Page Title

Jesse C. Ribot

Jesse Ribot

  • Associate Professor of Geography and Affiliate,
     Beckman Insitute
  • Research Interests: environmental policy, local government, rural representation, distributional equity, social vulnerability
  • Office: 321 Davenport Hall
  • Phone: 333-7248
  • E-mail: ribot@illinois.edu

Jesse Ribot joined the Department of Geography as an Associate Professor in November 2008. Dr. Ribot is leading an initiative on Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy (SDEP—see http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/sdep.aspx), an initiative of the School of Earth, Society and Environment with support by the campus and the Beckman Institute. Details for the Fall 2009-Spring 2010 Climate and Society Speaker Series of the SDEP Initiative can be found at, https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/CLIMATE_and_SOCIETY_SeminarSeries.pdf.

Prior to arriving at Illinois, Dr. Ribot was a Senior Associate in the Institutions and Governance program at the World Resources Institute (since 1999). He has been a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Fellow, a MacArthur Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies and a fellow at the Yale Program in Agrarian Studies. From 1990 to 1994 he lectured on environment and development policy and planning in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. Over the past two decades he has conducted numerous studies for the World Bank and United Nations. Ribot conducts research on: decentralization and democratic local government; natural resource tenure and access; distribution along natural resource commodity chains; and household vulnerability in the face of climate and environmental change. He holds a doctorate from the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley.

COURSES


PUBLICATIONS

Books

  • Ribot, J.C. and Anne Larson (eds.). 2005. Decentralization through a Natural Resource Lens: Experience in Africa, Asia and Latin America. London: Frank Cass. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/FEDR%20Cover%2016_1.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C., Antonio Rocha Magalhães and Stahis Panagides (eds.). 1996. Climate Change, Climate Variability and Social Vulnerability in the Semi-Arid Tropics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
  • Bergeret, Anne. and J.C. Ribot. 1990. L'Arbre Nourricier en Pays Sahéliens [The Nourishing Trees of the Sahel]. Paris: Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme.

