Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

Luca Coscieme; Håkon da Silva Hyldmo; Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares; Ignacio Palomo; Tuyeni H. Mwampamba; Odirilwe Selomane; Nadia Sitas; Pedro Jaureguiberry; Yasuo Takahashi; Michelle Lim; Maria P. Barral; Juliana S. Farinaci; Julio Diaz-José; Sonali Ghosh; Joyce Ojino; Amani Alassaf; Bernard N. Baatuuwie; Lenke Balint; Zeenatul Basher; Fanny Boeraeve; Sugeng Budiharta; Ruishan Chen; Maylis Desrousseaux; Gregory Dowo; Catherine Febria; Houda Ghazi; Zuzana V. Harmáčková; Rodolfo Jaffe; Mphatso M. Kalemba; Cosmas K. Lambini; Felicia P.S. Lasmana; Assem A.A. Mohamed; Aidin Niamir; Patricio Pliscoff; Rahat Sabyrbekov; Uttam B. Shrestha; Aibek Samakov; Anna A. Sidorovich; Laura Thompson; Mireia Valle

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

Luca Coscieme^*, Håkon da Silva Hyldmo, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, Ignacio Palomo, Tuyeni H. Mwampamba, Odirilwe Selomane, Nadia Sitas, Pedro Jaureguiberry, Yasuo Takahashi, Michelle Lim, Maria P. Barral, Juliana S. Farinaci, Julio Diaz-José, Sonali Ghosh, Joyce Ojino, Amani Alassaf, Bernard N. Baatuuwie, Lenke Balint, Zeenatul Basher, Fanny BoeraeveSugeng Budiharta, Ruishan Chen, Maylis Desrousseaux, Gregory Dowo, Catherine Febria, Houda Ghazi, Zuzana V. Harmáčková, Rodolfo Jaffe, Mphatso M. Kalemba, Cosmas K. Lambini, Felicia P.S. Lasmana, Assem A.A. Mohamed, Aidin Niamir, Patricio Pliscoff, Rahat Sabyrbekov, Uttam B. Shrestha, Aibek Samakov, Anna A. Sidorovich, Laura Thompson, Mireia Valle

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of “nature” in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	36-42
Number of pages	7
Journal	Environmental Science and Policy
Volume	104
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018
State	Published - Feb 2020
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Earth jurisprudence
Indigenous peoples
Knowledge systems
Ontological turn
Rights of nature
Science-policy process

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10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

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Coscieme, L., da Silva Hyldmo, H., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Palomo, I., Mwampamba, T. H., Selomane, O., Sitas, N., Jaureguiberry, P., Takahashi, Y., Lim, M., Barral, M. P., Farinaci, J. S., Diaz-José, J., Ghosh, S., Ojino, J., Alassaf, A., Baatuuwie, B. N., Balint, L., Basher, Z., ... Valle, M. (2020). Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance. Environmental Science and Policy, 104, 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

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abstract = "Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of “nature” in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.",

keywords = "Earth jurisprudence, Indigenous peoples, Knowledge systems, Ontological turn, Rights of nature, Science-policy process",

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note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2020",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018",

language = "English",

volume = "104",

pages = "36--42",

journal = "Environmental Science and Policy",

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Coscieme, L, da Silva Hyldmo, H, Fernández-Llamazares, Á, Palomo, I, Mwampamba, TH, Selomane, O, Sitas, N, Jaureguiberry, P, Takahashi, Y, Lim, M, Barral, MP, Farinaci, JS, Diaz-José, J, Ghosh, S, Ojino, J, Alassaf, A, Baatuuwie, BN, Balint, L, Basher, Z, Boeraeve, F, Budiharta, S, Chen, R, Desrousseaux, M, Dowo, G, Febria, C, Ghazi, H, Harmáčková, ZV, Jaffe, R, Kalemba, MM, Lambini, CK, Lasmana, FPS, Mohamed, AAA, Niamir, A, Pliscoff, P, Sabyrbekov, R, Shrestha, UB, Samakov, A, Sidorovich, AA, Thompson, L & Valle, M 2020, 'Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance', Environmental Science and Policy, vol. 104, pp. 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

TY - JOUR

T1 - Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

AU - Coscieme, Luca

AU - da Silva Hyldmo, Håkon

AU - Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro

AU - Palomo, Ignacio

AU - Mwampamba, Tuyeni H.

AU - Selomane, Odirilwe

AU - Sitas, Nadia

AU - Jaureguiberry, Pedro

AU - Takahashi, Yasuo

AU - Lim, Michelle

AU - Barral, Maria P.

AU - Farinaci, Juliana S.

AU - Diaz-José, Julio

AU - Ghosh, Sonali

AU - Ojino, Joyce

AU - Alassaf, Amani

AU - Baatuuwie, Bernard N.

AU - Balint, Lenke

AU - Basher, Zeenatul

AU - Boeraeve, Fanny

AU - Budiharta, Sugeng

AU - Chen, Ruishan

AU - Desrousseaux, Maylis

AU - Dowo, Gregory

AU - Febria, Catherine

AU - Ghazi, Houda

AU - Harmáčková, Zuzana V.

AU - Jaffe, Rodolfo

AU - Kalemba, Mphatso M.

AU - Lambini, Cosmas K.

AU - Lasmana, Felicia P.S.

AU - Mohamed, Assem A.A.

AU - Niamir, Aidin

AU - Pliscoff, Patricio

AU - Sabyrbekov, Rahat

AU - Shrestha, Uttam B.

AU - Samakov, Aibek

AU - Sidorovich, Anna A.

AU - Thompson, Laura

AU - Valle, Mireia

PY - 2020/2

Y1 - 2020/2

N2 - Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of “nature” in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.

AB - Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of “nature” in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.

KW - Earth jurisprudence

KW - Indigenous peoples

KW - Knowledge systems

KW - Ontological turn

KW - Rights of nature

KW - Science-policy process

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U2 - 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

DO - 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85075071617

SN - 1462-9011

VL - 104

SP - 36

EP - 42

JO - Environmental Science and Policy

JF - Environmental Science and Policy

ER -

Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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