Panel 1.7. Societal transformations and biodiversity: Understanding the interplay of institutional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal change
co-Chairs: Ilkhom Soliev1, Agnes Zolyomi1,2,3, and Alex Franklin3
1Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 2Groningen University, 3Coventry University
Social dimensions of biodiversity have so far received relatively little attention in research. Prioritising biodiversity while ensuring equitability is both challenging and mutually essential. Achieving this balance often involves societal transformations at institutional (e.g., policies, governance), interpersonal (e.g., norms, interactions), and intrapersonal (e.g., values, behaviours) levels (Meadows 1999; Ostrom 2011; Williamson 2000). For effectively addressing the direct and indirect causes of biodiversity loss, transformations are necessary at multiple levels (IPBES 2019; 2022). This panel will discuss contributions with tested and emerging forms of interventions for triggering transformations transcending these levels of change (potentially) leading to reinforced prioritisation of biodiversity across the board. We call for examples from research and practice focused on understanding how change can be facilitated at the interface of the State, communities, and individuals. We are especially keen to explore interventions in terms of their 1) success at considering the perspectives of both biodiversity on the one hand and power asymmetries and justice on the other hand; and 2) specific and situated (and ideally measurable) impact but also transferability to other contexts and places. Submissions with theoretical, methodological, and empirical focus, as well as those based on a review of existing evidence, are equally welcome.
