Research fields

Political ecology

Political ecology is an approach to research about the intersection of society and environment. While taking seriously biophysical processes, the approach often emphasizes the historical, ideological, and political-economic roots of environmental issues and conflicts.

Development studies (environment and development)

Development studies brings together different social sciences to carry out interdisciplinary, policy-relevant research concerned with poverty, human wellbeing, economic prosperity, and sustainability in 'poorer' countries.

The environment is a crucial sub-theme in development studies for many reasons. For one, the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, mining) plays a large role in local livelihoods and national incomes. Second, environmental degradation and disaster risks dramatically affect lives and livelihoods in developing countries. Third, biodiversity conservation and the establishment of protected areas have been a major theme of outside interventions.

Environmental history

Environmental history is the study of human interaction with "the environment" over time. Drawing on archival research, historical ecology, as well as other sources of evidence, environmental historians narrate how human societies have transformed, managed, and thought about the environmnent, and have in turn been shaped by it.

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems across geographic space and through time.