Skip to main content
Institute of Advanced Study
External shot of Institute of Advanced study at Cosin's Hall

What does it mean to have a society connected to nature? Breaking down disciplinary barriers and shifting societal views

Hand touching fresh moss in the forest

Project description

The UN and 2024 IPBES stress that restoring humanity’s relationship with nature is vital for sustainability. Achieving this shift, particularly in Western societies, requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This project aims to support this interdisciplinary effort.

Primary participants

Principal Investigator:

Dr Michael Lengieza, Psychology
michael.l.lengieza@durham.ac.uk 

Term:

Epiphany 2027

Recognising the fundamental interdependence between humans and the natural world is essential, and is particularly important in Western societies, where repairing the human–nature relationship is considered urgent. Achieving this transformation requires collaboration across multiple disciplines to develop effective, integrated solutions.

Return to all 'Research Development Projects'
Share page:

Overview:

Our collective relationship with the earth must be transformed if we are to secure a better future for the planet. The UN Secretary General, for example, has stated that “Now is the time to transform humankind’s relationship with the natural world” (UN Climate Change News, 2020). Global sustainability frameworks, such as the 2024 IPBES Transformative Change Assessment [TCA]), have likewise foregrounded nature connectedness and have made it clear that we must begin “shifting societal views and values to recognize and prioritize fundamental interconnections between humans and nature” (p. 14). Thus, there is international recognition of the urgent need to repair the subjective human-nature relationship, especially for Western society.

Shifting societal views and values toward embracing the fundamental interconnections between humans and the more-than-human world necessitates many disciplines working together to create such transformative changes. This is an inherently interdisciplinary problem. Shifting societal views and values toward embracing the fundamental interconnections between humans and the more-than-human world necessitates many disciplines working together to create such transformative changes. 

The ultimate goal of this IAS RDP is to work toward an interdisciplinary project addressing this very issue. A necessary first step, however, is communicating across disciplinary boundaries.

Activities and Events:

Therefore, the project has two phases. First, a workshop designed to enable this interdisciplinary communication. Then, a second workshop to generate a transformative action plan based on the interdisciplinary synergies emerging from the first workshop.

Outcomes:

  • a shared interdisciplinary understanding of the human-nature relationship within Durham University
  • a funding bid aimed at generating the necessary shift in societal views identified by the IPBES TCA
  • a new collaborative network to work toward an IAS Major Project focused on developing an interdisciplinary framework for understanding (and shifting) the human-nature relationship.