Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal 1 (2): 1–2, July 2018 

 
EDITORIAL 
 

Analysing Human–Nature Interactions: allowing for 
Multiple Agents and Power Structures 
 

Kanchan Chopra 

 

 
In the second issue of the Journal, we address a range of issues and 
methodological approaches, continuing with the perspective of a 
transdisciplinary, pluralistic approach to interactions between society and 
nature. We begin with a focus on environmental issues (other than climate 
change) that have captured media attention in the recent past. Given our 
vantage point of South Asia, so-called ‘local’ issues such as air pollution and 
water governance as well as issues related to urban conglomerations seem 
to be in the forefront.  

In the ‘Conversations’ section, experts reflect on different approaches to 
the first two, air and water. How did academics of different persuasions 
seek policy solutions to these? We were proffered a range of solutions for 
air pollution, ranging from those based on technology to those involving 
paradigm changes in models of development and convergence between 
different governing entities. In the case of water, the call is again for 
integration of ecological perspectives into water governance and for a 
reshaping of the ossified structures of governance at both the national and 
global level. Better convergence among science, policy, and governance 
structures is called for to tackle effectively these pressing local issues. 

Urban conglomerations and the manner of their evolution is the topic of a 
thematic essay as well as of one of the ‘Notes from the Field’. These 
contributions highlight the lack of convergence between social and 
ecological imperatives. In the spirit of ‘political ecology’, these contributions 
seek to analyse and throw light on, rather than guide, policy. The picture 

 
 Coordinating Editor (2017–18). Former Director and Professor, Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007; choprakanchan14@gmail.com. 

Copyright © Chopra 2018. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 
4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581-6152 (print); 2581-6101 (web). 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v1i2.30  

https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v1i2.30


Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [2] 

that emerges is one of changing landscapes in a scenario driven by power, 
both political and economic. And a course correction would need to 
address these levers of change. 

The ‘commentary’ and ‘research papers’ sections elucidate methodological 
issues in the context of future and present research. Perrings and Kinzig 
investigate the link between biological conservation and economic theory, 
illustrating how early formulations of the conservation problem in 
economic theory deepened the understanding of the aims and objectives of 
conservation biology. In his commentary, Liu holds that a ‘metacoupling’ 
between human and natural factors (with due understanding of ‘agents, 
causes, and effects’) both locally and across space holds the key to progress 
in understanding economy–human relationships. It will also enable the 
achieving of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United 
Nations by clarifying the nature of association between ecosystems and 
people—both those adjacent and those far removed in space. 

Interestingly, the research paper included in this issue also examines 
interrelationships between an ecosystem and the people living within it, 
using scenario analysis with a system dynamics approach. The rapid growth 
of an invasive species in an ecosystem alters its dynamics; and the paper 
examines how alternative policy scenarios, such as removal of the invasive 
species, impact it. Another evocative contribution comes from critical 
analysis of the deliberations of two conferences, both presenting a spectrum 
of issues and concerns. 

In sum, this issue of Ecology, Economy and Society–the Journal of INSEE 
presents alternative ways of looking at the human–nature link. Some 
contributions introduce unequal distribution of power and wealth and 
outdated governance structures into the picture. It is a heady mix, which we 
hope will encourage further analytical thinking and research on these 
issues—across different kinds of ecosystems, located within diverse political 
and social systems.