Grassroots Environmental Action and Sustainable Development in Southern EU

Objective

To explore the implications of local level social and economic conditions, relationships between actors, and influence of grassroots action for sustainable development across some Southern member-states (Greece, Portugal and Spain) of the European Union.

The work programme has to following components :

(i) to examine if and how "sustainable development" policies make use of people's knowledge and experience concerning their environment, and how they are viewed by them;

(ii) to assess the extent of which socially distant actors designing policies or suggesting certain development projects can ignore alterations to the local ecosystems, and the related local political and economic resistance;

(iii) to identify the roles which state agencies, non-local environmental organizations, and international agencies play in local environmental conflict;

(iv) to delineate the conditions under which locals mobilize against or support development projects. The data needed to understand the above mentioned issues are acquired through the analysis of public archives, media reports, official documents and in-depth interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of abalysis are used such as secondary data analysis and content analysis.

Programme(s)

• FP3-ENV 1C - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the environment, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

• 0303 - Societal and ethical aspects of sustainable development

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (2)