Soliev, Ilkhom

Biodiversity loss poses an increasing threat to humanity, yet it remains under-prioritised in policy and practice. This is partly due to a limited understanding of the behavioural and decision-making mechanisms driving biodiversity loss. Research on how behavioural theories can inform biodiversity policy, advocacy, and transformative change is limited, hindering effective action. We propose that these theories could help identify barriers and opportunities for biodiversity prioritisation and transformative action.

This paper explores the application of behavioural theories in biodiversity through the PLANET4B project. We conducted a systematic literature review, focusing on key behavioural theories, including collective action and common-pool resource theories. Using transformation and biodiversity as keywords, we analysed the context in which these theories are applied.

Our findings highlight prominent theories and their use in biodiversity research, revealing significant gaps. The results indicate that a deeper understanding and enhanced deployment of behavioural and social science theories is essential for effectively influencing policy and governance at various levels, steering biodiversity prioritisation.

This paper provides an overview of behavioural theories applied in the realm of biodiversity research, highlighting also the potential how to use them more to enhance biodiversity prioritisation. Such insights could help elevate biodiversity on personal and political agendas, fostering more effective and empowered action.

Change in food and agricultural practices at the intersection of urban and rural have implications for social cohesion and biodiversity. The work presents the case study from the Horizon Europe Project DAISY that addresses the question whether and to what extent new forms of commons governance emerging in Germany show transformative potential to strengthen both. It focuses on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) cooperatives and similar forms of agricultural self-organization and analyzes how the spheres of transformation (personal, political, practical) strengthen place-based social cohesion and creates room for turning intangible values and attitudes associated with nature into tangible action of agrobiodiversity. Activities of new forms of commons governance in Germany can be seen as seed innovations: they support transformations that transcend the traditional urban-rural divide, where urban residents engage in intense social activities, while sensitizing themselves to farm-life and nature through self-organized forms of governance in rural areas. The role of state in both facilitating and restricting such commons practices will be discussed. The work will conceptualize plural perspectives of involved actors in the commonning processes and analyze such transformations from a transdisciplinary perspective that allows synergies between theory, practice, and policy.