Emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling, een probleemverkenning Maureen E. Butter
Deel I: Emancipatie en milieu in mondiaal perspectief Deel II: Emancipatie en milieu in Nederland
Biologiewinkel Rapport 44 ISBN 90 367 0709 9 Kerklaan 30/ postbus 14 9750 AA Haren Telefoon 050-3632385 Telefax 050-3635205
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling, een probleemverkenning Deel I: Emancipatie en milieu in mondiaal perspectief Deel II: Emancipatie en milieu in Nederland
PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, Dr. F. van der Woude, in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 23 mei 1997 des namiddags te 2.45 uur door Maureen Elisabeth Butter geboren op 27 augustus 1949 te Soemarorong
Promotores: Prof. Dr. J. van Andel Prof. Dr. Ir. C.J. Weeda
Voor Jan en Ricardo
We would have reached feminist nirvana number 1 when: • The full-time labour-force participation rate of women reaches that of men. • The wage rate is exactly the same for men and women of equal education, experience and productivity. • Men and women have exactly the same access to education and experience. • The tax rate on individual men and women is exactly the same and no tax subsidies or family allowances encourage women to engage in non-market activities, such as childrearing, that diminish their market experience. • Children are cared for by the most efficient means.
Feminist nirvana number 2 would be reached if and when: • Men substantially increase their hours of unpaid work, devoting more time to home, children and community. Their formal labour-force participation rate would decline to the level now characteristic of women. Men and women would enjoy the same amount of leisure time. • The wage rate is exactly the same for all individuals with the same levels of education, experience, and productivity, irrespective of differences in nation, race, class and gender. • Public policies, including the tax and social welfare policies, recognise and reward family labour and personal attention to the health, welfare and education of children, adults and the elderly - wherever these responsibilities are shared by men and women.
Nancy Folbre, 1992
INHOUD Summary................................................................................................................................. v Voorwoord....................................................................................................................... 1 1. Zijn emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling verenigbaar?Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd. 1.1 Inleiding................................................................................................................ 7 1.2 Emancipatie .......................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Twee hoofdrichtingen.......................................................................................... 10 1.4 Probleemstelling.................................................................................................. 12 Deel I Emancipatie en milieu in mondiaal perspectief..........................................................17 2. Internationale kaders.................................................................................................. 19 2.1 Inleiding.............................................................................................................. 19 2.2 Nairobi: gelijkheid, ontwikkeling en vrede ......................................................... 20 2.3 Oeso: de actieve samenleving ............................................................................. 22 2.4 Brundtland-commissie: duurzame ontwikkeling................................................. 24 2.5 Agenda 21 en vrouwen ....................................................................................... 26 2.6 Conclusies........................................................................................................... 28 3. Vrouwen, economische ontwikkeling en milieu ........................................................ 31 3.1 Inleiding.............................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Feminisering van de armoede ............................................................................. 33 3.3 Milieu, bevolking en ontwikkeling ..................................................................... 35 3.4 Vrouwen in het zuiden ........................................................................................ 37 3.5 Bevolkingspolitiek .............................................................................................. 40 3.6 Kinderen en bejaarden in het zuiden ................................................................... 41 3.7 Vrouwen en milieu in het zuiden ........................................................................ 43 3.8 Vrouwenactivisme in het zuiden ......................................................................... 45 3.9 Vrouwen en milieu in het noorden ...................................................................... 46 3.10 Vrouwenactivisme in het noorden..................................................................... 49 3.11 Conclusies......................................................................................................... 50 4. Emancipatierichtingen ............................................................................................... 53 4.1 Inleiding.............................................................................................................. 53 4.2 Opvattingen over mannelijkheid en vrouwelijkheid............................................ 54 4.3 Mensbeeld, wereldbeeld en waarden .................................................................. 57 4.4 Het belang van wereldbeelden ............................................................................ 58 4.5 Gelijkheid versus ongelijkheid............................................................................ 61 4.6 Emancipatierichtingen ........................................................................................ 62 4.7 Conclusies........................................................................................................... 64 5. Menselijke behoeften en duurzame ontwikkeling...................................................... 67 5.1 Inleiding.............................................................................................................. 67 5.2 De oorsprong van ‘human needs’........................................................................ 69 5.3 Hoofdcategorieën van menselijke behoeften ....................................................... 72 5.4 Behoeften en duurzame ontwikkeling ................................................................. 77 5.5 Conclusies........................................................................................................... 80 6. Een ecofeministisch perspectief ................................................................................. 81 6.1 Inleiding.............................................................................................................. 81 6.2 De ecofeministische beweging............................................................................ 82 6.3 Het spirituele platform ........................................................................................ 84
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6.4 Het filosofisch platform....................................................................................... 86 6.5 Ecofeministische politiek .................................................................................... 89 6.6 Conclusies........................................................................................................... 91 7. Een humaan-ecologisch perspectief ........................................................................... 93 7.1 Inleiding .............................................................................................................. 94 7.2 De individuele speelruimte.................................................................................. 95 7.3 Biologische theorieën over sekse-ongelijkheid.................................................... 98 7.4 Sekse-ongelijkheid in verschillende culturen .................................................... 106 7.5 Sekse-ongelijkheid: sociale theorieën in gedragsecologisch perspectief ........... 108 7.6 Modernisering en sekse-relaties ........................................................................ 117 7.7 Economische ontwikkeling en bevolkingsgroei ................................................ 119 7.8 Humane ecologie en ecofeminisme .................................................................. 121 7.9 Conclusies......................................................................................................... 123 8. Emancipatie en duurzaamheid: discussie en conclusies .......................................... 125 8.1 Inleiding ............................................................................................................ 126 8.2 Hoe geëmancipeerd zijn de milieubeleidsvoornemens en in hoeverre maken milieudoelstellingen deel uit van emancipatiebeleidsvoornemens?......................... 126 8.3 Wat betekent milieudegradatie voor vrouwen in noord en zuid?....................... 127 8.4 Welke ideologische emancipatierichtingen zijn te onderscheiden hoe waarderen deze duurzaamheid? In hoeverre zijn zij inherent milieu(on)vriendelijk? ............... 128 8.5 Hoe zijn emancipatiedoelstellingen theoretisch te integreren in de centrale doelstelling van duurzame ontwikkeling, zoals geformuleerd in ‘Our Common Future’? ................................................................................................................... 129 8.6 Wat is ecofeminisme en wat is de ecofeministische visie op de relatie tussen vrouwen- en milieuproblematiek? ........................................................................... 130 8.7 Zijn er verbanden tussen sociale processen, die de positie van de vrouw beïnvloeden en processen, die tot milieuverslechtering leiden? In hoeverre is hierbij sprake van constraints? ........................................................................................... 132 8.8 Welk van de twee nirwana's is uit oogpunt van duurzame ontwikkeling te verkiezen?................................................................................................................ 133 8.9 Onder welke voorwaarden kan duurzame ontwikkeling bijdragen aan de positieverbetering van vrouwen en vice versa?........................................................ 134 Deel II Emancipatie en milieu in Nederland ..................................................................... 139 9. Het sociale contract in Nederland ............................................................................ 