Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation

[Mr.Nathan.Bennett]

The following Open Access publication titled “Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation" will be of interest to many on this list. Please share with interested colleagues.

Bennett, N., Roth, R., Klain, S., Chan, K., Clark, D., Cullman, G., Epstein, G., Nelson, P., Stedman, R., Teel, T., Thomas, R., Wyborn, C., Currans, D., Greenberg, A., Sandlos, J & Verissimo, D. (2016). Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation. Conservation Biology. Online, Open Access. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12788 

Link here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12788/abstract

ABSTRACT: Despite broad recognition of the value of social sciences and increasingly vocal calls for better engagement with the human element of conservation, the conservation social sciences remain misunderstood and underutilized in practice. The conservation social sciences can provide unique and important contributions to society's understanding of the relationships between humans and nature and to improving conservation practice and outcomes. There are 4 barriers – ideological, institutional, knowledge, and capacity – to meaningful integration of the social sciences into conservation. We provide practical guidance on overcoming these barriers to mainstream the social sciences in conservation science, practice, and policy. Broadly, we recommend fostering knowledge on the scope and contributions of the social sciences to conservation, including social scientists from the inception of interdisciplinary research projects, incorporating social science research and insights during all stages of conservation planning and implementation, building social science capacity at all scales in conservation organizations and agencies, and promoting engagement with the social sciences in and through global conservation policy-influencing organizations. Conservation social scientists, too, need to be willing to engage with natural science knowledge and to communicate insights and recommendations clearly. We urge the conservation community to move beyond superficial engagement with the conservation social sciences. A more inclusive and integrative conservation science - one that includes the natural and social sciences - will enable more ecologically effective and socially just conservation. Better collaboration among social scientists, natural scientists, practitioners, and policy makers will facilitate a renewed and more robust conservation. Mainstreaming the conservation social sciences will facilitate the uptake of the full range of insights and contributions from these fields into conservation policy and practice.

Keywords: 

• conservation social science;
• environmental social science;
• conservation science;
• human dimensions;
• conservation biology;
• social-ecological systems;
• conservation planning;
• natural resource management

Kind regards,

Nathan

……..… ><}}}}}> …….… :-)

Nathan J. Bennett, PhD

Web: nathanbennett.ca

Twitter: @NathanJBennett

Fulbright Visiting Scholar

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs

University of Washington

Liber Ero Fellow

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

University of British Columbia