Human health and well being are inextricably linked to nature, but we are living through a mass extinction event because of the pressure that economic life puts on ecosystems.
It is a climate and an ecological emergency. But the economy ultimately depends on nature, and enhancing the conditions for life lends a natural advantage to making transformations happen. Rapid transition to thrive within the biosphere’s thresholds, means creating space for nature with policies to restore habitats in urban, suburban and countryside areas. Not only can this benefit other plants and animals, but through more contact with nature bring greater well being and quality of life for people.
Story of change
Nature and local democracy – how a River Parliament shows what community control can doIt is often said that democracy is too slow to win urgent ecological progress. But when communities in Rajasthan, India, formed a special parliament to represent them and the life-giving rivers...
Rapid transition also means practical models for food and farming that will improve human and environmental health, maximise the landscape’s ability to store carbon, promote innovations in land management and ownership, and ease the transition by protecting jobs and creating new green employment opportunities.
In already built-up and industrial areas ‘rewilding’ is an increasingly popular approach. Rewilding is people helping wildlife to recover by changing human behaviours, removing barriers, regenerating ecosystems and restoring species, and then living in harmony with the rest of nature. Doing it rapidly means reconnecting people with nature and realigning how we live, the restoration of endangered or locally-extinct native species, and the regeneration of rural and urban landscapes with abundant wildlife.
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Story of change
Solving the tree planting puzzle: natural forest regeneration for rapid transition and community empowermentWhen it emerged that a miscalculation by the oil company Shell meant that its new scenario for meeting the 1.5C climate target would need a new forest about...
Story of change
Nature and local democracy – how a River Parliament shows what community control can doIt is often said that democracy is too slow to win urgent ecological progress. But when communities in Rajasthan, India, formed a special parliament to...
Story of change
Milking it: cleaner climate, non-dairy milk alternatives go mainstreamUsing cows to produce milk for human consumption is a massive industry. But it’s also a very inefficient, polluting one. Making dairy milk takes far more...
Commentary
Let’s work with nature and let nature work with usI was reminded by Facebook yesterday that I had posted a picture of my sunglasses 5 years ago. One balmy June evening, I had dug my bike out from the back...
Resource
Lessons from Lockdown: More space for people and natureResponses to the coronavirus pandemic showed that we can quickly make more space for people and nature in our towns and cities. This briefing on lessons...
Resource
Lessons from Lockdown: Living with less stuffDuring lockdown many people have adapted to create new, different, ways of living that turned out to be less wasteful, more thoughtful and kinder on our...
Story of change
Indigenous cultural revival and re-enchantment with nature: the journey of the Colombian Muysca peopleThis story weaves the indigenous cultural revival of the Muysca people of Suba in Colombia, together with the transition to more sustainable living. It is...
Story of change
How does your city grow? Lockdown illuminates urban farming and gardening’s potentialThe lockdown and threat of a global pandemic has turned a lot of people who previously may have depended solely on supermarkets for their food into...
Story of change
Food waste is a climate emergency issue: how to chop it across the boardFood waste is alone responsible for an estimated 8% of annual greenhouse gas emissions globally, equal to the amount from tourism. Cutting it back not only...