essay on culture and environment

Environment

Does culture shape our environmental attitudes, a walk through nature in the shoes of culture..

Posted August 19, 2021 | Reviewed by Chloe Williams

• A survey shows that the majority of people believe in climate change, but culture accounts for differences in the importance given to it.
• Cultural values, such as collectivism and a long-term orientation, influence individuals’ environmental attitudes and behaviors, studies show.
• Understanding environmentalism from a cross-cultural perspective may help tailor steps toward conservation in unique settings.

Many believe that climate change is an instance of the tragedy of the commons, i.e., the open access to shared environmental resources leads to its “ overgrazing ” and exploitation by individuals rather than acts for the collective good. People across nations have different opinions and perspectives about climate change. For some, it is an impediment to developing countries while others actively take responsibility to protect the environment . At another extreme are those who leech onto other countries’ natural resources for their own development. Are these perspectives culturally driven?

Culture is shared amongst members in a social group, and it shapes an individual’s attitudes and behavior. The different sets of beliefs, values, and morals embedded in various national cultures provide standards for acceptable and unacceptable pro-environmental practices, and also discerns one’s connectedness to nature . Culture affects individuals' ethical beliefs regarding what is considered morally correct behavior, thus, linking society’s culture to pro-environmental practices. Common business practices are formed by the acceptable business conduct standards of a society. Along with that, government regulations are also impacted by cultural factors, in turn affecting public policies.

YouGov (2019) conducted a global survey of people living in 28 different countries to understand different attitudes regarding climate change in the East and the West. It was discerned that 90 percent of the world believed in climate change, and cultural differences accounted for differences in the importance given to it.

How Does Culture Shape Environmental Attitudes?

Specifically, past research has found that environmental attitudes significantly differed across various cultures, and it was further noted that the differences mainly existed in terms of the cultural dimension of collectivist versus individualistic , and other dimensions such as externally versus internally controlled, materialist versus postmaterialist, and past- versus future-orientations.

Similarly, another study indicated that firm-level environmental performance is high in communities where power distance is lower (equal distribution of power), femininity (preference in society for cooperation , modesty, and caring), uncertainty avoidance (feeling apprehensive with ambiguity), and long-term orientation is greater, with more emphasis given to restraint. On the contrary, indulgence and masculinity have been shown to directly impact environmental performance while power distance has no influence on it.

Hofstede ( 2001 ) conducted a study in which he correlated various cultural dimensions with prioritizing environmental concerns over economic ones, and willingness to pay higher prices to protect the environment. It was found that countries with a lower power distance (acceptance of a hierarchical order of power) were more likely to prioritize protection of the environment over economic growth and countries higher on power distance and masculinity were unlikely to be concerned about environmental issues, relying on the decision of authorities to deal with them.

These differences in cultural values affect beliefs and attitudes, subsequently influencing one’s behaviour . First, cultures that have a collectivist orientation focus on collective and continued existence, leading to concerns about the effect of one’s actions on society. This further fosters a closer connection to the environment and positive attitudes toward sustainability. Second, long-term orientation influences the belief about one’s actions having an impact on the future, and thus, people from such cultures display greater concern for the betterment of the environment as its future implications are dreadful. Third, people living in high uncertainty avoidance cultures are more willing to take action in order to minimize the anxiety regarding future well-being. Fourth, masculinity is associated with a dominant relationship with nature, and thus, leads to the use of natural resources for material success without giving priority to sustainability.

How Culture Affects Environmental Beliefs at an Individual Level

To directly link the interplay of culture, green attitudes, and behaviours, a study was conducted in the United States and India, at an individual level. It was found that collectivism and a sense of community significantly related to environmental consciousness within India and the United States. Additionally, environmental consciousness has a positive and significant influence on green consumerism (demanding eco-friendly products) and active ecological behaviour.

Additionally, Schulz ( 2002 ) suggested that individuals from individualistic cultures (which focus on the autonomous self) place great emphasis on egoistic environmental attitudes, leading to one being concerned about the environment at a personal level. A separate study has linked individualism with greater emphasis on future benefits rather than short-term benefits, when threatened by unknown situations (climate change, extreme weather, high levels of pollution). On the other hand, individuals part of collectivist cultures (which focus on one’s relationship with others including the natural environment) might focus on concerns for all living beings including plants, animals, the ecosystem, and the biosphere. This has also been supplemented by various studies which have shown that individuals high on collectivism show high environmental concern as compared to those high on individualism.

As aforementioned, studies have pointed to the cultural antecedents of environmentalism at both national and personal levels. Therefore, it becomes important to understand the environmental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours of individuals from a cross-cultural perspective so that customized steps can be taken in each country for conservation and sustainable practices. The most important thing to keep in mind is that even though we live in a culturally diverse world, we are first the citizens of our planet Earth.

This post was written by Nikita Mehta & Arunima Ticku, Junior Research Assistants at the Department of Psychology at Monk Prayogshala, India.

Monk Prayogshala Research Institution is a not-for-profit academic research institution in Mumbai, India.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

Making Green Moves

Seemingly competing goals of achieving economic growth and combating climate change are dominating world conversations.

On Being Human

Post-pandemic living has reignited commitments to improving quality of life.

The Next Silicon Valley

High-potential startups are proving that innovation can thrive beyond Bay Area.

Asia Unwrapped

The world's largest and most diverse continent demands to be heard.

A New Web 3.0 Era

In this digital dawning, users are becoming owners.

Tech & Society

AI, automation and the gig economy are dramatically disrupting the way we work, live and play.

• Special Features
• City Dialogues
• Presidential Distinguised Lecturer Series
• Ho Rih Hwa Leadership Lecture Series

How does culture impact environmental behaviour? The role of human psychology in combatting climate change

By SMU City Perspectives team

Published 1 February, 2023

Collectivistic orientation refers to people’s tendencies to prioritise group goals, such as maintaining group harmony and respecting decisions made by the collective. The current findings show that people’s personal egoistic values (i.e., values that motivate people to maximize outcomes for themselves) promote public pro-environmental behaviours to a greater extent when they also show higher levels of collectivistic orientation.

Angela Leung

Professor of Psychology; Deputy Chair, Institutional Review Board

• Research suggests that perceived group values impact an individual’s behaviour towards the environment. In cultures that have a strong collectivistic orientation, the perception of either strong egoistic or biospheric group values can lead to pro-environmental benefits or mitigate environmental harms.  
• Cosmopolitan people tend to exhibit pro-environmental behaviour due to a general openness to new and diverse knowledge (such as the challenges and mitigation strategies for environmental crises) and an emotional affinity towards nature. Environmental educators should integrate both of these cognitive and affective elements in their awareness campaigns when targeting a cosmopolitan audience.     
• Understanding the psychology behind human behaviour is key to encouraging greater pro-environmental action in each community. Leaders should also respect the different needs and priorities of each country, recognise the benefits of embracing a cosmopolitan mindset, and increase people’s awareness of the cultural impacts of climate change. 

According to a study conducted in 2020 by the UN Development Programme and University of Oxford , a majority of people (an average of 64%) in every country surveyed believe that the world is in a state of climate emergency. But does an awareness of these imminent dangers necessarily lead to action? Why do some people demonstrate their strong stance on the issue through climate change mitigation behaviours, climate activism and support for climate policy, while others remain reticent and lax? Beyond personal values, might culture play an important role in determining an individual’s level of environmental engagement? 

This was a question Angela Leung, Professor of Psychology at Singapore Management University (SMU), sought to answer. In her research, she has found important insights about collectivistic and cosmopolitan orientations that can impact an individual’s tendency to exhibit pro-environmental behaviour.  

Four types of values in the environmental domain 

Values are understood to be broad desirable goals that motivate people’s actions and serve as guiding principles in their life. Prof Leung explains that four types of values have been identified in relation to the environmental domain: 

• Egoistic values - Motivate people to maximise outcomes for themselves (e.g., promoting personal wealth) 
• Hedonic values - Motivate people to maximise their pleasure (e.g., gratifying personal desires) 
• Altruistic values - Motivate people to maximise outcomes for other people (e.g., encouraging prosocial behaviours) 
• Biospheric values - Motivate people to maximise outcomes for non-human species and the ecosystem (e.g., helping endangered species) 

What insights come to mind?

Click to respond and see what others think too

On the Fence

What makes you skeptical?

We read every single story, comment and idea; and consolidate them into insights for our writer community.

What makes you curious?

What makes you optimistic, what makes you on the fence, story successfully submitted..

Thank you for your story. We'll be consolidating all stories to kickstart a discussion portal in our next release. Subscribe to get updates on its launch.

I consent to SMU collecting, using and disclosing my personal data to provide information relating to XXX offered by SMU that I am signing up for/that I have indicated my interest in.

I can find out about my rights and choices and how my personal data is used and disclosed here .

On the surface level, one might assume that people with egoistic values would be the least environmentally involved, and that those engaging in pro-environmental behaviour subscribe to biospheric values.   However, Prof Leung explains the relationship is not as simple as that. She highlights the role of perceived group values , which are values that are perceived as widely shared in a society and therefore guide how individuals in those societies feel, think and behave. She explains that people can choose to 1) act on their personally endorsed values, 2) act on values they perceive to be important in their culture, or 3) take a middle stance that allows them to balance their personal values and perceived group values.  

The influence of collectivistic orientation on pro-environmental behaviour 

To understand the role perceived group values can play in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour, Prof Leung looked at how collectivistic orientation influenced personal values and perceived group values in individuals from Singapore and the United States. Defining collectivistic orientation as “people’s tendencies to prioritise group goals, such as maintaining group harmony and respecting decisions made by the collective”, her findings showed that people’s personal egoistic values promote public pro-environmental behaviours to a greater extent when they also show higher levels of collectivistic orientation. She explains that in order to satisfy self-interested concerns such as boosting their social status or signal positive traits that tend to be highly regarded in collectivistic societies, individuals who personally endorse egoistic values and show a higher collectivistic orientation may be motivated to pursue pro-environmental behaviours. Monetary factors such as the cost savings that come with lower energy consumption are other egoistic motivations that come into play.     While she had hypothesised that perceived biospheric values would strongly predict environmental engagements in collectivistic societies, her findings revealed that this was not the case. Instead, perceived biospheric group values discouraged environmental volunteerism and were not associated with other environmental engagement measures. Prof Leung explains that this can be attributed to a phenomenon known as the “free-rider effect”. She shares that “people may infer from a biospheric group value (a positive norm) that many others are doing their part to tackle environmental problems. They see the efforts of others as sufficient, and their own individual actions as having little additional impact. Hence, a perceived biospheric group norm may signal the opportunity for people to free-ride on the efforts of others, thus deterring their own intentions to take pro-environmental actions”.

Cosmopolitan orientation and pro-environmental behaviour  

Cosmopolitan orientation, which is the tendency to embrace cultural openness and respect, is another factor that can lead to pro-environmental behaviour. Prof Leung's research suggests two reasons for this.  

Firstly, since cosmopolitan individuals show a high receptivity to learn from divergent cultural experiences, they tend to acquire more knowledge about global challenges concerning environmental crises and are more aware of mitigating strategies.  

Secondly, cosmopolitan individuals who often display a sense of global pro-sociality and a desire to protect their fellow humans, extend this mindset to the environment. As such, they develop an emotional affinity towards nature. 

With this being the case, it is important to create environmental campaigns that not only impart environmental knowledge, but also cultivate an emotional attachment to nature. For example, by using virtual reality to create a multi-sensory experience of freshwater depletion or water pollution in society, cosmopolitan participants are more likely to walk away with the knowledge and a sense of emotional affinity needed to spur them into action. Prof Leung also says that inculcating a cosmopolitan perspective in the curriculum of environmental education can be key. She explains that “by fostering a cosmopolitan mindset and an identification with humankind, environmental education or intervention programmes can reap important motivational benefits in mitigating global environmental challenges”.  

How can we encourage greater pro-environmental behaviour?  