141 9.1 Inleiding ............................................................................................................ 141 9.2 Armoede, arbeid en inkomen ............................................................................ 142 9.3 Onbetaalde arbeid en reproduktieve ongelijkheid ............................................. 143 9.4 Maatschappelijke participatie ........................................................................... 145 9.5 Conclusies......................................................................................................... 145 10. De beleidsterreinen emancipatie en milieu ............................................................ 147 10.1 Inleiding .......................................................................................................... 147 10.2 Het milieubeleid .............................................................................................. 149 10.3 Het emancipatiebeleid ..................................................................................... 152 10.4 Overeenkomsten en verschillen....................................................................... 155 10.5 Beleidsintegratie emancipatie en milieu.......................................................... 157 10.6 Conclusies....................................................................................................... 159 11. Milieu en emancipatie in Nederland...................................................................... 161 11.1 Inleiding .......................................................................................................... 161 11.2 Werkgelegenheid............................................................................................. 163
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11.3 Inkomen .......................................................................................................... 163 11.4 Mobiliteit ........................................................................................................ 164 11.5 Wonen en ruimtelijke ordening....................................................................... 166 11.6 Volksgezondheid............................................................................................. 168 11.7 Dialoog tussen milieu- en vrouwenbeweging ................................................. 170 11.8 Conclusies....................................................................................................... 172 12. Vragen over vrouwen en milieu............................................................................ 173 12.1 Inleiding.......................................................................................................... 173 12.2 Belang van het thema ‘vrouwen en milieu’..................................................... 175 12.3 Interessegebieden van de verschillende organisaties....................................... 176 12.4 Aanwezige expertise ....................................................................................... 176 12.5 De aard van de vragen..................................................................................... 177 12.6 Enkele vragen nader belicht ............................................................................ 178 12.7 Conclusies....................................................................................................... 181 13. Slotbeschouwing.................................................................................................... 183 13.1 Inleiding.......................................................................................................... 183 13.2 Emancipatie en milieu in Nederland ............................................................... 183 13.3 Vervolgonderzoek ........................................................................................... 185 13.4 Enkele beleidsopties........................................................................................ 186 Literatuur ..................................................................................................................... 189 Bijlage 1: De vragen .................................................................................................... 209 Sectie 1: Vrouwenorganisaties................................................................................ 209 Sectie 2: Milieuorganisaties .................................................................................... 211 Sectie 3: Overige organisaties ................................................................................. 216 Bijlage 2: De enquête .................................................................................................. 219 Bijlage 3: De Biologiewinkel....................................................................................... 223
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SUMMARY Emancipation and Sustainable Development: an Exploration. Part One. Emancipation and the Environment in a Global Perspective
1. Prologue and Introduction This thesis originated from a pilot project which aimed to define problems suitable for further research in a science shop framework. Explorative inquiry into new social problems is part of the activities of the Science Shop for Biology, in addition to initiating research on application of action groups or non profit organisations. Science shops have been founded in the seventies and eighties in all Dutch universities. They were meant as a tool for democratising the access to academic research, enabling civil groups or organisations to obtain information by research serving their, generally, emancipatory, aims. By mediation of the science shops, students can conduct research into the problems of the questioner as a part of their training. Discussion concerning women’s emancipation in relation to environmental policy is a relatively recent phenomenon in the Netherlands. It started with the critique from the Emancipation Council on the Dutch environmental policy plans, issued in 1989. Both the critique and a report on interference between emancipation and environmental policy were issued in 1990. Discussion and study following these publications concentrate on mobility, spatial organisation and the time constraints of task combiners. On the other hand, women are addressed by the Environmental Ministry in their role as consumers. This has also been the usual approach to women by environmental organisations. Considering the Dutch discussion and the ad hoc character of the issues, a more systematic survey was thought necessary, including an inquiry into the research needs of both environmental and women’s organisations. The fundamental question is, to what extent sustainability and emancipation are compatible. This study was limited to long term processes, interactions and constraints. This was done, bearing in mind, that the issue of ‘emancipation’ as such, is not a homogenous one. Following Nancy Folbre, a division is made into two main directions, Nirvana 1 and Nirvana 2. ‘In the first feminist nirvana, the trend towards a market in the services once provided in the family would continue. The very concept of production for one’s own personal use, for the sake of the process and the product itself, would become increasingly obsolete, even in childrearing. Explicit contractual relationships with employers and the state would supersede all forms of personal commitment to family, friends, neighbours and kin. Women’s life cycle would closely resemble that now characteristic of men […….]. A far better, if more remote, vision lies in the possibility that men and women may choose to retain their personal territory and continue to work for rewards that cannot be priced, sharing the responsibilities of bringing up children and rejecting economic boundaries based on nation, race and ethnicity.’ This second nirvana requires that men reduce hours spent on paid work and dedicate considerably more time to home, family, friends and community. During the project, which was supported by a grant from the Emancipation Fund of the University of Groningen, I found that the field was not mature enough for science shop research. At this stage, a general overview and identification of issues for further research and discussion is needed. Such a report, accessibly written in the tradition of the science shops, may serve to stimulate both public discussion and academic research.
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The connection between gender and environment can be addressed at three levels at least, which correspond to three main categories of international literature on the topic. The first level is political. Connections are purely practical and concern the integration of environmental and emancipatory policies. The second level focuses on the effects of trends and processes on both environment and the position of women. There is a substantial body of literature addressing the interconnection of development, environment and gender. The third level focuses on underlying mechanisms. Ecofeminism (a movement within feminism) as well as some feminist anthropologists often hold patriarchal society responsible for all misery: women’s suppression as well as environmental degradation. The first part of this general survey addresses, to a certain extent, all three levels from a global perspective, and tries to provide answers for the following questions: 1. To what extent are environmental and women’s issues integrated in global policy? 2. What is the impact of environmental degradation on women in the North and the South? 3. Which ideologies of emancipation are to be distinguished and how do they value environmental issues? 4. Is there a suitable theoretical framework to integrate emancipatory and environmental ends in a concept of sustainable development? 5. What is ecofeminism and what is the ecofeminist view on gender and environment? 6. What kind of interactions exist between social mechanisms and long term processes affecting the position of women and mechanisms that cause environmental degradation? What kind of constraints? 7. Which emancipation variants are beneficial, harmful or neutral in terms of environmental impact? 8. Which preconditions of sustainable development also favour women’s position? The second part of this thesis describes the debate and state of affairs in the Netherlands. Questions addressed in this part are: 1. What is the position of women in the Netherlands? 2. To what extent are environmental issues and emancipation integrated in Dutch policy? 3. Which issues about emancipation and environment have already been identified and what do we know about them? 4. To what extent are women’s organisations and environmental groups interested, expert and involved in problems of gender and environment? What are their research needs? This part concludes with a general discussion and some suggestions for further research and policy options.
