Knowledge Production and Political Decision Making: A Framework for Analyzing the Role of International Relations in Socio-Ecological Systems.

Scientific knowledge plays an important role in international environmental politics. A study of Arctic climate science and policy has shown that structures of international cooperation in turn affect knowledge production. How science affects politics has been increasingly studied in recent years. However, new theoretical approaches are needed to also understand the role of international politics in producing knowledge about human- environment interactions. This paper will try to link concepts from studies of the science-policy interface with studies of resilience in socio-ecological systems and by doing so attempt to bridge the gap between social science and natural science studies of environmental change. Analytical themes to be explored include choices of level and scale at which to study and govern an issue and how systems of governance and knowledge production deal with interplay between different scales and levels. In an initial application of the framework, the paper will map and compare the science-policy interface for two questions: climate change and biodiversity. In the past year, climate change has received increasing political attention on both the international and national scenes while biodiversity issues have yet to receive similar attention. What role does the structure of international cooperation play for the different situations and what other factors may account for some of the differences? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]