Understanding the psychology behind human behaviour is critical if environmentalists and policymakers want to better communicate with community members and encourage greater pro-environmental action. Given the vast differences in cultures all over the world, it is important for leaders in each society to understand their people and take their own unique approach. Prof Leung shares three tips that leaders should keep in mind, when uncovering ways to encourage people to be more proactive in mitigating and adapting to climate change: respect, recognise and rethink.  

Every community needs to find their way to encourage their members to become more proactive in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Even so, there are 3 things leaders should keep in mind: 

1) Respect that different countries may have different priorities and different approaches for addressing climate change, but they can help put things into perspective to show that these differences serve the same goal – they are motivated by the superordinate goal of tackling the global climate crisis 

2)  Recognize the pro-environmental benefits of embracing a global identity or a cosmopolitan mindset 

3) Rethink the impacts of climate change. Beyond bringing about adverse health and economic impacts, climate crisis can also produce harmful effects on human culture (e.g., rising sea levels can destroy cultural heritage or even make certain regions or the whole nation vanish underwater) 

Methodology & References

• United Nations Development Programme and the University of Oxford (2020. The People's Climate Vote Results - Recognition of the climate emergency. Mission 1.5. Retrieved from { https://www.mission1point5learn.org/peoples-climate-vote#:~:text=AGE%3A%20Nearly%2070%25%20of%20people,of%20those%20aged%20over%2060 } 
• Huang, T., Leung, A. K. Y., Eom, K., & Tam, K. (2022, April). Important to me and my society: How culture influences the roles of personal values and perceived group values in environmental engagements via collectivistic orientation. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 80, 1-18. Retrieved from { https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3541 } 
• Ito, K., Leung, A. K. Y., & Huang, T. (2020, April). Why do cosmopolitan individuals tend to be more pro-environmentally committed? The mediating pathways via knowledge acquisition and emotional affinity toward nature. J ournal of Environmental Psychology , 68, 1-8. Retrieved from { https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3183/ } 
• Leung, A. K. Y., Koh, K., & Tam, K. P. (2015, September). Being environmentally responsible: Cosmopolitan orientation predicts pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 43, 79-94. Retrieved from { https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2016 } 
• Schwartz, S. H., & Bilsky, W. (1987). Toward a universal psychological structure of human values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 53(3), 550–562. 

Inside the mind of

Angela Leung is a Professor of Psychology at Singapore Management University. Her research focuses on Multicultural competence, Creative and innovation, Psychology of globalization, Motivated cultural cognition, and Embodied cognition. She is also the current Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology and Associate Editor of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Related Content

Cooling singapore 2.0: a step towards becoming a climate resilient and regenerative city.

Winston Chow

• Sustainable Living

Flexibility: The key to creating a work culture that embraces all life stages

Paulin Tay Straughan

Sustainable Finance and 3 tips for navigating Greenwashing

Leadership and management​.

Jack Dorsey

Climate Change: Past, Present, Future

Winston Chow and 1 others

Why effective sustainability policies are crucial for Asia

Ishani Mukherjee

Diversity, inclusion & belonging are key to successful teams & organisations

Richard Smith

Biomass commercialisation - economic & environmental implications

Onur Boyabatli

Adopting sustainable urban development measures for continued economic growth

What topics interest you.

Share with us your preferences so we can curate the most fitting content for you.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Emerging Markets
• Machine Learning
• Smart Cities
• Sustainability

Save topic preferences?

You're about to leave this page. Would you like to save your topic preferences?

Get the latest insights in your mailbox.

SMU City Perspectives is always brimming with bold ideas and unique insights. Subscribing to our newsletter gives you the latest instantly.

Thank you for subscribing!

You'll be the first to know when we publish new articles, podcasts, and videos.

You can also contribute your research by writing to us at [email protected]

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Review Article
• Published: 11 November 2012

Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation

• W. Neil Adger 1 ,
• Jon Barnett 2 ,
• Katrina Brown 3 ,
• Nadine Marshall 4 &
• Karen O'Brien 5  

Nature Climate Change volume  3 ,  pages 112–117 ( 2013 ) Cite this article

29k Accesses

832 Citations

65 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Climate-change adaptation
• Climate-change impacts

Society's response to every dimension of global climate change is mediated by culture. We analyse new research across the social sciences to show that climate change threatens cultural dimensions of lives and livelihoods that include the material and lived aspects of culture, identity, community cohesion and sense of place. We find, furthermore, that there are important cultural dimensions to how societies respond and adapt to climate-related risks. We demonstrate how culture mediates changes in the environment and changes in societies, and we elucidate shortcomings in contemporary adaptation policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

195,33 € per year

only 16,28 € per issue

Buy this article

• Purchase on Springer Link
• Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Climate change affects multiple dimensions of well-being through impacts, information and policy responses

Contextualizing cross-national patterns in household climate change adaptation

Climate change and health: three grand challenges

National Research Council America's Climate Choices: Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change (National Academies Press, 2010).

Douglas, M. & Wildavsky, A. Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technological and Environmental Dangers (Univ. California Press, 1982).

Google Scholar  

Shove, E. Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: The Social Organization of Normality (Berg, 2003).

Hulme, M. The conquering of climate: Discourses of fear and their dissolution. Geogr. J. 174 , 5–16 (2008).

Swidler, A. Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. Am. Sociol. Rev. 51 , 273–286 (1986).

Hays, S. Structure and agency and the sticky problem of culture. Sociol. Theory 12 , 57–72 (1994).

Escobar, A. Culture sits in places: Reflections on globalism and subaltern strategies of localization. Polit. Geogr. 20 , 139–179 (2001).

McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L. & Cook, J. Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 27 , 415–444 (2001).

Hess, J. J., Malilay, J. N. & Parkinson, A. J. Climate change: The importance of place. Am. J. Prevent. Med. 35 , 468–478 (2008).

Kirsch, S. Lost worlds: Environmental disaster, 'culture loss', and the law. Curr. Anthropol. 42 , 167–198 (2001).

Brace, C. & Geoghegan, H. Human geographies of climate change: Landscape, temporality, and lay knowledges. Prog. Human Geogr. 35 , 284–302 (2011).

Berkes, F. Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: Lessons from resilience thinking. Natural Hazards 41 , 283–295 (2007).

O'Brien, K. in Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values, Governance (eds Adger, W. N., Lorenzoni, I. & O'Brien, K.) 164–180 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009).

Crate, S. A. Gone the bull of winter? Grappling with the cultural implications of and anthropology's role(s) in global climate change. Curr. Anthropol. 49 , 569–595 (2008).

Garrett, B. L. Drowned memories: The submerged places of the Winnemem Wintu. Archaeologies , 6 , 346–371 (2010).

Twigger-Ross, C. L. & Uzzell, D. L. Place and identity processes. J. Environ. Psychol. 16 , 205–220 (1996).

Hidalgo, M. C. & Hernandez, B. Place attachment: Conceptual and empirical questions. J. Environ. Psychol. 21 , 273–281 (2001).

Lewicka, M. What makes neighbourhood different from home and city? Effects of place scale on place attachment. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 35–51 (2010).

Flora, J. L. Social capital and communities of place. Rural Sociol. 63 , 481–506 (1998).

Stedman, R. C. Sense of place as an indicator of community sustainability. Forest. Chron. 75 , 765–770 (1999).

Igor, K. Attachment and identity as related to a place and its perceived climate. J. Environ. Psychol. 25 , 207–218 (2005).

Agyeman, J., Devine-Wright, P. & Prange, J. Close to the edge, down by the river? Joining up management retreat and place attachment in a climate change world. Environment and Planning A 41 , 509–513 (2009).

Adger, W. N., Barnett, J., Chapin III, F. S. & Ellemor, H. This must be the place: Under representation of identity and meaning in climate change decision-making. Global Environmental Politics 11 (2), 1–25 (2011).

Field, D. R. & Burch, W. R. J. Rural Sociology and the Environment (Greenwood, 1988).

Barnett, J. and O'Neill, S. Islands, resettlement and adaptation. Nature Clim. Change 2 , 8–10 (2012).

Morgan, P. Towards a developmental theory of place attachment. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 11–22 (2010).

Raymond, C. M., Brown, G. & Weber, D. The measurement of place attachment: Personal, community, and environmental connections. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 422–434 (2010).

Scannell, L. & Gifford, R. Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 1–10 (2010).

Hernández, B., Martín, A. M., Ruiz, C. & Hidalgo, M. C. The role of place identity and place attachment in breaking environmental protection laws. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 281–288 (2010).

Danglova, O. Rural-community in the process of socioeconomic changes. Colleg. Antropol 19 , 129–144 (1995).

Fried, M. Continuities and discontinuities of place. J. Environ. Psychol. 20 , 193–205 (2000).

Force, J. E., Machlis, G. E., Zhang, C. & Kearney, A. The relationship between timber production, local historical events, and community social change: A quantitative case study. Forest Sci. 39 , 722–742 (1993).

Nielsen, J. Ø. & Reenberg, A. Cultural barriers to climate change adaptation: A case study from Northern Burkina Faso. Glob. Environ. Change 20 , 142–152 (2010).

Coulthard, S. Adapting to environmental change in artisanal fisheries: Insights from a South Indian Lagoon. Glob. Environ. Change 18 , 479–489 (2008).

DeMenocal, P. B. Cultural responses to climate change during the late Holocene. Science 292 , 667–673 (2001).

CAS   Google Scholar  

Bravo, M. T. Voices from the sea ice: The reception of climate impact narratives. J. Histor. Geog. 35 , 256–278 (2009).

Kuruppu, N. & Liverman, D. Mental preparation for climate adaptation: The role of cognition and culture in enhancing adaptive capacity of water management in Kiribati. Glob. Environ. Change 21 , 657–669 (2011).

Rudiak-Gould, P. Climate change and anthropology: The importance of reception studies. Anthropol. Today 27 , 9–12 (2011).

Blinman, E. 2000 years of cultural adaptation to climate change in the southwestern United States. Ambio 37 , 489–497 (2008).

Jacob, C., McDaniels, T. & Hinch, S. Indigenous culture and adaptation to climate change: Sockeye salmon and the St'át'imc people. Mitig. Adapt. Strateg. Glob. Change 15 , 859–876 (2010).

Fox, S. in The Earth is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic Environmental Change (eds Krupnik, I. & Jolly, D.) 13–53 (ARCUS, 2002).

Mishra, S., Mazumdar, S. & Suar, D. Place attachment and flood preparedness. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 187–197 (2010).

Marshall, N. A., Fenton, D. M., Marshall, P. A. & Sutton, S. How resource-dependency can influence social resilience within a primary resource industry. Rural Sociol. 72 , 359–390 (2007).

Devine-Wright, P. Rethinking nimbyism: The role of place attachment and place identity in explaining place-protective action. J. Commun. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 19 , 426–441 (2009).

Scannell, L. & Gifford, R. The relations between natural and civic place attachment and pro-environmental behavior. J. Environ. Psychol. 30 , 289–297 (2010).

Wolf, J., Brown, K. & Conway, D. Ecological citizenship and climate change: Perceptions and practice. Environ. Polit. 18 , 503–521 (2009).

Boudon, R. The Origin of Values: Sociology and Philosophy of Beliefs (Transaction, 2001).

O'Brien, K. & Wolf, J. A values-based approach to vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. WIREs Clim. Change 1 , 232–242 (2010).

Hulme, M. Why We Disagree about Climate Change (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009).

Kothari, U. in Participation: The New Tyranny? (eds Cooke, B. & Kothari, U.) 139–152 (Zed, 2001).

Norgaard, K. Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life (MIT Press, 2011).

Aakre, S. & Rübbelke, D. T. G. Objectives of public economic policy and the adaptation to climate change. J. Environ. Planning Manage. 53 , 767–791 (2010).

Tompkins, E. L. et al. Observed adaptation to climate change: UK evidence of transition to a well-adapting society. Glob. Environ. Change 20 , 627–635 (2010).

Biesbroek, G. R. et al. Europe adapts to climate change: Comparing national adaptation strategies. Glob. Environ. Change 20 , 440–450 (2010).

