Poisons, pragmatic governance and deliberative democracy: The arsenic crisis in Bangladesh

Geoforum

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 155-170

  Atkins, Peter ^a   Hassan, Manzurul ^b   Dunn, Christine ^a  

^a DURHAM UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY   (Bangladesh)

Author keywords

Arsenic; Bangladesh; Environmental health; Governance; Pragmatism; South Asia; Water

Indexed keywords

ARSENIC; ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD; GOVERNANCE APPROACH; GROUNDWATER POLLUTION; POISONING;

ASIA; BANGLADESH; EURASIA; SOUTH ASIA;

EID: 33845697951     PISSN: 00167185     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.07.009     Document Type: Article

References (117)

1. Aboulafia M. Introduction. In: Aboulafia M., Bookman M., and Kemp C. (Eds). Habermas and Pragmatism (2002), Routledge, London
2. Ahmad M.M. NGO Field Workers in Bangladesh (2002), Ashgate, Aldershot
3. Ahmad J., Goldar B., and Misra S. Value of arsenic-free drinking water to rural households in Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Management 74 (2005) 173-185
4. Ahmad J.K., Goldar B.N., Jakariya M., and Misra S. Willingness to pay for arsenic-free, safe drinking water in rural Bangladesh - methodology and results (2002), Water and Sanitation Programme, Dhaka
5. Alaerts G.J., and Khouri N. Arsenic contamination of groundwater: mitigation strategies and policies. Hydrogeology Journal 12 (2004) 103-114
6. Anon., 2005. 190 upazilas to be arsenic-free by June. New Nation (Dhaka). January 7th.
7. Anwar J. Arsenic Poisoning in Bangladesh: End of a Civilization? (2000), Palash Media, Dhaka
8. Arsenic Policy Support Unit, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, 2003. Report on a working group meeting for awareness-raising, 〈www.apsu-bd.org/awareness_working_group_report.pdf〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
9. Arsenic Policy Support Unit, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, 2005. Arsenic mitigation progress in Bangladesh December 2005, 〈www.apsu-bd.org/updated_progress_with_mitigation_november_05.pdf〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
10. Atkins, P.J., Hassan, M.M., Dunn, C.E., 2006a. Environmental irony: summoning death in Bangladesh. Environment and Planning A 39.
11. Atkins P.J., Hassan M.M., and Dunn C.E. Arsenic and toxic torts: mass poisoning in Bangladesh. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 31 (2006) 272-285
12. Baber W.F. Ecology and democratic governance: toward a deliberative model of environmental politics. Social Science Journal 41 (2004) 331-346
13. Bäckstrand K. Civic science for sustainability: reframing the role of experts, policy-makers and citizens in environmental governance. Global Environmental Politics 3 4 (2003) 24-40
14. Baert P. Pragmatism versus sociological hermeneutics. In: Lehmann J.M. (Ed). Critical Theory: Diverse Objects, Diverse Subjects (2003), JAI, Amsterdam
15. Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project, 2003. Status report of Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project. 〈www.bamwsp.org/Status%20Report/status_%20report_%20Jun03.pdf〉 (accessed 18.3.06).
16. Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project, 2004a. Newsletter September. 〈www.bamwsp.org/Other%2520Files/newsletter%2520sep_04.pdf〉 (accessed 18.3.06).
17. Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project, 2004b. Implementation plan for arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh. 〈www.bamwsp.org/Arsenic%20Policy%202004/Implementation.pdf〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
18. Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project, 2005. Newsletter May. 〈www.bamwsp.org/Other%20Files/newsletter%20may_05.pdf〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
19. Barbalet J. William James: pragmatism, social psychology and emotions. European Journal of Social Theory 7 (2004) 337-353
20. Barenstein J. Overcoming Fuzzy Governance in Bangladesh: Policy Implementation in Least Developed Countries (1994), University Press Ltd, Dhaka
21. Barenstein, J., 2000. Tropical robber barons? The difficult road towards inclusive local governance in Bangladesh. Paper presented to the Sixth Workshop of the European Network of Bangladesh Studies, Oslo, May 2000. 〈www.bath.ac.uk/cds/enbs-papers-pdfs/barenste.pdf〉 (accessed: 1.11.04).
22. Barker C. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. second ed. (2004), Sage, London
23. Bearak, B., 1998. New Bangladesh disaster: wells that pump poison. New York Times, November 10th.
24. Beck U. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity (1992), Sage, London
25. Beck U. World Risk Society (1999), Polity Press, Cambridge
26. Bénatouïl T. A tale of two sociologies: the critical and the pragmatic stance in contemporary French sociology. European Journal of Social Theory 2 (1999) 379-396
