Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Developing Nature Futures Scenarios

Seminar by Dr. Hye-Jin Kim from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research

22 September 2022
KST 14:00 – 15:00

The Seminar is being held in Room 1010 (Jasmin) – Integrated mechanical engineering building. Click here for the campus map.

In 2012, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was established following on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Since the launch of the first Methodological Assessment on Scenarios and Models in 2016, IPBES has been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders in developing a new scenario and modelling framework – the Nature Futures Framework. The Nature Futures Framework is a heuristic tool for collaboratively shaping positive and transformative futures for nature and people centring on people’s relationship with nature. It aims to open up a plurality of futures by infusing nature and people from different value perspectives (intrinsic, instrumental, relational). With minimal consistency and comparability, the Framework connects multiple knowledge systems and communities of practice to create a culture of stakeholder-driven scenario development and collaborative implementation. Through this approach, the Nature Futures Framework can shape discourses on how different stakeholders can contribute to conserving nature and ensuring human well-being, identifying policies and management actions for different pathways. The Framework ultimately seeks to integrate scientific and indigenous and local knowledge needed to expand the value of nature in envisioning and realizing sustainable futures across society. To initiate social changes by a broad range of stakeholders, Nature Futures scenarios take a participatory and inclusive approach to the overall scenario development process. In the future, the Nature Futures scenarios and modelling is anticipated to support the implementation of multi-level policy frameworks such as the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals. This seminar will present the origin and the development process of the Nature Futures Framework with ongoing pilot studies for developing transformative scenarios.