Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Sabah

Abstract

Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Sabah: implications for Society, Culture and Ecology builds on a trend in studies of social change of taking the environment seriously. Coming from the disciplines of sociology, economics and marine science the authors deal with issues of sustainability in economic, social and ecological terms. The overall political ecology approach of the book diversifies into sub themes as the chapters engage with frameworks on the ecological limits of economic development, entitlements and well-being, participatory development, gender and knowledge production, science and citizenship as well as the symbolic and material value of national and international borders. Ecological aquaculture introduces new livelihood opportunities as well as losses. And it has a degree of ecological costs depending on environmental conditions and power relations that affect local production. We argue in this book that social and environmental justice issues are connected so that effective solutions to environmental problems can only be devised if the social justice issues are paid attention to. This general thrust in placing centre stage social and environmental justice issues is not unique to Sabah since these are issues experienced by developing countries similarly positioned in their dependence on natural resources for economic development. Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Sabah: implications for Society, Culture and Ecology should, therefore, be of interest to development practitioners (those involved in management and policy implementation) and researchers alike. For managers and policy implementers, the book confirms how, implementation at the local level are not smooth but are in fact, unruly practices. For researchers, the book provides an example of viewing social and environmental justice issues together.