2. Global Policy Global policy was evaluated on the basis of two documents for each field. For women’s issues The Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies of the UN, and Shaping Structural Change. The role of Women, of the OECD were studied. For environmental politics ‘Our Common Future’ from UN’s WCED and Agenda 21. In the FLS’s equality, development and peace are the main issues, although they mention environmental degradation as a problem. In terms of emancipation the emphasis is on paid labour and economic independence. OECD presents not a global vision but a typical ‘Northern’ perspective. The emphasis is on conditions favouring equal opportunities between men and women, flexible careers and more professionalisation in the sector of services, easing the problems of modern task combiners. At the same time they plead for revaluation of unpaid
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work in terms of valuable experience for paid jobs. No reference at all is made to environmental problems. ‘Our Common Future’ pacifies conflicting demands on behalf of the environment with the needs for economic development in the Southern part of the world by advocating a different kind of economic growth: emphasis should shift from material needs and goals to immaterial needs and goals. The document is largely ‘gender-neutral’. This can not be said from Agenda 21, the elaboration of ‘Our Common Future, negotiated in Rio de Janeiro, 1992. From this document emerge two views on women: a Southern and a Northern picture. Women’s issues in the South are considered mainly a poverty problem. Women in the North are primarily addressed in their role as consumers. This twofold picture mirrors the North/South perspective in the entire document, where Southern countries are supposed to develop and control population growth, while Northern countries need to control their consumption.
3. Women in the North and the South, and the environment Economic development is often accompanied with major negative impacts on both the position of women and the environment. As to the position of women three main factors emerge: 1) the sexual division of labour, 2) differences in mobility and 3) differences in power. Differences in power stand at the root of ‘roll-off’ mechanisms burdening the poor, the women and the children disproportionately with the costs of modernisation. Roll-off, i.e. causing costs and making others pay them (in economical terms ‘externalities’) is a major mechanism in environmental degradation. Environmental costs are being rolled off on citizens, government, ecosystems, other nations and future generations. All over the world women are primarily responsible for ‘survival tasks’: reproduction, child care and the providing in and management of basic needs (shelter, clothing, food, water and energy). Commercialisation detracts an increasing part of production factors (labour, natural resources and capital) from the local subsistence economy. Scaling up and concentration of economic activity favour mobility of labour, exploitation of natural resources and concentration of economic power. These processes are responsible for environmental degradation and aggravation of social inequality, marginalising the position of the least powerful. In the North, due to steadily rising prosperity and the activities of social movements, class and gender inequalities are generally less severe than in the South. However, in many countries the social and economic prospects of women are deteriorating again. Poverty and environmental degradation in the South form for a substantial part of the world population a direct survival problem. This is aggravated by power abuse, military and institutional violence and, for women, domestic violence. Survival tasks and basic needs fulfilment being the primary responsibility of women, many women occupy themselves with environmental action on a grass-root level. Southern women’s organisations conceptually link the western production system to environmental degradation, colonialism and the survival problems of women. They advocate a development strategy preserving the local self support base and promoting social equality. In the South international networks on gender, environment and development, stem from women’s activism, development and human rights organisations and from environmental organisations. In the beginning the main issue concerned the impact of development on women, later the environment became a prominent theme. Apart from the consequences of environmental degradation for women, the role and expertise of women as environmental managers is emphasized. Grassroots activism of women is primarily connected to survival issues, in terms of Moser , ‘practical gender needs’. For the Southern women’s movement, environmental degradation is
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only one of many problems, next to discrimination on account of race, class, ethnicity and gender and most of all poverty. Political approaches to the gender and environment issues favour the anti-poverty approach, with population control as a second best. These approaches contain emancipatory possibilities, but also objectionable anti-emancipatory tendencies. Northern environmental problems have a much lower impact on survival level, the situation in Eastern Europe being more serious than in the West. Pollution, environmental accidents and food safety are the main issues. Where they occur, women turn to political action, often on behalf of their children. Also many women, from their role as housewife, are active in environmental organisations, promoting ‘green’ consumption and production. Most Northern international political networks on gender and environment originate from the environmental movement, not from the women’s movement. This may explain why in Northern organisations the environment seems to be the main issue, women perceiving themselves as instrumental to the solution of it. In Southern organisations women’s problems form the central issue.
4. Emancipation Ideology There is great variability in the notions of femininity and masculinity within, as well as between cultures, but there exist many similarities as well. Considerably larger divergence occurs as to the social implication of sex differences, due to their interpretation. Concepts of femininity and masculinity are well integrated with world views, values and attitudes, and, more often than not, implicit. In a rapidly changing world, the process of value revaluation is accompanied by a vivid discussion on world view, metaphors and spirituality. This process is relevant for both emancipation and environmental problems. Metaphor analysis can be of use in this field. Emancipation ideology subdivides into two currents, one viewing the sexes as equal, the other one viewing them as unequal, but equivalent. In the Third and Second World practical gender needs often take precedence over strategical gender needs and ideological issues. A need for more autonomy, however, is a common element. Weeda, charting Western emancipation ideology distinguishes six directions, based on feminine, androgynous and masculine ideal types and subdivided into either equality or equivalency variants. These six ideologies differ in inherent value characteristics concerning among other things career, relationships, family and environment . The main directions correspond to Folbre’s two nirvana’s. Feminine ideologies (Nirvana 2) value co-operation, responsibility and environment more than masculine ones (Nirvana 1). It is, however, premature to characterise all feminine directions as ecologically sound on mere ideological grounds. For such an evaluation it is best to translate emancipation ideologies into social scenario’s and assess environmental impact following such a scenario. Folbre’s characterisations are, in fact scenario’s, but they need more elaboration. A choice for either nirvana has very different implications for the environmental policy needed.
