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This is the first of three short videos meant to be introductory tutorials on why environmental sustainability problems are inherently social problems; how teams can they study them; and what methods researchers use to study them. Part 1 in this series focuses on understanding environmental problems and sustainability through a socio-environmental lens. It provides multiple, specific examples of sustainability problems and how to conceptualize them within a socio-environmental framework.
Explaining how social drivers and responses are closely linked to environmental factors, these examples illustrate why solutions to sustainability problems require a focus on both the environmental and social factors. The end of the video briefly introduces the second video's subject—how groups can work together to synthesize social and environmental information to move toward solutions.
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About the Presenters
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Margaret A. Palmer
DirectorDr. Margaret A. Palmer is Director of SESYNC and a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. With a background in hydrology and ecology, Margaret contributes to testing and extending fundamental theory and empirical findings on aquatic ecosystem dynamics. She has worked extensively on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes, the biogeochemistry of streams and wetlands, and organism dispersal in aquatic ecosystems. She is an international expert on the restoration of streams and rivers and co-author of the book Foundations of...
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Cynthia Wei
Associate Director of EducationDr. Cynthia Wei was the Associate Director of Education at SESYNC from 2016 to 2018 and previously the Assistant Director of Education and Outreach from 2012 to 2016. In this role, she led and managed educational programs including the SESYNC undergraduate research internship and the postdoctoral fellowship program (co-led), as well as initiatives to broaden participation with underrepresented minorities. She also created and taught an annual short course to advance the teaching of socio-environmental synthesis using the case study approach; this effort resulted in education-focused SESYNC...
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David Gill
Postdoctoral FellowDr. David Gill joined the faculty of Duke University in 2018. His research centers on coupled human-natural marine systems, focusing predominantly on marine management and tropical coral reef systems. Overall, his research aims to provide evidence-based insights into how marine management and conservation can lead to equitable and sustainable outcomes. This work is both interdisciplinary and collaborative by nature, drawing on key theories and analytical approaches from disciplines such as economics, community ecology, and political science, and it involves working alongside researchers and...