Abel, N. et al. Sea level rise, coastal development and planned retreat: Analytical framework, governance principles and an Australian case study. Environ. Sci. Policy 14 , 279–288 (2011).

Godden, L., Ison, R. & Wallis, P. J. Water governance in a climate change world: Appraising systemic and adaptive effectiveness. Wat. Resour. Manage. 25 , 3971–3976 (2011).

Loring, P. & Gerlach, S. Food, culture, and human health in Alaska: An integrative health approach to food security. Environ. Sci. Policy 12 , 466–478 (2009).

Brooks, N., Grist, N. & Brown, K. Development futures in the context of climate change: Challenging the present and learning from the past. Dev. Policy Rev. 27 , 741–765 (2009).

Adger, W. N. et al. Resilience implications of policy responses to climate change. WIREs Clim. Change 2 , 757–766, (2011).

Dixon, J. & Durrheim, K. Dislocating identity: Desegregation and the transformation of place. J. Environ. Psychol. 24 , 455–473 (2004).

Nelson, R., Howden, M. & Stafford-Smith, M. Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy. Environ. Sci. Policy 11 , 588–601 (2008).

Hurlimann, A. & Dolnicar, S. Voluntary relocation: An exploration of Australian attitudes in the context of drought, recycled and desalinated water. Glob. Environ. Change 21 , 1084–1094 (2011).

Crate, S. A. Climate and culture: Anthropology in the era of contemporary climate change. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 40 , 175–194 (2011).

Nelson, D. R., West, C. T. & Finan, T. J. Introduction to “In focus: global change and adaptation in local places”. Am. Anthropol. 111 , 271–274 (2009).

Roncoli, C., Crane, T. & Orlove, B. in Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Action (eds Crate, S. A. & Nuttall, M.) 87–115 (Left Coast, 2009).

Dumaru, P. Community-based adaptation: Enhancing community adaptive capacity in Druadrua Island, Fiji. WIREs Clim. Change 1 , 751–763 (2010).

Ensor, J. & Berger, R. in Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values, Governance (eds Adger, W. N., Lorenzoni, I. & O'Brien, K.) 237 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009).

Dietz, T. & Stern, P. C. (eds) Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making . (National Academies, 2008).

Few, R., Brown, K. & Tompkins, E. Public participation and climate change adaptation: avoiding the illusion of inclusion. Clim. Policy 7 , 46–59 (2007).

Nicholson-Cole, S. & O'Riordan, T. in Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values, Governance (eds Adger, W. N., Lorenzoni, I. & O'Brien, K.) 368–383 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009).

Marino, E. The long history of environmental migration: Assessing vulnerability construction and obstacles to successful relocation in Shishmaref, Alaska. Glob. Environ. Change 22 , 374–381 (2012).

Lawrence, A. The first cuckoo in winter: Phenology, recording, credibility and meaning in Britain. Glob. Environ. Change 19 , 173–179 (2009).

Smith, K. An army of observers. Nature Clim. Change 1 , 79–82 (2011).

Tache, B. & Oba, G. Is poverty driving Borana herders in southern Ethiopia to crop cultivation? Hum. Ecol. 38 , 639–649 (2010).

Galvin, K. A. Transitions: Pastoralists living with change. Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 38 , 185–198 (2009).

Foale, S. J. Conserving Melanesia's coral reef heritage in the face of climate change. Histor. Environ. 18 , 30–36 (2008).

Furgal, C. & Seguin, J. Climate change, health and vulnerability in Canadian northern Aboriginal communities. Environ. Health Persp. 114 , 1964–1970 (2006).

Gorman-Murray, A. An Australian feeling for snow: Towards understanding cultural and emotional dimensions of climate change. Cultur. Studies Rev. 16 , 60–81 (2010).

Orlove, B. Glacier retreat: Reviewing the limits of human adaptation to climate change. Environment 51 , 24–34 (2009).

Brown, T., Budd, L., Bell, M. & Rendell, H. The local impact of global climate change: Reporting on landscape transformation and threatened identity in the English regional newspaper press. Public Understand. Sci. 20 , 658–673 (2011).

Irish American Climate Project Changing Shades of Green: the Environmental and Cultural Impacts of Climate Change in Ireland . (Irish American Climate Project, 2008).

Thompson, L. G., Brecher, H. H., Mosley-Thompson, E., Hardy, D. R. & Mark, B. G. Glacier loss on Kilimanjaro continues unabated. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106 , 19770–19775 (2009).

De Groot, R & Ramakrishnan, P. S. in Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Current State and Trends Assessment (eds Reid, W. et al.) 457–476 (Island, 2005).

Huntington, H. & Fox, S. in Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ed. Correll, R.) 61–98 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005).

Church, A., Burgess, J. Ravenscroft, N. in UK National Ecosystem Assessment , 633–692 (DEFRA, 2011); available at uknea.unep-wcmc.org.

World Wide Fund for Nature. wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/aboutcc/problems/people_at_risk/personal_stories/witness_stories/ .

Ellemor, H. & Barnett, J. Niue after Cyclone Heta. Aust. J. Emergency Manage. 22 , 3–4 (2007).

Barnett, J. in Climate Change and Human Mobility: Global Challenges to the Social Sciences (eds Hastrup, K. & Fog-Olwig, K.) 169–189 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012).

Piguet, E., Pecoud, A. & De Guchteneire, P. (eds) Migration and Climate Change (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

Black, R. et al. The effect of environmental change on human migration. Glob. Environ. Change 21 (Supp) S3–S11 (2011).

de Sherbinin A, Castro M, Gemenne F, et al. Preparing for resettlement associated with climate change. Science 334 456–457 (2011).

Mortreux, C. & Barnett, J. Climate change, migration and adaptation in Funafuti, Tuvalu. Glob. Environ. Change 19 , 105–112 (2009).

McLeman, R. Impacts of population change on vulnerability and the capacity to adapt to climate change and variability: A typology based on lessons from 'a hard country'. Population Environ. 31 , 286–316 (2010).

Faist, T. Transnationalization in international migration: Implications for the study of citizenship and culture. Ethnic Racial Studies 23 , 189–222 (2000).

Tompkins, E. L., Hurlston, L. & Poortinga, W. Foreignness as a constraint on learning: The impact of migrants on disaster resilience in small islands. Environ. Hazards 8 , 263–277 (2009).

Download references

Acknowledgements

Collaboration for this research was supported by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UK. J.B. was supported by Australian Research Council project DP0556977 and K.B. was supported through a Professorial Fellowship from UK Economic and Social Research Council (grant RES-051-27-0263).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK

W. Neil Adger

Melbourne School of Land and Environment, University of Melbourne, 221 Bouverie Street, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia

Jon Barnett

Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK

Katrina Brown

CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and Climate Adaptation Flagship, ATSIP Building, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia

Nadine Marshall

Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Postbox 1096, Blindern, Oslo, 0317, Norway

Karen O'Brien

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

W.N.A. and K.B. formulated and planned the paper. All authors undertook the analysis and interpretation and wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Neil Adger .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Adger, W., Barnett, J., Brown, K. et al. Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation. Nature Clim Change 3 , 112–117 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1666

Download citation

Received : 03 January 2012

Accepted : 25 July 2012

Published : 11 November 2012

Issue Date : February 2013

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1666

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

Assessing climate change awareness among mediterranean university students: a comparative study of french and greek universities.

• Aybike Bayraktar
• Georgios Kleftodimos
• Hatem Belhouchette

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (2024)

Enabling pathways for sustainable livelihoods in planned relocation

• Erica R. Bower
• Anvesh Badamikar
• Christopher B. Field

Nature Climate Change (2023)

Navigating the continuum between adaptation and maladaptation

• Diana Reckien
• Alexandre K. Magnan
• Erin Coughlan de Perez

Bourdieu’s sociological lens: unveiling the dynamics of household carbon footprint in the Kalyani sub-division of Nadia district, West Bengal, India

• Madhushree Dey
• Rajesh K. Gautam
• Aribam Bijayasundari Devi

Environment, Development and Sustainability (2023)

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Cultural Ecology

• Ancient Civilizations
• Excavations
• History of Animal and Plant Domestication

Environmental Social Science

Adaptation and survival, them and us, history of cultural ecology, modern cultural ecology.

• M.A., Anthropology, University of Iowa
• B.Ed., Illinois State University

In 1962, anthropologist Charles O. Frake defined cultural ecology as "the study of the role of culture as a dynamic component of any ecosystem" and that's still a fairly accurate definition. Between one-third and one-half of the land surface of the earth has been transformed by human development. Cultural ecology argues that we humans were inextricably embedded in earth surface processes long before the invention of bulldozers and dynamite .

Key Takeaways: Cultural Ecology

• American anthropologist Julian Steward coined the term cultural ecology in the 1950s. 
• Cultural ecology explains that humans are part of their environment and both affect and are affected by the other. 
• Modern cultural ecology pulls in elements of historical and political ecology as well as rational choice theory , post-modernism, and cultural materialism .

"Human impacts" and "cultural landscape" are two contradictory concepts that may help to explain the past and modern flavors of cultural ecology. In the 1970s, concern over human impacts on the environment arose: the roots of the environmental movement. But, that isn't cultural ecology, because it situates humans outside of the environment. Humans are part of the environment, not an outside force making impacts on it. Discussing cultural landscapes—people within their environment—attempts to address the world as a bio-culturally collaborative product.

Cultural ecology is part of a suite of environmental social science theories that provide anthropologists, archaeologists, geographers, historians, and other scholars a way to think about why it is people do what they do, to structure research and ask good questions of the data.

In addition, cultural ecology is part of a theoretical division of the whole study of human ecology, broken into two parts: human biological ecology (how people adapt through biological means) and human cultural ecology (how people adapt through cultural means). Looked at as the study of the interaction between living things and their environment, cultural ecology involves human perceptions of the environment as well as the sometimes unperceived impacts of us on the environment and the environment on us. Cultural ecology is all about humans—what we are and what we do, in the context of being another animal on the planet.

One part of cultural ecology with immediate impact is the study of adaptation, how people deal with, affect and are affected by their changing environment. That is vital to our survival on the planet because it offers understanding and possible solutions to important contemporary problems, like deforestation, loss of species, food scarcity, and soil loss. Learning about how adaptation worked in the past can teach us today as we grapple with the effects of global warming.

Human ecologists study how and why cultures do what they do to solve their subsistence problems, how people understand their environment and how they share that knowledge. A side benefit is that cultural ecologists pay attention to and learn from traditional and local knowledge about how we really are part of the environment, whether we pay attention or not.

The development of cultural ecology as a theory has its start with a scholarly grappling with understanding cultural evolution (now called unilinear cultural evolution and abbreviated as UCE). Western scholars had discovered there were societies on the planet who were "less advanced" than elite white male scientific societies: how did that come about? UCE, developed in the late 19th century, argued that all cultures, given enough time, went through a linear progression: savagery (loosely defined as hunters and gatherers ), barbarism (pastoralists/early farmers), and civilization (identified as a set of " characteristics of civilizations " such as writing and calendars and metallurgy).

As more archaeological research was accomplished, and better dating techniques were developed, it became clear that developing ancient civilizations did not follow neat or regular rules. Some cultures moved back and forth between agricultural and hunting and gathering or, quite commonly, did both at once. Preliterate societies did build calendars of sorts—Stonehenge is the best known but not the oldest by a long way—and some societies such as the Inca developed state-level complexity without writing as we know it. Scholars came to realize that cultural evolution was, in fact, multi-linear, that societies develop and change in many different ways.

That first recognition of the multi-linearity of cultural change led to the first major theory of the interaction between people and their environment: environmental determinism . Environmental determinism said it must be that the local environments in which people live force them to select methods of food production and societal structures. The problem with that is that environments change constantly, and people make choices on how to adapt based on a wide range of successful and unsuccessful intersections with the environment.

