Doctoral Dissertation Research: Civil Society and Environmental Governance in Brazil

SE-1128420 Leah VanWey(Pi)Peter Klein(co-Pi)Brown University博士论文研究：巴西的公民社会和环境治理摘要本项目调查小城市如何平衡全球环境关切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何不同？2)寻求促进可持续发展的国际非政府组织制定的方案是如何在地方一级采用或转变的？3)在环境问题上的参与式民主在塑造此类可持续发展方案的成功方面发挥了什么作用？由于砍伐森林可能对气候变化产生不利影响，以及随后全球变暖对该地区丰富的生物多样性造成的后果，巴西亚马逊是审查这一问题的最关键的地方之一。因此，这个项目在一个有经验的地方调查了及时的和政治上敏感的问题。这项研究采用了明确的比较方法，包括在巴西亚马逊地区的一个中等城市和巴西首都巴西利亚进行的人种学田野调查。更广泛的影响同时应对全球环境退化和经济发展需求，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的执行情况进行研究可以为政策制定者提供信息，并可为对制定有效和高效政策感兴趣的地方、国家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.