It was established in 1994 as one of the first open access journals in the social sciences, by James B. Greenberg and Thomas K. Park (University of Arizona), to experiment with online formats and to showcase new work in the emerging field of political ecology.

[3] The journal publishes Eric Wolf Prize papers submitted by early career scholars to the Society for Applied Anthropology annual meetings in the United States.

[4] The scope of the journal is research into the linkages between political economy and human impact on the environment, particularly where there are inequalities in access to resources, or an increase in vulnerability, as a result of resource use or assertion of political power.

Articles must address some aspect of this relationship, framed in political ecology, and topics have ranged from mining and indigenous peoples of Oceania, to drug production in Lesotho, marine protected area management in Vietnam, the sandalwood trade in East Timor, environmental pollution in post-communist countries, water consumption and management in the United States West and Mexico, and the plight of Adivasi peoples living in national parks in India.

The four most important research areas covered by the 145 articles published as of late 2014 were 1) food and agricultural issues 2) social aspects of conservation 3) fishing issues and 4) mining and social struggles.