Plural values of nature: Brief summary of the IPBES Values Assessment and implications for research practice in biodiversity

This presentation will provide insights into the Values Assessment approved on July, 2022 by representatives of the 139 member States of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

As a result of reviewing 79.000 studies, the four-year methodological assessment report provides a scientific ground to the following statement:  There is a dominant global focus on short-term profits and economic growth, often excluding the consideration of multiple values of nature in policy decisions. The way nature is valued in political and economic decisions is both a key driver of the global biodiversity crisis and a vital opportunity to address it. 

As one of the lead authors of the report, Mine Islar will reflect on these findings and how current policymaking overlooks the many non-market values associated with nature’s contributions to people, such as well-being, climate regulation and cultural identity. Torsten Krause, as one of the contributing authors of the report will share his experiences in using diverse methods of valuation in his current research with LUCSUS PhD Candidate Carlos Velez and open the floor for discussions to reflect on integrating different valuation methods in sustainability research

Speakers: Mine Islar, Torsten Krause and Carlos Velez from LUCSUS (Lund University)

About the LUCSUS Seminar Series

For researchers engaging with complex sustainability problems and environmental justice, the line between researcher and participant in social mobilization can be fine and sometimes tricky to navigate. The call for transdisciplinarity is fundamental to LUCSUS research and encourages us to actively contribute to developing solutions to complex sustainability problems. This makes reflexivity and positionality key questions to think about. How do we engage with the issues we study? What methods can we use in translating our research into social action, and how do we navigate between roles as researchers, practitioners, and individuals?

For the 2022-2023 LUCSUS seminar series, we will hear from researchers who have engaged with sustainability issues on the ground and learn from their experiences of working across the researcher-activist gap.

Learn more about the LUCSUS Seminar Series at LUCSUS.lu.se

No registration is required.