Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Life environmentalism is a model that aims to resolve environmental problems from a perspective that considers conserving the community life and practices of the people who inhabit the affected area. The life environmentalism model was developed in the 1980s by Japanese environmental sociologists who were concerned with the environmental destruction wrought by industrialization. At the time, the field of environmental policy was divided into two schools of thought embracing mutually opposed ideas about the best approach to environmental policy. The first, which we call “nature environmentalism,” advocated the preservation (or restoration) of the pristine natural environment, following the ideals of the natural conservation movement and ecological theory. The other, which we call “modern technicism,” emphasized the development of modern technology to rehabilitate the affected environment. This was the position typically embraced by government officials who had civil engineering credentials and the power to allocate the public budget. However, when sociologists made in-depth field research, it was discovered that the local people, as well as some government agents and nature conservationists who worked closely with the local people, were drawing on local knowledge to resolve local issues. Life environmentalism thus developed as a theory that utilizes local knowledge (and associated ... log in or subscribe to read full text