Local and Global Perceptions About and Uses of Biodiversity
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 4319
Special Issue Editors
Interests: marine environmental history; atlantic history; blue humanities; anthropocene studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental history; Africa history; animal studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental and cultural history; history of zoology/primatology; history of the impact of human action in the 15th centuries
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: marine environmental history; history of the Portuguese expansion; history and philosophy of science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental history; ocean and coastal history
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Since the 1970s, global biodiversity on Earth has decreased by around 70%, mainly because of human activities directly impacting nature, with obvious implications on how nature itself is now perceived. Habitat loss, deforestation, extinctions and extirpations, and natural and cultural homogenization reflect centuries of unregulated and uninformed over-exploitation of non-human species by some—but not all—human societies. Thus, current concerns about unsustainable use of land, oceans, and water resources, about invasive species, pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change should be discussed in a more global context that requires rethinking the human–nature relationship.
Recognizing the importance of such a debate and the role the humanities can play in it, this Special Issue on “Local and Global Perceptions and Uses of Biodiversity” aims to promote a multidisciplinary exchange and discussion about this relationship. Topics such as the Anthropocene (as a geological epoch and as a conceptual approach); changes in climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity; local, traditional, and indigenous worldviews and uses; and the past of natural environments are welcome to be debated here.
Focusing on biodiversity, we expect to address ecocultural systems, or integrated 'natureculture' views, while considering that all species, human or non-human, should be discussed as agents in the co-construction of historical and current narratives. On the other hand, we also hope that by proposing this type of approach, it will be possible to distance ourselves from more traditional visions, centered on westernizing perspectives of analysis, encompassing other ways of seeing and perceiving human–non-human relationships. Therefore, we welcome works from scholars, researchers, artists, as well as from people from outside academia, in areas that may focus on the plurality of ecosystems and species, and the richness of the natural world, while addressing cultural and social diversities in their multiple entanglements with nature.
This is a call for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work that seeks to reach out to the wider scientific communities and society at large, and to involve various disciplinary approaches across the humanities and social and natural sciences.
Dr. Cristina Brito
Dr. Ana Cristina Roque
Dr. Cecilia Veracini
Dr. Nina Vieira
Dr. Joana Gaspar de Freitas
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- biodiversity and conservation
- blue and green humanities
- environmental art
- environmental education and outreach
- ethics and policy
- “natureculture” systems and anthromes
- past and present ecosystems
- tales of/for the anthropocene
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
