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An agenda for research and action toward diverse and just futures for life on Earth |
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| Authors: | C Wyborn J Montana N Kalas S Clement F Davila N Knowles E Louder M Balan J Chambers L Christel T Forsyth G Henderson S Izquierdo Tort M Lim M J Martinez-Harms J Merçon E Nuesiri L Pereira V Pilbeam E Turnhout S Wood M Ryan |
| Institution: | 1. Luc Hoffmann Institute, IUCN Conservation Centre, Rue Mauverney 28, Gland, 1196 Switzerland;2. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY U.K.;3. Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 8-22, Zürich, 8092 Switzerland;4. Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX U.K.;5. Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, 253 Jones Street, Ultimo, NSW, 2007 Australia;6. Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 Canada;7. School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, ENR2 Building, South 4th floor 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721 U.S.A.;8. The Forest Way, No 8, 2nd St, D P Nagar, Kotturpuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600085 India;9. Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, Wageningen, 6700 AA The Netherlands;10. School of Politics and Government (EPyG), National University of San Martin, Avenida 25 de Mayo 1021, San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires, 1650 Argentina;11. Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE U.K;12. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, P.O. Drawer 7219, 300 W 21st Street, Austin, TX, 78712 U.S.A.;13. Institut des Sciences de la Forêt Tempérée, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 58 rue Principale, Ripon, QC, J0V 1V0 Canada
Natura y Ecosistemas Mexicanos A.C., Plaza San Jacinto 23D, San Ángel, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, 01000 Mexico;14. Centre for Environmental Law, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, 6 First Walk, Sydney, NSW, 2109 Australia;15. Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Avd. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile;16. Instituto de Investigaciones en Educasión, Universidad Veracruzana, Paseo 112, Nuevo Jalapa, Xalapa-Enríquez, 91193 Mexico;17. Social Science Faculty, African Leadership University (ALU), Powder Mill Road, Pamplemousses, 21001 Mauritius;18. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, Stockholm, SE-10691 Sweden;19. Clear Horizon Consulting, 132B Gwynne St, Cremorne, VIC, 3121 Australia;20. Future Earth, 1250 Guy St, Montreal, Quebec, ON, H3H 2L3 Canada |
| Abstract: | Decades of research and policy interventions on biodiversity have insufficiently addressed the dual issues of biodiversity degradation and social justice. New approaches are therefore needed. We devised a research and action agenda that calls for a collective task of revisiting biodiversity toward the goal of sustaining diverse and just futures for life on Earth. Revisiting biodiversity involves critically reflecting on past and present research, policy, and practice concerning biodiversity to inspire creative thinking about the future. The agenda was developed through a 2-year dialogue process that involved close to 300 experts from diverse disciplines and locations. This process was informed by social science insights that show biodiversity research and action is underpinned by choices about how problems are conceptualized. Recognizing knowledge, action, and ethics as inseparable, we synthesized a set of principles that help navigate the task of revisiting biodiversity. The agenda articulates 4 thematic areas for future research. First, researchers need to revisit biodiversity narratives by challenging conceptualizations that exclude diversity and entrench the separation of humans, cultures, economies, and societies from nature. Second, researchers should focus on the relationships between the Anthropocene, biodiversity, and culture by considering humanity and biodiversity as tied together in specific contexts. Third, researchers should focus on nature and economies by better accounting for the interacting structures of economic and financial systems as core drivers of biodiversity loss. Finally, researchers should enable transformative biodiversity research and action by reconfiguring relationships between human and nonhuman communities in and through science, policy, and practice. Revisiting biodiversity necessitates a renewed focus on dialogue among biodiversity communities and beyond that critically reflects on the past to channel research and action toward fostering just and diverse futures for human and nonhuman life on Earth. |
| Keywords: | Anthropocene biodiversity research diversity futures justice narratives transformative change Antropoceno cambio transformativo diversidad futuro investigación sobre la biodiversidad justicia narrativas |