ROBERT BOARDMAN was formerly McCulloch Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, Canada. His books include The Political Economy of Nature (2001) and The International Politics of Bird Conservation (2006).

• Contents Preface Acronyms Introduction: Ecological Imagination and Global Society PART I: SCIENCE AND POLICY Environmental Crisis and the Contexts of Science From Systems Complexity to Decisional Uncertainty The Earth Theory Tradition Geosphere-Atmosphere-Biosphere Integration PART II: GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES Theorizing Governance and Community Structures of Environmental Governance Biological Diversity Climate Change Geological Hazards Governance, Science and Earth Systems References Index