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MESH Research Fruits

Lecture | Assessing the Links Between People and (more than Human) Nature: a Pluralistic Framework for the Science-Policy Interface

Professor Dr Sandra Díaz (Córdoba National University, Argentina)

October 24, 2024 | 17.45 – 19.15 | Auerbach Library, MESH

 

The international environmental science-policy interface has always been deeply influenced by the predominant view on how people relate to nature. In turn, the categories and findings from such interface strongly influence scientific priorities, public communication and actions in the field. A case in point is the evolution of the international biodiversity science-policy interface in the past five decades, leading to the creation of the pluralistic conceptual framework of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This transdisciplinary and action-oriented framework embraces the diverse ideas about what people derive from, and co-produce with, nature. It facilitates plural valuation of nature and it benefits and detriments and enables diverse actors to represent nature-people interactions for different scales, audiences, and decision-makers.  I will show the origin and main features of this conceptual framework, dispel some common misconceptions and discuss its strengths and limitations.