Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REGenPLACE (Pathways towards a 'restorative' Anthropocene: a comparative study of three marginalised land practices, their narratives and regenerative potential across local-global dimensions)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-10-04 do 2023-10-03
Climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most pressing global challenges of our time, threatening ecosystems, species survival, and human well-being. While these issues are global in scale, the most promising solutions are deeply place-based -- specific to place, culture, and community.
This project explored three such place-based practices and their biocultural narratives, meaning, implementation, and policy treatment. The goal was to understand how these practices are interpreted by different stakeholders and how such interpretations—framed as narratives of place—either enable or constrain their adoption within policy. In brief the project examined in:
• Wales (UK), nature recovery (government driven) and rewilding (popular driven) approaches, both aiming to restore ecosystem functions and biodiversity.
• Yuin Country (Australia), cultural-burning, an Aboriginal practice using ‘cool fire’ to care for Country, maintaining healthy landscapes while strengthening kinship ties, which differs vastly from the government prescribed burning and hazard reduction burning approaches.
• Bhutan, Ladam/Ridam, a spiritual and social restriction practice, designating specific times of year when people refrain from entering forests or mountain areas, allowing for crop management and nature regeneration.
The research was conducted through collaboration with local researchers, community members, and practitioners. A decolonising methodology ensures that knowledge is co-created in ways that honours the historical, cultural, and political contexts of each place. Rather than comparing case studies directly, the project sought to understand how diverse cultural worldviews about land or place shape the narratives used to justify or contest particular land practices.
A key conclusion is that these narratives of place significantly influence environmental policy and practice. If land management policies are to be both effective and culturally appropriate, they must recognise and accommodate the multiple, sometimes competing, ways in which people relate to land and their place. This research offers insights for policymakers seeking to address climate and biodiversity challenges in a way that respects and integrates diverse cultural understandings of place.
This project explored three such place-based practices and their biocultural narratives, meaning, implementation, and policy treatment. The goal was to understand how these practices are interpreted by different stakeholders and how such interpretations—framed as narratives of place—either enable or constrain their adoption within policy. In brief the project examined in:
• Wales (UK), nature recovery (government driven) and rewilding (popular driven) approaches, both aiming to restore ecosystem functions and biodiversity.
• Yuin Country (Australia), cultural-burning, an Aboriginal practice using ‘cool fire’ to care for Country, maintaining healthy landscapes while strengthening kinship ties, which differs vastly from the government prescribed burning and hazard reduction burning approaches.
• Bhutan, Ladam/Ridam, a spiritual and social restriction practice, designating specific times of year when people refrain from entering forests or mountain areas, allowing for crop management and nature regeneration.
The research was conducted through collaboration with local researchers, community members, and practitioners. A decolonising methodology ensures that knowledge is co-created in ways that honours the historical, cultural, and political contexts of each place. Rather than comparing case studies directly, the project sought to understand how diverse cultural worldviews about land or place shape the narratives used to justify or contest particular land practices.
A key conclusion is that these narratives of place significantly influence environmental policy and practice. If land management policies are to be both effective and culturally appropriate, they must recognise and accommodate the multiple, sometimes competing, ways in which people relate to land and their place. This research offers insights for policymakers seeking to address climate and biodiversity challenges in a way that respects and integrates diverse cultural understandings of place.
The project involved extensive coordination and cross-cultural engagement to carry out research across three distinct case studies in Australia, Wales, and Bhutan. From the outset, significant effort was invested in project management, securing ethical approvals, and developing appropriate data management strategies for working in culturally diverse contexts.
In total, 70 participants contributed to the research:
• 36 semi-structured interviews across all three countries
• 15 participants were involved through ethnographic observation and translated conversations in Bhutan, documented as detailed field notes
• 19 participants took part in an online workshop in Wales, providing valuable feedback and insights on the case study findings
The project also involved reviewing a broad mix of existing knowledge, including academic research, government and policy reports, work by community and non-profit organisations, and media stories. A central outcome of the project is the development of a conceptual framework called “narratives of place”, which explains how different understandings of land shape the way land practices are perceived and managed. Four recurring narratives emerged:
• Place-as-property
• Place-as-localism
• Place-as-biocultural-region
• Place-as-a-being
These narratives influence whether land practices are enabled or constrained and how they are represented in policy. Often, one narrative dominates, shaping how land is governed and managed, while other perspectives are marginalised. Together, these perspectives form a broader, often unacknowledged “discourse of place” in land policy and management.
The research found that traditional practices such as cultural burning in Yuin Country and Ladam/Ridam in Bhutan are most effective when understood through the place-as-a-being lens, which respects land and place as alive and relational. However, this worldview is often challenged by the dominant place-as-property perspective found in Western natural resource management, which tends to prioritise ownership and boundary-based governance over ecological and cultural relationships. Wales presents a complex interplay of narratives. The government-led nature recovery agenda and the growing popularity of rewilding work within a place-as-property and place-as-localism narrative. Their long-term success, however, depends on aligning with the place-as-biocultural-region perspective, particularly in culturally distinct upland areas.
