Pacific Island countries often make headlines for facing natural hazards, especially cyclones, and their vulnerability to climate change. In face of extreme weather events and geographic isolation, local communities rely on deeply-rooted networks of food sovereignty highlighted by social exchange, mutual support and traditional knowledge. Such networks of food sovereignty are increasingly threatened by urban development and the transformation of consumption patterns.
Within the school system, Indigenous and local traditional knowledge is generally given at best a secondary epistemological status, often viewed as superstition. However, local and Indigenous knowledge traditionally breaks down the classic dichotomy between nature and society, and communities possess valuable knowledge that is not part of formal education. To bring attention to the social and emotional aspects of local agricultural knowledge, this paper investigates the role of school gardens in the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu.
Based on empirical studies in the frame of the EU Horizon 2020 project “FALAH” (family farming, lifestyle and health), I discuss school-led food sovereignty examples, which stand in contrast to cash crop-oriented agricultural programs promoted by international development agendas. The empirical studies include semi-structured interviews with pupils and teachers, and a questionnaire (mixed-method approach) in secondary schools on the islands of Tanna and Efate.
In particular, I explore oft-overlooked emotional and social experiences of knowing and growing local food (varieties) as a key element of climate resilience and environmental subjectivities. I also ask how school gardening contributes to the re-valorization of local agricultural knowledge and practices, and enhance haptic learning experiences.

Pacific Island countries often make headlines for facing natural hazards, especially cyclones, and their vulnerability to climate change. In face of extreme weather events and geographic isolation, local communities rely on deeply-rooted networks of food sovereignty highlighted by social exchange, mutual support and traditional knowledge. Such networks of food sovereignty are increasingly threatened by urban development and the transformation of consumption patterns.
Within the school system, Indigenous and local traditional knowledge is generally given at best a secondary epistemological status, often viewed as superstition. However, local and Indigenous knowledge traditionally breaks down the classic dichotomy between nature and society, and communities possess valuable knowledge that is not part of formal education. To bring attention to the social and emotional aspects of local agricultural knowledge, this paper investigates the role of school gardens in the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu.
Based on empirical studies in the frame of the EU Horizon 2020 project “FALAH” (family farming, lifestyle and health), I discuss school-led food sovereignty examples, which stand in contrast to cash crop-oriented agricultural programs promoted by international development agendas. The empirical studies include semi-structured interviews with pupils and teachers, and a questionnaire (mixed-method approach) in secondary schools on the islands of Tanna and Efate.
In particular, I explore oft-overlooked emotional and social experiences of knowing and growing local food (varieties) as a key element of climate resilience and environmental subjectivities. I also ask how school gardening contributes to the re-valorization of local agricultural knowledge and practices, and enhance haptic learning experiences.

There has been noted development in the field of Islam and Ecology on the concept of being a khalifah fi al-‘ardh (steward of the earth). Some authors, assuming a social ecology approach, have assumed the translation of khalīfah as ‘vicegerent’ or ‘steward’ to be valid in the effort to confront contemporary ecological catastrophe. However, a number of authors engaging a deep ecology approach have argued against defining khalīfah as vice-gerent or steward in an attempt to move beyond crass anthropocentric conceptualizations of stewardship which they believe further the ecological crisis. The discourse of Islamic Liberation Theology has provided a critical human ethics which seeks to address the problems of the world through the lens of the margins. This paper argues for a commitment to a liberatory form of human stewardship of the earth which brings together the best of deep and social ecology approaches.

On Being a Steward of the Earth: An Islamic Liberation Theology Approach, There has been noted development in the field of Islam and Ecology on the concept of being a khalifah fi al-‘ardh (steward of the earth). Some authors, assuming a social ecology approach, have assumed the translation of khalīfah as ‘vicegerent’ or ‘steward’ to be valid in the effort to confront contemporary ecological catastrophe. However, a number of authors engaging a deep ecology approach have argued against defining khalīfah as vice-gerent or steward in an attempt to move beyond crass anthropocentric conceptualizations of stewardship which they believe further the ecological crisis. The discourse of Islamic Liberation Theology has provided a critical human ethics which seeks to address the problems of the world through the lens of the margins. This paper argues for a commitment to a liberatory form of human stewardship of the earth which brings together the best of deep and social ecology approaches. KEYWORDS: Religion and Ecology, Islam, Liberation Theology, Stewardship

Individual Presentation

THE NARRATIVE PREDICTABILTY OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY

Drawing upon critical social theory and fine-grained empirical observations, political ecologists have long argued against hegemonic stories on environment, development and capitalism. Despite their diversity, this critical approach is largely shared among political ecologists rooted in the work of Marx, Polanyi and Foucault. In a world haunted by increasing social inequalities and ecological degradations, there are strong reasons to pursue this critical agenda. In this paper however, I coin the concept of narrative predictability to offer a critical engagement with a tendency towards a biased narrative plot featuring the State and/or the Corporation as villains, the environment and indigenous peoples as victims and activists as heroes. This engagement is not a reactionary attack, but rather an application of political ecology’s main tool – empirical scrutiny – on itself. Empirically, the paper draws upon recent fieldwork among indigenous Shuar people engaged in gold mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and my observations from a Latin American Political Ecology conference in Quito, accompanied by a Shuar leader. Whereas the fieldwork offers observations on the becoming of indigenous gold miners, the conference experience offers reflections on scholars rehearsing a narrative of indigenous resistance facing extractive industries accompanied by complicit States. Theoretically, the paper problematizes romanticism and essentialism within resistance studies. A key observation is a neglect of empirical complexity challenging the recurrent plot. What are the implications of avoiding discomforting observations when producing counter-narratives aimed for progressive change? This paper argues that political ecology needs to counter its own narrative predictability by strengthening its attentiveness to the heterogeneity and ambiguities of marginalized people in a world of capitalist ruins.

Narratives, political ecology, Amazonia

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Zoonotic diseases are rapidly increasing in incidences and geographic range, posing a significant threat to global health. Although our understanding of what increases the risk of zoonotic diseases emerging continues to develop, existing research tends to lack consideration for the structural forces and power relations behind zoonotic disease outbreaks. Without adequate attention to the structural drivers of zoonotic disease, disease mitigation and prevention measures will remain limited in their effectiveness. In this article, we suggest that political ecology can be used to reveal how processes of power unfold in socioecological systems to shape zoonotic risk, outbreaks, vulnerabilities, and interventions – ultimately extending and deepening understanding of why zoonotic diseases emerge and how best to prevent future outbreaks. Specifically, we show how political ecology can be used to reconceptualise key components of zoonotic outbreaks – reservoirs, interfaces, and spillovers – so that analyses of zoonoses are more attentive to the political-economic structures and power relations that work across space, scale and time to produce uneven experiences with and responses to zoonotic outbreak.