News | Call for contributions: Transformative change in practice

Transformative change for biodiversity means moving beyond fixing problems and fundamentally shifting how we interact with biodiversity, climate and the natural world. It means building a sustainable society where links between biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport, climate, and health are acknowledged and nature and biodiversity are a part of our everyday choices and policy making.

In the BIONEXT project we’re aiming to understand how we can build this future; what drivers, triggers and connections will stimulate transformative change for biodiversity. To achieve this, we’re reviewing existing but fragmented academic evidence, co-creating future scenarios and visions and working to better understand diverse research communities.

 Integral to, and grounding for, our work is the analysis of real-world projects and initiatives that have delivered, or attempted to deliver, transformative change for biodiversity. We want to understand and learn from patterns of success and failure, how key stakeholders have been involved and what methods future initiatives should adopt.

We’re bringing together and analyzing case studies from existing databases including Oppla, PANORAMA and Naturvation with an objective to identify over 500 real-world cases related to biodiversity and transformative change.   

We know there are examples out there that would illuminate and inform our work but aren’t included in the databases we’re analyzing. To find these we’re opening up submissions to anybody who wants to share their experiences and inform our work.

We are seeking examples of projects or initiatives that address biodiversity along with at least one of the following elements: water, food, energy, transport, climate, and/or health. These projects or initiatives can range from large-scale interventions impacting entire cities to small-scale interventions impacting a single street or park. 

Any examples shared with us will be included in our comprehensive meta-analysis, with far-reaching implications for biodiversity and transformative change. Scientists, policymakers, and practitioners will all draw valuable lessons from successful initiatives and learn to avoid common pitfalls. The BIONEXT project will also be developing a Pathways App to guide decision makers and this app will highlight the most impactful examples we identify.

Complete the short form below to share your project or initiative. Submissions are open until 28 July 2023.