27. BGS, DPHE, 2001. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh. Volume 2: final report. Kinniburgh, D.G., Smedley, P.L. (Eds.), BGS Technical Report WC/00/19. Keyworth: British Geological Survey.
28. Bohman J. Realizing deliberative democracy as a mode of inquiry: pragmatism, social facts, and normative theory. Journal of Speculative Theory 18 (2004) 23-43
29. Bohman J., and Rehg W. Introduction. In: Idem (Ed). Deliberative Democracy: Essays on Reason and Politics (1997), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
30. Cameron J., and Gibson K. Participatory action research in a poststructural vein. Geoforum 36 (2005) 315-331
31. Chakraborti D., Sengupta M.M., Rahman M.M., Chowdhury U.K., Lodh D., Chanda C.R., Basu G.K., Mukherjee S.C., and Saha K.C. Groundwater arsenic exposure in India. In: Chappell W.R., Abernaty C.O., Calderon R.L., and Thomas D.J. (Eds). Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects IV: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects, July 14-18, 2002, San Diego, CA (2003), Elsevier, Amsterdam
32. Chambers R. Rural Development: Putting the Last First (1983), Longman, London
33. In: Cooke B., and Kothari U. (Eds). Participation: The New Tyranny (2001), Zed Books, London
34. Cutchin M.P. Qualitative explorations in health geography: using pragmatism and related concepts as guides. Professional Geographer 51 (1999) 265-274
35. Davies, J., Exley, C., 1992. Short term BGS pilot project to assess the hydrogeological character of the main aquifer units of central and north-eastern Bangladesh and possible toxicity of groundwater to fish and humans. Final report. British Geological Survey Technical Report WD/92/43R. BGS: Keyworth.
36. Davis C. Arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh: progress of the UNICEF-DPHE Arsenic Mitigation Project 2002. In: Chappell W.R., Abernaty C.O., Calderon R.L., and Thomas D.J. (Eds). Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects IV: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects, July 14-18, 2002, San Diego, CA (2003), Elsevier, Amsterdam
37. Deudney D. Global village sovereignty: intergenerational sovereign publics, Federal-Republican Earth constitutions, and planetary identities. In: Litfin K.T. (Ed). The Greening of Sovereignty in World Politics (1998), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
38. Dewey J. The Public and its Problems (1927), Holt, New York
39. Dryzek J.S. Deliberative democracy and beyond: liberals, critics, contestations (2000), Oxford University Press, Oxford
40. Dryzek J.S. Pragmatism and democracy: in search of deliberative publics. Journal of Speculative Philosophy 18 (2004) 72-79
41. Duyne J.E. Local Initiatives: Collective Water Management in Rural Bangladesh (2004), DK Printworld, New Delhi
42. Farber D.A. Eco-pragmatism: Making Sensible Environmental Decisions in an Uncertain World (1999), University of Chicago Press, Chicago
43. Festenstein M. Deliberative democracy and two models of pragmatism. European Journal of Social Theory 7 (2004) 291-306
44. Figueroa, M.E., Kincaid, D.L., Rani, M., Lewis, G., 2002. Communication for social change: an integrated model for measuring the process and its outcomes. Communication for Social Change Working Paper Series No. 1. Rockefeller Foundation, New York.
45. Giddens A. Modernity and Self-identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age (1991), Polity Press, Cambridge
46. Green J.M. Participatory democracy: movements, campaigns, and democratic living. Journal of Speculative Philosophy 18 (2004) 60-70
47. Hajer M. The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process (1995), Clarendon Press, Oxford
48. Hanchett, S., 2004. Social aspects of the arsenic contamination of drinking water: a review of knowledge and practice in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Dhaka: Arsenic Policy Support Unit, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Government of Bangladesh.
49. Haque M.S. The changing balance between the government and NGOs in Bangladesh. International Political Science Review 23 (2002) 411-435
50. Hardin R. Street level epistemology and democratic participation. In: Fishkin J.S., and Laslett P. (Eds). Debating Deliberative Democracy (2003), Blackwell, Malden, MA
51. Hashemi S. NGO accountability in Bangladesh: beneficiaries, donors and the state. In: Edwards M., and Hulme D. (Eds). Non-Governmental Organizations - Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet (1996), Earthscan, London
52. Hassan, M.M., 2003. Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh: Health and social hazard. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Department of Geography, University of Durham.
53. Hassan M.M. Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh: spatial mitigation planning with GIS and public participation. Health Policy 74 (2005) 247-260
54. Hassan M.M., Atkins P.J., and Dunn C.E. The spatial pattern of risk from arsenic poisoning: a Bangladesh case study. Journal of Environmental Science and Health A38 1 (2003) 1-24
