Seeing the Quiet Politics in Unquiet Woods: A Different Vantage Point for a Future Forest Agenda

Abstract

We address two aspects of forest lives-violence and care-that are central to forest outcomes but often invisible in mainstream discussions on forests. We argue that questions of violence and care work in forests open up debates about what forests are, who defines them, and how. We draw primarily on feminist work on forestry, violence, and care to examine the gendered nature of forest conflicts and the 'quiet politics' of resistance to violence grounded in the everyday work of care that are crucial to understanding forests and their governance. We show how varied practices of resistance to violence and injustice are grounded in cooperative action of care and are an intrinsic part of shaping and regenerating forests. We highlight the importance of close attention to seemingly mundane actions rooted in people's daily lives and experiences that shape forests.

Keywords

Forestry; Gender; Care; Violence; Everyday politics; Forest communities

Published in

Human Ecology
2021, volume: 49, number: 3, pages: 297-308
Publisher: SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS

SLU Authors

• Arora Jonsson, Seema

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• González Hidalgo, Marien

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

Nature experiences and health

Global goals (SDG)

SDG5 Gender equality
SDG10 Reduced inequalities
SDG15 Life on land

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science
Gender Studies
Globalization Studies

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00233-0

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/112557