Environment and Society Program

July 09, 2008

The Environment and Society Program supports interdisciplinary research on the use of natural resources, including agricultural land, air, forests, minerals, parks, rangeland, and water. Research on resource use spans the globe. In recent years, members of the program have analyzed issues confronting the Western U.S., Brazil, east and south Africa, and south Asia. The research methodologies draw from the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, law, political science and sociology. The research is grounded solidly in publications that reach academic audiences but much of the research has a large outreach component aimed at policymakers.

Current research in the Program reflects three main themes:

• Understanding the institutions, including laws and cultural norms, that underpin the specification and enforcement of property rights related to resource use;
• Understanding environmental policy, especially regarding natural and human-produced natural hazards (see the Natural Hazards Center);
• Understanding the dynamics between demographic change and resource use.