Summary Book: Social PES
Chapter 1: The contribution of environmental social sciences
The central object of study for environmental social sciences is the interrelationship between societies and their
biophysical environment, and more particularly, the problems that have emerged in this interrelationship and the
manners in which societies deal with these problems.
Environmental problems,
according to many authors, are
defined as
problems generated by humans.
Following this definition, any
environmental problem has
social drivers.
The problem of global warming,
for example, is caused by a rapid
growth of industrial forms of
production and consumption
that heavily rely on fossil fuels
for their energy provision. This
growth is related to societal
processes such as the industrial
revolution, the liberalization of
trade, and dramatic
increases of income and
consumption among large
numbers of people in the North and in parts of the South. Those who contribute most to the problems are often
not the ones who suffer most from their impacts.
Environmental degradation can be defined as the (lack of) human action, leading to a change in the physical
environment which has an adverse present or future effect on human well-being.
Environmental management refers to conscious, purposeful human action to prevent or reduce environmental
degradation and/or to remedy or compensate for the effects of environmental degradation.
DPSIR stands for Drivers, Pressure(s), State, Impact(s) and Response(s). We can also characterize the role of
social sciences in terms of this model. Social sciences, then, investigate the DRIVERS (more specifically, the social
causes) of environmental degradation and the RESPONSES to environmental degradation (more specifically:
social protest, policy and social aspects of management). In addition, social sciences are needed to understand
particular social and economic aspects of the IMPACTS of
environmental degradation.
There are many different definitions of institutions, but most of them converge in describing institutions as rule-
based social patterns that structure social interactions and exert a broad and lasting influence on society.
Language, money, environmental laws, the university system, table manners, traffic rules and well-known
organizations like UNESCO are all examples of institutions.
The emergence of a new institution is called institutionalization: this is the process in which social actions and
relationships become institutions.
There are at least three basic forms of inequality that are relevant to environmental problems and policies:
Chapter 1: The contribution of environmental social sciences
The central object of study for environmental social sciences is the interrelationship between societies and their
biophysical environment, and more particularly, the problems that have emerged in this interrelationship and the
manners in which societies deal with these problems.
Environmental problems,
according to many authors, are
defined as
problems generated by humans.
Following this definition, any
environmental problem has
social drivers.
The problem of global warming,
for example, is caused by a rapid
growth of industrial forms of
production and consumption
that heavily rely on fossil fuels
for their energy provision. This
growth is related to societal
processes such as the industrial
revolution, the liberalization of
trade, and dramatic
increases of income and
consumption among large
numbers of people in the North and in parts of the South. Those who contribute most to the problems are often
not the ones who suffer most from their impacts.
Environmental degradation can be defined as the (lack of) human action, leading to a change in the physical
environment which has an adverse present or future effect on human well-being.
Environmental management refers to conscious, purposeful human action to prevent or reduce environmental
degradation and/or to remedy or compensate for the effects of environmental degradation.
DPSIR stands for Drivers, Pressure(s), State, Impact(s) and Response(s). We can also characterize the role of
social sciences in terms of this model. Social sciences, then, investigate the DRIVERS (more specifically, the social
causes) of environmental degradation and the RESPONSES to environmental degradation (more specifically:
social protest, policy and social aspects of management). In addition, social sciences are needed to understand
particular social and economic aspects of the IMPACTS of
environmental degradation.
There are many different definitions of institutions, but most of them converge in describing institutions as rule-
based social patterns that structure social interactions and exert a broad and lasting influence on society.
Language, money, environmental laws, the university system, table manners, traffic rules and well-known
organizations like UNESCO are all examples of institutions.
The emergence of a new institution is called institutionalization: this is the process in which social actions and
relationships become institutions.
There are at least three basic forms of inequality that are relevant to environmental problems and policies:
