Protecting the Environment and Improving Lives: How Can Elusive 'Win-Win' Outcomes Be Achieved?
- Location
- Alan Walters Building - G03
- Dates
- Wednesday 22 January 2020 (18:00-19:00)
- Contact
For more information, please contact Abbie Cooper by email or by phone on +44 (0)121 414 4726.
Professor Fiona Nunan
*Please note that this event is now over-subscribed. Entry will be on a first-come first-served basis. Whilst it is very rare for there to be no seats remaining, we advise arriving early to prevent disappointment.
As part of the College of Social Sciences inaugural lecture series, we are delighted to present the inaugural lecture of Fiona Nunan, Professor of Environment and Development.
Nature is deteriorating rapidly with widespread loss of animal and plant species, loss of habitats and a reduction in the availability of resources for food and income. At the same time, throughout the world there are high levels of poverty and inequality. Is it possible to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and poverty and inequality at the same time?
In the area of natural resources, including fisheries, forests and wildlife management, initiatives to achieve these ‘win-win’ outcomes have centred on involving local people in management. This has been encouraged through traditional systems, community-based structures and collaborative arrangements with government. Yet, in many low and middle-income countries, these approaches have not met expectations. They have not improved the sustainability of the environment or improved people’s lives.
Professor Nunan identifies why this has so often been the case and what can be done to improve the situation. She argues that the wider political and economic context of management systems has been largely ignored and that the multiple sources and dynamics of power make management challenging. She concludes that more flexible arrangements are needed that can be adapted to local situations, with systems and incentives that build on local norms and practices.
About Professor Fiona Nunan
Professor Fiona Nunan is Director of the International Development Department. Her research focuses on natural resource governance and livelihoods in low-income countries, particularly within inland fisheries and coastal locations in East and Southern Africa, and exploring links between poverty and the environment. She returned to academia in 2008, having worked for five years in East Africa on fisheries management projects. She is author of Understanding Poverty and the Environment: Analytical Frameworks and Approaches and editor of Making Climate Compatible Development Happen, in addition to a forthcoming edited volume, Governing Renewable Natural Resources: theories and frameworks.
About the College of Social Sciences Inaugural Lecture Series
An inaugural lecture is a key milestone in any academic's career, signifying their promotion to 'Professor'. It is an opportunity for our new professorial colleagues to present their innovative research first-hand. All of these events are free of charge and attendance is open to all, and we look forward to sharing the experience with you.
Find out more about the series and forthcoming events