Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Natural Resources
First Advisor
Jon Erickson
Second Advisor
Travis Reynolds
Abstract
Our planet is dying. As much as this statement might seem alarmist, it is, unfortunately, merely alarming. We have learned from recent international assessments that substantial shares of plant and animal life, about 15% of those species, are already threatened with extinction. Additionally, the biodiversity crisis is one of many interrelated challenges that we face. The scholarship of earth systems science has illustrated how our human dominated systems are falling short in obtaining important social goals, and how they are also pushing the planet’s ecosystems far beyond their capacity to support life. Further, the moral imperative for action becomes even more clear with the knowledge that the effects of this socio-ecological disharmony will not be felt equally amongst human and non-human communities. Such inequity should trigger the urge to act within us all, but what form should this action take? In this dissertation, I argue that humanity will be better able to address the complexity of socio-ecological problems across the planet by adopting systems governance approaches. I address this proposal through three governance studies. First, relationships between public land trust policy characteristics and democratic support for these projects throughout the United States were examined. Next, the relationships between governance process characteristics and environmental justice conflict reports around the world were analyzed. Finally, the impact of a federated governance structure on the renewable energy transition in Vermont was explored. Through these cases, the effects of systems governance are studied by exploring how policy-centric, process-centric, and structure-centric choices, respectively, can impact socio-ecological systems.
Language
en
Number of Pages
142 p.
Recommended Citation
Larson, Jolyon Garrett Tucker, "Restoring Balance: Pursuing Socio-Ecological Harmony Through Policy-Centric, Process-Centric, And Structure-Centric Governance" (2024). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 1976.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1976
Included in
Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Policy Commons