Policy Research Monographs

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

  • Ribot, J.C. 2009. ‘Access over Authority: Recentralizing Benefits in Senegal’s Forestry Decentralization’ In (Thomas Sikor and Christian Lund, eds.) Politics of Possession. Property, Authority, and Access to Natural Resources. London, Wiley-Blackwell. (First published in Development and Change. Vol. 40, No. 1.)
  • Jesse Ribot Forthcoming, 2009. “Vulnerability does not just come from the sky: framing grounded pro-poor cross-scale climate policy,” in Robin Mearns and Andrew Norton (eds.), Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Equity and Vulnerability in a Warming World. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
  • Ribot, J.C. Forthcoming. “Forestry and Democratic Decentralization in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Rough Review” in Laura German (ed.) Forest Governance and Decentralization in Africa: People, Power and Wealth. London: Earthscan.
  • Suarez, Pablo, Jesse C. Ribot and Anthony G. Patt. Under Review. ‘Climate Information, Equity and Vulnerability Reduction’ in Matthias Ruth and Maria E. Ibarraran (Eds.) The Distributional Effects of Climate Change: Social and Economic Implications. Submitted to: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2005. ‘Choosing Representation: Institutions and Powers for Decentralized Natural Resource Management’, in Carol J. Pierce Colfer and Doris Capistrano, eds., The Politics of Decentralization: Forests, People and Power. London: Earthscan.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2005. ‘Décentralisation Démocratique des Ressources Naturelles: Choix Institutionnel et Transferts de Pouvoirs Discrétionnaires en Afrique Sub-Saharienne’, in Alain Bertrand, Pierre Montagne and Alain Karsenty, eds., L’Etat et les politiques forestières en Afrique francophone. Paris: Editions Karthala. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot%202003%20PublicAdminDevFrench.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. and René Oyono. 2005. ‘The Politics of Decentralization’ in Ben Wisner, Camila Toulmin and Rutendo Chitiga eds., Toward a New Map of Africa, London: Earthscan Press. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot%20Oyono%20EARTHSCAN%202005.pdf
  • Thiaw, Sagane and J.C. Ribot. 2005. ‘Insiders Out: Forest Access through Village Chiefs in Senegal’, in Sandra Evers, Marja Spierenburg,. and Harry Wels eds. Competing Jurisdictions. Settling Land Claims in Africa and Madagascar. The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers’. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Thiaw%20Ribot%202005%20Insiders%20Out.pdf
  • Bertrand, Alain, J.C. Ribot and Pierre Montagne. 2004. ‘Historical Origins of Deforestation and Forestry Policy in French-speaking Africa: from Superstition to Reality?’in Didier Babin, ed., Beyond Tropical Deforestation: From Tropical Deforestation to Forest Cover Dynamics and forest Development. Paris: UNESCO/CIRAD. [First published as: 2001. ‘Origines historiques de la déforestation et politiques forestières en Afrique francophone: de la peur incantatoire à la réalité?’ in Alain Bertrand and Pierre Montagne, eds., De la Déforestation aux Dynamiques Forestières. Paris:CIRAD.]
  • Ribot, J.C. 2001. ‘Decentralization, Participation and Representation: Association and Indirect Rule in Sahelian Forestry’ in Pauline Peters, ed. Development Encounters: Sites of Participation and Knowledge. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2000. ‘Turning Senegal's Forestry Policy Around (From Exclusion to Participation?)’, Ch. 10 in Reginald Cline-Cole and Clare Madge, eds., Contesting Forestry in West Africa. [Reprint of shortened 1996 World Development article.]
  • Ribot, J.C. 2000. ‘Forest Rebellion and Local Authority in Makacoulibantang, Eastern Senegal’. in Charles Zerner, ed., People, Plants and Justice. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Ribot, J.C. and Reginald Cline-Cole. 1998. ‘Forestry Policy, West Africa’, in John Middleton, ed., The Encyclopedia of Sub-Saharan Africa. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons Reference Books.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1996. ‘Climate Variability, Climate Change and Vulnerability: Moving Forward by Looking Back’, Introduction to Ribot, Magalhães and Panagides, eds., Climate Change and Variation in Semi-Arid Lands: Social Vulnerability and Policy Response. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ribot, J.C., Adil Najam and Gabrielle Watson. 1996. ‘Vulnerability, Climatic Variability and Sustainable Development in Semi-Arid Regions’, in Ribot, Magalhães and Panagides, eds., Climate Change and Variation in Semi-Arid Lands: Social Vulnerability and Policy Response. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1993. ‘Market-State Relations and Environmental Policy: Limits of State Capacity in Senegal’, in Ronnie D. Lipschutz and Ken Conca, eds., The State and Social Power in Global Environmental Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Ribot, J.C., Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Wolfgang Luhrsen, and Florence Flouquet. 1983. ‘Summary of International Data on Monitored Low‑Energy Houses: A Compilation and Economic Analysis’, in L.L. Boyer, ed., Earth Sheltered Protection. Melbourne.
  • Ribot, J.C., Arthur H. Rosenfeld, Wolfgang Luhrsen, and Florence Flouquet. 1983. ‘Monitored Low‑Energy Houses in North America and Europe: A Compilation and Economic Analysis’, in J.P. Harris and C. Blumstein, eds., What Works: Documenting the Results of Energy Conservation in Buildings. Washington: American Solar Energy Society.

Book Reviews and Non-reviewed Articles

  • Ribot, J.C. 2003. ‘Transcending Tensions in Democratic Decentralization: Institutional Choice and Subsidiarity Principles’, Democracy Report, Vol. 9, No. 11.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2003. ‘Democratic Decentralization of Natural Resources: A Path to Popular Enfranchisement’ Adaptive Co-Management News. CIFOR.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2003. ‘Democratic Decentralization of Natural Resources: A Lever for Local Democracy’ USAID Democracy and Governance Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 2.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2001. Book Review of James Fairhead and Melissa Leach. 1998. Reframing Deforestation. London: Routledge Press. In Development and Change, Vol. 32, No. 1.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2000. ‘La Gouvernance Environnementale et la Decentralisation’ in Info-Environnement: Antenne Pour la Reconnaissance de l’Environnement au Congo, No. 69, 3.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2000. Book Review of John Schelas and Russell Greenberg (eds). 1996. Forest Patches in Tropical Landscapes. Washington: Island Press. In Development and Change Vol. 31, No. 5.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1997. ‘An Ode to the Lorax: The Business of Sustainable Development, An African Forest Tale’, Africa Today, Vol. 44, No. 2. Reprinted in Lokayan Bulletin (New Delhi), Vol. 13, No. 3, 1997. Reprinted in Medicine and Global Survival, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1998. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot%20Lorax%20Poem.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. 1993. ‘Exploring Rural Livelihoods, Population and Environmental Change’, Changing Cities, Publication of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT, Spring.
  • Ribot, J.C. and John P. Harris. 1982. ‘Pinning Down the Facts on Efficiency’, Sixth Annual Energy Issue, Daily Pacific Builder, Vol. 92, No. 146.

