Social Science In Natural Resource Management Systems

This book is about the conduct and contributions of applied social science. It represents the beginning of a new intellectual tradition in applied social science and its purpose is to foster an exchange among the variety of social scientists who are concerned with natural resource policy.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this edited open access book leading scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds wrestle with social science integration opportunities and challenges. This book explores the growing concern of how best to achieve effective integration of the social science disciplines as a means for furthering natural resource social science and environmental problem solving. The chapters provide an overview of the history, vision, advances, examples and methods that could lead to integration. The quest for integration among the social sciences is not new. Some argue that the social sciences have lagged in their advancements and contributions to society due to their inability to address integration related issues. Integration merits debate for a number of reasons. First, natural resource issues are complex and are affected by multiple proximate driving social factors. Single disciplinary studies focused at one level are unlikely to provide explanations that represent this complexity and are limited in their ability to inform policy recommendations. Complex problems are best explored across disciplines that examine social-ecological phenomenon from different scales. Second, multi-disciplinary initiatives such as those with physical and biological scientists are necessary to understand the scope of the social sciences. Too frequently there is a belief that one social scientist on a multi-disciplinary team provides adequate social science representation. Third, more complete models of human behavior will be achieved through a synthesis of diverse social science perspectives.

Selected from the July 1999 eighth International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, held in Brisbane, 18 papers deal explicitly with the social dimension of natural resource management. They conclude that there is a paucity of material theorizing the nexus of environment, society, and natural resources, and suggest some new choices of theoretical frameworks for researchers in field studies. They consider the role of the social sciences in natural resource management, planning and impact assessment, sustaining resources, and institutions and regulation. c. Book News Inc.

Brings scientists, policy makers, land and water managers and citizen stakeholders together to resolve natural resource and environmental problems.

This book was first published in 2006. Despite many well-intentioned policies and changes to management practices, the world's natural resources continue to decline. The roles and interplay between science and policy in the regional broadacre agriculture landscape are examined here, offering readers a thorough understanding of the complex interactions that occur across spatial scales to produce the regional-scale impacts. The fundamental causes of resource degradation, social decline and environmental pollution are addressed, examining the cross-scale drivers from the individual farm level to the global level of commodity systems. Broadacre agriculture is a common land use throughout all continents of the world and is driven by the same type of dynamics, and this case study of the Western Australia agricultural region can be used to clearly demonstrate the principles for other agricultural systems. Aimed at academics, ranging from researchers through to policy analysts, this book will inspire innovation and action in sustainable natural resource management.

This book deals with the interaction of various social groups, and the extent to which they may or may not conflict. It focuses on the interface between the various publics related to recreation, including recreationists themselves.

Social Network Analysis (SNA), a quantitative approach to the study of social relations, has recently emerged as a key tool for understanding the governance of natural resources. Bringing together contributions from a range of researchers in the field, this is the first book to fully explore the potential applications of SNA in the context of natural resource management. Topics covered include the role of SNA in stakeholder selection; improving fisheries management and conservation; the effect of social network ties on public satisfaction and agrarian communication networks. Numerous case studies link SNA concepts to the theories underlying natural resource governance, such as social learning, adaptive co-management and social movements theory. Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities associated with this evolving field, this is an ideal resource for students and researchers involved in many areas of natural resource management, environmental biology, sustainability science and sociology.