Accounting for the Links Between Social and Ecological Systems for Effective Nature Conservation

Abstract

"This thesis addresses one of the greatest challenges faced by conservation researchers and practitioners: understanding and accounting for the social-ecological complexity that characterises most global environmental problems. This thesis makes theoretical and empirical contributions to research on the problem of fit that extend beyond the conservation planning field. It provides empirical support for how collaboration approaches to governance can enable the coordination of actions across different management scales, and demonstrates how interactions between the social and ecological systems can be accounted for in conservation planning decisions, and in assessments of the effectiveness of environmental governance arrangements."