Environmental Expertise: Connecting Science, Policy and Society

An important goal of environmental research is to inform policy and decision making. However, environmental experts working at the interface between science, policy and society face complex challenges, including how to identify sources of disagreement over environmental issues, communicate uncertainties and limitations of knowledge, and tackle controversial topics such as genetic modification and the use of biofuels. This book discusses the problems environmental experts encounter in the interaction between knowledge, society, and policy on both a practical and conceptual level. Key findings from social science research are illustrated with a range of case studies, from fisheries to fracking. The book offers guidance on how to tackle these challenges, equipping readers with tools to better understand the diversity of environmental knowledge and its role in complex environmental issues. Written by leading natural and social scientists, this text provides an essential resource for students, scientists and professionals working at the science-policy interface.

Esther Turnhout is a Professor at the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group of Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands. Her research program, 'The Politics of Environmental Knowledge', includes research into the different roles experts play at the science-policy interface, the political implications of policy-relevant environmental knowledge and the interaction between science, society and citizens.

Willemijn Tuinstra works as an independent advisor on knowledge development for environmental policy. She advises research institutes and civil servants on procedural aspects of stakeholder participation, scenario development and dealing with uncertainties. She has been involved in projects for the European Environment Agency and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

Willem Halffman is an associate professor in the Faculty of Science at Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. His work focuses on studying how scientific knowledge is validated and how scientists advise public decision making. He has over twenty years' experience teaching science and society courses to natural scientists.