Bryant, R. L. (1998). Power, knowledge and political ecology in the third world: a review. Progress in physical geography, 22(1), 79-94.
Political ecology examines the political dynamics surrounding material and discursive
struggles over the environment in the third world. The role of unequal power relations in
constituting a politicized environment is a central theme. Particular attention is given to the ways
in which conflict over access to environmental resources is linked to systems of political and
economic control first elaborated during the colonial era. Studies emphasize the increased margin-
ality and vulnerability of the poor as an outcome of such conflict. The impact of perceptions and
discourses on the specification of environmental problems and interventions is also explored
leading on to debates about the relative merits of indigenous and western scientific knowledge.
Future research needs also to address issues linked to changing air and water quality, urban
processes, organizational attributes and the human body.