CeSAM Journal Club #7: Incorporating diverse values of nature in decision-making

This spring semester, we will meet every second Friday of the month in Tunet, Biologen Blokk A, 4th floor at 10:00.  There will be coffee, tea and snacks. 

Please feel free to forward the invitation to anyone who might be interested in joining us. If you have any papers you would like to suggest, do let us know! 

This week, we will read and discuss the following paper:

Incorporating diverse values of nature in decision-making—theory and practice

A. Vatn, U. Pascual, R. Chaplin-Kramer, M. Termansen, P. Arias-Arévalo, P. Balvanera, S. Athayde, T. Hahn and E. Lazos

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological SciencesVolume 379, Issue 1903

Published:22 April 2024 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0315

Abstract:

Values play a significant role in decision-making, especially regarding nature. Decisions impact people and nature in complex ways and understanding which values are prioritised, and which are left out is an important task for improving the equity and effectiveness of decision-making. Based on work done for the IPBES Values Assessment, this paper develops a framework to support analyses of how decision-making influences nature as well as whose values get prioritised. The framework is used to analyse key areas of environmental policy: a) the present model for nature protection in market economies, b) the role of valuation in bringing nature values into decisions, and c) values embedded in environmental policy instruments, exemplified by protected areas for nature conservation and payments for ecosystem services. The analyses show that environmental policies have been established as mere additions to decision-making structures that foster economic expansion, which undermines a wide range of nature's values. Moreover, environmental policies themselves are also focused on a limited set of nature's diverse values.

The journal club will be on June 14th.  We look forward to seeing and discussing with you!