Stories and Maps, Images and Archives: Multimethod Approach to the Political Ecology of Native Property Rights and Natural Resource Management in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

The study of human-environmental relations is complex and by nature draws on theories and practices from multiple disciplines. There is no single research strategy or universal set of methods to which researchers must adhere. Particularly for scholars interested in a political ecology approach to understanding human-environmental relationships, very little has been written examining the details of ''how to'' design a project, develop appropriate methods, produce data, and, finally, integrate multiple forms of data into an analysis. A great deal of attention has been paid, appropriately, to the theoretical foundations of political ecology, and numerous scholarly articles and books have been published recently. But beyond Andrew Vayda's ''progressive contextualization'' and Piers Blaikie and Harold Brookfield's ''chains of explanation,'' remarkably little is written that provides a research model to follow, modify, and expand. Perhaps one of the reasons for this gap in scholarship is that, as expected in interdisciplinary research, researchers use a variety of methods that are suitable (and perhaps unique) to the questions they are asking. To start a conversation on the methods available for researchers interested in adopting a political ecology perspective to human-environmental interactions, I use my own research project as a case study. This research is by no means flawless or inclusive of all possible methods, but by using the details of this particular research process as a case study I hope to provide insights into field research that will be valuable for future scholarship.

Dams and indigenous peoples in malaysia: development, displacement and resettlement

“…Groundbreaking works on political ecology include those of Blaikie (1985) and Blaikie and Brookfield (1987). Biersack (2006) provides an admirable review of the field's origins, development and conceptual tool kit; see also Doolittle (2010). 2.…”

Combining research styles of the natural and social sciences in agricultural research

“…Grounded theory may be a useful approach because it encourages developing theory in relation to a certain research problem based on empirical data obtained with both qualitative and quantitative methods [7,21] and to link inductive with deductive thinking [22]. Hence, grounded theory may be suitable to facilitate the integration of theoretical perspectives and research methods from different disciplines of the social and natural sciences.…”

Blue carbon: a study of the potential of coastal ecosystem resource management in global climate policy and carbon markets

“…It is well established that the study of human interactions with the natural environment -the study of social-ecological systems -demands the application of conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches from a diverse range of disciplinary areas (Berkes 2004;Bryant 1992;Doolittle 2008;Holling 1973;Kates 2001;O'Hara 2009). Despite a relatively long history of work in interdisciplinary research methods, challenges remain in articulating standardised integrative approaches (Jantsch 1972;Lang et al 2012;Norgaard 1989).…”

“…In other words, environmental issues are subject to human interests and interpretations, and ecological studies must acknowledge the inevitability of social considerations. Political ecology can be considered as an investigative method or approach (Robbins 2004;Doolittle 2008). The principal areas of enquiry include the drivers and mechanisms of environmental degradation and marginalisation, environmental conflicts in terms of gender, class and race struggles, failures and exclusion resulting from conservation and control efforts, and the linkages between livelihoods, social movements and environmental identity.…”

“…The intricate and often fraught relationships between politics and property in Sabah have been explored in detail by Doolittle (2001Doolittle ( , 2005Doolittle ( , 2007Doolittle ( , 2008. This body of work highlights the historical and continuing efforts by Federal and State Governments to promote and impose an agenda of economic and cultural transformation in rural Sabah; the negative environmental impacts of poorly planned and managed conservation policies, and agricultural and industrial activities; the importance of personal networks, influence, and leverage in local development trajectories; and 10 FPIC is 'free, prior, and informed consent', an important pillar of REDD+ modalities.…”