Political Ecology, Governance, and Biodiversity Outcomes

Political ecology explores how political decisions, economic systems, and conservation models shape relationships between people and nature. Different strands of political ecology focus on issues such as environmental justice, Indigenous and local rights, governance, political economy, and the ecological consequences of development and conservation. At the GCC lab, we pay particular attention to how neoliberal approaches to conservation and resource management—including market based instruments, extractive economies, and technocratic conservation models—can produce uneven outcomes, affecting ecosystems, biodiversity, and social equity in different ways.

Our work starts from ecological evidence, which we integrate with social science approaches to understand how decisions, governance systems, and power relations influence conservation outcomes—sometimes for biodiversity, sometimes for people, and often for both. Using biodiversity monitoring, population and community ecology, and behavioural and spatial ecology alongside social science methods, we examine how power structures and conservation actions shape biodiversity patterns, ecosystem change, and social justice, without assuming that impacts on people and nature always align.
Examples from our research

Our work covers a broad range of empirical contexts and scales. Examples include showing how different pastoral governance systems shape plant community composition and vegetation dynamics in high‑elevation rangelands in Lebanon; documenting how artisanal gold mining and policy decisions threaten biodiversity inside protected areas in Madagascar; and analysing how laws and governance reforms can accelerate deforestation in biodiversity hotspots, as seen in Bolivia. We also study how centre–periphery dynamics and governance structures influence human–carnivore relations and coexistence, and how conservation legitimacy is negotiated at mining and conservation frontiers in Africa. In marine systems, our work highlights how Indigenous stewardship of seagrass ecosystems supports biodiversity, fisheries, and ecosystem resilience, while challenging dominant governance models that overlook Indigenous law and knowledge. Together, these studies illustrate how political decisions and conservation models can have profound and sometimes divergent consequences for both biodiversity and social equity.

Related projects:

  • Frontiers of artisanal gold mining and biodiversity conservation in Madagascar ()
  • Pastoral Governance Shapes Sustainbility Outcomes in Lebanese Highlands ()
People
Publications

Itani M et al. (2026) Pastoral governance hierarchies shape vegetation dynamics in Lebanon’s high-elevation rangelands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment.

Vuola M & O’Leary Simpson F (2024) Negotiating the legitimacy of conservation at mining frontiers: Evidence from Madagascar and the DR Congo. Journal of Political Ecology. 

Torrents‑Ticó M et al. (2023) Using the centre‑periphery framework to explore human–carnivore relations. Biological Conservation.

Fernández‑Llamazares Á et al. (2020) A state‑of‑the‑art review of Indigenous Peoples and environmental pollution. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management.

Cabeza M et al. (2019) Gold is not green: artisanal gold mining threatens Ranomafana National Park’s biodiversity. Animal Conservation. 

Fernández‑Llamazares Á et al. (2018) New law puts Bolivian biodiversity hotspot on road to deforestation. Current Biology.