Social-Ecology : exploring the missing link in sustainable development

Environmental challenges are, at their root, social problems that arise from income and power inequality. Thus, inequality is an environmental issue just as environmental degradation is a social issue(forming a “social-ecological nexus”), and solutions must address them jointly through principles and institutions rooted in justice. This article develops a two-sided “social-ecological” approach to offer both analytical and empirical insights into the dynamics of this relationship and a policy path forward.