Reconnecting with nature for sustainability

Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability science Vol. 13; no. 5; pp. 1389 - 1397
Main Authors: Ives, Christopher D., Abson, David J., von Wehrden, Henrik, Dorninger, Christian, Klaniecki, Kathleen, Fischer, Joern
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.09.2018
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Climate Change Management and Policy
cognition
Cognitive ability
Complex systems
Concepts
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental Economics
Environmental impact
Environmental Management
Knowledge Management for Sustainability Science
Landscape Ecology
Methodology
Natural environment
Original
Original Article
Public Health
Social-ecological systems
society
Sustainability
sustainability science and engineering
Sustainable Development
Human–nature relationship
Transformation
Social–ecological systems
Sustainability
ISSN:1862-4065, 1862-4057, 1862-4057
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing literature and direct future research on human–nature connections. Five types of connections to nature are identified: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. These various types have been presented as causes, consequences, or treatments of social and environmental problems. From this conceptual base, we discuss how reconnecting people with nature can function as a treatment for the global environmental crisis. Adopting a social–ecological systems perspective, we draw upon the emerging concept of ‘leverage points’—places in complex systems to intervene to generate change—and explore examples of how actions to reconnect people with nature can help transform society towards sustainability.
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ISSN:1862-4065
1862-4057
1862-4057
DOI:10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9