This theme is concerned with the influence that human activity has on the planet’s environment and the consequences of the resulting environmental changes on human societies and human well-being. Environmental sustainability thus requires an understanding of people, what they need and want, and how these needs and wants interact with the environment. We delve into the interactions between the biophysical processes governing the environment and the socio-economics driving global environmental change. We explore the political, economic, health, biophysical and socio-cultural aspects as they relate to the broad inter-connected topics of land, global change, water, biodiversity and food.
That we must consider both people and nature concurrently in order to achieve environmental sustainability and sustainable development is universally acknowledged within international agreements and policies. CEP, with its inter-disciplinary and global focus, is at the forefront of academic research and policy development in this field. Our researchers are concerned with a broad range of topics including; bioenergy, air quality, food security, conservation biology, biodiversity and ecosystem services, citizen science, human health, well-being and equity, biosecurity, environmental economics, environmental governance, sustainable cites, environmental justice and the Sustainable Development Goals.