Culture is an evolving and dynamic relationship between a society and an environment.
A better understanding of culture provides a key to both explaining environmental conflicts and resolving them. Figure One assists with the task of clarifying the relationship between culture and the environment by eliminating some common myths that can cloud our understanding. There are seven major reasons why we should be concerned about the cultural dimensions of environmental decision-making. Empowering culture could easily become the organising paradigm for achieving sustainable development, the global conservation strategy agreed to by United Nations bodies and state governments in numerous proclamations since the 1980s. The very purpose of culture is to harmonise the activities of a population with the particular opportunities and constraints presented by their environment.