The dissemination of results is ongoing. Three case study reports are being shared with local stakeholders, and peer-reviewed articles are currently in preparation for publication on the Open Research Europe platform. The researcher also presented findings at several conferences and events throughout the project. The project website will be updated for the next 5 years. Importantly, community engagement and relationship-building are continuing beyond the project’s formal conclusion, ensuring knowledge generated remains relevant and accessible to those directly involved.
In total, 70 participants contributed to the research:
• 36 semi-structured interviews across all three countries
• 15 participants were involved through ethnographic observation and translated conversations in Bhutan, documented as detailed field notes
• 19 participants took part in an online workshop in Wales, providing valuable feedback and insights on the case study findings
The project also involved reviewing a broad mix of existing knowledge, including academic research, government and policy reports, work by community and non-profit organisations, and media stories. A central outcome of the project is the development of a conceptual framework called “narratives of place”, which explains how different understandings of land shape the way land practices are perceived and managed. Four recurring narratives emerged:
• Place-as-property
• Place-as-localism
• Place-as-biocultural-region
• Place-as-a-being
These narratives influence whether land practices are enabled or constrained and how they are represented in policy. Often, one narrative dominates, shaping how land is governed and managed, while other perspectives are marginalised. Together, these perspectives form a broader, often unacknowledged “discourse of place” in land policy and management.
The research found that traditional practices such as cultural burning in Yuin Country and Ladam/Ridam in Bhutan are most effective when understood through the place-as-a-being lens, which respects land and place as alive and relational. However, this worldview is often challenged by the dominant place-as-property perspective found in Western natural resource management, which tends to prioritise ownership and boundary-based governance over ecological and cultural relationships. Wales presents a complex interplay of narratives. The government-led nature recovery agenda and the growing popularity of rewilding work within a place-as-property and place-as-localism narrative. Their long-term success, however, depends on aligning with the place-as-biocultural-region perspective, particularly in culturally distinct upland areas.
The dissemination of results is ongoing. Three case study reports are being shared with local stakeholders, and peer-reviewed articles are currently in preparation for publication on the Open Research Europe platform. The researcher also presented findings at several conferences and events throughout the project. The project website will be updated for the next 5 years. Importantly, community engagement and relationship-building are continuing beyond the project’s formal conclusion, ensuring knowledge generated remains relevant and accessible to those directly involved.
The project advances understanding that successful biodiversity and land management must integrate place-based cultural values, practices and narratives. In other words, halting biodiversity loss is entirely interdependent with the biocultural dynamics of place. Recognising the biocultural dimensions of place—how people co-evolve with their places through biological, cultural, linguistic and spiritual ties—is a pathway towards healthy environments and people.
In all three case studies the place-as-property narrative dominates to varying degrees and impacts on how land is governed and managed. In Australia and Bhutan the worldviews of place as a living being are long-standing traditions and knowledge systems, yet they are marginalised, colonised, or overshadowed by dominant narratives such as place-as-property. As a result, the regenerative potential of practices like cultural burning and Ladam/Ridam for sustaining healthy socio-ecological systems is significantly reduced. In Wales, the place-as-property narrative prevails in nature recovery and rewilding, yet in upland areas, where Welsh culture and language thrive, success depends on how well these approaches respect and adapt to the region’s unique biocultural identity.
This research suggests that policy design must be sensitive to these differing place narratives. For example, policies focused solely on property boundaries and land tenures, may inadvertently marginalise traditional knowledge systems and cultural practices that are vital for ecological and community resilience. By surfacing these insights, the project offers a path toward more inclusive and effective land management strategies, especially in the face of intensifying climate-related events like wildfires, floods, and storms.
The findings contribute to the broader biodiversity policy agenda by framing place as more than a physical location—it is also a cultural and narrative space. This understanding can support better policy decisions at local, regional, and global levels, ensuring that land practices are not only ecologically sound but also culturally grounded and socially just.
In all three case studies the place-as-property narrative dominates to varying degrees and impacts on how land is governed and managed. In Australia and Bhutan the worldviews of place as a living being are long-standing traditions and knowledge systems, yet they are marginalised, colonised, or overshadowed by dominant narratives such as place-as-property. As a result, the regenerative potential of practices like cultural burning and Ladam/Ridam for sustaining healthy socio-ecological systems is significantly reduced. In Wales, the place-as-property narrative prevails in nature recovery and rewilding, yet in upland areas, where Welsh culture and language thrive, success depends on how well these approaches respect and adapt to the region’s unique biocultural identity.
This research suggests that policy design must be sensitive to these differing place narratives. For example, policies focused solely on property boundaries and land tenures, may inadvertently marginalise traditional knowledge systems and cultural practices that are vital for ecological and community resilience. By surfacing these insights, the project offers a path toward more inclusive and effective land management strategies, especially in the face of intensifying climate-related events like wildfires, floods, and storms.
The findings contribute to the broader biodiversity policy agenda by framing place as more than a physical location—it is also a cultural and narrative space. This understanding can support better policy decisions at local, regional, and global levels, ensuring that land practices are not only ecologically sound but also culturally grounded and socially just.