5. Human Needs and Sustainable Development This chapter elaborates on the notion of ‘needs’ from the WCED-definition of sustainable development: ‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Human needs theory is a multidisciplinary field originating from the ‘basic needs’ approach in development policy. Human dignity requires more than sheer material needs satisfaction. Even for material needs satisfaction, the common measure, gross national product, is a poor criterion. The emphasis on physical needs in development policy partly stems from the fact
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that these needs are universal, irrespective of culture. For a major part, though, it follows from a western bias towards material needs and western economic order. Non-material needs often seem very specific with respect to culture, but it is possible to class them into a few main categories. A universal theory of human need, like for example Doyal and Gough's, offers possibilities for an intercultural standard of needs satisfaction with respect to emancipatory and sustainable development. In this study the following definitions apply: Need Preference Satisfier
minimally required condition for life and human dignity what individuals or groups desire means or system to satisfy needs or preferences
Needs are individual, satisfiers not necessarily, they may be collective. Some individual needs can only be satisfied by collective satisfaction systems, some of which are cultural in nature, like a shared language and shared values. Also, man as a social being has fundamental social needs. These two phenomena plead against an all too individualistic systematisation of needs and measures of satisfaction. Authors differ considerably about the nature of needs. In this study needs are supposed to stem from human nature. They are open to scientific inquiry, but needs research should be broad and interdisciplinary in order to cover all aspects. Intercultural comparison and metaphor dialogues can enrich the insight into immaterial needs, at the same time contributing to social awareness of implicit assumptions and root metaphors. This is important, because especially immaterial needs and preferences within a culture are to a large extent implicit. They are no subject for debate or critical reflection, and if deprivation occurs, it is not recognised. Doyal and Gough’s scheme, proposing autonomy and health as fundamental needs, from which all other needs can be derived, seems to underestimate the meaning of relatedness. For man as a fundamentally social being, the need for autonomy is matched, or complementary to the need for meaningful social bonding. Apart from kinship, the universal mechanism to establish and sustain relatedness, is informal reciprocity, which stresses the importance of unpaid labour as a universal satisfier of meaningful social bonding. The three main categories of human needs, health, autonomy and meaningful social bonding, in combination with criteria of cost efficiency, regulatory efficiency and environmental preconditions, can provide direction to a process of emancipatory sustainable development. In addition to fundamental research into needs and systems of satisfaction, procedures of needs assessment will be helpful for policy integration and planning. In this matter democratic interactive procedures are to be preferred over top down approaches.
6. An Ecofeminist Perspective Ecofeminism is a movement within feminism linking feminism to environmentalism. There are as many ecofeminisms, it seems, as there are ecofeminists, but they all assume a connection between environmental degradation and patriarchal society. Many ecofeminist arguments boil down to the proposition, that what good is for women, will benefit nature as well. Nature, or the ecosystem is put on a par with the environment in general. Female power is indispensable for a peaceful, non-discriminating and non-polluting society, and feminism is supposed to promote such a society. Ecofeminist political utopia’s propagate small-scale, locally oriented communities and diversity, living in harmony with each other and with nature. In this respect they do not differ from many green utopia’s, although women’s role and women’s rights are more emphasized.
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As a political and ideological movement, ecofeminism attempts to unite global women’s activism in the field of women and environment under one umbrella. So far, they have only partially succeeded. International networks in the field of women and environment agree to a large extent on practical objectives, corresponding in general as well as in detail to the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies, namely peace, development and equality, with environmental quality as a fourth. All these belong to the ecofeminist programme as well. But the ideological discourse has a few bones of contention, especially spirituality and feminist content. In consequence, ecofeminism as a common banner is unacceptable for many parties involved. Apart from the politically active groups with common goals, which do not necessarily identify with ecofeminism as a label, the ecofeminist discourse subdivides into two main camps. The first of these, the spiritual platform, is multicultural and very wide in scope. Implicit behavioural codes in this debate include, that spiritual premises as such are not criticised. Points of recognition and identification in this field are acknowledged and praised. However, implicit values as well as practices are (sometimes severely) criticised and riposted. Participants in the spiritual discourse are active in political as well as in religious circles and, for that reason, are potentially important social actors. The philosophical platform connects feminist theory with green political theory and philosophy. It is not multicultural, but mainly a white, middle class and academic affair. Their political significance seems restricted to the northern green political movements, to which they introduce feminist objectives and feminist points of view. Potentially they are strong in metaphor analysis, and as such interesting contributors to the increasingly more multicultural value discussion. A critical reflection on their own western bias and their idealisation of nature and ecosystems as a social metaphor, would benefit the discussion.
7. A Perspective from Human Ecology Human ecology studies behaviour from an evolutionary point of view. In this chapter insights from evolutionary ecology are applied to the problems of emancipation and sustainability. According to biological theory, sex relations are shaped by differences in reproductive interests and ecological opportunities. Within this view, sexual equality is very much a matter of equality in reproductive costs and benefits for both sexes. Higher order social phenomena, like law, custom and economic order, together with other situational factors, define and modify the costs and benefits for each sex and the space for individual decision making. Male reproductive strategies are directed to allocating investment primarily to fertilisation of as many females as possible and leaving the costs of raising offspring to females. These strategies often encourage sexual inequality. Female reproductive strategies aim for good genes and high quality offspring. Considering the extremely long childhood period in humans, parental effort of both sexes must have constituted a long part of our evolutionary history. There are arguments in support for the hypothesis, that primeval, supposedly non-sedentary, human communities were matrifocal. Cross-cultural research reveals a correlation between matrifocality, female power, social and economic equality, peacefulness and co-operation on the one hand and between patrifocality, male dominance, inequality, war and competition on the other. A survey of biological and anthropological literature suggests, that both density and (the nature of) available resources are important variables. Defensible resources of strategical importance encourage male dominance, inequality and exploitation, both in general and between the sexes. These characteristics depend on what is technologically feasible. In low-density non-sedentary hunter/gatherer systems women’s freedom of action is greater, as in most systems the costs of restraint greatly outweigh any reproductive profits. In many traditional societies of low and
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intermediate density, habitual warfare and violence against women benefits male reproductive strategies, inhibiting sexual equality. In high density agricultural systems parental investment is largely directed to legal descendants and the acquisition of inheritable wealth and position. These systems often produce severe limitations to women's freedom of action. In modern society, education and new economic opportunity for the well educated increasingly supersedes the significance of inheritable wealth. As children are no longer an economic asset, the costs of rearing a child have increased tremendously. There is some support for the ecofeminist view that patriarchy is connected to environmental degradation, as males in general have more to gain from wealth beyond personal needs, but gender equality in itself provides no mechanism for sustainable environmental management. Neither is patriarchy in itself a cause of environmental degradation. Rapid economic expansion might initially facilitate a shift towards male reproductive strategies, promoting sexual inequality. Modernisation, as a process of professionalisation, intensification (of land, energy and materials) and colonisation of low or zero-density regions has affected women mainly by professionalisation and social stratification. It also caused environmental degradation, but mainly as a consequence of intensification and colonisation. As these processes are interconnected in many ways, the relation between environmental deterioration and gender inequality is rather complex. Historically speaking every rise in productive capacity has been converted to a considerable extent into reproductive gain. In the short term it raised the quantity of offspring, in the long term, their quality, and also quality of life. There is no automatic, density-dependent regulation mechanism controlling population growth, nor any inherent mechanism in smallscale locally controlled communities, preventing over-exploitation. The so-called demographic transition as a consequence of a rise in prosperity seems more an effect of the costs of raising descendants with favourable prospects. As such, this is a result of factors not expected to be operative forever. In environmental policy recommendations boiling down to a preservation of traditional ways of life will not suffice in the long term. New instruments have to be developed, regulating individual behaviour and allocating the gains of technological innovation to environmental improvement.
