Environment, Society and Natural Resource Management: Theoretical Perspectives from Australasia and the Americas - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1840644494 ISBN 13: 9781840644494

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2001

Synopsis

As greater significance is placed on the relationship between people and their environment it is increasingly acknowledged that few environmental problems can be solved without considering the social context in which they arise. But what does it mean to incorporate the `social' and what types of social sciences are needed? This incisive book critically reviews the theoretical perspectives that underlie social scientific contributions to natural resource management and argues for both a greater social science presence and for conceptual and methodological clarity within the social sciences themselves. The expert contributors explore how new concepts and approaches can contribute positively to natural resource management. They demonstrate how the social sciences can be used as a vehicle to highlight social concerns as well as to foster greater participation, co-operation, and integration among community members, natural resource managers and researchers. Through detailed case studies from Australasia and the Americas, the authors illustrate how different social science perspectives can be utilised. The range and variety of views provide a basis for the evaluation of various and often competing disciplinary paradigms within the social sciences. This book will undoubtedly contribute to a more sophisticated debate about the place of the `social' in environmental research. It will prove to be of great worth to students and researchers of environmental and social issues, to those involved in environmental decision making and community planning, as well as environmental policymakers and natural resource managers.

About this title

Product Description:

As greater significance is placed on the relationship between people and their environment it is increasingly acknowledged that few environmental problems can be solved without considering the social context in which they arise. What is the significance of incorporating the "social" and what types of social sciences are needed? A critical review is forwarded of the theoretical perspectives that underlie social scientific contributions to natural resource management and argues both for a greater social science presence and for conceptual and methodological clarity within the social sciences themselves. New concepts and approaches, contributing positively to natural resource management, are explored. The social sciences are presented as a possible vehicle to highlight social concerns as well to foster greater participation, co-operation, and integration among community members, natural resource managers and researchers. Through detailed case studies from Australasia and the Americas the utilisation of different social science perspectives is demonstrated. The range and variety of views provides a basis for the evaluation of various and often competing disciplinary paradigms within the social sciences.

Review:

‘For those interested in land degradation, this book does provide some useful insights, as it is often as a result of poorly integrated land-management strategies that degradation can occur.’ Author: C. Sullivan, Land Degradation and Development

About this edition

• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1840644494
• ISBN 13: 9781840644494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304
• Editor: Lawrence Geoffrey, Higgins Vaughan, Lockie Stewart