Democracy in the Woods: Environmental Conservation and Social Justice in India, Tanzania, and Mexico

Abstract

'Democracy in the Woods' examines the trajectories of forest and land rights in India, Tanzania, and Mexico to explain how societies negotiate the tensions between environmental protection and social justice. It shows that the social consequences of environmental protection depend, almost entirely, on political intermediation of competing claims to environmental resources. The politics and political economy of forestland regimes -- The origins and divergences of national forestland regimes -- Colonialism and the transformation of hinterlands -- Politics of "development" and national forestland regimes -- Political mediation of land conflicts in hinterlands -- Politics of institutional change -- Politics of institutional change -- Politics of institutional change in India's forestland regimes -- Politics of institutional change in Tanzania and Mexico -- Politics of institutional change in Tanzania and Mexico -- Policy differences and key lessons -- Public accountability in policy-making: forest-based climate change mitigation in India, Tanzania, and Mexico -- Conclusion: toward social justice and enduring nature conservation.