Governing the Anthropocene

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. Transformation and the Anthropocene

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 1-36

3. Understanding Change and Governing Transformation

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 37-74

4. Domains of Change in Biodiversity Conservation

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 75-95

5. Novel Decisions and Conservative Frames

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 97-144

6. Cultural Landscapes and Novel Ecosystems

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 145-185

7. Climate Change, Conservation, and Expertise

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 187-228

8. Contested Concepts, Cultures of Knowledge, and the Chimera of Change

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 229-279

9. Conclusion: Reform, Reinvention, and Renewal

   • Sarah Clement

   Pages 281-292

10. Back Matter

    Pages 293-353

    PDF

This book focuses on the present and future challenges of managing ecosystem transformation on a planet where human impacts are pervasive. In this new epoch, the Anthropocene, the already rapid rate of species loss is amplified by climate change and other stress factors, causing transformation of highly-valued landscapes. Many locations are already transforming into novel ecosystems, where new species, interactions, and ecological functions are creating landscapes unlike anything seen before. This has sparked contentious debate not just about science, but about decision-making, responsibility, fairness, and human capacity to intervene.
 
Clement argues that the social and ecological reality of the Anthropocene requires modernised governance and policy to confront these new challenges and achieve ecological objectives. There is a real opportunity to enable society to cope with transformed ecosystems by changing governance, but this is notoriously difficult. Aimed at anyone involved in these conversations, be those researchers, practitioners, decision makers or students, this book brings together diffuse research exploring how to confront institutional change and ecological transformation in different contexts, and provides insight into how to translate governance concepts into productive pathways forward.

• Anthropocene
• environmental management
• environmental governance
• biodiversity
• environmental policy
• natural resource management
• environmental social science
• climate change mitigation
• ecosystem management
• conservation policy
• modified ecosystems
• Environmental Geography

• Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

  Sarah Clement

Sarah Clement is an environmental governance researcher and lecturer in environmental planning and management in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK. She also worked as an environmental consultant, researcher, and environmental policy advisor for 10 years in the USA and Australia.

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