Environmental Expertise
Connecting Science, Policy and Society

Provides an overview of the important role that environmental experts play at the science-policy interface, and the complex challenges they face.

Esther Turnhout (Author), Willemijn Tuinstra (Author), Willem Halffman (Author)

9781107491670, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 February 2019

288 pages, 8 b/w illus. 2 maps
22.7 x 15.1 x 1.4 cm, 0.46 kg

'The principal authors have done a very smart and novel job with this book, bringing together insights from environmental science, policy studies, science studies and the philosophy of science in a thoroughly practical way. The book should really help practitioners appreciate ways to handle the complexities of environmental policy-making in contexts of uncertainty, conflicting beliefs and competing societal values.' Steve Yearley, University of Edinburgh

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.

List of contributors
Preface
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction: the plight of the environmental scientist Willem Halffman, Esther Turnhout and Willemijn Tuinstra
2. What is science? (And why does this matter?) Willem Halffman
3. Frames: beyond facts versus values Willem Halffman
Case A. Framing climate change Mike Hulme
4. Science, politics and the public in knowledge controversies Esther Turnhout and Thomas Gieryn
Case B. What does 'climategate' tell us about public knowledge controversies? Silke Beck
Case C. Whose deficit anyway? Institutional misunderstanding of fracking sceptical publics Laurence Williams and Phil Macnaghten
5. The limits to knowledge Willemijn Tuinstra, Ad Ragas and Willem Halffman
Case D. Angry bulbs Ad Ragas and Marga Jacobs
6. Usable knowledge: science, policy and society Willemijn Tuinstra, Willem Halffman and Esther Turnhout
Case E. Expertise for European fisheries policy Willem Halffman and Martin Pastoors
7. Interdisciplinarity and the challenge of knowledge integration Esther Turnhout
Case F. Knowledge integration in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Clark Miller
Case G. Integrated assessment for long-range transboundary air pollution Willemijn Tuinstra
8. Lay expertise Esther Turnhout and Katja Neves
Case H. Lay expertise and botanical science: a case of dynamic interdependencies in biodiversity conservation Katja Neves
Case I. The Loweswater Care Project Claire Waterton
9. Environmental Experts at the science-policy-society interface Esther Turnhout
Case J. Group Think and whistle blowers in CO2 capture and storage Heleen de Coninck
10. Environmental knowledge in democracy Esther Turnhout, Willem Halffman and Willemijn Tuinstra
11. Conclusion: science, reason and the environment Willem Halffman, Willemijn Tuinstra and Esther Turnhout
Inde

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], The environment [RN]