Cultural ecology arose primarily through the work of anthropologist Julian Steward, whose work in the American southwest led him to combine four approaches: an explanation of culture in terms of the environment in which it existed; the relationship of culture and environment as an ongoing process; a consideration of small-scale environments, rather than culture-area-sized regions; and the connection of ecology and multi-linear cultural evolution.

Steward coined cultural ecology as a term in 1955, to express that (1) cultures in similar environments may have similar adaptations, (2) all adaptations are short-lived and constantly adjust to local conditions, and (3) changes can either elaborate on earlier cultures or result in entirely new ones.

Modern forms of cultural ecology pull in elements of tested and accepted theories (and some rejected) in the decades between the 1950s and today, including:

• historical ecology (which discusses the impact of individual interactions of small-scale societies);
• political ecology (which includes the effects of power relations and conflicts on the household to global scale);
• rational choice theory (which says that people make decisions about how to achieve their goals);
• post-modernism (all theories are equally valid and the "truth" is not readily discernible to subjective western scholars); and
• cultural materialism (humans respond to practical problems by developing adaptive technologies).

All of those things have found their way into modern cultural ecology. In the end, cultural ecology is a way to look at things; a way to form hypotheses about understanding the broad range of human behaviors; a research strategy; and even a way to make sense of our lives.

Think about this: much of the political debate about climate change of the early 2000s centered around whether or not it was human-created. That is an observation of how people still attempt to put humans outside our environment, something cultural ecology teaches us cannot be done.

• Berry, J. W. A Cultural Ecology of Social Behavior. " Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. " Ed. Berkowitz, Leonard. Vol. 12: Academic Press, 1979. 177–206. Print.
• Frake, Charles O. " Cultural Ecology " American Anthropologist 64.1 (1962): 53–59. Print. and Ethnography.
• Head, Lesley. " Cultural Ecology: Adaptation—Retrofitting a Concept? " Progress in Human Geography 34.2 (2010): 234-42. Print.
• " Cultural Ecology: The Problematic Human and Terms of Engagement. " Progress in Human Geography 31.6 (2007): 837–46. Print.
• Head, Lesley, and Jennifer Atchison. " Cultural Ecology: Emerging Human-Plant Geographies ." Progress in Human Geography  (2008). Print.
• Sutton, Mark Q, and E.N. Anderson. "Introduction to Cultural Ecology." Second Edition ed. Lanham, Maryland: Altamira Press, 2013. Print.
• The 5 Themes of Geography
• So What Is Culture, Exactly?
• 5 Theories on the Origins of Language
• What Is Composition? Definition, Types, and Examples
• An Overview of Cultural Geography
• Human Geography
• What Is Environmental Determinism?
• The Culture-Historical Approach: Social Evolution and Archaeology
• What Is Physical Geography?
• Anthropology Defined
• Major Sub-Disciplines of Geography
• The Definition of a Marine Ecosystem
• Geography Definition
• Regional Geography Overview
• Rational Choice Theory
• Settlement Patterns - Studying the Evolution of Societies

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Environment Essay

Essay on Understanding and Nurturing Our Environment

The environment is everything that surrounds us – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil beneath our feet, and the diverse flora and fauna that inhabit our planet. It's not just a backdrop to our lives; it's the very essence of our existence. In this essay, we'll explore the importance of our environment, the challenges it faces, and what we can do to ensure a sustainable and thriving world for generations to come.

Our environment is a complex and interconnected web of life. Every living organism, from the tiniest microbe to the largest mammal, plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems. This delicate balance ensures the survival of species, including humans. For instance, bees pollinate plants, which produce the oxygen we breathe. Nature is a masterpiece that has evolved over millions of years, and we are just one small part of this intricate tapestry.

Importance of Environment  

The environment is crucial for keeping living things healthy.

It helps balance ecosystems.

The environment provides everything necessary for humans, like food, shelter, and air.

It's also a source of natural beauty that is essential for our physical and mental health.

The Threats to Our Environment:

Unfortunately, our actions have disrupted this delicate balance. The rapid industrialization, deforestation, pollution, and over-exploitation of natural resources have led to severe environmental degradation. Climate change, driven by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, is altering weather patterns, causing extreme events like floods, droughts, and storms. The loss of biodiversity is another alarming concern – species are disappearing at an unprecedented rate due to habitat destruction and pollution.

Impact of Human Activities on the Environment

Human activities like pollution, deforestation, and waste disposal are causing environmental problems like acid rain, climate change, and global warming. The environment has living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. Biotic components include plants, animals, and microorganisms, while abiotic components include things like temperature, light, and soil.

In the living environment, there are producers (like plants), consumers (like animals), and decomposers (like bacteria). Producers use sunlight to make energy, forming the base of the food web. Consumers get their energy by eating other organisms, creating a chain of energy transfer. Decomposers break down waste and dead organisms, recycling nutrients in the soil.

The non-living environment includes climatic factors (like rain and temperature) and edaphic factors (like soil and minerals). Climatic factors affect the water cycle, while edaphic factors provide nutrients and a place for organisms to grow.

The environment includes everything from the air we breathe to the ecosystems we live in. It's crucial to keep it clean for a healthy life. All components of the environment are affected by its condition, so a clean environment is essential for a healthy ecosystem.

Sustainable Practices:

Adopting sustainable practices is a key step towards mitigating environmental degradation. This includes reducing our carbon footprint by using renewable energy, practicing responsible consumption, and minimizing waste. Conservation of natural resources, such as water and forests, is essential. Supporting local and global initiatives that aim to protect the environment, like reforestation projects and wildlife conservation efforts, can make a significant impact.

Education and Awareness:

Creating a sustainable future requires a collective effort, and education is a powerful tool in this regard. Raising awareness about environmental issues, the consequences of our actions, and the importance of conservation is crucial. Education empowers individuals to make informed choices and encourages sustainable practices at both personal and community levels.

Why is a Clean Environment Necessary?

To have a happy and thriving community and country, we really need a clean and safe environment. It's like the basic necessity for life on Earth. Let me break down why having a clean environment is so crucial.

First off, any living thing—whether it's plants, animals, or people—can't survive in a dirty environment. We all need a good and healthy place to live. When things get polluted, it messes up the balance of nature and can even cause diseases. If we keep using up our natural resources too quickly, life on Earth becomes a real struggle.

So, what's causing all this environmental trouble? Well, one big reason is that there are just so many people around, and we're using up a lot of stuff like land, food, water, air, and even fossil fuels and minerals. Cutting down a bunch of trees (we call it deforestation) is also a big problem because it messes up the whole ecosystem.

Then there's pollution—air, water, and soil pollution. It's like throwing a wrench into the gears of nature, making everything go wonky. And you've probably heard about things like the ozone layer getting thinner, global warming, weird weather, and glaciers melting. These are all signs that our environment is in trouble.

But don't worry, we can do things to make it better:

Plant more trees—they're like nature's superheroes, helping balance everything out.

Follow the 3 R's: Reuse stuff, reduce waste, and recycle. It's like giving our planet a high-five.

Ditch the plastic bags—they're not great for our landscapes.

Think about how many people there are and try to slow down the population growth.

By doing these things, we're basically giving our planet a little TLC (tender loving care), and that's how we can keep our environment clean and healthy for everyone.

Policy and Regulation:

Governments and institutions play a vital role in shaping environmental policies and regulations. Strong and enforceable laws are essential to curb activities that harm the environment. This includes regulations on emissions, waste disposal, and protection of natural habitats. International cooperation is also crucial to address global environmental challenges, as issues like climate change know no borders.

The Role of Technology:

Technology can be a double-edged sword in environmental conservation. While some technological advancements contribute to environmental degradation, others offer solutions. Innovative technologies in renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable agriculture can significantly reduce our impact on the environment. Embracing and investing in eco-friendly technologies is a step towards a greener and more sustainable future.

Conclusion:

Our environment is not just a collection of trees, rivers, and animals; it's the foundation of our existence. Understanding the interconnectedness of all living things and recognizing our responsibility as stewards of the Earth is essential. By adopting sustainable practices, fostering education and awareness, implementing effective policies, and embracing eco-friendly technologies, we can work towards healing our planet. The choices we make today will determine the world we leave for future generations – a world that can either flourish in its natural beauty or struggle under the weight of environmental degradation. It's our collective responsibility to ensure that it's the former.

FAQs on Environment Essay

1. What is the Environment?

The environment constitutes the entire ecosystem that includes plants, animals and microorganisms, sunlight, air, rain, temperature, humidity, and other climatic factors. It is basically the surroundings where we live. The environment regulates the life of all living beings on Earth.

2. What are the Three Kinds of Environments?

Biotic Environment: It includes all biotic factors or living forms like plants, animals, and microorganisms.

Abiotic Environment: It includes non-living factors like temperature, light, rainfall, soil, minerals, etc. It comprises the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.

Built Environment: It includes buildings, streets, houses, industries, etc. 

3. What are the Major Factors that Lead to the Degradation of the Environment?

The factors that lead to the degradation of the environment are:

The rapid increase in the population.

Growth of industrialization and urbanization.

Deforestation is making the soil infertile (soil that provides nutrients and home to millions of organisms).

Over-consumption of natural resources.

Ozone depletion, global warming, and the greenhouse effect.

4. How do we Save Our Environment?

We must save our environment by maintaining a balanced and healthy ecosystem. We should plant more trees. We should reduce our consumption and reuse and recycle stuff. We should check on the increase in population. We should scarcely use our natural and precious resources. Industries and factories should take precautionary measures before dumping their wastes into the water bodies.

5. How can we protect Mother Earth?

Ways to save Mother Earth include planting more and more trees, using renewable sources of energy, reducing the wastage of water, saving electricity, reducing the use of plastic, conservation of non-renewable resources, conserving the different flora and faunas, taking steps to reduce pollution, etc.

6. What are some ways that humans impact their environment?

Humans have influenced the physical environment in many ways like overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have generated climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water.  

7. Why is the environment of social importance?

Human beings are social animals by nature. They spend a good amount of time in social environments. Their responsibility towards the environment is certainly important because these social environments might support human beings in both personal development goals as well as career development goals.

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. Take the first step today

Here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.

Verification Code

An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify

Thanks for your comment !

Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.

Essay on Environment: Examples & Tips

• Updated on  
• May 30, 2022

In the 21st century, the Environmental crisis is one of the biggest issues. The world has been potentially impacted by the resulting hindrance in the environmental balance, due to the rising in industrialization and urbanization. This led to several natural calamities which creates an everlasting severe impact on the environment for years. To familiarize students with the importance environment, the subject ‘Environmental Studies’ is part of the curriculum in primary, secondary as well as higher school education. To test the knowledge of the students related to Environment, a question related to the topic in the form of essay or article writing is included in the exam. This blog aims to focus on providing details to students on the way, they can draft a well-written essay on Environment.

This Blog Includes:

Overview on environment, tips on writing an effective essay, format (150 words), sample essay on environment, environment essay (100 words), essay on environment (200-250 words), environment essay (300 words), world environment day.

To begin the essay on Environment, students must know what it is all about. Biotic (plants, animals, and microorganisms) and abiotic (non-living physical factors) components in our surroundings fall under the terminology of the environment. Everything that surrounds us is a part of the environment and facilitates our existence on the planet.

Before writing an effective essay on Environment, another thing students need to ensure is to get familiarised with the structure of essay writing. The major tips which students need to keep in mind, while drafting the essay are:

• Research on the given topic thoroughly : The students must research the topic given in the essay, for example: while drafting an essay on the environment, students must mention the recent events, so to provide the reader with a view into their understanding of this concept.
• Jot down the important points: When the students research the topic, students must note down the points which need to be included in the essay.
• Quote down the important examples: Students must quote the important examples in the introductory paragraphs and the subsequent paragraphs as well.
• Revise the Essay: The student after finishing writing students must revise the content to locate any grammatical errors as well as other mistakes.

Essay on Environment: Format & Samples

Now that you are aware of the key elements of drafting an essay on Environment, take a look at the format of essay writing first:

Introduction

The student must begin the essay by, detailing an overview of the topic in a very simple way in around 30-40 words. In the introduction of the essay on Environment, the student can make it interesting by recent instances or adding questions.

