Who We Are

Social Science Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology: A global community of conservation professionals

Mission

Strengthen Conservation Social Science and its Application to Conservation Practice

Vision

Inform Scientific Debate; Establish Global Community; Catalyze Future Generations

Goals

Science, Policy, Capacity-Building, Membership, and Organizational Capacity

MISSION

The mission of the Social Science Working Group (SSWG) is to elevate and integrate conservation social science within the SCB and in conservation research, policy and practice globally.

VISION

  • Inform key scientific debates in conservation policy
  • Establish a vibrant diverse, and respected global community of conservation social scientists.
  • Catalyze development of the next generation of leaders in conservation social science

GOALS

  • Science. To elevate standards of practice among conservationists who use the conservation social sciences to advance the science and practice of conserving Earth’s biological diversity and people’s relationships with it. 
  • Leadership. To elevate conservation social science professionals into SCB leadership roles and within conservation science more broadly.
  • Representation. Supporting diversity, inclusion and decolonisation within SSWG activities and across the conservation social sciences
  • Growth. Continue to grow the conservation social sciences within the SCB and beyond.
  • Sustainable capacity. To strengthen the organisational capacity and funding of SSWG to achieve its goals, in line with the new SCB structure. 

Board of Directors

Learn more about the current SSWG Board Members
Francisco Gelves-Gómez

Francisco Gelves-Gómez

President

Francisco is an Associate Lecturer in Sustainability at the School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania

Stephanie Brittain

Past President

Steph is a Lecturer in Conservation Science at the University of Kent with interests in local ecological knowledge and rights-based approaches.

Ans Vercammen

Secretary

Ans is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the School of Population Health, Curtin University (Australia). She is interested in the human well-being dimensions of environmental change.

Tina Philipps

At-large member

Tina is a social science researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology studying the intersections of participatory sciences, nature, well-being, and conservation behaviors.

Saloni Bhatia

Saloni Bhatia

At-large Member

Saloni is a conservation anthropologist with an interest in multispecies coexistence and rights-based approaches to conservation. She is a Fellow at ATREE, India.

Sayan Banerjee

At-Large Member

Sayan is an interdisciplinary conservation researcher, affiliated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India. He works on conservation governance, human-wildlife interactions, conservation and development, gender, environment and development, majorly in India.

Rocío Lopez

At-Large Member

Rocío is a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Bonn (Germany) with broad interests in human rights, coastal communities, and people’s relationships with nature.

Amemarlita Matos

Amemarlita Matos

At-Large Member

Amemarlita is a Conservation Practitioner & Researcher, who works with local communities on the issues of livelihood, education, and sustainability. She also teaches at the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica.

Van Thi Hai Nguyen

At-Large Member

Van is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Governance and Policy at the Wyss Academy for Nature, University of Bern, and Vice Director of People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature), a Hanoi-based NGO focused on conservation and sustainable development.

Jichuan Sheng

At-Large Member

Jichuan Sheng is a Full Professor at the Business School, Hohai University (China). He is interested in the human dimensions of environmental change, specializing in Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), water governance, and market-based environmental instruments.

Bright Olunusi

At-Large Member

Bright is a PhD scholar at the Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University. She has a keen interest in modeling human-wildlife interactions amidst climate change and development pressures.

Ada Sanchez-Mercado

Ada is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales Sydney. Her work spans species conservation, sustainable wildlife use, and behaviour change for conservation with experience across Venezuela, South Africa, and Australia.

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SSWG Committees

Learn more about the work of the Social Science Working Group
Communications

Communications

Chair: Rocío Lopez de la Lama & Steph Brittain

Provides advice on development of printed, electronic, and other media of the SSWG such as newsletters and web sites; achieves the outreach and marketing goals of the SSWG

DEIJ

DEIJ

Chair: Ans Vercammen & Saloni Bhatia

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice to oppose racism, discrimination, oppression, prejudice, and other acts of injustice and inequality in all activities associated with the SSWG

Student Affairs

Student Affairs

Chair: Francisco Felipe Gelves-Gomez

Facilitate the participation of undergraduate and graduate students in activities of the SSWG and the SCB; Communicates student issues to the SSWG and the SCB

Membership & Nominations

Membership & Nominations

Chair: Amemarlita Matos & Jichuan Sheng

Encourages membership in both the SSWG and the SCB, especially among underrepresented groups; liaises with SCB Diversity Committee on issues of mutual interest

Organizational Capacity

Organizational Capacity

Chair: Tina Phillips & Van Thi Hai Nguyen

Enhances internal capacity of SSWG to achieve its mission; develops transparent, systematic, and inclusive mechanisms to improve logistical and organizational operations

Programs & Conferences

Programs & Conferences

Chair: Sayan Banerjee & Bright Olunusi

Coordinates and organizes social science content for ICCB, other SCB conferences, and related conservation conferences; organizes social events and business meetings