8. Emancipation and Sustainability: Discussion and Conclusions. This chapter provides some answers to the questions raised in the introduction. International policy has made a start to integrate environmental and emancipation issues. Insight in interactions and constraints, however, to a large extent has to be developed yet. In the south women's problems are closely related to modernisation and social change. In the north women are increasingly affected by constraints of time and mobility, the effects of scaling up. Emancipation in the north tends to shape women's life style and consumption according to men's patterns, contributing to environmental consumption. There are historical parallels between North and South as to the effect of industrialisation on women. Modernisation carries costs with respect to fundamental social needs satisfaction. Social networks of kin and friends, which are sustained by unpaid labour in the form of mutual help and support, are of crucial importance. A second reason for special concern for the role of women, unpaid labour and social networks is that, although needs are individual, many satisfiers are not, including cultural systems of relatedness, shared beliefs, values and language. Cultural disintegration as a consequence of too rapid modernisation can destroy collective systems of needs satisfaction, which are only partly replaced by new arrangements. Procedures of 'needs assessment' can be of help in policy and planning.
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Feminine emancipation ideology values co-operation, solidarity, social responsibility and environmental quality. Masculine directions are more individualistic and better fit in the current trend towards more professionalisation and economic growth. Ecofeminism presupposes a connection between patriarchate and environmental degradation: this assumption is only partly supported by behavioural ecological theory. Even in traditional societies, no direct relation exists between sustainable resource management and gender equality. The question, however, to what extent patriarchy promotes economic growth cannot be answered without further research into the relation between individual processes, 'contest competition' on micro-, meso- and macro-level and economic growth. The political ideal of social equality with respect to gender, race, ethnicity and class and peace is supported by behavioural ecological theory. Cross-cultural research reveals a correlation between male dominance, competition and violence, sexual egalitarian societies being more peaceful and co-operative. Behavioural ecology may explain these correlations as a consequence of conditions, favouring 'contest competition' and male reproductive strategies. For gender equality, equality in reproductive costs between the sexes is required, a condition which in mammals is promoted by very high costs per descendant. Costs, moreover, that cannot be rolled off to women or lower classes. These requirements constitute the main constraints for emancipation. Constraints for sustainability lie in the absence of density-dependant regulation mechanisms for population growth and overexploitation. As such, emancipation and sustainability are not principally at odds. But the routes, measures and processes to reach the required preconditions very well may impede each other. Improvement of women's position should not generate population growth and some emancipation directions may increase environmental consumption. Environmental policy, on the other hand, may constrain women 's social participation and economic opportunities, increasing gender inequality. In a modern framework, Nirvana 1 probably will promote deprivation of immaterial needs. This nirvana fits best in a moderately competitive, growth-oriented social framework. Integration of environmental and emancipation policies mainly concerns the equal share of the sexes in the costs of environmental policy. Redistribution of environmental consumption deserves political attention. Nirvana 2 has true potential for a shift from material consumption to immaterial values. The route to this nirvana demands a radical shift, away from current trends towards more and more professionalisation and scaling up. Instead of this, men should be given incentives to substitute unpaid labour for paid work, which implies that the real value of unpaid work must rise with respect to paid work.. Some mutually benefiting measures for sustainability and emancipation are discussed with respect to poverty, mobility and unpaid labour. As for poverty, some redistribution in order to equalise reproductive costs (both monetary and non-monetary) remains necessary, but not at the cost of women’s autonomy. Economic opportunities favouring combination of care and career, and improving urban environmental quality support women’s interests. As women prefer economic activity at or near home, research, knowledge transfer and education should be directed to environmentally sound productive activities, which do not interfere with the demands of residential activities and quality of housing. Economies of scale and increased mobility have benefited men disproportionally, at the same time levelling out environmental impact over a larger area (‘roll-off’ to a larger scale). As a consequence of the sexual division of labour, women are more home-bound and less mobile than men. Restriction of mobility can benefit women, if and only if, it is closely tied with advancement of local employment of sufficient quality and amelioration of local facilities. For unpaid labour a local orientation will be favourable, if not necessary. Networks of relatives, neighbours and friends in modern society rapidly undergo geographic dilation, both
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by geographic mobility and reduction in number of relatives. Contacts often occur within a professional framework (colleagues, paid services) or water down to low-cost social support. Restoring networks to an appropriate level of informal help and mutual care demands a radical shift, away from the current trend towards more and more professionalisation. The idea of LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) in this respect is a promising approach. When directed at labour-intensive local essential needs, for example housing, maintenance and repair, care and environmental care, there might be a gain, not only in terms of immaterial needs satisfaction, but also efficiency, environmental quality and material needs satisfaction. A larger informal network also may enhance local economic activity and entrepreneurship, if properly supported by local authorities. One precondition is, that unpaid work is not equated with unskilled work.
Part Two Emancipation and the Environment in The Netherlands 9. The Social Contract in The Netherlands Although an ideology of equality prevails in the Netherlands, even extending to equal division of unpaid labour, the actual position of women leaves much to be desired for. Like in the rest of the world, housekeeping and family care largely fall to the woman. In younger generations equality in education, work and income is increasing, but reproductive costs are still very unequal, both de facto and de jure. Predominantly women give up (part of) their paid work on behalf of child care. It is women, bearing the greatest burden, both physically and financially, to raise children. Spatial organisation and mobility have been the main themes up till now. Despite the problems of combining paid and unpaid work, labour participation of mothers is increasing. This trend will continue, because resigning carries great social and financial risk, jobs being scarce these days and cuts on welfare severe. Although family roles are still rather traditional, the so-called ‘power of the shopping bag’ is an overestimated stereotype. Doing the shopping at the most implies responsibility over a limited part of the budget, allocation of which is also influenced by other members of the household. In the field of unpaid labour, informal mutual support and care, problems may rise, especially for those combining paid and unpaid work. Quality of informal networks is deteriorating in such a way, that many people may be deprived or will be in the near future, with respect to the fundamental need of ‘meaningful social bonding’.