Body of Content

The content after the introduction can be explained in around 80 words, on a given topic in detail. This part must contain maximum detail in this part of the Essay. For the Environment essay, students can describe ways the environment is hampered and different ways to prevent and protect it.

In the essay on Environment, students can focus on summing the essay in 30-40 words, by writing its aim, types, and purposes briefly. This section must swaddle up all the details which are explained in the body of the content.

Below is a sample of an Essay on Environment to give you an idea of the way to write one:

The natural surroundings that enable life to thrive, nurture, and destroy on our planet called earth are referred to as an environment. The natural environment is vital to the survival of life on Earth, allowing humans, animals, and other living things to thrive and evolve naturally. However, our ecosystem is being harmed as a result of certain wicked and selfish human actions. It is the most essential issue, and everyone should understand how to safeguard our environment and maintain the natural balance on this planet for life to continue to exist.

Nature provides an environment that nourishes life on the planet. The environment encompasses everything humans need to live, including water, air, sunshine, land, plants, animals, forests, and other natural resources. Our surroundings play a critical role in enabling the existence of healthy life on the planet. However, due to man-made technical advancements in the current period, our environment is deteriorating day by day. As a result, environmental contamination has risen to the top of our priority list.

Environmental pollution has a detrimental impact on our everyday lives in a variety of ways, including socially, physically, economically, emotionally, and cognitively. Contamination of the environment causes a variety of ailments that can last a person’s entire life. It is not a problem of a neighborhood or a city; it is a global issue that cannot be handled by a single person’s efforts. It has the potential to end life in a day if it is not appropriately handled. Every ordinary citizen should participate in the government’s environmental protection effort.

Between June 5 and June 16, World Environment Day is commemorated to raise awareness about the environment and to educate people about its importance. On this day, awareness initiatives are held in a variety of locations.

The environment is made up of plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fish, humans, trees, microbes, and many other things. Furthermore, they all contribute to the ecosystem.

The physical, social, and cultural environments are the three categories of environments. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environments.

1. Do not leave rubbish in public areas. 2. Minimize the use of plastic 3. Items should be reduced, reused, and recycled. 4. Prevent water and soil contamination

Hope the blog has given you an idea of how to write an essay on the Environment. If you are planning to study abroad and want help in writing your essays, then let Leverage Edu be your helping hand. Our experts will assist you in writing an excellent SOP for your study abroad consultant application. 

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Contact no. *

Leaving already?

8 Universities with higher ROI than IITs and IIMs

Grab this one-time opportunity to download this ebook

Connect With Us

45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. take the first step today..

Resend OTP in

Need help with?

Study abroad.

UK, Canada, US & More

IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More

Scholarship, Loans & Forex

Country Preference

New Zealand

Which English test are you planning to take?

Which academic test are you planning to take.

Not Sure yet

When are you planning to take the exam?

Already booked my exam slot

Within 2 Months

Want to learn about the test

Which Degree do you wish to pursue?

When do you want to start studying abroad.

September 2024

January 2025

What is your budget to study abroad?

How would you describe this article ?

Please rate this article

We would like to hear more.

Human Impacts on the Environment

Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water.

Help your students understand the impact humans have on the physical environment with these classroom resources.

Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physical Geography

Responsible Tourism IELTS Essay

In recent years tourists have paid attention to preserving both the culture and environment of the places they visit. However, some people think that it is impossible to be a responsible tourist. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words.

Real IELTS Exam Question, Reported On:

Practice with Expert IELTS Tutors Online

Apply Code "IELTSXPRESS20" To Get 20% off on IELTS Mock Test

Nowadays It is not only Large Companies That can Make Films – Sample Answer 1

It is argued that there is no chance for tourists to take responsibility in protecting the environment and culture of host countries. However, I disagree with this view and believe that this is a worthy aim that can be achieved by various ways.

Firstly, if everyone was equipped with the knowledge of cultural diversity and the vital importance of the environment, they would be more aware of their behavior. For example, children should be educated to avoid throwing rubbish into surroundings or touching fragile historical objects in museums when they travel abroad. Besides that, western holiday-makers who flock to tourist destinations in Asian countries should wear suitable clothes because they are insensitive to local youngsters there. This could prevent children from copying negative attitudes such as rowdiness and outbound tourists may set a good example of good manners. ieltsxpress.com

Secondly, it is possible to promote cultural differences through both local and international media in order to reduce the risk of having unintentionally offensive actions to indigenous practices. The clearest example of this is that cow which is an edible animal in most countries is a sacred animal and is worshiped in festivals in India. Without such knowledge, tourists may bring with them cow meat and this could leave a bad impression on locals. ie lt s xpress

Finally, local authorities could enact and enforce strict rules on protecting the environment and core traditional value, which could act as a deterrent. In Singapore, for example, throwing away garbage, even a small thing like chewing gum could be fined severely and this rule is widely-known in many nations. As a result, every tourist coming to this country abides by rules and makes efforts to preserve historical sites as well as natural scenery.

In conclusion, I would contend that sustainable tourism development could be achieved through education, media, and laws, and tourists could definitely become culpable for the environmental and cultural problems.

In recent years tourists have paid attention IELTS Essay – Sample Answer 2

Tourism is a unique human activity, experienced by millions of people worldwide every year. As people differ in their attitude towards almost everything in life, the same applies also to tourism; where some treat tourism globally as the focus of their act without scrutinising the other related activities pertaining to it. Hence, the term ‘responsible tourism” emerged; in order to pay a sufficient attention of the tourist to the local cultural values of the destination country, and – more globally – to the environment. From my point of view, tourism must be labelled as a “responsible activity”; even if it is mandatory to issue as many local and international legislations to make it so.

While making tourism, should the tourist carry his culture with him to the foreign country? Obviously, the answer is “No”. If the tourist insists on doing this, he will sure subject himself to great dangers especially in communities with intolerant local citizens. One of the best examples of this is the “Thump Up” sign which is greatly practised in many countries; where this sign is USA means “OK or very good”; while it is considered as very crude and impolite in Greece (which is a famous touristic destination). Thus, it is crucial to teach the tourists a list of common practices that they must refrain from doing, explaining the reasons behind this. ieltsxpress

When it comes to the environment, it is indeed very unfortunate to find that the touristic areas are those with the greatest pollution and litter output! A few years ago, it was really surprising that an international campaign of volunteers aimed to clean the Himalayas from the trash left by the climbers.

In conclusion, tourism should be dealt with in the same way as freedom; that it must be “responsible”, respecting both the local cultural and environmental values of each society.

IELTS Writing Task 2 – Tourism

All around the world, tourism is losing its glitter, due to the lack of responsibility by the government, tourists and local people. Some people consider taking responsibility in tourism by each individual is essential for the better environment, preserving cultures and improving the economy, whereas others think, this cannot be achieved in reality. In my opinion, tourism responsibility is required for better future of the world and this can be achieved with proper implementation.

People travel to different places but never show any attention or responsibility towards its improvement. To make this world a better place to live in, one should take it as one’s responsibility. First of all, the government should take a step, releasing more funds towards tourism and for providing much security. For instance, we find filthy guest houses, restrooms and no cleaning of surrounding places. People travel to enjoy the beauty of nature, but if they find this kind of dirty places, their enjoyment which lead to a bad memory. Even, local people and tourists who travel should obey the guidelines and policy of tourism for a better world.

However, there are some people who think when it comes to implementation of this; it is like a day dream which cannot come into reality. It is difficult for poor and developing countries to utilise more funds towards tourism. On the other hand, it is difficult to provide security and neatness at tourist spots unless every tourist shows attention as his responsibility. For instance, if there are sign boards which shows ‘please use right direction, danger at left direction’, they use only left and if there are any dustbins with ‘please use me’ , they do not use them at all. Thus it is very difficult to make it into reality.

In conclusion, better tourism can be achieved only if every individual takes the responsibility towards tourism. One should think, how much one is contributing, instead of just arguing and blaming the government. But the government should take the first step in achieving this. With this, not only it increases blissfulness of tourists but also increases economy of the country.

Also Check : Handwriting IELTS Essay | Unnecessary to Teach Children

Oh hi there! It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every week.

We promise not to spam you or share your Data. 🙂

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Oh Hi there! It’s nice to meet you.

We promise not to Spam or Share your Data. 🙂

Related Posts

Recent IELTS Exam 13 April 2024 India Question Answers

Pacific Navigation and Voyaging IELTS Reading

Recent IELTS Exam 23 March 2024 India Question Answers

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 Yes, add me to your mailing list

Start typing and press enter to search

Essay on Environment for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environment.

Essay on Environment – All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

Importance of Environment

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of the Environment

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Cause of Environmental Degradation

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth. To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

FAQs about Essay on Environment

Q.1 What is the true meaning of the environment?

A.1 The ecosystem that includes all the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fishes, human beings, trees, microorganisms and many more are part of the environment. Besides, all these constitute the environment.

Q.2 What is the three types of the environment?

A.2 The three types of environment includes the physical, social, and cultural environment. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environment.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

EssayEmpire

Culture and environment essay.

This Culture and Environment Essay example is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic, please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.

Of all of the words in the English language, cul ture and nature are two of the most complicated and multi-faceted, making any discussion of “culture” in the context of environment-society relations fraught with complexity. The Latin word cultura , from which “culture” is derived, had the primary meaning of cultivation or husbandry, the process of tending natural growth, especially crops or animals. The concept was eventually extended to the process of human development, and “culture” was often used in the 18th century as a synonym for “civilization.” In the late 17th century, Matthew Arnold introduced the notion of culture as high culture, that which is beautiful, sublime, and perfect, the best of what has been thought and said. In this view, culture is embodied by extraordinary works of literature, painting, music, and philosophy. More recently, social scientists have argued by contrast that “culture is ordinary,” and that popular or mass culture is also worthy of study.

In 1952, anthropologists Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn catalogued 164 definitions of culture. One common definition is culture as a distinctive, “total way of life” including meanings, values, norms, and ideas embodied in institutions, social relations, belief systems, customs, and material artifacts. Clifford Geertz argued that culture should be understood as “webs of meaning” coded in symbolic forms, such as artifacts and rituals, which can be interpreted like a text. Culture in this view is concerned with the production and exchange of meanings between members of a group. Culture is also often thought of as a way of organizing society through a system of signs or signification, and a set of stories that a society tells itself about itself. It is learned rather than biological or innate, but is often learned unconsciously, passed through generations by instruction, example, and imitation. Culture shapes awareness, perception, and the way an individual makes sense of the world, and thus is also intimately linked to knowledge and representation.

What is Culture?

Many “common sense” ideas about culture have been critiqued and refined in recent years. For example, some social scientists have recently stressed that culture should not be thought of as an object, and that meanings can be challenged and can change. Culture is shared, but also contested, and some members of a society almost always have more power or ability to shape meanings than others. Moreover, culture is differentiated; members of a society of different genders, status, occupation, and age have particular roles and types of knowledge. Different cultures, or subcultures, can exist within a larger society; these boundaries are not fixed.

Culture is neither just a set of material objects that characterize a particular group (sometimes referred to as material culture), or just a bunch of abstract ideas and symbols, but also includes the relationship between the two. Some sociological views have suggested that culture is distinct from behavior, but others have insisted on the centrality of cultural practice . In this view, meanings are important and powerful because they organize and regulate social practices. A few critics have gone so far as to argue that “there is no such thing as culture,” by which they mean that “culture” is not an adequate final explanation for actions or behaviors, but instead is something that itself needs to be explained. A less extreme version of this approach is to emphasize cultural mobilization or cultural politics , that is, to ask how the idea or category of “culture” gets deployed, and what gets accomplished by invoking “culture.”

As might be expected given the complexity of the term “culture,” many different approaches can be taken to the relationship between culture and the environment.

