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Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Modelling Nature Futures

June 12, 2023

The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a heuristic tool for co-creating positive futures for nature and people. It seeks to open up a diversity of futures through mainly three value perspectives on nature – Nature for Nature, Nature for Society, and Nature as Culture. This paper describes how the NFF can be applied in modelling to support decision-making. First, we describe key considerations for the NFF in developing qualitative and quantitative scenarios: i) multiple value perspectives on nature as a state space where pathways improving nature toward a frontier can be represented, ii) mutually reinforcing key feedbacks of social-ecological systems that are important for nature conservation and human wellbeing, iii) indicators of multiple knowledge systems describing the evolution of complex social-ecological dynamics. We then present three approaches to modelling Nature Futures scenarios in the review, screening, and design phases of policy processes. This paper seeks to facilitate the integration of relational values of nature in models and strengthen modelled linkages across biodiversity, nature’s contributions to people, and quality of life.

Publication Year 2023
Title Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Modelling Nature Futures
DOI 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102681
Authors H. Kim, G.D. Peterson, W.W. Cheung, S. Ferrier, R. Alkemade, A. Arneth, Jan J. Kuiper, S. Okayasu, L.M. Pereira, L.A. Acosta, R. Chaplin-Kramer, E. den Belder, T.D. Eddy, J. C. Johnson, S. Karlsson-Viinkhuyzen, M.T.J. Kok, P. Leadley, D. Leclère, C. Lundquist, C. Rondini, R.J. Scholes, M.A. Schoolenberg, Y. Shin, E. Stehfest, F. Stephenson, P. Visconti, D. van Vuuren, C.C.C. Wabnitz, J.J. Alava, I. Cuadros-Casanova, K.K. Davies, M.A. Gasalla, G. Halouani, M. Harfoot, S. Hashimoto, T. Hickler, T. Hirsch, G. Kolomytsev, Brian W. Miller, H. Ohashi, M.G. Palomo, A. Popp, R.P. Remme, O. Saito, U.R. Sumalia, S. Willcock, H.M. Pereira
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Global Environmental Change
Index ID 70245403
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center
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