Abstract

Social Ecology is an interdisciplinary research field rooted in the traditions of both the Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Related research fields include Human Ecology, Industrial Ecology, Ecological Economics and Sustainability Sciences. A core paradigm, shared by most schools of Social Ecology, is the insight that human social and natural systems interact, coevolve over time and have substantial impacts upon one another, with causality working in both directions. Social Ecology offers a conceptual approach to society-nature coevolution in relation to history, current development processes and a future sustainability transition.