Springer Place-Based Conservation: Perspectives from the Social Sciences

Drawing on diverse fields such as human geography, GIS technology, and environmental psychology, this volume outlines an approach to conservation that hinges on people’s close attachment to their localities and encourages active engagement in preserving them. From the Back Cover The concept of “Place” has become prominent in natural resource management, as professionals increasingly recognize the importance of scale, place-specific meanings, local knowledge, and  social-ecological dynamics. Place-Based Conservation: Perspectives from the Social Sciences offers a thorough examination of the topic, dividing its exploration into four broad areas. Part One, Conceptual Issues of Place-Based Conservation, distinguishes and clarifies social science approaches. Part Two, Experiencing Place, probes the sources and effects of deeply individual relationships that people develop with places and landscapes. The third part, Representing Place, explores the ways in which human relationships with places are represented, become more visible and public and are transformed by conservation practices. The final section, Mapping Place, illustrates emerging techniques that connect meanings and sentiments to the material and locational characteristics of places. Place-Based Conservation provides a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners to help build the conceptual grounding necessary to understand and to effectively practice  place-based conservation.