Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NatUval (Opening the black box of nature valuation: the case of UNESCO nature parks in Europe)
Reporting period: 2021-12-01 to 2023-11-30
In short: Environmental valuation, which is at the heart of environmental management, shapes the roles of and relations between actors associated with nature parks. Currently, international environmental conservation institutes make use of different valuation tools and practices for the management of their parks. The NatUval project will compare different valuation methods at Unesco and the IUCN. The aim is to (1) conceptualise how values are attached to ecosystems and landscapes in these institutes and (2) develop a first typology of environmental valuation practices in order to (3) outline a systematic, long-term empirical research on the performativity of those valuation practices and the consequences for environmental management. The results will help to understand the impact of different forms of environmental valuation. The lessons learned from these case studies will be used to develop a typology of valuation tools to assist practitioners in their environmental management work.
The aim of NatUval was to develop empirically grounded knowledge on how environmental valuation devices shape the roles of, and relations between, the human and non-human actors associated with nature parks. I studied the scientific, practical and political challenges associated with implementing environmental valuation devices. The project was structured in 5 Specific Objectives (SO), which are explained below. For each of these objectives, several actions have been carried out (as laid out in the work packages (WP) under section 1.2).
- SO1: To develop a tailored analytical toolbox (concepts, instruments, methods) for a rigorous empirical study of environmental valuation;
- SO2: To test and apply this toolbox on contrasting case studies in two nature parks in Europe;
- SO3: To generate empirically grounded knowledge by identifying, describing and assessing the frictions between different valuation practices in the case studies and subsequently revealing the performative work of a selected sample of valuation devices;
- SO4: To develop a first typology of environmental valuation devices and a future research agenda which consists of testable classification schemes and working hypotheses;
- SO5: to effectively communicate, disseminate and exploit the results to researchers, practitioners in international institutions, European civil society and students.
Each of these SO have been reached, as explained below. Overall, NatUVal has
(1) brought conceptual clarity in the debate on environmental valuation by developing new empirically grounded knowledge based on two concrete case studies [Deliverables D3.1 D3.2 D3.3]; and it has
(2) set the outlines for a systematic and long-term empirical research on the performativity of environmental valuation and its consequences for environmental management [D3.4 D4.3].
The aim of NatUval was to develop empirically grounded knowledge on how environmental valuation devices shape the roles of, and relations between, the human and non-human actors associated with nature parks. I studied the scientific, practical and political challenges associated with implementing environmental valuation devices. The project was structured in 5 Specific Objectives (SO), which are explained below. For each of these objectives, several actions have been carried out (as laid out in the work packages (WP) under section 1.2).
- SO1: To develop a tailored analytical toolbox (concepts, instruments, methods) for a rigorous empirical study of environmental valuation;
- SO2: To test and apply this toolbox on contrasting case studies in two nature parks in Europe;
- SO3: To generate empirically grounded knowledge by identifying, describing and assessing the frictions between different valuation practices in the case studies and subsequently revealing the performative work of a selected sample of valuation devices;
- SO4: To develop a first typology of environmental valuation devices and a future research agenda which consists of testable classification schemes and working hypotheses;
- SO5: to effectively communicate, disseminate and exploit the results to researchers, practitioners in international institutions, European civil society and students.
Each of these SO have been reached, as explained below. Overall, NatUVal has
(1) brought conceptual clarity in the debate on environmental valuation by developing new empirically grounded knowledge based on two concrete case studies [Deliverables D3.1 D3.2 D3.3]; and it has
(2) set the outlines for a systematic and long-term empirical research on the performativity of environmental valuation and its consequences for environmental management [D3.4 D4.3].
For details per work package, see separate report. Here an overview is given of the different deliverables
D1.1 Report: design analytical methods and research instruments
D2.1 First qualitative data-set case studies
D2.2 Report on case study 1 and report on case study 2
D2.3 Updated qualitative dataset after writing and additional exchanges with respondents
D3.1 Manuscript on case study 1 for open access journal
D3.2 Manuscript on case study 2 for open access journal or as book chapter (open-access preprint)
D3.3 Manuscript on selected valuation practices for open access journal
D3.4 Internal report on typology and future research agenda
D4.1 Personal Career Development Plan
D4.2 3 presentations at international conferences
D4.3 2 applications for follow-up research projects
D5.1 UNESCO report with practical guidelines and flowchart for the assessment of valuation tools
D5.2 3 blog posts and articles in newsletter
D5.3 2 page order to SPEAP for artistic project on relation with our environment
D5.4 Recorded popularizing intervention
D5.5 Open-access educational tool
D6.1 Data Management Plan
D1.1 Report: design analytical methods and research instruments
D2.1 First qualitative data-set case studies
D2.2 Report on case study 1 and report on case study 2
D2.3 Updated qualitative dataset after writing and additional exchanges with respondents
D3.1 Manuscript on case study 1 for open access journal
D3.2 Manuscript on case study 2 for open access journal or as book chapter (open-access preprint)
D3.3 Manuscript on selected valuation practices for open access journal
D3.4 Internal report on typology and future research agenda
D4.1 Personal Career Development Plan
D4.2 3 presentations at international conferences
D4.3 2 applications for follow-up research projects
D5.1 UNESCO report with practical guidelines and flowchart for the assessment of valuation tools
D5.2 3 blog posts and articles in newsletter
D5.3 2 page order to SPEAP for artistic project on relation with our environment
D5.4 Recorded popularizing intervention
D5.5 Open-access educational tool
D6.1 Data Management Plan
Scientific papers published from NatUVal (three) are all targeted at high impact journals and publishers, reaching a wide audience in the field of science and technology and moving our understanding of environmental valuation practices way beyond the current state of the art.
The different activities conducted in NatUVal have been very effective for the three following points:
(1) Enhancing the future career prospects of the researcher after the fellowship
(2) Exploit and disseminate the project results
(3) Communicate the project activities to different target audiences
Several activities of dissemination and communication are, moreover, still foreseen, including a workshop in Brière and two conference participations this summer (including a panel at EASST in Amsterdam and a panel at the POLLEN conference in Lund).
The different activities conducted in NatUVal have been very effective for the three following points:
(1) Enhancing the future career prospects of the researcher after the fellowship
(2) Exploit and disseminate the project results
(3) Communicate the project activities to different target audiences
Several activities of dissemination and communication are, moreover, still foreseen, including a workshop in Brière and two conference participations this summer (including a panel at EASST in Amsterdam and a panel at the POLLEN conference in Lund).