Linked with the Earth System Governance Project, this Elements series provides concise, authoritative studies of the governance of complex socio-ecological systems, written by world-leading scholars.

Highly interdisciplinary in scope, the series will address governance processes and institutions at all levels of decision-making, on both a local and global scale. The planetary perspective seeks to align current institutions and governance systems with the global environmental challenges and earth system transformations occurring in the twenty-first Century.

Elements in this series will present cutting edge scientific research, while also seeking to contribute innovative transformative ideas towards better governance. More information about the Earth System Governance project can be found at: http://www.earthsystemgovernance.org

A key aim of the series is to present policy-relevant research that is of interest to both academics and policy-makers working on earth system governance.