Environmental Anthropology

Home > Anthropology > Definition and history of Anthropology > Environmental Anthropology

Environmental anthropology studies the interaction between humans and their environment, including the ways in which cultural practices shape environmental practices and how environmental conditions affect human societies.

Anthropology: Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures. In environmental anthropology, the emphasis is on how human societies interact with and impact the natural world.
Human Ecology: Human ecology studies the relationship between human populations and their environment. Environmental anthropology is concerned with how human cultures interact with and adapt to their environment.
Sustainable Development: Sustainable development is a process of balancing the needs of society with the resources available. Environmental anthropology concerns itself with how sustainable development can be achieved in different cultural contexts.
Biocultural Diversity: Biocultural diversity is the idea that culture and nature are interdependent and should be studied together. Environmental anthropology focuses on the cultural and ecological diversity that exists around the world.
Environmental Ethics: Environmental ethics deals with how humans should behave in relation to the natural world. Environmental anthropology is concerned with how different cultures understand and value the environment.
Political Ecology: Political ecology looks at the relationship between politics, economy, and the environment. Environmental anthropology uses a political ecology framework to understand how power and inequality influence environmental issues.
Human-Animal Relations: Human-animal relations explores how humans and animals interact and impact each other. Environmental anthropology is interested in how different cultures view and use animals, and how this affects conservation efforts.
Indigenous Knowledge: Indigenous knowledge refers to the knowledge and practices developed by different cultural groups over time. Environmental anthropology studies how this knowledge can be used to promote sustainable development and conservation.
Urban Ecology: Urban ecology studies the relationship between cities and the natural world. Environmental anthropology looks at how urbanization affects the environment and the people who live in cities.
Climate Change: Climate change is a global environmental issue that affects people and ecosystems around the world. Environmental anthropology is interested in how different cultures understand and respond to climate change.
Historical Ecology: This type of Environmental Anthropology focuses on the long-term relationships that humans have with their environment. It examines how cultural and historical factors have shaped the environment and how the environment, in turn, has affected human societies.
Political Ecology: This type of Environmental Anthropology investigates the political and economic factors that shape people's relationships with their environment. It examines how power dynamics affect environmental policies and decision-making processes and how these decisions impact human communities and natural resources.
Ethnoecology: This type of Environmental Anthropology studies people's knowledge and understanding of their environment. It examines how different cultures and societies perceive and interact with their natural surroundings, including the knowledge, practices, and beliefs that shape their environment.
Medical Anthropology: Medical Anthropology focuses on the relationships among health, illness, and culture. It examines how cultural and social factors influence the way people experience and manage disease and how environmental factors affect health outcomes.
Environmental Justice: This type of Environmental Anthropology focuses on issues of fairness and justice in the distribution of environmental benefits and harms. It examines how economic and political inequalities affect communities' exposure to environmental hazards and how environmental policies can be more equitable and just.
Ecological Anthropology: Ecological Anthropology is concerned with the dynamic relationships between humans and their ecological systems. It examines how human activities alter ecosystems and how environmental systems influence human societies and culture.
Human-Environment Systems: This type of Environmental Anthropology studies the dynamics of complex socio-ecological systems. It explores how human activities influence ecological systems and how environmental changes feedback onto human society and culture.
Applied Anthropology: Applied Anthropology involves applying anthropological principles and methodologies to address practical problems related to environmental issues. It includes the design and implementation of sustainable development programs, resource management strategies, and environmental impact assessments.
Quote: "Environmental anthropology is a sub-discipline of anthropology that examines the complex relationships between humans and the environments which they inhabit."
Quote: "This takes many shapes and forms, whether it be examining the hunting/gathering patterns of humans tens of thousands of years ago."
Quote: "Archaeological investigations of early agriculturalists and their impact on deforestation or soil erosion."
Quote: "Examining how modern human societies are adapting to climate change and other anthropogenic environmental issues."
Quote: "This sub-field of anthropology developed in the 1960s from cultural ecology."
Quote: "Anthropologists borrowed methods and terminology from growing developments in ecology."
Quote: "The challenges of understanding and addressing human-caused environmental problems like climate change, species extinctions, plastic pollution, and habitat destruction."
Quote: "An understanding of the complex cultural, political, and economic systems that have created these problems."
Quote: "Archaeological investigations of early agriculturalists and their impact on deforestation or soil erosion."
Quote: "Climate change, species extinctions, plastic pollution, and habitat destruction."
Quote: "Examining how modern human societies are adapting to climate change and other anthropogenic environmental issues."
Quote: "This sub-field of anthropology developed in the 1960s from cultural ecology."
Quote: "Anthropologists borrowed methods and terminology from growing developments in ecology."
Quote: "Understanding the complex cultural, political, and economic systems that have created these problems."
Quote: "The challenges of understanding and addressing human-caused environmental problems like climate change, species extinctions, plastic pollution, and habitat destruction."
Quote: "Examining the hunting/gathering patterns of humans tens of thousands of years ago."
Quote: "Archaeological investigations of early agriculturalists and their impact on deforestation or soil erosion."
Quote: "Examining how modern human societies are adapting to climate change and other anthropogenic environmental issues."
Quote: "Anthropologists borrowed methods and terminology from growing developments in ecology."
Quote: "An understanding of the complex cultural, political, and economic systems that have created these problems."