UCLA Luskin Professor of Urban Planning Susanna Hecht is the 2025 recipient of the Distinguished Career Award by the Cultural and Political Ecology (CAPE) Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). She was honored March 26 at the CAPE business meeting held in Detroit. The prestigious award recognizes her groundbreaking contributions to the field of political ecology, said CAPE chair Josh Cousins, noting that nearly 50 scholars signed the nomination letter, “speaking to the wide respect scholars working in political ecology have for your contributions to the field.” The award is a testament to Professor Hecht’s profound influence on the study of nature-society relationships. The nomination cited her groundbreaking research on deforestation, forest recovery, indigenous land-use practices, and the socio-environmental impacts of climate change which has shaped global policy discussions and sustainable development strategies. Hecht is a widely recognized expert whose award-winning books and extensive funding from leading institutions underscore her profound contributions to environmental history, land-use change, and the global carbon economy. “We are excited to recognize you and your scholarship as well and place you in a long line of inspiring political ecologists and nature-society scholars to have received this award,” Cousins said. As CAPE honoree, Hecht also has been invited to deliver a keynote address at the 2026 AAG annual meeting.
Professor of Urban Planning
Dr. Hecht’s research focuses on the intersections of economies, cultures and land use, and the socio-environmental effects of these processes,...
