The Anthropocene concept poses a revised understanding of humanity’s roles and responsibilities in the natural world. Many of the environmental problems we face today, however, are not the responsibility of a homogenized humanity, nor do they affect all humans in the same way (Lövbrand et al., 2015). Placing ‘the human’ (anthropos) at the centre of environmental change and aiming at mobilizing social change, the Anthropocene programme requires differentiated social analyses that account for spatial and sociocultural differences of human agency and impacts. Beyond the complexity of biophysical processes, such a radical understanding of the Anthropocene means a more nuanced understanding of the various conflicts between and within communities and their objectives (ibid.). Critical questions are: how can transformative change be facilitated, and what institutions ensure effective and equitable environmental governance?