Piers Blaikie

I retired from the School of International Development in 2002 after service of 30 years and remained Professorial Fellow until 2007, then as Emeritus Professor and remain active in research in DEV.  I hold a Ph.D from the University of Cambridge and moved to DEV in 1972. Author and co-author of 17 books and monographs, 24 book chapters and 39 articles in the fields of political ecology, environmental policy, agrarian political economy, policy analysis, AIDS/HIV in Africa, and disasters. Area specialisation: India, Nepal, southern Africa.

Key Publications

(2008) "In honor of the Life Work of Piers Blaikie" Special Issue  in Geoforum  39:2,  March 2008 with nine articles including "Epilogue: Towards a future for political ecology that works" (pps. 765-772) by Piers Blaikie

(2007) Forests, People and Power: the Political Ecology of Reform in South Asia. Edited by Springate-Baginski, O and Blaikie, P.M. Earthscan, London and  Sterling, VA

(2003) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. By Ben Wisner, Piers Blaikie, Terry Cannon and Ian Davis. London, Routledge.

(1987) Land Degradation and Society, by Piers Blaikie and Harold Brookfield. Methuen.

(1985) Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries. Longman Development Series, No. 1, Longman, London, pp. 188. Reprinted by Pearson Education in 2000

Esteem Indicators

*   The Royal Geographical Society Edward Heath Award for published work on Africa and Asia, presented in June 1994
*   Life Member of the Royal Norwegian Society for Science and Letters, from January 2000
*   Included as one of the “key thinkers on development” in Fifty Key Thinkers on Development edited by David Simon. 2006, Routledge (pps.35-39)
*  Given two full sessions at the Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers, April 2005, Denver, USA entitled “In honor of the Life Work of Piers Blaikie”, published with same title in Special Issue in Geoforum in 2008 (See 'Key Publications' above)
*  Awarded Honorary Doctorate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway 2009
*  Awarded the Robert Mc.C Netting Award for the Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers 2009
*  Editorial Board of Development and Change until 2005; Norwegian Journal of Geography; Progress in Development Studies: South Asian Studies

CV and Experience

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Environment-society relations in developing world; political ecology; environmental policy in S. and S.E Asia and southern/central Africa.

Key Publications 

Blaikie, P.  (2008) "In honor of the Life Work of Piers Blaikie" Special Issue  in Geoforum  39:2,  March 2008 with nine articles including "Epilogue: Towards a future for political ecology that works", 765-772

Blaikie, P.  (2007) Forests, People and Power: the Political Ecology of Reform in South Asia. Edited by Springate-Baginski, O and Blaikie, P.M. Earthscan, London and Sterling, VA.

Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I.  (2003) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. Second edition, London, Routledge. ISBN 0 415 25216 4. 
Link to document

Blaikie, P., Barnett, A.S.  (1992) AIDS in Africa Belhaven Press, London, (Reprinted by John Wiley, London in 1994).  Also Guildford Press, New York.  ISBN 185293 115 9

Blaikie, P., Abel, N.O., Biot, Y., Stocking M.A. (1990) Environmental Management in Agricultural Development, University of London, UK

Blaikie, P.  (1987)  Land Degradation and Society, by Harold Brookfield.  Methuen, ISBN 0 416 40140 6

Blaikie, P.  (1985)  The Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries.  Longman Development Series, No. 1, Longman, London, Reprinted by Pearson Education in 2000. ISBN 582 30089 4, and  0 470  20419 2 (USA only).

Blaikie, P., Cameron J., Seddon J.D. (2000). Nepal in Crisis: Growth and Stagnation at the Periphery, with  Republished with new chapter.  Adroit Publishers, Delhi. ISBN 0 19 828414 4. Originally (1980) Oxford University Press, London and Delhi

Blaikie, P.  (2001)  “Social nature and environmental policy in the South: views from verandah and veld”.   Chapter 7 (pps.133-150) in Social Nature ed., Castree,N. London, Blackwells.

Blaikie, P., Simo J.M.  (1998) "Cameroon's environmental accords: signed, sealed but undelivered" with Simo J.M.  In Engaging Countries: Strengthening Compliance with International Environmental Accords. Chapter 13. Jacobson, H., and Brown-Weiss,E. (eds). M.I.T. Press

Blaikie, P.  (1992)  "The management and use of common property resources in Tamil Nadu, India".  Chapter 11 (pps. 247-264) in Making the Commons Work, ed. Bromley D.W, ICS Press, San Francisco

Blaikie, P.  (1992) "The state of land management policy, present and future".  Chapter 4 (pps 29-44) in Soil Conservation for Survival, Kebede Tato & H. Hurni (eds), Soil & Water Conservation Society.

Blaikie, P.  (2006) “Is small really beautiful? Community-based natural resource management in Malawi and Botswana.” World Development 34, 11: 1942-1957
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P., Muldavin, J.  (2004) “The politics of environmental policy with a Himalayan example”  Asia Pacific Issues,  No. 74, June.  East-West Center, Hawaii.
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P., Muldavin, J.  (2004). “Upstream, downstream, China, India: the politics of the environment in the Himalayan region”.  Annals of Association of American Geographers, 4: 522-550
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P., Cameron, J., Seddon, J.D.  (2002) “Understanding twenty years of change in west-central Nepal: continuity and change in lives and ideas”  World Development , 30, 7: 1255-1270
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P.  (2000) “Development, post-, anti- and populist: a critical review” Environment and Planning A, 32; 6:1033-1050.
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P., Dahlberg, A.  (1999) "Changes in landscape or in interpretation? Reflections on environmental and socio-economic history of a village in NE Botswana" Environment and History 5:127-174. 
Link to Journal Article

Blaikie, P.  (1999) "A review of political ecology: issues, epistemology and analytical narratives." Zeitschrift fur Wirtschaftsgeographie, 43, 3/4, 131-147.

Environmental policy in developing countries; agrarian change and management of natural resources; social and environmental impact of development; land-use planning; management of common property resources; disasters.