Project
Shifting mindsets and valuation for nature-positive societies (MINDVAL)
There is increasing consensus of the need for a "nature with people" framework emphasising a more integrated relationship between humans and nature. MINDVAL aims to provide evidence for a transformative change towards nature-positive societies including actions focused on value-centered leverage points acknowledging nature's diverse values incorporated in all decision-making processes.
As outlined in the literature, the decline in biodiversity and the impacts of climate change have induced the emergency for transformative change from the nature for people view to the nature with people view. This requires a paradigm shift in decision-making throughout societies towards nature-positive societies. Transformative change toward more nature-positive futures requires a combination of actions focused on various value-centred leverage points, including: (i) conducting valuations acknowledging nature's diverse values (economic, social/cultural and intrinsic/ecological), (ii) integrating these valuations into decision-making processes of producing and consuming goods and services, (iii) designing and reforming policies and regulations to account for nature's values, and (iv) reshaping underlying societal norms and goals (i.e. mind sets).
To understand and unpack the paradigm shifts on the level of deep leverage points towards nature-positive societies, there are two work streams of research explored:
• Acknowledge, identify and include the diversity of nature’s values into decision making, and
• Identify and find evidence for the leverage points for shifting mindsets of people, organisations and governments towards nature-positive societies.
Both work streams contribute in parallel to the study of the diversity of nature's values and the necessary change of mindset towards nature-positive societies. Both examine different aspects of value-centred leverage points. The workstream addressing nature's diverse values—economic, social/cultural, and intrinsic/ecological—uses literature review with support of AI tools to identify more evidence for financial mechanisms incorporating the diverse values of nature. The work stream addressing the shifting mindsets uses literature research and workshops to build on evidence for transformative change to restore biodiversity focused on social networks and arrangements. In addition, there will be an exchange of knowledge and experiences between the workstreams. Through our approach, the project offers a valuable opportunity to integrate diverse perspectives, fostering collaboration aimed at driving transformative change toward nature-positive societies across several contexts