Early Cultural Ecology

In its early formulations, cultural ecology, with its focus on humans as part of their surrounding ecosystems, tended to examine small tribes in isolation from the rest of the world. Cultural ecologists explored how their cultures-including traditions, rituals, and religions-were adapted to the environment and functioned to keep them in balance, or equilibrium, with their surroundings. For example, Roy Rappaport argued that the ritual cycles of pig sacrifice and warfare of the Tsembaga Maring of New Guinea functioned to prevent environmental degradation, even though the Maring themselves were not aware of that function. This type of approach was eventually criticized for focusing only on small, rural groups of people; for ignoring the fact that even these groups have been influenced by larger histories and processes of colonialism, state policies, and regional and national markets; and for its assumptions, which have been challenged by new developments in ecology, that ecosystems are always in equilibrium.

Despite these criticisms, this early work contained valuable insights whose influence can be seen in a number of themes in contemporary studies of culture-environment relations. Key among these is the recognition that members of different cultures perceive, experience, know, and manage their external environments in different ways. What looks “degraded” and barren to one group of people might look vibrant and alive to another. For example, researchers have shown that Chinese state officials in Inner Mongolia see shifting sand dunes as “wasteland,” whereas local Mongolian herders value the same sand dunes for environmental, practical, and aesthetic reasons. Han Chinese see crop cultivation on the pastures as “opening up the wasteland,” while Mongolians call the same process “shattering the land.”

A related finding from culture-environment research is that many practices that have looked irrational, backward or destructive to Western observers actually turn out to be quite suitable for the contexts in which they are practiced. One extensively studied example is shifting cultivation or “swidden” agriculture -a practice in which farmers grow crops for several years and then move on to new fields, leaving fields fallow for up to several decades as forest cover and soils reestablish to become suitable for crops again. Until recently, shifting cultivation was looked down on as “primitive” (as reflected in its other name, “slash and burn agriculture”), and blamed for being unsustainable and for destroying forests. However, detailed research has shown that shifting cultivation has had a long, successful, and sustainable history in many places. It also maintains a remarkable degree of agrodiversity. One study found that the managed forests around “swidden” fields on the island of Borneo contain up to 800 edible plants and are home to more than 100 species of edible ground fauna and several hundred species of birds. Although shifting cultivation can lead to soil erosion under some circumstances, modern “scientific” agriculture-with its much simpler biological structure, much smaller number of species, and use of industrially produced fertilizers and pesticides-has in many ways much more environmentally harmful effects.

A related finding is that a great deal of knowledge is embedded in the management of fields as well as surrounding second-growth forests in shifting cultivation. More generally, different cultures have different specialized systems of knowledge about various aspects of the surrounding environment. This is reflected in language. One well-known example is that most English speakers distinguish cold weather precipitation simply as “snow” or “sleet,” whereas avid skiers make finer distinctions between different types of snow. The Inuit of the Artic circle have many more terms that make even finer and more complex distinctions, reflecting how their culture conceptually classifies, perceives, experiences, and knows the world.

Ethnobotany

Ethnobotany is also concerned with the conceptual classification schemes of different cultures, in particular with systems of naming and use of plants for food, clothing, shelter, ritual, and medicine. In many parts of the world, average people can name and know how to use far more species of plants than can the average American, suggesting a different day-to-day relationship with the natural world. The Chacabo Indians of the Amazon, for instance, have 305 uses for the 360 species of vascular plants in the forest surrounding their village. Ethnobotanists have found that specialized healers or shamans among some cultural groups encode extensive, specialized knowledge of the properties of many plants in a language of myth, dream, and magic. More than half of all modern medicines are either derived or modeled on compounds from wild species, and today pharmaceutical companies are actively prospecting for plants that could be used to produce medicines. This has produced a new respect for the extent of the cultural knowledge of groups of people formerly thought of as “primitive,” but it has also created new problems and disputes about intellectual property and adequate compensation.

What happens when culture is analyzed not just as a transparent fact, but also as an idea that can be mobilized for various purposes? In thinking about their own culture’s relationship with the environment, writers in the West have often used other cultures as a foil. This has generally taken one of two forms. First, some have argued that Western culture-or civilization-is superior to others because it is more modern and scientific, and that it has been uniquely able to develop the scientific knowledge and techniques needed to protect the environment. This view, which still persists today, is often at the basis of policies that take control of environmental management out of the hands of local people in the developing world. On the flip side, other writers have blamed Western civilization for an underlying alienation of humans from nature, which is seen as being at the root of environmental ills today.

Indigenous Knowlege

This search for alternatives has also often turned to indigenous peoples, who are sometimes portrayed as ecologically noble. Groups such as the Kayapo of the Amazon are represented as living in a harmonious and nonexploitative relationship with the natural world. Their attitudes toward nature are seen as holistic and organic rather than mechanistic and individualistic. It is important to distinguish between two views about traditional-or native-cultures and the environment. One is the recognition that different cultures have specific beliefs and practices that grow out of particular relationships with the natural world, which are often environmentally benign. The second is a “noble savage” view that members of these cultures are automatically programmed to do only that which is ecologically wise.

This latter, romantic view has a number of problems. First, it is easy to find empirical evidence of environmentally destructive practices caused by groups of people portrayed as ecologically wise. Second, these representations can have the effect of denying that these people have their own unique history. When certain cultures are portrayed as being so “close to nature” that they get collapsed into nature itself, the people of those cultures are denied full humanity. Third, claims about indigenous or traditional ecological knowledge are often anachronistic. For example, Tibetan exiles frequently claim that, guided by their Buddhist beliefs, Tibetans have always been aware of ecological interdependence and the need to safeguard the environment. However, the concepts of “ecology” and “environment” are actually thoroughly modern and rather recent. While sets of cultural practices may have had the effect of what we would today call environmental protection, attributing these to the modern notion of “ecology” is to impose a concept on practices driven by other cultural beliefs and values. Nevertheless, many marginalized groups of people today find it very useful to invoke ideas about the inherent ecological friendliness of their cultural beliefs and practices. In many cases, this helps them to negotiate politically both for respect and for their right to continue living in their traditional territories.

What we call the environment, or nature, can only be known through cultural frameworks, or “cultures of nature.” This is true not just of indigenous peoples living in remote forests, but also of wealthy, urban citizens of industrialized countries such as the United States. For example, the American view of nature is often thought of as “wilderness areas” being untouched by human modification, despite the fact that the movement to set aside wilderness areas only came after the removal of Native Americans to reservations. This ideology can be traced back in part to the way that European colonists saw the land they encountered as “natural” in the sense of being untouched by human influence. They failed to see that the landscapes had actually been thoroughly shaped by Native American cultural practices. These included the annual burning of extensive sections of forest, which made the forest open and park-like, and helped attract and increase the population of game animals including elk, deer, turkey, and quail. The ideology of wilderness obscures not only Native American cultural transformations of the landscape, but also the history of violence through which they were removed. It also helps to produce a binary view of wilderness, land that is “worth saving,” vs. land that is already spoiled by human modification and thus beyond redemption. This has contributed to the American environmental movement’s strong focus on some issues, while ignoring others.

Culture Shapes the Environment

Finally, culture shapes the environment in many ways, even in realms which aren’t immediately connected to “nature.” A good example is American automobile culture. U.S. automobile use has a tremendous environmental impact. Among other things, the burning of gasoline produces pollutants that react in sunlight to form tropospheric ozone and smog, which are harmful to human health. Transportation accounts for roughly one-third of all carbon dioxide emissions, contributing significantly to a rise in global average surface temperatures, which are projected to cause significant sea level rise, increased intensity of severe weather events, disruption of water supplies, spreading of malaria, and the loss of species. Rapid expansion of roads fragments ecosystems and causes loss of habitat, thus contributing to the loss of biodiversity. Despite these well-known environmental effects of driving cars, American driving habits are remarkably resistant to change.

This is due in part to the cultural meanings that Americans associate with cars, none of which have to do with environmental degradation. For one, driving is understood as a source of freedom: the freedom of movement, the pull of the open road, and the expectation of new experiences are all central to the imagination of America in movies, literature, and advertising. These images manage to prevail over other possible meanings of the car, such as the division of home from workplace, lengthy commutes, congestion, and environmental impacts. Cars have also become a way for people to express themselves as individuals and to announce their status, particular lifestyle, and socioeconomic class. In the United States, cars are also associated with rites of passage and coming of age.

Car culture is not limited to the car itself, but also includes the way the system of highways, parking lots, and layout of the suburbs has been historically structured around the automobile. This in turn was shaped by specific economic and political forces, such as various subsidies that made the cost of driving an individual car less than taking public transportation. As soon as American society started to be “locked in,” there were huge returns for producing and selling cars and for their infrastructure, products, and services. This led to a change in the way Americans think about and use space and time, how they socialize, and how and where we live. It makes possible the separation of business and industrial districts, and of retail outlets from city centers.

Culture both our own and others is intricately connected to the environment. Cross-cultural examinations are useful in showing that there is usually more than one meaning, explanation, set of values, and way of managing or relating to the natural world. Using the same analytical tools on ourselves shows that what is familiar is not necessarily universally accepted. Indeed, many of the environmental ideas and practices that we take for granted as natural are actually culturally specific.

Bibliography:

• William Cronon, , Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (Norton, 1996);
• James Fink, The Automobile Age (MIT Press, 1990);
• Toni Huber and Poul Pedersen, “Meterological Knowledge and Environmental Ideas in Traditional and Modern Societies: The Case of Tibet,” Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute (v.3, 1997);
• Adam Kuper, Cul ture: The Anthropologists’ Account (Harvard, 1999);
• Helaine Selin, ed., Nature Across Cultures: Views of Nature and the Environment in Non-Western Cultures (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003);
• Dee Mack Williams, “The Barbed Walls of China: A Contemporary Grassland Drama,” Journal of Asian Studies (v.55, 1996);
• Raymond Williams, Keywords: A V ocabulary of Culture and So ciety (Oxford, 1983);
• Alexander Wilson, The Culture of Nature: North American Landscape from Disney to the Exxon V aldez (Blackwell, 1992).
• How to Write an Essay
• Essay Topics
• Essay Examples

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

Special offer!

GET 10% OFF WITH  24START  DISCOUNT CODE

Related posts.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Technology Implementation: The Role of People and Culture'. 13 July.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Technology Implementation: The Role of People and Culture." July 13, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/technology-implementation-the-role-of-people-and-culture/.

1. IvyPanda . "Technology Implementation: The Role of People and Culture." July 13, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/technology-implementation-the-role-of-people-and-culture/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Technology Implementation: The Role of People and Culture." July 13, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/technology-implementation-the-role-of-people-and-culture/.

Ticker for Ad Department

Mother Jones Reader Survey

Hello Readers and Supporters : As you know, Mother Jones and Reveal merged under the Center for Investigative Reporting umbrella forming a new independent, nonprofit news outlet. This new organization greatly enhances our ability to tell stories across multiple platforms (audio, digital, print, and video). As we grow as a new organization, we’d like to hear from you, so we can better serve your needs. Please spare us a few moments and take our audience survey .

• Environment

Awash in Consumer Waste, Germany Tries Encouraging a Culture of Reuse

“the best packaging is the one you don’t produce.”, ajit niranjan.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

A woman recycles glass based on color in Germany. Imago via ZUMA Press

This story was originally published by  the  Guardian   and is reproduced here as part of the  Climate Desk   collaboration.

René Heiden pulls two glass yogurt jars off the shop shelf, and lists the nearby supermarkets in which they can be returned once empty.

His Berlin grocery shop avoids single-use packaging in favor of reusable containers, a waste reduction model that is having something of a revival in  Germany . But it’s surprisingly hard to get right.

“You need a range of packaging to make it as convenient as possible for the consumer,” says Heiden. An oil bottle, for example, needs a thin neck and a small spout to help it drip—“you would never put yogurt in one of those.” Marmalade and spreads, on the other hand, work best in cylindrical jars that a knife can fully scrape.

