The Centre for World Environmental History (CWEH) was launched in May 2002 under the aegis of the School of African and Asian Studies at the University of Sussex. It was funded for an initial three year period by the Research and Development Fund of the University. CWEH has now raised funds from the Leverhulme Trust, the AHRC and the British Academy for independent projects.
The creation of CWEH initative was a response to specialist courses and research conducted by Sussex faculty for over nine years in tropical and 'Southern' environmental history at, what was then, AFRAS and elsewhere in the University and within the Institute of Development Studies. Sussex University has a long research tradition focussed on environment and development problems in the tropics as well as a close relationship with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). IDS, located on the Sussex campus, is Britain's leading organisation carrying out research on social and economic processes and problems. Sussex University also has a solid tradition in radical history and the history of material culture and peasant society in the Global South, exemplified in the work of Professor Ranajit Guha and the Subaltern Studies School.
Collaborative research on the meteorological and botanical history of the Indian Ocean, 1600-1900
Details of the first meeting that was held at the University of Sussex 5-6 December 2012
The Centre has a Director, Research Director, Faculty Associates, Visiting Research Fellows and Associates. It has a close collaborative relationship involving frequent staff exchanges with the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India and the CNRS French Institute in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. The Centre is currently collaborating with Kew Gardens, the British Library and the Natural History Museum on a project on historical records and climate change. It is also colloraborating on another project led by Heather Goodhall and Jodi Frawley at the Institute of Technology, University of Sydney.
Photos: 1. Forest reserve, Tobago. 2. Gullying in Lesotho. 3. Diana's Peak, St Helena.