PhD Candidate: Emmanuel Uchenna Ugwu

PhD Supervisors: Professor Neil Perry (WSU), Associate Professor Paul Rymer (WSU), Professor Juan Francisco Salazar Sutil (WSU), Dr Stephanie Hernandez (DCCEEW)

Project Summary: This project explores the dichotomy between Indigenous and Western paradigms of human-nature relationships. It reviews the literature to contextualise the state of the environment in the Cumberland Plain and New South Wales, shaped by the domination of anthropocentric norms. The argument is made that effective landscape-level conservation and restoration in Western Sydney will require a whole-of-society approach to reconnecting people with nature. The goal of this project is to provide the rationale for exploring pathways to strengthen people's connection to nature in Western Sydney.