ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of social ecology, an approach to social-ecological research that applies transdisciplinary methods to the analysis of social relations to nature in life sustaining practices. Gender relations are central to this analysis, not only because they shape the life situations of men and women, but also because policies and strategies for promoting sustainable development that do not take gender norms and asymmetries into account will fail. Analyzing how gender shapes people’s lives allows for a better understanding of the consumption practices and patterns of decision-making that contribute to or thwart progress to sustainability.