The knowledge politics of measuring forestsProject
What are the social, ecological and economic effects of measuring and valuing forests in Scottish nature recovery?
Drawing on critical environmental geography, science studies and political ecology, Theo’s work unpacks the social and ecological impacts of forest measurement. Theo analyses how a range of metrics and digital technologies are used to measure carbon. This work shows the powerful effect that measurement has in shaping Scotland’s landscapes and society. Empirically, he uses a mixture of ethnographic and interview techniques.
His research aims can be broken into two strands:
Knowledge
- How can carbon ever be sufficiently ‘known’ enough to be valued?
- What political and technological factors determine how carbon is measured?
- Why are some ways of measuring forests preferred over others?
Politics
- How is the turn towards maximising carbon sequestration being used by different social groups?
- Does increasing attention on land-based carbon disrupt or reinforce hegemonic land governance patterns?
- Does a focus on carbon deter from considering other social and ecological issues?
