ABSTRACT
Long overshadowed by more utilitarian and economically-centred methodological approaches to sustainable development, the relationship between culture and sustainability can be considered an under-studied aspect within the sustainability and more recently resilience literature. The use of the term 'culture' in multiple contexts has generated a variety of interrelated meanings and definitions. Pretty and Pilgrim identify four bridges connecting nature and culture which provide a useful framework for understanding the interaction between culture and sustainability. The uses of the word culture nowadays denote in many cases a relation to social progress or development. Different cultures value nature in different ways and thus have different connection with their natural environments. Norms and institutions emerge from the different values, practices and knowledge types mediating the nature—culture interface. The nature—culture interface is socially embedded in a dynamic multi-scalar system of socio-political and cultural relationships. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
