Deep, fundamental shifts in how people view and interact with the natural world are urgently needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and safeguard life on Earth, warns a landmark new report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The Transformative Change Report has been approved by representatives of 147 Governments at an IBPES meeting in Windhoek, Namibia. The new report will inform policy and action on the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the kind of system-wide changes needed for a more just and sustainable world. The three underlying causes identified by the report include the ‘disconnection of people from nature’. Human-nature connectedness is recognised as a powerful strategy for transformative change.

Prepared over three years by more than 100 leading experts from 42 countries from all regions of the world, the report explains what transformative change is, how it occurs, and how to accelerate it. I was one of Government nominated lead authors, so it is fantastic that the Summary for Policy Makers has been approved and published.

The report defines transformative change as fundamental system-wide shifts in views – ways of thinking, knowing and seeing; structures – ways of organising, regulating and governing; and practices – ways of doing, behaving and relating. Promoting and accelerating transformative change is essential to meeting the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This vision of living in harmony with nature describes a world that is just and sustainable, where all life can thrive. The new assessment focuses on transformative change that deliberately contributes to achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity and global sustainability

The Transformative Change assessment took three years, so clearly there’s a lot of content. This blog simply selects content from the Summary for Policy Makers most relevant to nature connection, which is straightforward as it is identified as one of three main causes of biodiversity loss and one of the five areas for action.

Key Messages

The summary for policymakers recognises that transformative change is urgent, necessary and challenging – but possible. It contains six Key Messages, one of which (KM3) is the identification of four principles to guide deliberate transformative change: equity and justice; pluralism and inclusion; respectful and reciprocal human-nature relationships; and adaptive learning and action.

The principle of respectful and reciprocal human-nature relationships acknowledges relational values and responsibilities based on human-nature connectedness and represents a move from instrumental relationships of extraction, exploitation, domination and control towards fostering values of care, respect, solidarity, responsibility and stewardship.

5 Strategies

Embracing insights and evidence from diverse knowledge systems, disciplines and approaches, the report also identifies five strategies and actions to overcome the human domination over nature. These are:

1. Conserve, restore and regenerate places of value to people and nature that exemplify biocultural diversity
2. Drive systematic change and mainstreaming biodiversity in the sectors most responsible for nature’s decline
3. Transform economic systems for nature and equity
4. Transform governance systems to be inclusive, accountable and adaptive
5. (KM12) shifting dominant societal views and values to recognise and prioritise human-nature interconnectedness.

 Human-nature interconnectedness is recognised as a powerful strategy for transformative change. Cultivating feelings of nature-connectedness is seen as important. For example, targeted policy measures that support and enhance the visibility of nature connection can catalyse and sustain new social norms and behaviours. This should include experiential nature appreciation and knowledge co-creation by combining different knowledge systems including Indigenous and local knowledge. Also recommended is ‘integrating nature connectedness into education, health, spatial planning, communication and art, and by fostering the understanding that human well-being and quality of life are dependent on nature’. Additionally, practices like, systems thinking and transdisciplinary approaches can help embed nature’s values into decision-making.

Visions of Transformative Change Visions

Shared positive visions and their development are fundamentally important to inspire transformative change (KM13). It is especially important to recognise socio-ecological interdependencies and the agency of non-human life. Visions, which include narratives and stories, are desirable future states of people and nature, including Mother Earth, shaped by values and worldviews. Transformative visions value nature in multiple ways and no single vision is appropriate to all contexts, but visions that promote Indigenous and local knowledge and recognize and combine intrinsic, relational and instrumental values are the most promising. However, one of the knowledge gaps identified by the report is the imagination gap in envisioning positive futures where humans are seen as an integrated part of nature and living in harmony with nature.

Five core themes emerged from an assessment of over 800 visions with transformative aspirations for desirable futures for humans and nature. These are: 1) regenerative and circular economies, 2) community rights and empowerment, 3) biodiversity and ecosystem health, 4) spiritual reconnection (between humans and nature) and behavioural change, and 5) innovative business and technology.

Roles for All

A key message from the report is that there is a role for every person and organisation to create transformative change at multiple levels. Transformative change is system-wide, therefore, to achieve it requires a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach that engages all actors and sectors in visioning and contributing collaboratively to transformative change.

Closing thoughts

After forming the Nature Connectedness Research Group in 2013 and seeing the rapid increase in research over recent years, it’s great that, having considered the evidence, such a range of experts are emphasising the importance of nature connectedness and advocate integrating this concept into various sectors alongside fostering positive visions of a harmonious future with nature.

I’ve always believed nature connectedness is an essential and powerful strategy for the transformative change needed to address the environmental crises. We’ve suggested policy measures to mainstream nature connection, such as integrating nature connectedness into education, health, urban planning. We’ve also considered visions, narratives and stories that provide people with a positive future with nature, rather than a life without things like, cars, gas boilers and air travel.

Shifting dominant societal views and values to recognise and prioritise human-nature connectedness is a massive undertaking. The pull of the status-quo akin to escaping the Earth’s gravity.

With the disconnection of people from nature identified as a central issue and nature connectedness as a solution, there might be more awareness and willingness to engage. Environmental policy tends to focus on addressing the symptoms of the environmental crises, for example restoring habitat and cutting carbon. Although important, this can miss the root cause, so it is great to have our relationship with the rest of nature clearly identified as an underlying cause and solution.

Policy tends to focus on physical connections, on tangible features and often reduces nature to terms like ‘green infrastructure’. This does little, if anything, to inspire visions and recognise human-nature connectedness. The less tangible concept of nature connectedness is often not considered. Take, for example, the Dasgupta Review. The consideration of nature connectedness in the full report, was lost in the policy summaries. Yet, the IPBES Transformative Change Report highlights the urgent need for that focus. I hope this report, approved by 147 Governments, will be a major boost to tackling the root cause of the environmental crises, our failing relationship with the rest of nature.