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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Verlag
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/ |
| _version_ | 1848798089932963840 |
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| author | Ives, Christopher D. Abson, David J. Wehrden, Henrik von Dorninger, Christian Klaniecki, Kathleen Fischer, Joern |
| author_facet | Ives, Christopher D. Abson, David J. Wehrden, Henrik von Dorninger, Christian Klaniecki, Kathleen Fischer, Joern |
| author_sort | Ives, Christopher D. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:14:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49837 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:14:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Springer Verlag |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-498372018-09-24T14:16:15Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/ Reconnecting with nature for sustainability Ives, Christopher D. Abson, David J. Wehrden, Henrik von Dorninger, Christian Klaniecki, Kathleen Fischer, Joern 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. Springer Verlag 2018-02-28 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/8/10.1007_s11625-018-0542-9.pdf Ives, Christopher D., Abson, David J., Wehrden, Henrik von, Dorninger, Christian, Klaniecki, Kathleen and Fischer, Joern (2018) Reconnecting with nature for sustainability. Sustainabillity Science, 13 (5). pp. 1389-1397. ISSN 1862-4057 Human-nature relationship; Social-ecological systems; Sustainability; Transformation https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9 doi:10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9 doi:10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9 |
| spellingShingle | Human-nature relationship; Social-ecological systems; Sustainability; Transformation Ives, Christopher D. Abson, David J. Wehrden, Henrik von Dorninger, Christian Klaniecki, Kathleen Fischer, Joern Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title | Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title_full | Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title_fullStr | Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title_short | Reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| title_sort | reconnecting with nature for sustainability |
| topic | Human-nature relationship; Social-ecological systems; Sustainability; Transformation |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49837/ |