About John Studley

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Environmental Anthropologist • Researcher • Conservation Practitioner

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For more than four decades, I have explored one enduring question:

 

How do people build respectful, enduring relationships with the more-than-human world?

 

As an environmental anthropologist, researcher and conservation practitioner, I have explored this question through fieldwork, interdisciplinary research and practical conservation across Asia and, more recently, Wales.

My research has taken me from the high Himalayas of Nepal and the Hengduan Mountains of southwest China to the ancient landscapes of Wales, where I continue to work on biodiversity recovery, Rights of Nature and community conservation initiatives.

Along the way I have lived and worked with indigenous communities, examined traditional systems of environmental governance, documented sacred natural sites and investigated how cultural beliefs shape relationships between people, landscapes, forests and wildlife.

These experiences have convinced me that conservation is not only a scientific challenge but also a cultural, ethical and spiritual one.

Research Interests

My work brings together several interconnected themes:

• Environmental anthropology

• Spiritual governance and indigenous institutions

• Sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes

• Rights of Nature

• Biodiversity conservation

• Community-led environmental stewardship

• GIS and participatory mapping

• Landscape restoration

• Traditional ecological knowledge

Together these fields explore how human societies can flourish while respecting the integrity of the living world.

From Research to Practice

Alongside academic research, I have worked with universities, conservation organisations, governments and local communities to translate research into practical action.

Current work includes:

• developing Rights of Nature initiatives in Wales;

• supporting community biodiversity projects;

• promoting Nature Guardians and citizen science;

• conservation planning using GIS;

• restoration of rivers, woodlands and post-industrial landscapes;

• developing practical tools and educational resources that encourage people to reconnect with nature.

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Publications

My publications include books, journal articles, book chapters and technical reports covering:

• environmental anthropology;

• sacred landscapes;

• indigenous governance;

• conservation;

• biodiversity;

• cultural ecology;

• natural resource management.

This website provides access to many of these publications together with current projects and research resources.

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A Personal Perspective

Throughout my career I have been fascinated by the ways in which cultures understand the living world.

Whether working among Himalayan communities, studying sacred mountains in China or helping local communities restore biodiversity in Wales, one principle has remained constant:

People care for nature most deeply when they recognise that they belong to it rather than stand apart from it.

That conviction continues to guide my research, writing and conservation work today.

Looking Ahead

This website brings together more than four decades of research, publications, field experience and practical conservation.

I hope it serves not only as a record of past work, but as a resource for researchers, conservation practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in building more respectful relationships between people and the more-than-human world.

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"The future of conservation depends not only on protecting nature, but on renewing the relationships that bind people, place and the living world."

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