55. Hassan M.M., Atkins P.J., and Dunn C.E. Suitable arsenic mitigation options in Bangladesh: voices of local people. Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies 27 2 (2004) 1-7
56. Hassan M.M., Atkins P.J., and Dunn C.E. Social exclusion and arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh. Social Science and Medicine 61 (2005) 2201-2211
57. Heidegger M. Being and Time (1962), Blackwell, Oxford
58. Herzfeld M. Closure as cure: tropes in the exploration of bodily and social disorder. Current Anthropology 27 (1986) 107-120
59. Hoque B.A., Mahmood A.A., Quadriruzzanan M., Khan F., Ahmed S.A., Shafique S.A.K.A.M., Rahman M., Morshed G., Chowdhury T., Rahman M.M., Khan F.H., Shahjahan M., Begum M., and Hoque M.M. Recommendations for water supply in arsenic mitigation: a case study from Bangladesh. Public Health 114 (2000) 488-494
60. Hoque B.A., Hoque M.M., Ahmed T., Islam S., Azad A.K., Ali N., Hossain M., and Hossain M.S. Demand-based water options for arsenic mitigation: an experience from rural Bangladesh. Public Health 118 (2004) 70-77
61. Hossain M.F. Arsenic contamination in Bangladesh - an overview. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 113 (2006) 1-16
62. House of Lords, 2006. Opinions of the Lords of Appeal for judgement in the cause Sutradhar (FC)(Appellant) v. Natural Environment Research Council (Respondents) [2006] UKHL 33.
63. Ingram D. The sirens of pragmatism versus the priests of proceduralism: Habermas and American legal realism. In: Aboulafia M., Bookman M., and Kemp C. (Eds). Habermas and Pragmatism (2002), Routledge, London
64. Kar, K., 2003. Subsidy or self-respect? Participatory total community sanitation in Bangladesh. IDS Working Paper 184. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton.
65. Karim M. NGOs in Bangladesh: issues of legitimacy and accountability. In: Edwards M., and Hulme D. (Eds). Non-Governmental Organizations - Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet (1996), Earthscan, London
66. Karkkainen B.C. Post-sovereign environmental governance. Global Environmental Politics 4 (2004) 72-96
67. Kaufmann R.B., Sorensen B.H., Rahman M., Streatfield K., and Persson L.A. Addressing the Public Health Crisis Caused by Arsenic Contamination of Drinking Water in Bangladesh (2001), World Bank, Washington, DC
68. Khouri, N., Chowdhury, S., 1999. Mitigating natural groundwater contamination in Bangladesh: early policy lessons from a development project. In: Salman, S.M.A. (Ed), Groundwater: legal and policy perspectives. World Bank Technical Paper 456. World Bank, Washington, DC.
69. Leach, M., Scoones, I., 2003. Science and citizenship in a global context. IDS Working Paper 205. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton.
70. Light A. Taking environmental ethics public. In: Schmidtz D., and Willott E. (Eds). Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works (2002), Oxford University Press, New York
71. In: Light A., and Katz E. (Eds). Environmental Pragmatism (1996), Routledge, London
72. Lokuge K.M., Smith W., Caldwell B., Dear K., and Milton A.H. The effect of arsenic mitigation interventions on disease burden in Bangladesh. Environmental Health Perspectives 112 (2004) 1172-1177
73. McAfee N. Three models of democratic deliberation. Journal of Speculative Philosophy 18 (2004) 44-58
74. Mallick R. Implementing and evaluating microcredit in Bangladesh. Development in Practice 12 (2002) 153-163
75. Mansuri G., and Rao V. Community-based and-driven development: a critical review. World Bank Research Observer 19 (2004) 1-39
76. Mason M. The New Accountability: Environmental Responsibility Across Borders (2005), Earthscan, London
77. Meharg A.A. The Venomous Earth: How Arsenic Caused the World's Worst Poisoning (2004), Palgrave: Macmillan, Basingstoke
78. Mercer C. NGOs, civil society and democratization: a critical review of the literature. Progress in Development Studies 2 (2002) 5-22
79. Merrifield, J., 2002. Learning citizenship. IDS Working Paper 158. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton.
80. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Environmental Assessment and Action Plan for the HNP Sector Programme (2004), MOHFW, Dhaka
81. Mortoza, S., 2003. Case against British Geological Survey (BGS) underway in London. 〈bicn.com/acic/resources/infobank/mortoza/mortoza10.htm〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
82. Mythen G. Ulrich Beck: A Critical Introduction to the Risk Society (2004), Pluto Press, London
83. NGOs Arsenic Information and Support Unit, 2003. Arsenic 2002: an overview of arsenic issues and mitigation initiatives in Bangladesh. NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, Dhaka.
84. Oremland R.S., and Stolz J.F. The ecology of arsenic. Science 300 (2003) 939-944