10. Policies with respect to Emancipation and Environment This chapter reviews Dutch policies on emancipation and environment. Environmental policy is primarily directed at physical aims, cultural goals being very specific and directed at desired environmental behaviour. Although there is a discourse on sustainable quality-centred culture within the environmentalist movement, this is not a topic in environmental policy. In many respects, environmental policy can be considered a success story. Policy makers have been mobilizing a lot of power and finance, realizing many concrete objectives. Yet policy is inadequate to tackle ‘the undercurrent’, namely the structural factors generating the problem. To control the undercurrent, a more fundamental approach is advocated, characterised as an ‘environmental revolution’ by the Commission Long Term Environmental Policy, as a civilisation process by others. This vision has been hardly elaborated, however, with respect to social and cultural characteristics.
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In comparison with environmental policy, emancipation policy has scored poorly. It lacks resolution and purpose, both with respect to concrete goals and to the mobilisation of resources. Reproductive equality (with respect to costs, roles and risks) was and still is not the aim. The most successful part has been labour market policy. As far as Dutch emancipation policy implies a scenario, it is mostly Nirvana 1, even more than the OECD-vision. As for the integration of the two fields, the environmental ministry has made a modest start, but the intents are rather vague.
11. Environment and Emancipation in The Netherlands ‘Emancipation and environment’ is in the Netherlands a fairly recent topic, but interest is growing, both in environmentalist and women’s organisations. The main approach is a pragmatic one: policy notes on the two fields are compared and screened for bottlenecks and opportunities. The following problem fields have been identified: • bottlenecks with regard to time and mobility • consequences of environmental policy for employment and income • promotion of women’s political influence, both generally and in environmental policy • consumption and sustainable lifestyles • public health Women’s organisations are anxious about the negative impacts of environmental policy on mobility and income, environmentalists primary concern being the increase in automobile use by women. Apart from this current pragmatism, adhering to the Nirvana 1-view on emancipation, there is a second school, more ideological and critical of the social structure. Their emancipation ideology corresponds more to Nirvana 2. In practice, a lifestyle in accordance with Nirvana 2 is feasible only for a small minority. One must be willing and able to work according to very unusual schedules (at night and during the weekend) and often content oneself with a lower income and lesser career prospects. Apart from this, the amount of affordable and suitable housing locations for these care-oriented, emancipated task combiners is restricted. Combining paid work of reasonable quality with child care in many cases either results in asymmetric arrangements between parents, or in intensive automobile use. Housing preferences of families with small children (quietude, space and safety) conflict with the location demands for task combiners (infrastructure, public transport, facilities and employment).The urban environment is not experienced as congenial to children and family life. In the dialogue between environmentalists and women’s organisation There is also some interest in sustainable lifestyles and ‘green’ consumerism.
12. Questions about Women and the Environment An inquiry was held among NGO’s on environmental or women’s issues, to measure their interest in the field of women and the environment and to inventory their research needs. The questionnaire was modest in design and recorded order of priority, expertise and fields of interest, like emancipation, public health, Third World problems, household or any other field they could conceive of. Also they were invited to phrase specific questions or research needs, if they had some. Of the 285 questionnaires mailed, 99 were responded to, non-response between women’s organisations and environmental NGO’s being equal. More than 7% of all organisations are of the opinion that the topic deserves at the least some attention, 35% considering it important or very important. About half of the women’s organisations and 60% of environmental organisations report having expertise on the topic. Fields of interest differ: women’s organisations are more interested in emancipation and job opportunities in the
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environmental sector, whilst environmental organisation are most interested in consumption, with emancipation as a second. One third of respondents (31) asked questions, 62 questions in total. Most questions (29) pertained to emancipation (including mobility), 14 to consumption or housekeeping, 8 to health, 7 to Third World problems and 4 to other issues. Many questions were very general in nature or corresponded to topics raised before. Some new points were raised ,concerning for example gender differences in expenditure and consumption, and the role of emancipation in technology. According to a report of the Emancipation Council, technology development is supply-side oriented and therefore unattractive to women. A user-oriented technology which is conscious of social and environmental needs will appeal much more to women and contribute to a change of culture in the field of engineering. Questions on emancipation addressed mainly bottlenecks and conflicting interests, like time and automobility. In this the perspective of both environmental and women’s organisations followed the pragmatic, Nirvana 1-line of thinking.
13. Final Reflection In view of long-term policy on sustainability and emancipation, society has to make fundamental choices. Current trends are in the direction of Nirvana 1, but unless reproductive equality is advocated, social equality is probably unattainable. Perhaps an environmentally sound society can be achieved, based upon a high level of professionalisation of either sex, but it will be short in immaterial needs satisfaction. A change of direction towards Nirvana 2 therefore deserves consideration. This implies a certain extent of deprofessionalisation, keeping up skills and technology, a primarily local orientation with respect to personal contacts and work, and more political attention for social networks and unpaid labour. There are many options for further research, for example needs assessment. Also, investigators of sustainable lifestyles need to pay attention to reproductive consequences and transgenerational effects of environmentally desirable lifestyles. Also, an inquiry into the possibilities of effectuating local informal networks, at the same time stimulating local economic activity is worthwhile. As for policy, improving the quality of the urban environment will be helpful. Safety in and around the home should be an environmental theme too. Long-term visions, preferably in the form of scenario’s are to be formulated, both for emancipation and the environment. Emancipation Impact Assessments would be desirable as an aid in decision making in the field of spatial planning and urban design, but can only be effective after a clear vision on sustainable emancipated society has been formulated.
