Handbook of Social Networks and the Environment
Published on 1. August 2025
Book
Hardback
370 pages
978-1-0353-1874-2 (ISBN)
Description
This Handbook examines how social networks underpin environmental change, exploring issues of collaboration, learning and social influence in environmental contexts. It provides an accessible framework for understanding the complex interplay between social dynamics and environmental problems, highlighting how social networks can shape and potentially solve pressing global challenges.
Bringing together diverse case studies, leading specialists outline the role of social networks in environmental management, policy, risk, disasters and climate adaptation. They shed light on seed circulation and regional trade networks, and analyze the impact of conservation technology in environmental policy. Chapters address flood planning and the prevalence of post-disaster mental health issues, showcasing best practice in the journey from environmental catastrophe to recovery. They discuss equitable climate-smart architecture, network segregation, power, and the global trade networks driving climate change, as well as local stakeholder networks supporting climate action.
The Handbook of Social Networks and the Environment will greatly benefit students and academics in social network analysis, sociology and social theory, environmental sociology, public policy and sustainability studies. Its exploration of the complex social and environmental nexus is also invaluable to public policy officials and practitioners in project and environmental management.
Bringing together diverse case studies, leading specialists outline the role of social networks in environmental management, policy, risk, disasters and climate adaptation. They shed light on seed circulation and regional trade networks, and analyze the impact of conservation technology in environmental policy. Chapters address flood planning and the prevalence of post-disaster mental health issues, showcasing best practice in the journey from environmental catastrophe to recovery. They discuss equitable climate-smart architecture, network segregation, power, and the global trade networks driving climate change, as well as local stakeholder networks supporting climate action.
The Handbook of Social Networks and the Environment will greatly benefit students and academics in social network analysis, sociology and social theory, environmental sociology, public policy and sustainability studies. Its exploration of the complex social and environmental nexus is also invaluable to public policy officials and practitioners in project and environmental management.
Reviews / Votes
'In our current turbulent world, with rapidly rising social and environmental risks at the global scale, we need collective action and transformative change. A sine qua non to succeed are social networks that contribute towards planetary stewardship. And here, served with scientific passion with an eye for action on the ground, a Handbook that gives you a comprehensive overview and deep dives.' -- Johan Rockstroem, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany 'Building on the Nobel Prize-winning work of Elinor Ostrom, this book brings a formal network analysis perspective to the understanding of social-ecological systems. More than any other network analysis volume I know, it tackles the BIG environmental problems - from marine conservation and sustainable agriculture to climate change, wildfire, and post-disaster resilience - across an astonishing range of fields. All of these challenges are illuminated through a single relational lens, drawing on the latest advances in network methodology.' -- Stephen P. Borgatti, University of Kentucky, USA 'This is a beautiful and timely volume. Michele L. Barnes and OErjan Bodin have done fantastic work combining significant contributions on real-world challenges, capturing the flourishing field of social-ecological network analysis. Highly recommended and a must for those interested in a deeper understanding of the interplay of intertwined social-ecological systems in the search for sustainable futures.' -- Carl Folke, founder, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden 'This brilliant volume comprehensively explains how and why social networks are so critical to help society address environmental challenges, including the climate crisis. It significantly extends previous approaches by considering vital dimensions including justice, power and equity, providing technical and theoretical sophistication. This is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the complex social dynamics of environmental change in the Anthropocene.' -- Katrina Brown, University of Exeter, UKMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 169 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-1874-2 (9781035318742)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by Michele L. Barnes, School of Project Management, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Sydney, Australia and OErjan Bodin, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden
Content
Contents
Foreword xix
Acknowledgements xxii
INTRODUCTION
1 Social structural processes and environmental problem solving 2
Michele L. Barnes, OErjan Bodin and Christina Prell
2 Ecological nodes in a social-ecological network: a social science
perspective 22
Manuel Fischer, Karin Ingold and Julia Schegg
PART I ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
3 Seed circulation networks, the missing link between crop diversity and
sustainable agriculture 37
Vanesse Labeyrie, Sophie Donnet, Sophie Caillon, Eric Garine and
Christine Raimond
4 Diversification in small-scale fisheries beyond harvesting: the role of
regional trade networks 53
Blanca Gonzalez-Mon, OErjan Bodin, Xavier Basurto, Carla LanyonGarrido, Adrian Munguia-Vega, Mateja Nenadovic and Amy Hudson
Weaver
5 Bridging networks in polycentric systems: the case of sea-level rise
adaptation 82
Francesca Pia Vantaggiato, Mark Lubell and Chien-Shih Huang
PART II DIFFUSION AND ADOPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
AND BEHAVIOURS
6 Conservation technology diffusion as a complex contagion 105
Emmanuel K. Mbaru, Michele L. Barnes and Joshua Cinner
7 Local information networks and coffee-agroforestry practices: evidence
from a randomized controlled-trial from Indonesia 125
Ayu Pratiwi and Petr Matous
PART III RISK, DISASTERS, AND RECOVERY
8 A system perspective to flood planning combining multiple multilevel
collaboration networks 151
Bridget McGlynn, Angela M. Guerrero, Julia Baird, OErjan Bodin and
Ryan Plummer
9 Social networks and post-disaster mental health: Bayesian analysis for
partially observed network data in a bushfire-affected community 176
Colin Gallagher, Johan Koskinen, Jonathan Januar and Elle
10 The importance and challenges of multi-level cooperative wildfire
management 197
Cody Evers, Matthew Hamilton and Christoph Neger
PART IV CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION
11 How herders on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China rely on their social
relations to adapt to varying environmental conditions 221
Haibin Chen and OErjan Bodin
12 Global climate change policy networks 241
Tuomas Ylae-Anttila, David Tindall, Antti Gronow, Jeffrey Broadbent,
Maria Brockhaus, Marlene Kammerer, Aasa Karimo, Anniina
Kotkaniemi, Anna Kukkonen, Arttu Malkamaeki, Petr Ocelik, Keiichi
Satoh, Mark C. J. Stoddart, Pradip Swarnakar and Paul Wagner
13 Network segregation and learning in climate change adaptation policy 258
Adam Douglas Henry, Jessica Bolson, Timothy Kirby and Michael C.
