explaining particularenvironmental events. Thus, in the Philippine case study, there was dueattention paid to political events, but biophysical events were found to besufficient to explain why plantations had not spread to many sites; biophysi-cal events helped also to explain why plantations are so dominated by onespecies. Such findings are in line with the point made earlier about theheuristic advantages of distinguishing fields or subfields on the basis ofwhat is to be explained (in this case, environmental events) and, contraryto the practice of political ecologists, not on the basis of a priori judgments,theories, or biases about what will do the explaining.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe thank Simon Batterbury, Neil Byron, Tim Jessup, Susan Paulson,and Tom Rudel for reading one or another draft of the paper and sug-gesting changes.

REFERENCESAnon. (1993). The savage can also be ignoble. Economist June 12, p.56.Baconguis, S. R., Cabahug, D. M., and Alonzo-Pasicolon, S. N. (1994). Identification andinventory of Philippine forested-wetland resource. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34: 21-44.Broad, R., and Cavanagh, J. (1993). Plundering Paradise: The Struggle for the Environmentof the Philippines. University of California Press, Berkeley.Bryant, R. L. (1992). Political ecology: An emerging research agenda in Third-World studies.Political Geography 11: 12-36.Bryant, R. L., and Bailey, S. (1997). Third World Political Ecology. Routledge, London.Cabahug, D. M., Ambi, F. M., Nisperos, S. O., and Truzan, N. C. (1986). Impact of community-based mangrove forestation to mangrove dependent families and to nearby coastal areasin the Central Visayas: A case study. In Mangroves of Asia and the Pacific: Status andManagement. Natural Resources Management Center and National Mangrove Commit-

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