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VOORWOORD Nietsvermoedend begon ik eind 1993 een vooronderzoekje over emancipatie en milieu. In het voorjaar had ik mijn tweede kind gekregen, anderhalf jaar na mijn eerste. Het was me bij die gelegenheid al opgevallen dat ik het thuis veel drukker had dan op het werk, hoewel niemand dat ooit scheen te merken. Mijn collega van de Chemiewinkel had me al heel attent een rapport over de milieuvoordelen van katoenen luiers toegestuurd. Dat voordeel was in mijn geval betrekkelijk, omdat er in ons dorp geen luierwascentrale is en noch de weersomstandigheden, noch de boerderij berekend zijn op buiten aan de lijn drogen van de was. Twee kinderen in de luierleeftijd bleken aanzienlijke problemen op te roepen voor de meest eenvoudige activiteiten en boodschappen. Òf ze moesten mee, òf ik moest iemand vinden, die even op ze wilde passen. Ik begon me af te vragen hoe anderen dat deden. Navraag bij andere ouders leverde op, dat het voor iedereen net even anders ligt, maar een hoop organisatie is het altijd. Sommigen slaagden er in, om toch een redelijk milieuvriendelijke levensstijl te handhaven, anderen absoluut niet. Kortom, hier was vermoedelijk sprake van een maatschappelijk probleem. Had ik kunnen weten, want mijn collega en medecoördinator Attie Bos was enkele jaren geleden één van de onderzoeksters, die meewerkten aan het rapport ‘Emancipatie en milieu: plussen en minnen op de raakvlakken1 Ik bestudeerde dat rapport met grote aandacht en begon mij al lezende af te vragen, in hoeverre deze problematiek was opgepakt door milieu- en vrouwenorganisaties. Ik besloot mij er verder in te verdiepen; vroeg of laat zouden er best vragen kunnen komen over dit onderwerp. Uit dit eerste, zeer globale, vooronderzoek, dat zich beperkte tot de Nederlandse situatie concludeerde ik, dat de problematiek uitermate belangrijk, maar ook behoorlijk complex was en zeker nadere studie waard. Het leek mij verstandig om milieu- en vrouwenorganisaties te vragen, in hoeverre zij problemen zagen op het gebied ‘vrouwen en milieu’, en wat hun onderzoeksbehoefte was. Tevens wilde ik mij verdiepen in internationale literatuur over het onderwerp (indien die er was). Aangezien dit waarschijnlijk veel tijd zou kosten, besloot ik subsidie aan te vragen bij de EEVA, een fonds van de universiteit voor emancipatoire projecten. Mijn baas, Jelte van Andel, voorzitter van de Kontaktraad van de Biologiewinkel, steunde het project van harte, ondanks twijfels van sommige anderen over de relevantie van de problematiek voor de Biologiewinkel. Toen stierf ons dochtertje, zomaar, dood in haar bedje. Terwijl we ons verheugden over haar snelle vorderingen met lopen, haar lieve, mooie gezichtje, haar zonnige karakter, haar eerste verjaardag over enkele weken en de intense genegenheid tussen haar en haar anderhalf jaar oudere broertje Ricardo. Met één verschrikkelijke slag lag de toekomst aan scherven en was het verleden van zijn betekenis ontdaan. Het is het rampzaligste dat ik ooit heb meegemaakt en ik wil hier, op deze plaats mijn deelneming uitspreken aan alle ouders, die op welke manier dan ook, op welke leeftijd dan ook, een kind hebben verloren. Tevens wil ik iedereen bedanken, die mij, mijn man en mijn kind hun steun, deelneming en troost hebben geboden. Het hielp niet, maar het maakte wel verschil. Van een vreugdevolle afwisseling van het drukke leven thuis werd het project ineens een reddingboei, die voor enig houvast en structuur zorgde in een, gedurende lange tijd,
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Gilden et al., 1990.
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betekenisloos universum. Ik diende het projectvoorstel in en ontving in juni 1994 bericht, dat de gevraagde subsidie was toegekend. Het doel van het project (dat beslist geen promotie ten doel had) was een verkennende studie om tot een probleemafbakening te komen voor interdisciplinaire projecten voor b.v. combinaties van wetenschapswinkels op het gebied van duurzame ontwikkeling en emancipatie: ‘Doel van het onderzoek is ten eerste een nadere probleemdefinitie te geven van de relatie tussen emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling. Hiertoe zal aanvullend literatuuronderzoek verricht worden, aangevuld met interviews met deskundigen op emancipatiegebied. Op grond hiervan kunnen relevante onderzoeksterreinen voor de betrokken disciplines worden afgebakend. Ten tweede, een inventarisatie van de belangstelling voor en de onderzoekswensen op het gebied van emancipatie en duurzaamheid. Hiertoe zijn reeds ca. 250 milieu- en vrouwenorganisaties aangeschreven. Ten derde, het vertalen van hieruit voortvloeiende vragen in onderzoeksprojecten, waar mogelijk in samenwerking met andere wetenschapswinkels. Het ligt in de bedoeling neer te leggen in een breed te verspreiden rapport.’ (Uit: onderzoeksvoorstel EEVA, 1994). Tevens was ik, op grond van de randvoorwaarden van EEVA verplicht om aandacht te besteden aan de mogelijkheden voor vrouwenstudies bij Biologie. Ik verstuurde nog wat enquêtes, nam contact op met respondenten en, wanneer een vraag zich daartoe leende, met collega’s wetenschapswinkeliers. De sceptici kregen gelijk: de enquête leverde nauwelijks onderzoeksvragen op voor de Biologiewinkel, in feite ook weinig voor andere wetenschapswinkels. Anderzijds gaven de antwoorden wel een beeld van de wijze waarop en de mate waarin respondenten problemen op het terrein van vrouwen en milieu percipieerden. Vanuit het oogpunt van een respondent zijn er grofweg drie typen vragen: behoefte aan achtergrondinformatie, om discussie uit te lokken, of vragen waarop het antwoord bij kan dragen tot het verwezenlijken van de doelstellingen van de organisatie. Betrekkelijk veel vragen behoorden tot het eerste of tweede type. Wetenschapswinkels richten zich bij voorkeur op het derde type vragen (zie Bijlage 3). Vanuit de wetenschapswinkel kunnen vragen worden ingedeeld naar de mate van beantwoordbaarheid: vragen waarop het antwoord bekend is, dan wel onderzoekbaar, of vragen waarvoor een onderzoekskader ontbreekt. In geval van het laatste, is het voor een wetenschapswinkel vaak heel zinnig om een multidisciplinaire probleemverkenning uit te voeren en de resultaten daarvan in brede kring kenbaar te maken. Hiermee krijgen zowel de maatschappelijke en de wetenschappelijke discussie nieuwe impulsen. Voor wat betreft emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling leek dit de aangewezen weg. Begin 1995 had ik een concept gereed voor een breed te verspreiden wetenschapswinkelrapport met achtergrondinformatie. Dit was in de eerste plaats gericht op de milieubeweging (het is moeilijk om op twee doelgroepen tegelijk gericht te zijn) en was bedoeld om de problematiek van emancipatie en duurzame ontwikkeling zoveel mogelijk in zijn samenhang weer te geven. Het bleek dat er naar verhouding weinig literatuur bestond, die milieu en emancipatie in onderlinge samenhang adresseerde. Wat ik vond laat zich indelen in een drietal hoofdcategorieën: 1) politieke documenten, meestal afkomstig van de vrouwenbeweging, waarbij ingehaakt werd op de besluitvorming rond Agenda 21, 2) studies van genderdeskundigen in de Derde Wereld, 3) ecofeministische publikaties. In de eerste categorie bevinden zich vooral pogingen om vorm te geven aan de praktische raakvlakken tussen milieu- en emancipatiebeleid. Onder de laatste twee categorieën waren diverse auteurs,