Working Papers

  • Ribot, J.C., Ashwini Chhatre, and Tomila Lankina. 2008. ‘Institutional Choice and Recognition in the Formation and Consolidation of Local Democracy’. Representation, Equity and Environment Working Paper Series (formerly ‘Environmental Governance in Africa’ Working Paper Series) Paper No. 35. Available at: http://governance.wri.org/project_description2.cfm?ProjectID=44
  • Ribot, J.C. 2008. ‘Authority over Forests: Negotiating Democratic Decentralization in Senegal’, Representation, Equity and Environment Working Paper Series (formerly ‘Environmental Governance in Africa’ Working Paper Series) Paper No. 36.
  • Oyono, Phil René, Jesse C. Ribot and Anne M. Larson. 2006. ‘Green and Black Gold in Rural Cameroon: Natural Resources for Local Governance, Justice and Sustainability’. Environmental Governance in Africa Working Paper series, Paper No. 22, Washington: WRI. French and English versions. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Oyono%20Ribot%20Larson%20-final%2010-06.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. 2001. ‘Science, Use Rights and Exclusion: A History of Forestry in Francophone West Africa’, Drylands Programme Issue Paper No. 104, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). (Also translated into French.) https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot_2001_IIED_Paper_English.pdf
  • Clark, William C., Jill Jäger, Robert Corell, Roger Kasperson, James J. McCarthy, David Cash, Stewart J. Cohen, Nancy Dickson, Paul Epstein, David H. Guston, Carlo Jaeger, Anthony Janetos, Neil Leary, Marc A. Levy, Amy Luers, Michael McCracken, Jerry Melillo, Richard Moss, Edward AA. Parson, Jesse C. Ribot, Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber, George A. Seielstad, Eileen Shea, Coleen Vogel, Thomas J. Wilbanks. 2001. ‘Assessing Vulnerability to Global Environmental Risks’, Working Paper of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2000. ‘Decentralization, Participation and Accountability in Sahelian Forestry: Legal Instruments of Political-Administrative Control’, Berkeley Workshop on Environmental Politics Working Papers, No. WP 00-5, Institute of International Studies, UC, Berkeley. Also published in an earlier 1998 version as ‘Decentralization and Participation in Sahelian Forestry: Legal Instruments of Central Political-Administrative Control’, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies Working Paper Series, No. 98.06. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot_2000_decentral.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. 1999. ‘Integral Rural Development: Authority, Accountability and Entrustment in Decentralized Natural Resource Management’, Africa Technical Division Working Paper, The World Bank, January.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1998. ‘Rebellion, Representation and Enfranchisement in the Forest Villages of Makacoulibantang, Eastern Senegal’, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies Working Paper Series, No. 98.07. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot%202000%20Rebellion%20Representation.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. 1994. ‘From Exclusion to Participation: A History of Forest Access Control in Eastern Senegal’, Working Paper 187, History of Land Use Working Paper Series, African Studies Center, Boston University.

