Ecosystems and human communities are interdependent. Recognizing this, there is increasing awareness in the conservation community and in many disciplines that both the problems and the solutions of nature conservation are impacted by how people think about, relate to, use and govern natural resources and nature. To understand the complexities of human societies and of their interdependence with natural systems, social sciences are needed.

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Click here to view the first in the recorded WebEx training series: Measuring the Social Impacts of Conservation

Click here to view the second in the recorded WebEx training series: Working with Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples

New!  Click here to view the third in the recorded WebEx training series: Data Collection Methods -- Household Surveys

This section contains some pertinent materials related to the social sciences and conservation, including materials on the social, cultural, economic, historical, political, institutional and other dimensions of the relationships between people and the natural environment. It contains articles on the following topics:

• Working with Local Communities and Indigenous People
• Applying social science in nature conservation
• Social-ecological Framework
• Social objectives/human impacts in conservation planning and natural resource management
• Guidelines for socioeconomic monitoring or social impact assessments
• Case studies
• Methodologies
• Social indicators for natural resource management and conservation
• Bibliography and social science terms

Working with Local Communities and Indigenous People

• **RECOMMENDED: Sharing Power: Learning by Doing in Co-Management of Natural Resources Throughout the World - Borrini-Feyerabend et al.
• Guidelines for negotiating social research in communities living adjacent to transboundary protected areas: Kruger National Park - Tapela et al.
• Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Protected Areas: Principles, Guidelines and Case Studies - Beltrán
• Indigenous and Local Communities and Protected Areas: Towards Equity and Enhanced Conservation Guidance on policy and practice for Co-managed Protected Areas and Community Conserved Areas - Borrini-Feyerabend et al.
• **RECOMMENDED: Tools of Engagement: A Toolkit of Engaging People in Conservation - National Audubon Society
• Biodiversity Conservation and the Quality of Life of Indigenous People in the Bolivian Chaco  - Arambiza and Painter
• **RECOMMENDED: Ideas for adapting CAP for use with indigenous and local communities - Brown and Cowell
• The Nature Conservancy's Guiding Principles on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation - The Nature Conservancy
• Indigenous Peoples and Conservation International: Principles for Partnerships - Conservation International
• Indigenous peoples and conservation: WWF Statement of Principles - World Wildlife Fund International
• Conservation Alliances with Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon - Schwartzman and Zimmerman

Applying social science in nature conservation

• **RECOMMENDED: An Anthropological Perspective on Some Unexpected Consequences of Protected Areas - West and Brockington
• Conservation, Human Rights, and Poverty Reduction - Brockington, Igoe and Schmidt-Soltau
• Social-Psychological Principles of Community-Based Conservation and Conservancy Motivation: Attaining Goals within an Autonomy-Supportive Environment - Decaro and Stokes
• Perceived Barriers to Integrating Social Science and Conservation - Fox et al.
• Conservation and the Social Sciences - Mascia et al.
• Using Psychology to Save Biodiversity and Human Well-Being - Saunders

• Locally-Managed Marine Areas: A guide for practitioners - Govan et al.

Social-ecological Framework

• **RECOMMENDED: A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems - Ostrom
• Leadership, social capital and incentives promote successful fisheries - Gutiérrez et al.
• Conservation action in a changing climate - McClanahan et al.

Social objectives/human impacts in conservation planning and natural resource management

• **RECOMMENDED: When Agendas Collide: Human Welfare and Biological Conservation - Chan et al.
• **RECOMMENDED: Achieving Integrative, Collaborative Ecosystem Management- Keough and Blahna
• **RECOMMENDED: Addressing the Social Impacts of Conservation: Lessons from Experience and Future Directions
• Manual de Planificación para la Conservación de Áreas, PCA - Granizo et al.
• Linking Livelihoods and Conservation: A Conceptual Framework and Scale for Assessing the Integration of Human Needs and Biodiversity - Salafsky and Wollenberg
• Integrating development with conservation: A means to a conservation end, or a mean end to conservation? - Salafsky
• Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development - UNEP

Guidelines for socioeconomic monitoring or social impact assessments

• **RECOMMENDED: Socioeconomic Monitoring Guidelines for Coastal Management
• **RECOMMENDED: Social Assessment of Conservation Initiatives: A review of rapid methodologies - Schreckenberg
• Socioeconomic manual for coral reef management - Bunce, Townsley, Pomeroy, and Pollnac
• Assessing the social effects of conservation on neighbouring communities: Guidelines for Department of Conservation Staff - Cosslett et al.
• The Protected Areas Benefits Assessment Tool, A methodology - Dudley and Stolton
• Conservation Area Planning for Cultural Tangible Resources - Molina
• How is your MPA doing? A guidebook of Natural and Social indicators for Evaluating Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness - Pomeroy, Park and Watson
• Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment for U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service
• International Principles For Social Impact Assessment - Vanclay
• SEM-Pasifika. Socioeconomic Monitoring Guidelines for Coastal Managers in Pacific Island Countries - Wongbusarakum

Case studies

• **RECOMMENDED: Multiscale Socioeconomic Assessment Across Large Ecosystems: Lessons from Practic - McLain et al.
• Comparing and Integrating Community-Based and Science-Based Approaches to Prioritizing Marine Areas for Protection - Ban et al.
• Discovering Factors that Influence the Success of Community-based marine protected areas in the Visayas, Philippines - Pollnac and Crawford
• Striking a Balance between Biodiversity Conservation and Socioeconomic Viability in the Design of Marine Protected Area - Klein et al.
• Socioeconomic Factors that Affect Artisanal Fishers’ Readiness to Exit a Declining Fishery - Cinner et al.

      Case Studies from The Nature Conservancy

• The Conservation and Poverty Reduction Project - The Nature Conservancy
• Nature’s Investment Bank, How Marine Protected Areas Contribute to Poverty Reduction - Leisher, van Beukering and Scherl
• Adapting CAP Methodologies to Include Cultural Targets - PowerPoint presentation
• CAP to Develop Management Plan for Cultural Values - PowerPoint presentation
• What does TNC staff say about the social side of their work and capacity building needs for social impact assessment? - Wongbusarakum, Patterson, and Wong

Methodologies

• **RECOMMENDED: Measuring the impact of livelihoods initiatives in the conservation context - Walpole

Social indicators for natural resource management and conservation

• The Human Ecosystem Part II: Social Indicators in Ecosystem Management, Society and Natural Resources - Force

Bibliography and social science terms

• Annotated Bibliography on Socio-economic and Ecological Impacts of Marine Protected Areas in Pacific Island Countries - Cohen et al.
• What is Community? A Sociological Perspective - Bartle

Photo credit: Michael Guilbeaux