Interdisciplinary training in environmental conservation: definitions, progress and future directions

The development of interdisciplinary approaches to

interdisciplinary training in undergraduate and postgraduate

This paper therefore examines interdisciplinary

conservation biology. The specific objectives are: (1) to

in conservation biology; (2) to examine the status

programmes in conservation biology; and (3) to

or other non-natural science content that should

term ‘interdisciplinarity’ has been used in relation to

content; (2) vocational skills training; (3) integrative

indication of disciplinary content; (4) the (variously

(5) interaction between different academic disciplines

divide). In terms of training, the natural sciences

academic programmes, but there now appears to be

previously. However the lack of consistency in the

Further debate about curriculum development in

the distinction between the different aspects of

them in its own right. Most degree programmes in

degrees either in the natural sciences or the social

both of these in depth is likely to be problematic.

?Correspondence: Dr Helen Newing Tel: + 44 1227 827034 Fax:

perspectives is increasingly important in a career

that, as a minimum, a primarily natural sciencebased

conservation should include: (1) an introduction to

basic training in social science methods, research

training, to the extent that it can be built into

problem-solving tasks that can be used in relation

constructed for social science-based environmental

in natural science perspectives. Postgraduate training

achieve in terms of disciplinary breadth; they can

supplementary training to allow students to increase

the issue of interdisciplinarity itself.