What is Environmental Discourse

Before we dive into what environmental discourse is, let us understand a little bit more on what conservation psychology is and how environmental discourse plays a role in it.

Image Source: https://ictlessons.wikispaces.com/Environment+with+cartoons+and+comics

Linking the cartoon to the topic at hand, Conservation Psychology is the study of the relationships between humans and the Earth. This field has more emphasis on understanding and ultimately changing the actions of humans. This is so that we can encourage positive environmental actions on conserving the Earth.

Environmental Discourse

Discourse refers to a shared way for people to understand the world around them. This form of understanding can be rooted in the language that we use. This is done through how we interpret the world around us, little by little, and piece them all together to make a big story. This story would then become the view that we hold about the environment around us and the issues that we face. This would also apply to how we talk about conservation issues.

Therefore, environmental discourse occurs as there is a social aspect with regards to environmental issues. There are multiple stakeholders in the issues of conservation and there will be encounters between these different stakeholders with differing interests, positions and understandings of how to solve these worldly issues. Hence, observing and understanding environmental discourse will allow us to further understand the complexity behind conservation issues as humans create a complex system of beliefs.

I hope that this blog will aid you in understanding the concept of environmental discourse and how it is important in understanding the conservation issues around us!

 

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