Asia-Pacific Environment Monographs
The books in this series deal with relationships between human populations and natural landscapes in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region from the perspectives of anthropology, geography, and related social sciences. These relationships include the exploitation, management and conservation of different natural resources by private companies, government agencies, civil society organisations, and local communities.
Please note: The following list of titles is sorted by publication date, with the most recent first.
The Absent Presence of the State in Large-Scale Resource Extraction Projects »
Standing on the broken ground of resource extraction settings, the state is sometimes like a chimera: its appearance and intentions are misleading and, for some actors, it is unknowable and incomprehensible.
Landlock »
Paralysing Dispute over Minerals on Adivasi Land in India
Landlock: Paralysing Dispute over Minerals on Adivasi Land in India explores the ways in which political controversy over a bauxite mining and refining project on constitutionally protected tribal lands in Andhra Pradesh descended into a
Island Rivers »
Fresh Water and Place in Oceania
Anthropologists have written a great deal about the coastal adaptations and seafaring traditions of Pacific Islanders, but have had much less to say about the significance of rivers for Pacific island culture, livelihood and identity.
Large-scale Mines and Local-level Politics »
Between New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea
Despite the difference in their populations and political status, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea have comparable levels of economic dependence on the extraction and export of mineral resources.
Navigating the Future »
An Ethnography of Change in Papua New Guinea
Navigating the Future draws on long-term ethnographic fieldwork with Kubo people and their neighbours, in a remote area of Papua New Guinea, to explore how worlds are reconfigured as people become increasingly conscious of, and seek to dr
Tropical Forests Of Oceania »
Anthropological Perspectives
The tropical forests of Oceania are an enduring source of concern for indigenous communities, for the migrants who move to them, for the states that encompass them within their borders, for the multilateral institutions and aid agencies, and for t
Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development »
Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia
This monograph explores the ways in which people experience ‘development’ and how development shapes and maintains their lives.
Selling the Sea, Fishing for Power »
A study of conflict over marine tenure in Kei Islands, Eastern Indonesia
By analysing various conflicts, this book discusses the social, political, economic and legal attributes that are attached to the practice of traditional (communal) marine tenure.
Fishing for Fairness »
Poverty, Morality and Marine Resource Regulation in the Philippines
Fishing for Fairness develops an explicitly cultural perspective on environmental politics in the Philippines by analysing the responses of fishers to marine resource regulations.
Gendering the Field »
Towards Sustainable Livelihoods for Mining Communities
The chapters in this book offer concrete examples from all over the world to show how community livelihoods in mineral-rich tracts can be more sustainable by fully integrating gender concerns into all aspects of the relationship between mining pra
The Lihir Destiny »
Cultural Responses to Mining in Melanesia
The people of the Lihir Islands in Papua New Guinea have long held visions of a prosperous new future, often referred to by local leaders as the ‘Lihir Destiny’.
Reite Plants »
An Ethnobotanical Study in Tok Pisin and English
Reite Plants is a documentation and discussion of the uses of plants by speakers of the Nekgini language, a people who reside in the hinterland of the Rai Coast in northern Papua New Guinea.
Boats to Burn »
Bajo Fishing Activity in the Australian Fishing Zone
Under a Memorandum of Understanding between Indonesia and Australia, traditional Indonesian fishermen are permitted access to fish in a designated area inside the 200 nautical mile Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ).
Customary Land Tenure & Registration in Australia and Papua New Guinea »
Anthropological Perspectives
The main theme of this volume is a discussion of the ways in which legal mechanisms, such as the Land Groups Incorporation Act (1974) in PNG, and the Native Title Act (1993) in Australia, do not, as they purport, serve merely to
State, Communities and Forests In Contemporary Borneo »
The name ‘Borneo’ evokes visions of constantly changing landscapes, but with important island-wide continuities.