A stepwise process for actionable environmental science research

Abstract

Scholars have long recognized the social dimensions of environmental problems. Environmental scientists have responded by increasingly focusing on the interactions between nature and social dynamics. This helps reveal problematic interactions that cause environmental challenges, many of which impact human well-being. Research teams that include environmental and social scientists engaging with diverse stakeholders can use many available tools to ask how changing a factor pivotal to problematic interactions influences environmental and social outcomes. When the research also includes identifying actions targeting those interactions and identifying those who can implement the actions, the research is most likely to lead to positive outcomes in the long term. This is especially true when researchers link changes to improving a given ecosystem service. Changes can not only involve adapting natural resource policies but also involve altering attitudes and beliefs. We describe a stepwise process that eases the path toward such actionable environmental science by researchers.