Germany has long been praised for its recycling prowess, but its efforts to reuse packaging are perhaps more impressive. Three of its favorite drinks—beer, water and milk (arguably in that order)—are covered by nationwide deposit schemes. Food companies are starting to embrace the refill movement for other foods as well.

Europe’s packaging problems have piled up as consumerism spreads and countries across Asia have closed their ports to ships full of western trash.

“I’m seeing more and more products that use reusable packaging,” says Heiden, who has devoted a wall of his shop Samariter Unverpackt to dispensers of grains and cereals from which customers can fill home-brought containers. “But I also see some producers who are trying to expand, but have to go back because the handling costs are too high.”

The problem that Heiden and others are trying to tackle is a glut of garbage that is fouling waterways, killing wildlife and—after plastics break down into tiny particles—infiltrating our organs. In 2021, the average German generated about eight times their bodyweight in waste: a whopping 651 kilograms, more than the average residents of all but four countries in  Europe . Germany created 64 percent more plastic waste that year than it did two decades earlier, and it burned most of it.

But it’s not just a problem here. Europe’s packaging problems have piled up as consumerism has spread and countries across Asia have closed their ports to ships full of western trash. As part of efforts to stop harmful garbage clogging landfills or being burned in incinerators, the EU has set targets to reduce packaging 5 percent by 2030, 10 percent by 2035 and 15 percent by 2040.

Recycling is one option, but plastic recycling is a knotty and unresolved issue. Besides, the European hierarchy of waste has put prevention and reuse above recycling since 2008. But campaigners say rules to reduce packaging are riddled with loopholes—and are calling not just for tighter regulations, but also a culture shift.

“The best packaging is the one you don’t produce,” says Nathan Dufour, who leads efforts to promote reuse systems at the campaign group Zero Waste Europe. If you need to use it—for hygiene reasons, say—“then that packaging needs to stay in the loop for as long as possible.”

Germany has a head start on many of its neighbors with its bottle deposit schemes, in which customers are charged a bit more upfront for their purchase—whether fancy juice from an organic store or cheap beer from an off-license—and given the money back when they return the empty glass. The bottles, which get dropped off in “reverse vending machines” in supermarkets, are then transported, cleaned and refilled.

Hidden behind this process is a delicate alliance of companies that have agreed to standardise and share their packaging, some of which go back a long way. The Milch Mehrweg Pool—Milk Reuse Pool (MMP)—for example, was started by the German dairy industry in the 80s and formalised in the 90s.

Countries that lack Germany’s infrastructure to process bottles—and the culture around returning them—may also find it tricky to build up such a system from scratch.

The process has not been smooth sailing, and after 2008, the organisation was disbanded. The system continued, ungoverned, until 2022 when it was reactivated as the Mach Mehrweg Pool (“Make Reuse Pool”). Now it is working on strengthening cooperation between members and increase efficiency. It has also expanded to include other foods and drinks.

“Reusable systems are most efficient if they are scaled, if they are used a lot, if they are used in every region,” says Julia Klein, a former engineer from Siemens who runs the MMP. “Only keeping this to the dairy sector limits the potential.”

One customer is the coffee retailer Truesday; its brown bottles are on the shelves of Heiden’s store. The aim is to sell the beans for their “true price”—accounting for hidden costs and compensating for damages that can’t be avoided. To cut down on plastic waste, its founder, Henning Reiche, decided to sell the beans in MMP bottles, which he thinks also helps with the marketing. The brown glass keeps the beans safe from sunlight but customers can still see through it. “It’s a nice symbol of the transparency that we want to express with the pricing.”

The MMP has little raw data on its environmental footprint—an issue Klein chalks up to years of inactivity—but based on numbers from the mineral water industry, it estimates the average milk bottle in its pool lasts about 50 cycles in the system.

The benefits of a reuse pool include economies of scale and lower barriers to entry for newcomers. The standardisation process means bottles can be used by all companies in the pool, so “empties” need only to be taken to the nearest buyer. This cuts transport costs—and emissions.

But there are also costs. Glass bottles are heavier than single-use packaging, which increases emissions from transport, and they may need expensive cleaning equipment that small firms lack. Heide, who runs Samariter Unverpackt, says they also take more time to process within the store—and the extra seconds add up.

“I realized it’s a totally different story for other European countries that are starting from zero,” says Klein. Brands don’t know which labels and machinery to use, supermarkets don’t have space to stack crates and consumers aren’t used to returning empty containers.

But starting a new system offers the chance to make it more efficient than Germany’s, she adds.

“If you look from an outside perspective, it doesn’t make so much sense to carry dirty empty jars and bottles back to the supermarket,” says Klein. “In the long run, what makes much more sense is if reusable packaging is being picked up at home.”

Plastics Makers Tout “a World Without Waste.” But what Does That Mean?

Joseph Winters

Amazon Is Capable of Reducing Plastic Waste in the US. So Why Isn’t It?

Should We Be Using Recycled Plastics in Construction Materials?

Your “Recycled” Grocery Bag Might Not Be

We recommend.

Fox’s Racist, Sexist Attacks on Kamala Aren’t Landing. Yet.

Kat Abughazaleh

FEMA Aims to Tighten Restrictions on Building in Flood-Prone Areas

Jake Bittle

Why Donald Trump’s Plan to Stop Taxing Tips Is a Lame Political Stunt

Sponsored Post

The Looming Threat of Christian Nationalism

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

While Biden Defended His Candidacy, Donald Trump Hung Out With Viktor Orbán

Arianna Coghill

In the US, Counting the Dead in Gaza Has Become a Gruesome Political Game

Sophie Hurwitz

Extreme Heat Is Coming for Your Rail Commute

Project 2025 Is Twisting Disability Rights Law to Attack Abortion

Julia Métraux

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use , and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones ' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Independent. In print. In your mailbox.

Inexpensive, too! Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95.

Bold. Brave. Beautiful.

Award-winning photojournalism. Stunning video. Fearless conversations.

Looking for news you can trust?

We noticed you have an ad blocker on..

Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget.

We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism?

Don't let an algorithm decide what news you see.

Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

• 2024 Sexiest Men Of the Moment
• Of The Essence
• Celebrity News
• If Not For My Girls
• The State Of R&B
• Time Of Essence
• SSENSE X ESSENCE
• 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
• 2023 Fashion House
• Fashion News
• Accessories
• 2024 Best In Beauty Awards
• Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
• 2024 Travel Awards
• Relationships
• Bridal Bliss
• Lifestyle News
• Health & Wellness
• ESSENCE Eats
• Food & Drink
• Money & Career
• Latest News
• Black Futures
• Paint The Polls Black
• Essence Holiday Gift Guide 2023
• 2024 Black Women In Hollywood
• 2024 ESSENCE Hollywood House
• 2024 ESSENCE Film Festival
• 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
• 2023 Wellness House
• 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
• Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for essence newsletters the keep the black women at the forefront of conversation., efoc 2024: global leaders urge black diaspora to unite for economic and environmental justice.

Three powerhouse global leaders took to the stage at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture to share their insights on defining the Black Diaspora and building economic power. Francia Márquez-Mina , the first Black Vice President of Colombia, Emma Theofelus, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Namibia and Oley Dibba-Wadda, the CEO of the Forum for African Women Educationalists, captivated the audience with their compelling discussion on these critical issues. 

“If we want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” said moderator Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey before steering the conversation to Black global leadership and how it can shape the international economic landscape. 

The panel discussed topics such as protecting Black businesses in the global market, bridging the gap between the diaspora, and environmental injustice.

“Many systems are allowing for many citizens to have financial literacy to be able to hold bank accounts and to be able to transact online, but not many know how to protect themselves online… Small businesses and micro businesses are able to protect the dollars that they have as they reach more markets outside of their countries, outside the African region and in the world, because, of course, through technology, we are all one global village,” said Theofelus.

Márquez-Mina emphasized why having Black women in positions of power is vital to unite the diaspora across cultures and ethnicities. “Specifically, women must be present in political spheres. Black women must be present in decision-making spaces at the global level. I am the first Vice President of African descent in Columbia; I hope I won’t be the last. The fact that I am blazing this trail will allow other women like me to have access to such positions of power in the future,” she said.

Another major topic Márquez-Mina, spoke about was climate change’s impact on Black communities. Recently, there has been more attention on how climate change has negatively affected Black people’s ability to have healthy lives and cultural legacy.

“This is a matter of racial justice; today worldwide, many things are being discussed, such as fundamental aspects of the future of humanity regarding climate change and whether we choose paths of peace or paths of war in our conflict,” said Márquez-Mina. “We must be there, our voices must be heard in those spaces…Black people and people of African descent throughout the world are suffering disproportionately with the consequences of climate change.”

In Louisiana, Black communities have faced significant environmental challenges due to the activities of oil and gas companies. St. John the Baptist Parish, infamously known as “Cancer Alley,” has made national headlines for its devastating health impacts on its predominantly Black population. According to Pro Publica , residents of Cancer Alley are exposed to some of the highest levels of air pollution in the United States, resulting in elevated cancer rates and other serious health conditions.

Similarly, the continent of Africa has long been exploited for its natural resources, leading to severe environmental and social repercussions. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the cobalt mining industry has drawn significant attention due to its hazardous working conditions and environmental degradation. Amnesty International has highlighted how cobalt mining contributes to food insecurity and poses a global human rights issue. Social media platforms have played a crucial role in raising awareness about these issues, with viral hashtags, images, and videos spreading information rapidly across the diaspora community.

This heightened awareness of environmental racism has allowed individuals within the diaspora to recognize the commonalities in the struggles they face and advocate against. Despite the progress made in raising awareness, all the panelists agreed that much work is still needed to strengthen the network between Africa and Black communities globally. They emphasized the need for continued collaboration and advocacy to address these pressing environmental and social justice issues.

“I believe the future of people of African descent will necessarily go through recognizing and knowing each other better at the global level,” said Marquez-Mina. “It will have to go through weaving partnerships and alliances so that we can all hear each other’s voices among the diaspora worldwide through music, film, and also through science and technology,” she said 

“I say no matter where you come from, as long as you’re Black, you are African,” said Dibba-Wadda. “These invisible boundaries need to be dismantled. We need to be able to communicate based on our colors; we need to stop asking where we come from and who we are. While we can live in isolation we need to start having discussions together with ourselves and start engaging with ourselves…We cannot be having conversations in systems that were developed to oppress us,” she said.

Theofelus agreed and expressed her disappointment regarding the lack of effective multilateralism among the diaspora. She emphasized that the fragmented approach to addressing the shared challenges faced by Black communities globally hinders collective progress. Theofelus pointed out that centering the conversation solely on the intersectionality of Black identity, while important, can inadvertently create divisions rather than unity. She argued that a more cohesive and collaborative multilateral approach is essential for tackling the complex issues of environmental racism, economic disenfranchisement, and social injustice that affect the diaspora. 

Theofelus says that by fostering stronger connections and cooperation among Black communities worldwide, the diaspora can better leverage its collective power to drive meaningful change and build economic power. “As we people of African descent, those that live on the continent and those that left the continent centuries ago and live in other parts of the world, we need to come together, and we need to know more about each other…Africa is what unites all of us. The color of our skin brings us together, so we must be intentional about knowing each other,” said Theofelus.

COMPANY INFORMATION Our Company Customer Service Essence Ventures Change Your Address Contact Us Job Opportunities Internships Media Kit SUBSCRIBE Newsletters Give a Gift of ESSENCE Print & Digital App FOLLOW US MORE ON ESSENCE Home Love Celebrity Beauty Hair Fashion ESSENCE festival ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Ex-Ye employees allege racist work environment, unpaid labor in lawsuit

Ye, formerly Kanye West, is being sued by eight former employees who say he and former Yeezy Apparel chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos subjected them to "extreme racism and bullying," as well as long hours of unpaid labor.

The group of ex-employees — comprising young adults and teenagers 14 to 17 years old from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Hungary and Nigeria — suffered "intolerable harassment and discrimination" working on an app that Ye and Yiannopoulos were developing, the plaintiffs' law firm Thigpen Legal said in a statement.

The lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, was filed against Ye and Yiannopoulos on Saturday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Members of the app development team were “regularly and viciously bullied” for parts of their identities, such as race, gender and sexual orientation, according to the lawsuit, and some team members were called “slaves” in work-related group chats on Discord, it claims. A Discord channel labeled “New Slaves” was also created for new members of the team, the suit alleges.

"Black and African employees were segregated and given less favorable work assignments, and separate 'whites only' working groups were formed," Thigpen Legal said in a statement Sunday. "Minor workers were mocked for their age. In addition, pornography from Defendants’ venture Yeezy Porn was freely shared in the workplace when minors were present."

The lawsuit included allegations that members of the development team — including minors — who were asked to work on Ye's "Yeezy Porn" venture were exposed to pornographic images discussed in work-related group chats.

The suit further says the plaintiffs were threatened with having their pay withheld if they did not agree to work long hours without breaks, including 12-hour shifts that stretched through the night. Even though the app was complete in early May, none of the plaintiffs have been paid for their work, their law firm said Sunday.

A representative for Ye did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.

Yiannopoulos, a British far-right political commentator and a former editor of Breitbart News, reportedly left Yeezy Apparel last month after Ye revealed plans to launch his own porn studio, saying in a resignation letter provided to TMZ that the project would endanger his “life as a recovering addict,” as well as his “spiritual and physical health as a former homosexual.”

Asked for comment on the lawsuit, Yiannopoulos initially directed NBC News to a s ocial media s tatement he posted Saturday, in which he described the complaint as a "joke lawsuit" led by "a disgruntled, comically inept Black developer I call Hotep Susan who is mad he didn’t get chosen for a full-time Yeezy job."

"The company has signed releases from and contractor agreements with every contributor to every closed and every open source project, including parents or guardians where appropriate," he a dded . "Yeezy Porn doesn’t exist, so could not have been shown to anyone. Clowns."

In a follow-up statement Monday, Yiannapoulos said he ensured the app’s demise by “falling on my sword and quitting over it.”

"The only minors being taken advantage of are the poor suckers roped into this lawsuit, who have no idea what a pack of lies their names have been attached to," he said.

The lawsuit alleges that Ye's wife, Bianca Censori, who is head of architecture at Yeezy, sent an employee a file-sharing link of hard-core porn for Yeezy Porn and that the company did not implement guardrails to prevent underage workers from seeing pornographic pictures that were "openly disseminated" in the Discord channel.

Censori, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. Additional inquiries seeking her comment sent late Monday to Yeezy Apparel's CEO and its business agent, as well as to a publicist identified in the past as a company spokesperson, were not returned.

"Many members of the app development team described the stress of workplace conditions, the constant deadline changes, and the cult-like behavior of other workers [on the development team] as hostile, intimidating, and harassing," the lawsuit says.

Those conditions subjected several of the workers to anxiety and depression, it adds, and caused them to seek medical care for health complications caused by the stress.

The plaintiffs seek compensation for emotional distress, as well as for unpaid regular and overtime wages, among other damages.

Angela Yang is a culture and trends reporter for NBC News.

Diana Dasrath is entertainment producer and senior reporter for NBC News covering all platforms.

• Global (EN)
• Albania (en)
• Algeria (fr)
• Argentina (es)
• Armenia (en)
• Australia (en)
• Austria (de)
• Austria (en)
• Azerbaijan (en)
• Bahamas (en)
• Bahrain (en)
• Bangladesh (en)
• Barbados (en)
• Belgium (en)
• Belgium (nl)
• Bermuda (en)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (en)
• Brasil (pt)
• Brazil (en)
• British Virgin Islands (en)
• Bulgaria (en)
• Cambodia (en)
• Cameroon (fr)
• Canada (en)
• Canada (fr)
• Cayman Islands (en)
• Channel Islands (en)
• Colombia (es)
• Costa Rica (es)
• Croatia (en)
• Cyprus (en)
• Czech Republic (cs)
• Czech Republic (en)
• DR Congo (fr)
• Denmark (da)
• Denmark (en)
• Ecuador (es)
• Estonia (en)
• Estonia (et)
• Finland (fi)
• France (fr)
• Georgia (en)
• Germany (de)
• Germany (en)
• Gibraltar (en)
• Greece (el)
• Greece (en)
• Hong Kong SAR (en)
• Hungary (en)
• Hungary (hu)
• Iceland (is)
• Indonesia (en)
• Ireland (en)
• Isle of Man (en)
• Israel (en)
• Ivory Coast (fr)
• Jamaica (en)
• Jordan (en)
• Kazakhstan (en)
• Kazakhstan (kk)
• Kazakhstan (ru)
• Kuwait (en)
• Latvia (en)
• Latvia (lv)
• Lebanon (en)
• Lithuania (en)
• Lithuania (lt)
• Luxembourg (en)
• Macau SAR (en)
• Malaysia (en)
• Mauritius (en)
• Mexico (es)
• Moldova (en)
• Monaco (en)
• Monaco (fr)
• Mongolia (en)
• Montenegro (en)
• Mozambique (en)
• Myanmar (en)
• Namibia (en)
• Netherlands (en)
• Netherlands (nl)
• New Zealand (en)
• Nigeria (en)
• North Macedonia (en)
• Norway (nb)
• Pakistan (en)
• Panama (es)
• Philippines (en)
• Poland (en)
• Poland (pl)
• Portugal (en)
• Portugal (pt)
• Romania (en)
• Romania (ro)
• Saudi Arabia (en)
• Serbia (en)
• Singapore (en)
• Slovakia (en)
• Slovakia (sk)
• Slovenia (en)
• South Africa (en)
• Sri Lanka (en)
• Sweden (sv)
• Switzerland (de)
• Switzerland (en)
• Switzerland (fr)
• Taiwan (en)
• Taiwan (zh)
• Thailand (en)
• Trinidad and Tobago (en)
• Tunisia (en)
• Tunisia (fr)
• Turkey (en)
• Turkey (tr)
• Ukraine (en)
• Ukraine (ru)
• Ukraine (uk)
• United Arab Emirates (en)
• United Kingdom (en)
• United States (en)
• Uruguay (es)
• Uzbekistan (en)
• Uzbekistan (ru)
• Venezuela (es)
• Vietnam (en)
• Vietnam (vi)
• Zambia (en)
• Zimbabwe (en)
• Financial Reporting View
• Women's Leadership
• Corporate Finance
• Board Leadership
• Executive Education

Fresh thinking and actionable insights that address critical issues your organization faces.

• Insights by Industry
• Insights by Topic

KPMG's multi-disciplinary approach and deep, practical industry knowledge help clients meet challenges and respond to opportunities.

• Advisory Services
• Audit Services
• Tax Services

Services to meet your business goals

Technology Alliances

KPMG has market-leading alliances with many of the world's leading software and services vendors.

Helping clients meet their business challenges begins with an in-depth understanding of the industries in which they work. That’s why KPMG LLP established its industry-driven structure. In fact, KPMG LLP was the first of the Big Four firms to organize itself along the same industry lines as clients.

• Our Industries

How We Work

We bring together passionate problem-solvers, innovative technologies, and full-service capabilities to create opportunity with every insight.

• What sets us apart

Careers & Culture

What is culture? Culture is how we do things around here. It is the combination of a predominant mindset, actions (both big and small) that we all commit to every day, and the underlying processes, programs and systems supporting how work gets done.

Relevant Results

Sorry, there are no results matching your search..

2024 U.S. Banking Industry Outlook Survey

Future-proofing banking: The enterprise transformation imperative

"When in doubt, choose change"

U.S. banks face a difficult growth environment due to compounding macro- and microeconomic headwinds, geopolitical instability, intensifying regulatory scrutiny, and other near-term challenges putting pressures on earnings. At this critical juncture, the KPMG national banking practice sees significant opportunity for banks to choose change—embark on an accelerated journey of enterprise-wide transformation.

The U.S. Banking Industry Outlook Survey captures the challenges and opportunities faced by the banking sector amidst economic, regulatory, and technological disruptions, from 200 banking executives surveyed on their views on current industry trends and topics in March 2024.

Download the Paper

Explore the 2024 Banking Industry Survey results

Discover insights on the trends that are shaping the industry's present and future and key takeaways banking executives should consider.

Key Insights

are confident in their banks’ growth prospects

of respondents believe profitability will grow inorganically

are making significant strategic adjustments in response to geopolitical uncertainty

of CEOs respondents believe profitability will growth through cost transformation

say GenAI is an integral part of their institution’s long-term vision and strategy

think regulatory supervision and enforcement in the area of cyber risk will increase

The path to growth for banks is accelerating their enterprise transformation to be the bank of the future. Modern technology platforms are the foundation, allowing banks to leverage the latest technologies to enhance operational efficiency, customer retention and attraction, and resilience through the next wave of challenges.

Peter Torrente

US Sector Leader, Banking and Capital Markets, KPMG LLP

Growth expected despite compound volatility

The industry has been facing a confluence of pressure on earnings: high interest rates, low stock prices, credit uncertainty, a slow M&A market, geopolitical conflicts disrupting world markets, unprecedented regulatory scrutiny, and impending regulatory uncertainty following the U.S. presidential election.

Yet, there are signs of a brighter future ahead, especially among larger, growing banking institutions. Our survey finds bank executives, as a whole, relatively confident in the growth outlook of the banking sector.

How confident are you in the growth prospects of your organization over the coming year?

Economic and geopolitical risks persist

Which of the following risks poses the greatest threat to your bank's growth over the next 3 years? (select top 3)

Refining the multichannel customer experience

What digital channels are being prioritized for investment in 2024? (select all that apply)

Establishing security, privacy and trust

Unlocking the power of GenAI

The banking sector recognizes the extraordinary promise of GenAI in shaping their future strategies and remaining competitive. As a general trend, banks have stopped seeing GenAI a proof of concept and started seeing it as a capability.

Many banks are actively exploring and implementing GenAI for a diverse range of use cases, with some of the most common applications directly correlated to current top agenda items for industry—cybersecurity (67 percent), fraud (51 percent) and compliance and risk (41 percent). As budgets and resources to fight cybercrime, protect data and customers, and comply with intensifying regulatory requirements have skyrocketed, banks executives are looking to GenAI as a potential solution.

Which active use cases for Gen AI does your organization have in pilot or production phases?

Steps you can take to establish a standout ESG M&A due diligence program:

Modernizing the payments ecosystem

How does your organization generally view the ISO 20022 Compliance Mandate?

Regulatory intensity dominates resources and attention

How will regulatory supervision and enforcement activity change in the following areas over the next 12 months?

How KPMG can help

Only future-ready banks will thrive in 2024 and beyond. The KPMG national banking practice sees today’s environment of converging economic and industry challenges and disruptions as a catalyst for change—a not-to-be-missed chance to take advantage of the current and emerging opportunities that surround us.

KPMG can help banks navigate the evolving banking landscape, with deep industry expertise, fresh thinking, and leading-edge tools and methodologies.

Meet our team

Explore more

Shaking up the competitive landscape: Q1'24 M&A trends in financial services

Q1'24 FS M&A sees deal volume falling due to concerns about interest rates, inflation, and politics, Basel III, interest rates, and politics, steering firms towards strategic reassessment.

Ten Key Regulatory Challenges of 2024

Strengthen the cards you hold

Top of mind banking and capital markets issues

What’s top of mind for banks? Regulatory updates, the credit market environment, and digital transformation.

Ten Key Regulatory Challenges of 2024: Mid-year Look Forward

Putting the cards on the table

Thank you for contacting KPMG. We will respond to you as soon as possible.

Contact KPMG

By submitting, you agree that KPMG LLP may process any personal information you provide pursuant to KPMG LLP's Privacy Statement .

Job seekers

Visit our careers section or search our jobs database.

Use the RFP submission form to detail the services KPMG can help assist you with.

Office locations

International hotline

You can confidentially report concerns to the KPMG International hotline

Press contacts

Do you need to speak with our Press Office? Here's how to get in touch.