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die een functioneel verband veronderstelden tussen processen van milieudegradatie en de maatschappelijke rol van vrouwen. Wat ontbreekt in de beleidsdiscussie (categorie 1) is een theoretisch kader, waarbinnen duurzaamheids- en mensenrechtendoelstellingen conceptueel aan elkaar gekoppeld kunnen worden. Zonder een dergelijk theoretisch kader, zal beleidsintegratie naar alle waarschijnlijkheid zijn ad hoc karakter houden. Een theoretisch kader stimuleert het denken over strategische lange termijn doelstellingen, zowel in termen van fysieke als sociale randvoorwaarden. De WCED geeft in ‘Our Common Future’ wel een aanzet tot een bruikbaar concept: materiële behoeftenbevrediging dient te worden ingeperkt ten gunste van immateriële behoeften. ‘Behoeften’ is hier het verbindende concept. De ‘human needs’-benadering leek mij mogelijkheden te bieden voor een intercultureel bruikbaar kader. In mijn rapport verwees ik daarnaar, maar ging er niet verder op in. In de tweede categorie wordt veelvuldig gewezen op de gevolgen van milieudegradatie voor de positie van vrouwen. Het accent ligt hier, voor wat betreft de wetenschappelijke publikaties op beschrijvende case studies en analyses in termen van machtsongelijkheid. In de derde categorie wordt een dieperliggend functioneel verband verondersteld. Soms op basis van wereldbeelden, soms op basis van wezenlijke verschillen tussen mannen en vrouwen. Is er een functioneel verband tussen milieu- en emancipatieproblemen? In mijn rapport stelde ik die vraag als wetenschappelijk belangrijk onderzoeksthema aan de orde en gaf de argumenten van enkele auteurs, die dergelijke onderliggende mechanismen veronderstelden. Ik noemde humane ecologie als een van de disciplines waarin deze vraag bestudeerd zou kunnen worden en als mogelijkheid voor vrouwenstudies bij Biologie. Iteke Weeda, aan wie ik in haar kwaliteit van hoogleraar emancipatievraagstukken om commentaar had gevraagd op mijn rapport, moedigde mij aan het materiaal te bewerken tot een proefschrift. Ik wil je bedanken, Iteke voor de cruciale en altijd stimulerende rol, die je bij het tot stand komen van dit proefschrift hebt gespeeld. Zonder jou zou het niet geschreven zijn. Niemand van Biologie, ook ik niet, had bij dit onderwerp aan een proefschrift gedacht, en het kostte ons allemaal wat tijd om aan de gedachte te wennen. Jelte van Andel was ook nu weer bereid om aan het tot stand komen van een proefschrift mee te werken. Jelte, je steun, zowel in materieel als in immaterieel opzicht is van onschatbare waarde geweest. Zonder jouw steun en inzet had dit project op allerlei momenten een prematuur einde kunnen vinden. Ik wil je bedanken voor alles, wat je voor mij, voor de Biologiewinkel en voor dit project betekend hebt. Bij het bewerken van het rapport tot proefschrift ben ik er van uitgegaan, dat het wetenschapswinkelkarakter niet verloren mocht gaan: het moest toegankelijk en leesbaar blijven, maatschappelijke en wetenschappelijke discussie stimuleren en toch ook een praktische inslag behouden. Voor wat betreft de praktische problematiek van beleidsintegratie heb ik daarom het begrip emancipatie en het begrip ‘behoeften’ nader uitgewerkt, dit laatste aan de hand van de ‘human needs’-discussie. Voor wat betreft de analytische vraag naar functionele verbanden tussen emancipatie en milieu komen natuurlijk vele disciplines in aanmerking: economie, sociologie, geschiedenis, om maar enkele te noemen. Als bioloog leek het mij het beste om mij in dit opzicht te beperken tot mijn eigen leest en een overzicht te geven van wat het vakgebied humane ecologie mogelijk aan deze vraag zou kunnen bijdragen. Het eindresultaat is, nog steeds, een probleemverkenning, met vele onderzoeksmogelijkheden voor tal van disciplines. Ik hoop dat dit proefschrift een bijdrage levert aan een meer systematische benadering van de problematiek, vanuit een overzicht over het geheel en meer gericht op lange termijn processen.
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Rest mij nog, al diegenen te bedanken, die een bijdrage hebben geleverd aan het tot stand komen van dit proefschrift. Jacqueline Cramer, Ton Schoot Uiterkamp, Jaap Koolhaas, Karin Ree, Menno Gerkema, Geert van Oortmerssen, Hans Harbers en Henny van der Windt bedank ik voor inhoudelijke kritiek. Michael McDonnell-Alexander bedank ik voor taalkundige ondersteuning. Attie Bos, mijn medecoördinator, jou wil ik bedanken voor je collegialiteit en de vele kleine en grote diensten die je mij bewezen hebt. Om maar niet te spreken van je inzet gedurende lange perioden wanneer ik door zwangerschaps- en ouderschapsverlof, of langdurige ziekte niet aanwezig kon zijn en jij de tent grotendeels alleen runde. Gerrit Hartman, jou wil ik bedanken voor de vindingrijkheid waarmee je de tijdelijke formatieknelpunten van de Biologiewinkel telkens weer wist op te lossen. Dick Visser en Herman Hofman bedank ik voor technische ondersteuning, niet alleen voor dit proefschrift, maar voor alle Biologiewinkelrapporten, die in de loop der jaren zijn verschenen. Mijn paranimfen Latzi Fresco en Hetty Zuidema, jullie bedank ik voor de inzet en het enthousiasme waarmee jullie mij terzijde staan. En dan Annie Geertsema, mijn lieve schoonmoeder, die mij de tijd verschaft heeft om dit proefschrift te realiseren. Zonder jouw belangeloze inzet, zou er niet alleen geen proefschrift zijn geweest, maar zelfs geen rapport. Het verlies van Valérie is voor ons gedeeld verdriet en ik bewonder je om de manier waarop je je in de stormen des levens staande weet te houden. Ricardo heeft bij jou vanaf zijn geboorte een tweede, veilige basis gevonden, tot meerdere vreugde van alle betrokkenen. Jan, mijn lieve echtgenoot en Ricardo, mijn dappere kleuter, jullie bedank ik niet. Jullie zijn er gewoon. Wij zijn drie handen op één buik. Aan jullie, mijn mede-overlevenden, is dit boek opgedragen.
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