Nexus framework for biodiversity-relevant transformative change

Project Information

BIOTRAILS

Grant agreement ID: 101082008

DOI

10.3030/101082008

Project closed

EC signature date 27 September 2022

Start date 1 December 2022

End date 30 November 2025

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 2 999 998,00

EU contribution

€ 2 999 998,00

Coordinated by

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIOTRAILS (Nexus framework for biodiversity-relevant transformative change)

Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2024-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

BIOTRAILS aims to generate knowledge and develop tools that will inspire and accelerate biodiversity-relevant transformative change in our society. BIOTRAILS uses Participatory Systems Dynamics Modelling to take into account the complex interrelations between the indirect drivers of change in four value chains of traded products (cocoa produced in Peru; forest-based cultural products created by indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazon; fisheries and aquaculture products supplied by the Mediterranean basin and consumed within the Mediterranean countries; and gold mined in Ghana), and in the Biodiversity-Climate-Society Nexus. Based on this knowledge and tools, BIOTRAILS brings together stakeholders across different stages of product/material global value chains to collaboratively design pathways that can lead to a sustainable future, proposing interventions in policy, urban consumption patterns and corporate policies. BIOTRAILS sets up Learning and Action Alliances: groups of organisations and individuals with a common interest to address the multiple challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and people’s good quality of life, across different spatial and administrative scales and stages of global value chains. Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input–Output analysis and Life Cycle Assessment methods is used to trace the environmental pressures arising from extraction / production, trade, and consumption activities, and behaviour patterns along global supply chains in the target sectors. The project assesses, besides the economic values, the biophysical, social and relational values emerging across different steps of the value chains Behavioural studies are conducted based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which considers psychological and behavioural patterns. Structural Equation Models are used to identify the most significant factors that drive behavioural change. The integration among the different methods and tools allows for the co-definition of BIOTRAILS’s solution for transformative changes.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

BIOTRAILS activities were dedicated to setting the ground for the co-definition of solutions, enabling the biodiversity-related transformative changes. Specifically, the performed activities can be clustered in: i) implementing analytical methods for assessing the initial conditions and detecting the main stressors for the biodiversity conservation in the four value chains; ii) activating and managing stakeholders’ engagement in the four value chains; iii) co-designing and co-evaluating the BIOTRAILS’s solutions for transformative changes. It is worth mentioning that most of the activities related to the co-definition of the transitional pathways will start in the second reporting period.
Concerning the first point, the Structural Equation Modelling approach was adopted in the value chains to unravel the aspects of the human dimensions that can drive transformative changes in biodiversity. Efforts were carried out to assess how climate change could affect the BIOTRAILS value chains. A Participatory System Dynamic Modelling (PSDM) approach was implemented in the case studies to engage stakeholders in mapping the complex web of interactions affecting the dynamic evolution of the Biodiversity-Climate-Society (BCS) Nexus. Finally, the BIOTRAILS data collection protocol and a data integration protocol were developed.
The activities carried out in BIOTRAILS aimed at activating and facilitating the stakeholders’ engagement in the four value chains, Specifically, those activities aimed at driving the Nexus dialogue through actively engaging and incentivizing communities of stakeholders along the production-consumption chains and biodiversity-climate -society agendas. To this aim, Learning and Action Alliances (LAAs) were established in the four value chains.
Some of the BIOTRAILS’s activities carried out during the first reporting period are related to developing and implementing tools for the transformative changes in the four value chains. These activities were mainly focused on defining behavioural interventions, selecting impactful policies to be implemented at urban scale for reducing cities’ impacts on biodiversity, and developing a toolkit for companies to provide guidance towards a reduction of biodiversity impacts.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

During the first reporting period, the socio-ecological approach was adopted to map the complex web of interactions affecting the dynamic evolution of the Biodiversity-Climate-Society Nexus. At this stage, the multi-scale systemic approach for mapping and analysing the Nexus interactions throughout the four value chains was not adopted yet. Efforts will be carried out on this topic in the second reporting period.
Environmental Assessment along the value chains. The activities carried out during the first reporting period set the ground for the integration between EEMRIO and LCA. The discussion around a novel methodological approach aiming at combining EMRIO/LCA and the Participatory System Dynamic Model started during the first reporting period and will be finalized in the second part of the project’s implementation.
Behavioural Interventions and Insights for Sustainable Behavioural Change. The Theory of Planned behaviour was implemented in the BIOTRAILS’s case studies to formalize and analyse individual and collective decision-making processes influencing the biodiversity losses and transformative changes. Besides, behavioural studies were conducted concerning the intention to buy locally produced food.
The development of the BIOTRAILS Serious game for transformative change in sustainable production and consumption has moved beyond the experience gained through the development of the Serious game as regards the following aspects: i)integration of citizen science aspects for gathering valuable information on consumer habits and the impact of awareness in sustainable behaviour; ii) addition of advocacy aspects and connection to personal social media for promoting transformative change at a wider collective level; iii) use of Leaderbords for promoting healthy competition among players and gaining the sense of wider movements within cities.
The City Resilience Index (CRI) was improved in the first reporting period to support cities in identifying opportunities to reduce biodiversity impacts and suggesting a three-scope approach at three level: local (city scale), regional (peri-urban areas), and global. By deploying the CRI tool within Biotrails project, cities can gain a holistic understanding of their performances across different dimensions, identifying synergies and co-benefits that extend beyond biodiversity impacts. Efforts will be carried out in the second reporting period to implement the CRI to specific policies and actions in relation to biodiversity, such as the Thessaloniki Food Pact.

Project summary for publication