This seminar reports initial findings from an environmental research project jointly undertaken by LSE (Geography and Environment) and Birzeit University (Civil Engineering). The project examines the climate vulnerability of Jordan Basin farming communities with current or recent experience of belligerent occupation (southern Lebanon, Golan Heights, West Bank) - a condition we label '(post)occupation'. Focusing on water availability, we investigate the claim that occupational practices negatively affect the the capacity of rural households to adapt to climate stresses. In contrast to the subjectivities of victimhood often applied to those experiencing military occupation, we uncover strong associational forms and politicised livelihood strategies.
Event Details
Speaker: Dr Michael Mason, LSE
Chair: Dr Toby Dodge, LSE
Date: Wednesday 30 October 2013
Time: 16.00-17.00
Location: 32L.LG.04, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, LSE
Attendance: This event is free and open to all on a first come first served basis
Speaker
Michael Mason is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE. His research interests encompass environmental politics and governance, notably issues of accountability, security and climate change adaptation. He is currently Principal Investigator in a Middle East Centre-funded project examining climate vulnerability and human security in the Jordan River Basin. Alongside articles in a wide range of academic journals, he is the author of Environmental Democracy (1999), The New Accountability: Environmental Responsibility across Borders (2005), as well as co-editor (with Amit Mor) of Renewable Energy in the Middle East (2009) and co-editor (with Aarti Gupta) of Transparency in Global Environmental Governance (2014).