Publications (FIS)
Multiple ways to bend the curve of biodiversity loss
An analytical framework to support transformative change
Abstract
Humans are significantly impacting ecosystems worldwide. Scientists of the IPBES Global Assessment are therefore calling for a transformative change that includes all aspects of society in order to address drivers of biodiversity loss. However, these calls are rather abstract, and thus it remains unclear how this goal can be achieved. With this conceptual contribution, we present an analytical framework for evaluating existing processes of societal change which are enhancing biodiversity, and we illustrate its application using three case studies in Germany. We argue that an empirical analysis provides insights into the causal mechanisms that initiate or promote change processes. In doing so, we can draw recommendations for future transformative change processes with regard to biodiversity conservation. In our analysis, we are dealing with questions concerning the following three areas: the drivers and context of societal change processes, the change processes themselves and finally their impacts. Subsequently, we generate recommendations on how to enhance and support the process of future societal transformation that aims at biodiversity conservation: (a) Retaining co-benefits for biodiversity with goals that are primarily focussing on other objectives; (b) harmonising biodiversity use and conservation by turning conflicts into drivers of transformation; (c) prioritising biodiversity conservation by taking advantage of windows of opportunity. With our conceptual framework, we provide an analytical tool to learn from existing processes of societal change how to support future transformative change. This is an important step that contributes to the generation of relevant knowledge of promoting transformative change for nature and people. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Details
- Organisation(s)
-
Institute of Environmental Planning
Landscape Planning and Ecosystem Services
- External Organisation(s)
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Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE)
LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Erfurt University of Applied Sciences
Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER)
Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg
Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems (WO)
University of Kassel
University of Innsbruck
University of the Philippines
Technische Universität Berlin
CoKnow Consulting - Coproducing Knowledge for Sustainability
- Type
- Article
- Journal
- People and Nature
- Volume
- 6
- Pages
- 1945-1959
- No. of pages
- 15
- ISSN
- 2575-8314
- Publication date
- 04.10.2024
- Publication status
- Published
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Electronic version(s)
-
https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10690 (Access:
Open
)
