Handbook

Management of the environment and natural resources involves deep human-environment interactions. Looking beyond the biophysical science of soils, minerals, water and plants, this unit reveals the human factors that shape the need for and access to natural resources. Framed through a social-ecological lens, the unit examines different management practices and evaluation approaches that shape resource decision-making (and resource conflicts) in Australia and beyond. By exploring social, political, economic, and institutional settings of critical natural resources (e.g. fisheries, forests, agricultural systems, and wild animals), we uncover drivers of natural resource conflicts (e.g. unsustainable fishing, rainforest destruction, land degradation, illegal wildlife trade) and discuss pathways towards more sustainable natural resource management approaches.