Professional Reports

  • Ribot, J.C. 2007. ‘Note on Research Questions and Methods’ Prepared for The World Bank Project on Local Council Oversight and Social Accountability in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). February 2007, pp.33.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2006. ‘Analyse de la filière Charbon de Bois au Sénégal: Recommandations’ Policy brief based on the Senegal Dutch research program ‘Pour une gestion décentralisée et démocratique des ressources forestières au Sénégal’, 30 September.
  • Ribot, J.C. 2005. ‘Steering Community Driven Development? A Desk Study of NRM Choices’ draft report to the World Bank Natural Resources Thematic Group, 1 March. Made available as a WRI working paper in 2008: http://www.wri.org/publication/steering-community-driven-development.  
  • Lippman, Harrold, Robert Charlick, J.C. Ribot and Robert Groelsema. 1999. ‘Democracy and Governance Cross Sectoral Linkages: Case Study of USAID/Guinea’, for USAID.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1999. ‘Institutions, Governance and Natural Resource Management’, Framework Paper for World Resources Institute conference on Institutions and Governance in Natural Resource Management, February.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1998. ‘A Political Economy of Cooperative Law Reform in Mali: The State is the Best Hen’, Report to Management Systems International and U.S. Agency for International Development/Mali.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1998. ‘United Nations Capital Development Fund: The Way Forward’, Chapter on future directions of UNCDF for 1998 Task Force on Participatory Eco-Development and Local Development Funds, 29 May 1998.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1998. ‘Participatory Eco-Development and Local Development Funds: Some Comments on Policies’, Meeting on Policy Development, UNCDF Task Force on Local Development Funds and Eco-Development, 11-12, May Murten, Switzerland.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1997. ‘Critique of Proposed `Forest Act' of The Gambia’, Africa Regional Division of The World Bank, February.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1995. ‘Local Forest Control in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal: A Review and Critique of New Participatory Policies’, Forestry Sector Policy Report/Working Paper, Africa Technical Division of The World Bank, January. (Also translated into French.)
  • Ribot, J.C. 1995. ‘Local Forest Control in Mali: An Institutional Analysis of Participatory Policies’, Forestry Sector Policy Report/Working Paper, Africa Technical Division of The World Bank, January. (Also translated into French.)
  • Ribot, J.C. 1995. ‘Local Forest Access Control in Senegal: Toward Participatory Forestry Policies’, Forestry Sector Policy Report/Working Paper, Technical Division of The World Bank, January. (Also translated into French.) https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ribot/shared/Ribot%202004%20FINAL%20SEN.pdf
  • Ribot, J.C. 1994. ‘Forestry Sector Policy Report: Burkina Faso’, Forestry Sector Policy Report, Africa Technical Division of The World Bank, September.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1994. ‘Forestry Sector Policy Report: Niger’, Forestry Sector Policy Report, Africa Technical Division of The World Bank, In-house report, September.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1994. ‘Forestry Sector Policy Report: The Gambia’, Review of Policies in the Traditional Energy Sector, Africa Technical Division of The World Bank, In-house report, December.
  • Ribot, J.C. 1987. ‘Market Structure and Environmental Policy in Senegal's Charcoal Industry’, Report to ENDA-TM.
  • Milukas, Michael, J.C. Ribot and Peter Maxson. 1984. Djibouti Energy Initiatives: National Energy Assessment, USAID Project No. 603‑0013, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, 450pp, August. (Also translated into French.)

Other

Film:     Weex Dunx and the Quota a 24 minute drama about the subjugating of a democratically elected local councilor in Senegal by the forest service and merchants—based on a play I wrote from field interviews. Wolof w/French or English sub-titles. Wolof version completed 6/06, French version 10/06, English version 11/06. Showing at U. Michigan, USAID, The World Bank and multiple venues in Senegal. This film is associated with the publication Ribot 2009 (article) and with the Scapegoat’s Tale interview, listed below. View at:

Vimeo English: http://www.vimeo.com/599291/

Vimeo French: http://www.vimeo.com/617574/

YouTube English: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3498292104301059460

YouTube French: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3367756256067936009

Children’s Story: ‘The Business of Sustainable Development: An African Forest Tale’, A Story for Children and Select Adults by Jesse C. Ribot with Illustrations by Mor Gueye.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_taFYxA6s also see a discussion of the story in interview, listed below under the same title.

Interviews:  

Beckman Institute Interview on the launching of the SDEP (Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy) Initiative of the University of Illinois http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/news/features/ribot020409

Seagrant project at Oregon State University "Communicating Climate Change" series http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/blogs/communicatingclimate/2009/01/15/episode-8-jesse-ribot/

 The Scapegoat’s Tale: Decentralizing Democracy in Africa’, Television Interview with Jesse C. Ribot on Dialogue, a television program produced by George Liston Seay at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The program is a discussion of the film “Weex Dunx and the Quota: Plucking Local Democracy in Senegal,” above. [Also see accompanying film (Weex Dunx, above), and article, Ribot 2009.] The program can be viewed on line via Vimeo or the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars site.

‘The Business of Sustainable Development: An African Forest Tale’, A Story for Children and Select Adults by Jesse C. Ribot with Illustrations by Mor Gueye. Please visit YouTube to view. A discussion with the author of this story can be seen on the television program ‘Dialogue’ of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=dialogue.thismonth&dialogue_id=132287)

‘Distributional Equity in Forest Exploitation: Double Standards on an Uneven Playing Field’, Keynote Speech by Jesse C. Ribot for the Seminar on the economic social and ecological importance of the world’s tropical forests and the challenges facing them Forest and Landscape Institute, University of Copenhagen 5/08. The talk can be viewed online via Vimeo. http://www.vimeo.com/1411865