85. Patel, P.H., 2001. The crisis of capacity: a case study of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Unpublished honours thesis, Department of Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard University.
86. Pearce, F., 1998. Arsenic in the water. Guardian 19th February.
87. Platteau J.-P. Monitoring elite capture in community-driven development. Development and Change 35 (2004) 223-246
88. Poulos C., and Whittington D. Time preferences for life-saving programmes: evidence from six less developed countries. Environmental Science and Technology 34 (2000) 1445-1455
89. Proctor J.D. The social construction of nature: relativist accusations, pragmatist and critical realist responses. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 88 (1998) 352-376
90. Quamruzzaman, Q., Rahman, M., Quazi, A., Rahman, Q.H., Das, R., Yousuf, J., Mohanta, R.C., Sohel, A.E. (Eds.), 2002. Fourth International Conference on Arsenic Contamination of Ground Water in Bangladesh: Cause, Effect and Remedy, Dhaka, 12-13 January 2002. Dhaka Community Hospital, Dhaka.
91. Rammelt C.F., and Boes J. Arsenic mitigation and social mobilization in Bangladesh. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 5 (2004) 308-319
92. Reason, P., 2003. Choice and quality in action research practice. Keynote address, ALARPM 6th World Congress, Pretoria, September.
93. In: Reason P., and Bradbury H. (Eds). Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice (2001), Sage, London
94. Rorty R. Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Princeton University Press, Princeton
95. Rorty R. Philosophy and Social Hope (1999), Penguin, London
96. Rosenboom J.W. Not Just Red or Green: An Analysis of Arsenic Data from 15 Upazilas in Bangladesh (2004), APSU, Dhaka
97. Rosenthal S.B., and Buchholz R.A. How pragmatism is an environmental ethic. In: Light A., and Katz E. (Eds). Environmental Pragmatism (1996), Routledge, London
98. Ruggie G. Constructing the World Polity (2000), Routledge, London
99. Saha K.C. Chronic arsenical dermatoses from tube-well water in West Bengal during 1983-87. Indian Journal of Dermatology 40 (1995) 1-12
100. Sleeper R.W. The Necessity of Pragmatism: John Dewey's Conception of Philosophy (1986), Yale University Press, New Haven
101. Smith A.H., Lingas E.O., and Rahman M. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 78 (2000) 1093-1103
102. Smith G. Deliberative Democracy and the Environment (2003), Routledge, London
103. Smith A.H., and Smith M.M. Arsenic drinking water regulations in developing countries with extensive exposure. Toxicology 198 (2004) 39-44
104. Steinberg P.F. Understanding policy change in developing countries: the spheres of influence framework. Global Environmental Politics 3 (2003) 11-32
105. Transparency International, 2005. Corruption perceptions index 2005. 〈www.transparency.org/policy_and_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2005〉 (accessed: 18.3.06).
106. van Geen A., Ahsan H., Horneman A.H., Dhar R.K., Zheng Y., Hussain I., Ahmed K.M., Gelman A., Stute M., Simpson H.J., Wallace S., Small C., Parvez F., Slavkovich V., LoIacono N.J., Becker M., Cheng Z., Momotaj H., Shahnewaz M., Seddique A.A., and Graziano J.H. Promotion of well-switching to mitigate the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 80 (2002) 732-737
107. 2 area of Bangladesh. Water Resources Research 39 (2003) 1140-1155
108. White S.C. NGOs, civil society, and the state in Bangladesh: the politics of representing the poor. Development and Change 30 (1999) 307-326
109. Wood G. States without citizens: the problem of the franchise state. In: Hulme D., and Edwards M. (Eds). NGOs, States and Donors: Too Close for Comfort? (1997), Macmillan, Basingstoke
110. Wood G. Contesting water in Bangladesh: knowledge, rights and governance. Journal of International Development 11 (1999) 731-754
111. Wood G. Prisoners and escapees: improving the institutional responsibility square in Bangladesh. Public Administration and Development 20 (2000) 221-237
112. Wood G. Staying secure, staying poor: the 'Faustian bargain'. World Development 31 (2003) 455-471
113. World Bank. The Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project: Addressing a Massive Public Health Crisis (2000), World Bank, Washington, DC
114. World Bank. Taming Leviathan: Reforming Governance in Bangladesh (2002), An institutional review World Bank, Washington, DC
115. World Bank. Private Solutions for Infrastructure in Bangladesh (2003), World Bank, Washington, DC
116. World Bank, 2004. Project appraisal document on a proposed grant...to the People's Republic of Bangladesh for a Water Supply Programme Project. Report No: 28559-BD, Environment and Social Unit, South Asia Region. World Bank, Washington, DC.
117. Yu W.H., Harvey C.M., and Harvey C.F. Arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh: a geostatistical and epidemiological framework for evaluating health effects and potential remedies. Water Resources Research 39 (2003) 1146-1151