Blog | Arriving at a nature-centered future: reflecting on the BIONEXT workshop on Transition Pathways

A future where nature and society are thriving together, with biodiversity at the heart of our decisions shaping and governing society: how do we get there? And how can we trigger such transformative change? Following up on last year's BIONEXT workshop that proposed a new set of visions for a nature-centered Europe in 2050, stakeholders reconvened in the Netherlands last May to design pathways towards these visions. The pathways outline the potential routes for societal transformation from our current state to envisioned nature-positive futures. Working in an inspired environment in the sunny dunes of Schoorl, participants developed rich and challenging storylines for achieving nature-positive futures in 2050.

Refreshing our memory: nature-positive futures for Europe in 2050

Last year's workshop in Greece produced three visions for a nature-centered Europe: Nature for Society, Nature for Nature, and Nature as Culture. These visions represent the end point of transformation, i.e. where we want to end up, but what series of actions are needed to arrive at that future? Transformative pathways aim to capture just that. By identifying what key milestones are needed, reasoning from the future backwards, the method ‘backcasting’ helps to create these pathways. As such, they help provide a bridge between the present and the future, while empowering people to think in actionable steps. Using this method, the attending participants divided into three groups and set out to co-create pathways for arriving at the desired future states. Here we present the preliminary storylines that were developed by the workshop participants.

*Image 1. Workshop participants discussed the different visions by positioning themselves into a Nature Futures Framework. Picture: Maija Airos, Syke.*

Nature for Society: changing our means for governing the commons

Nature for Society describes a future in where Europeans have (re)gained their connection to nature, and policies reflect a and eco-friendly approach to utilizing natural resources. Key to the pathway for this vision is the trust in both policy and innovation to enable a society in which the current standard of living is improved in a sustainable way. Responding to political turmoil and natural disasters, European citizens turn to emerging politics centered on citizen participation and climate action, making green deal goals relevant to citizens. This creates momentum for sustainability policies that trigger many investments in new business models, technology, and legislation, subsequently leading to a more healthy and sustainable society and nature. Regional entities capable of implementing and enforcing climate policies are established across key sectors such as agri-food, energy, water, transport, and health. Meanwhile, global environmental governance is strengthened, impacting Europe and beyond. Combined, these entities coordinate the implementation of circular economy-inspired legislation, enabling a shift from an extractive economy to one that is resource-based. Finally, innovations enable more efficient production and consumption in these sectors, land is freed up for nature, which provides the much-needed space for nature restoration. Natural areas are now open to citizens, fostering a deeper connection with nature and creating more support for its stewardship.

Nature for Nature: demanding less, expanding the green

Nature for Nature entails a future where nature is valued independent of its use to humans, with large areas left intact and productive lands managed sustainably. This vision, dubbed “NaturAll”, involves living in compact cities leaving ample space for nature to thrive. This society respects and adapts to natural processes. Therefore, throughout the pathway the themes sufficiency and biorhythm were very important. Both are promoted through legislation (caps), education and changes in the economic system. These adaptations can be found throughout different sectors. In the energy domain this leads to reductions in energy use, in the water sector it helps reduce and prioritized water use and in food production and consumption it enables a localized and seasonal diet. Moreover, the pathway also includes gradually expanding natural areas, starting with pilot zones where rivers run freely, and eventually granting rights to water bodies. Many of these changes are underpinned by strong institutions that work closely with local communities and bottom-up initiatives leading to well supported policy programs and legislation.

*Image 2. The workshop participants discussed the different pathways leading to the visions. Photo: Maija Airos, Syke.*

Nature as Culture

Nature as Culture or “the way of nature” envisions a future where Europeans live in harmony with nature, with local communities, traditions and knowledge flourishing. As such, this pathway is driven by active local citizens and communities who self-organize to share and spread initiatives centered around care for nature and local connectivity. These initiatives may be enriched and inspired by local (indigenous) practices and knowledge on caring for nature. These grassroots evolve into an ever-growing societal movement that influences local, national and European politics and governance. Subsequently, large industries are restructured into community-owned companies and repurposed for living and producing in harmony with nature. Furthermore, the transition embedded in this pathway is emphatically guided by a deep respect for and engagement with indigenous peoples and their traditions: government and policies reflect equity and inclusiveness and must ensure that the benefits they generate for society reach everyone. Education as such fosters stronger ties to nature and creates awareness for the plurality of values and meanings attributed to nature. All these benefits are also reflected in newly developed ‘biocultural diversity principles’ that are adopted by (inter)national governments.

Visions & pathways: what is next?

Following the last workshop, the next step will be to translate the inputs from the participants into more comprehensive storylines that envision transformative change for biodiversity. This will include an analysis of what actions are deemed necessary in all three pathways, but also a reflection on the role and importance of justice in each of these visions. Next year we will again gather our troop of forward-thinking stakeholders in Prague to add further ideas and energy into building our desired nature-centered futures, so stay tuned!