Publication details
Nature-based governance from the ecological economics’ perspective
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | We are witnessing significant multiple environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change and land-use/land-system change. Nature-based governance (NBG) approach is very strong in acknowledging the role of institutions and processes in tackling these challenges, and – as demonstrated by many appealing local and regional case studies during this seminar – is able to foster participation of diverse groups of stakeholders, bringing very interesting practical results in terms of species’ protection, more sustainable landscape management and cultivating multispecies perspectives. However, much less profound is its reflection of socio-economic drivers behind the above-mentioned environmental challenges. Since the 1970’, the biophysical size of the global economy has doubled, creating an ever-growing pressure on material extraction, energy consumption, and biophysical living space. Without questioning the undeniable role of positive, practice-based examples of nature-based solutions, I argue that we will not be able to prevent further exacerbation of the manifold environmental pressures and conflicts unless we question, and eventually prune away the growth-dependency of our economies. In this sense, to apply the nature-based governance principles on the broader scale means to actively create post-growth, i.e. growth-independent socioeconomic structures. |
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