Sukop
PART V POWER, JUSTICE AND EQUITY
14 Social networks, sustainability interventions, and power 277
Petr Matous, Michele L. Barnes and Stewart Clegg
15 Information networks for equitable climate-smart agriculture 293
Rachel S. Friedman and Astrid Vachette
16 Which networks matter, how, and at what scale? Global trade networks that
drive climate change and local stakeholder networks that support climate
action 310
Christina Prell and Klaus Hubacek
PART VI CONCLUSION
17 A synthesis and afterword: Handbook of Social Networks and the
Environment 331
Michele L. Barnes and OErjan Bodin
Foreword xix
Acknowledgements xxii
INTRODUCTION
1 Social structural processes and environmental problem solving 2
Michele L. Barnes, OErjan Bodin and Christina Prell
2 Ecological nodes in a social-ecological network: a social science
perspective 22
Manuel Fischer, Karin Ingold and Julia Schegg
PART I ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
3 Seed circulation networks, the missing link between crop diversity and
sustainable agriculture 37
Vanesse Labeyrie, Sophie Donnet, Sophie Caillon, Eric Garine and
Christine Raimond
4 Diversification in small-scale fisheries beyond harvesting: the role of
regional trade networks 53
Blanca Gonzalez-Mon, OErjan Bodin, Xavier Basurto, Carla LanyonGarrido, Adrian Munguia-Vega, Mateja Nenadovic and Amy Hudson
Weaver
5 Bridging networks in polycentric systems: the case of sea-level rise
adaptation 82
Francesca Pia Vantaggiato, Mark Lubell and Chien-Shih Huang
PART II DIFFUSION AND ADOPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
AND BEHAVIOURS
6 Conservation technology diffusion as a complex contagion 105
Emmanuel K. Mbaru, Michele L. Barnes and Joshua Cinner
7 Local information networks and coffee-agroforestry practices: evidence
from a randomized controlled-trial from Indonesia 125
Ayu Pratiwi and Petr Matous
PART III RISK, DISASTERS, AND RECOVERY
8 A system perspective to flood planning combining multiple multilevel
collaboration networks 151
Bridget McGlynn, Angela M. Guerrero, Julia Baird, OErjan Bodin and
Ryan Plummer
9 Social networks and post-disaster mental health: Bayesian analysis for
partially observed network data in a bushfire-affected community 176
Colin Gallagher, Johan Koskinen, Jonathan Januar and Elle
10 The importance and challenges of multi-level cooperative wildfire
management 197
Cody Evers, Matthew Hamilton and Christoph Neger
PART IV CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION
11 How herders on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China rely on their social
relations to adapt to varying environmental conditions 221
Haibin Chen and OErjan Bodin
12 Global climate change policy networks 241
Tuomas Ylae-Anttila, David Tindall, Antti Gronow, Jeffrey Broadbent,
Maria Brockhaus, Marlene Kammerer, Aasa Karimo, Anniina
Kotkaniemi, Anna Kukkonen, Arttu Malkamaeki, Petr Ocelik, Keiichi
Satoh, Mark C. J. Stoddart, Pradip Swarnakar and Paul Wagner
13 Network segregation and learning in climate change adaptation policy 258
Adam Douglas Henry, Jessica Bolson, Timothy Kirby and Michael C.
Sukop
PART V POWER, JUSTICE AND EQUITY
14 Social networks, sustainability interventions, and power 277
Petr Matous, Michele L. Barnes and Stewart Clegg
15 Information networks for equitable climate-smart agriculture 293
Rachel S. Friedman and Astrid Vachette
16 Which networks matter, how, and at what scale? Global trade networks that
drive climate change and local stakeholder networks that support climate
action 310
Christina Prell and Klaus Hubacek
PART VI CONCLUSION
17 A synthesis and afterword: Handbook of Social Networks and the
Environment 331
Michele L. Barnes and OErjan Bodin