Publications

Simon West, Wiebren Johannes Boonstra, Sasha Quahe. 2024. Theorizing the ‘Anthropos’ in the Anthropocene. In K. Sherren, G. Thondhlana, & D. Jackson-Smith (Eds.), Opening Windows: Embracing New Perspectives and Practices in Natural Resource Social Sciences (pp. 261-270). University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.7330/9781646426300.c013

Simon West. 2024. Climate-just behavior: foundations and transformational approaches. Environmental Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2441021

Climate-Just Behavior brings insights from psychology, behavioural economics and neuroscience to the pursuit of climate justice. In so doing, this short, accessible and informative book attempts to link individualist and voluntarist theories of pro-environmental behavior to structural and collective action approaches rooted in sociology and political economy. This is an ambitious task: in a methodological sense the differenc...

Simon West, L. Jamila Haider, Tilman Hertz, Maria Mancilla Garcia, Michele-Lee Moore. 2024. Relational approaches to sustainability transformations: walking together in a world of many worlds. Ecosystems and People. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2024.2370539

Transformations to sustainability require alternatives to the paradigms, practices, and policies that have generated social-ecological destruction and the Anthropocene. In sustainability science, several conceptual frameworks have been developed for transformations, including social-ecological, multi-level, transformative adaptation, and pathways approaches. There is a growing shift towards recognising transformations as ‘shar...

Guido Caniglia, R. Freeth, Christopher Luederitz, Julia Leventon, Simon West, Beatrice John, Daniela Peukert, D. J. Lang, H. von Wehrden, Berta Martin-Lopez, I. Fazey, Federica Russo, Timo von Wirth, Maja Schlüter, C. Vogel. 2023. Practical wisdom and virtue ethics for knowledge co-production in sustainability science. Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01040-1

Since antiquity, philosophers in the Western tradition of virtue ethics have declared practical wisdom to be the central virtue of citizens involved in public and social life. Practical wisdom is of particular importance when values are conflicting, power is unequal and knowledge uncertain. We propose that practical wisdom and virtue ethics can inform the practice of sustainability researchers by strengthening their capacity t...

Anita Lazurko, L. Jamila Haider, Tilman Hertz, Simon West, Daniel D. P. McCarthy, Simon West, Simon West, Simon West. 2023. Operationalizing ambiguity in sustainability science: embracing the elephant in the room. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01446-6

Ambiguity is often recognized as an intrinsic aspect of addressing complex sustainability challenges. Nevertheless, in the practice of transdisciplinary sustainability research, ambiguity is often an ‘elephant in the room’ to be either side-stepped or reduced rather than explicitly mobilized in pursuit of solutions. These responses threaten the salience and legitimacy of sustainability science by masking the pluralism of real-...

Sasha Quahe, Sarah E. Cornell, Simon West. 2023. Framing science-based targets: Reformist and radical discourses in an Earth system governance initiative. Earth System Governance. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2023.100196

Science-Based Targets (SBTs) are being developed for companies to contribute to global sustainability goals, including for ‘nature’. The literature has not yet explored multiple understandings of SBTs. We adopt an interpretive approach, using Q methodology to explore framings of SBTs amongst 22 scientists and practitioners engaged in SBT development. Results show two distinct framings: ‘we need science-based targets to help ec...

Linna Fredström, Laura Pereira, Simon West, Andrew Merrie, Joost Vervoort. 2023. Deconstructing the myths and stories we tell ourselves about the future. Vector.

A growing body of research is calling for radical transformation of society to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change and create a more sustainable and just future (Adger et al. , 2009; Westley et al. , 2011; Kates, Travis and Wilbanks, 2012; Patterson et al. , 2017; Fazey, Moug, et al. , 2018). Such transformation will disrupt political and economic structures as well as knowledge and value systems, and require f...

Otto Bulmaniya Campion, Mali Djarrbal, Charlie Ramandjarri, Gladys Womati Malibirr, Peter Djigirr, Margaret Dalparri, Dale Djanbadi, Roseann Malibirr, Mark Malibirr, Evonne Munuygu, Solomon O'Ryan, Florence Biridjala, Paul Bunbuyŋu, Neville Gulaygulay, Jonathan Yalandhu, Margaret Guwankil, Caleb Campion, Benjamin Campion, David Bidingal, Peter Guyula, Sammy Guyula, Michelle Guyula, Erica Ngurrwuthun, Helen Truscott, Yaakov Bar‐Lev, Katie Degnian, Emma Ignjic, Beau J. Austin, Simon West, Gawura Waṉambi. 2023. Monitoring and evaluation of Indigenous Land and Sea Management: An Indigenous‐led approach in the Arafura Swamp, northern Australia. Ecological Management & Restoration. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12586

As Indigenous Land and Sea Management has grown in scope and scale, there has been increasing focus on monitoring and evaluation to foster learning, strengthen accountability and report on outcomes. A resurgence in Indigenous governance has led to recognition that Indigenous knowledge, law and governance systems are essential to successful conservation initiatives on Indigenous lands. Indigenous‐led monitoring and evaluation i...

Otto Bulmaniya Campion, Simon West, Katie Degnian, Mali Djarrbal, Emma Ignjic, Charlie Ramandjarri, Gladys Womati Malibirr, Margaret Guwankil, Peter Djigirr, Florence Biridjala, Solomon O’Ryan, Beau J. Austin. 2023. Balpara: A Practical Approach to Working With Ontological Difference in Indigenous Land & Sea Management. Society & Natural Resources. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2023.2199690

Indigenous peoples are increasingly entering conservation partnerships with non-Indigenous actors. While these partnerships can provide resources to assist in the care of ancestral homelands, a lack of appreciation for ontological difference can lead to the restriction of self-determination and harm Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being. For conservation to succeed globally, it is vital to share practical approaches that...

Simon West, Maria Tengö, Johan Enqvist, Uno Svedin, Vanessa A. Masterson, L. Jamila Haider. 2022. Stewardship in the Anthropocene: Meanings, Tensions, Futures. Stewardship and the Future of the Planet: Promise and Paradox. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003219064-17

Stewardship is increasingly invoked in calls for more sustainable relationships between people and nature. Although its meanings diverge, the concept’s relevance grew alongside the realization that our world is entering the Anthropocene era, where the main forces shaping the planet stem from human intervention. This essay explores the historical roots of stewardship through the lens of agency, knowledge, and care. The vastly e...