Doctoral Dissertation Research: Civil Society and Environmental Governance in Brazil

leah VanWey (PI)Peter Klein （co-PI）布朗大学博士论文研究方向：公民社会与巴西环境治理摘要该项目研究小城市如何平衡全球环境问题与当地经济增长需求。它试图回答三个主要问题：1)联邦政府和地方政府谈论环境问题和可持续发展解决方案的方式有什么不同？2)由寻求促进可持续发展的国际非政府组织制定的方案如何在地方一级被采纳或转化？3)环境问题上的参与式民主在塑造这种可持续发展计划的成功方面发挥了什么作用？巴西亚马逊是研究这一问题最关键的地方之一，因为森林砍伐可能对气候变化产生不利影响，以及全球变暖对该地区丰富的生物多样性造成的后续后果。因此，这个项目在一个经验上有用的位置调查及时和政治敏感的问题。这项研究采用了明确的比较方法，并在巴西亚马逊地区的一个中型城市以及巴西首都巴西利亚进行了民族志实地调查。更广泛的影响同时应对全球环境恶化和经济发展需求可能已成为21世纪最紧迫的挑战。对跨国可持续发展倡议在当地实施的研究可以为政策制定者提供信息，并可能为有兴趣制定有效政策的地方、州和跨国实体提供有用的见解。此外，国际实地考察部分将有助于加强学术机构之间跨越国家和学科界限的合作。

SES - 1128420Leah VanWey (PI)Peter Klein (co-PI)Brown UniversityDoctoral Dissertation Research: Civil Society and Environmental Governance in BrazilAbstractThis project investigates how small cities balance global environmental concerns with local needs for economic growth. It seeks to answer three main questions: 1) What are the differences in the ways federal governments and local governments talk about environmental problems and sustainable development solutions? 2) How are programs developed by international non-governmental organizations that seek to foster sustainable development adopted or transformed at the local level? 3) What role does participatory democracy on environmental issues play in shaping the success of such sustainable development programs? The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most critical places to examine this issue due to the adverse impacts deforestation can have on climate change as well as the subsequent consequences of global warming on the rich biodiversity of the area. Thus, this project investigates timely and politically sensitive issue in an empirically useful location. The study employs an explicitly comparative approach and involves ethnographic fieldwork in a mid-size city in the Brazilian Amazon, as well as in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. Broader ImpactsAddressing global environmental degradation as well as economic development needs simultaneously has emerged as perhaps the most pressing challenge for the 21st century. Research on the local implementation of transnational sustainable development initiatives can inform policy makers and may provide insights useful to local, state, and transnational entities interested in developing effective and efficient policies. In addition, the international fieldwork component will help enhance collaboration between academic institutions across national and disciplinary boundaries.