understanding Plural values, intersectionality, Leverage points, Attitudes, Norms, behaviour and social lEarning in Transformation for Biodiversity decision making

Project Information

PLANET4B

Grant agreement ID: 101082212

DOI

10.3030/101082212

Project closed

EC signature date 5 October 2022

Start date 1 November 2022

End date 31 October 2025

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 2 954 307,50

EU contribution

€ 2 954 307,00

Coordinated by

MARTIN-LUTHER-UNIVERSITAT HALLE-WITTENBERG
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PLANET4B (understanding Plural values, intersectionality, Leverage points, Attitudes, Norms, behaviour and social lEarning in Transformation for Biodiversity decision making)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The continued loss of biodiversity threatens ecosystem service delivery and human wellbeing, highlighting the need for system-wide transformative change in values, behaviours and decision-making. While scientific knowledge on biodiversity loss is extensive, biodiversity remains persistently underprioritised in policy, business and everyday decision-making, indicating gaps in how biodiversity is perceived, valued and communicated.
To address this, PLANET4B aimed to understand the social, cultural and behavioural drivers shaping biodiversity prioritisation. The project set out to examine how biodiversity is perceived and communicated across different social groups and institutional contexts, and how intersecting factors such as gender, age, disability, culture, religion and place-based identity influence biodiversity-related attitudes and decisions.
Building on insights from social sciences and humanities, including sociology, social psychology, behavioural and institutional economics, political science and gender studies, PLANET4B had the objective to develop and operationalise a transdisciplinary framework for analysing biodiversity perceptions, values and behaviours in various case study contexts. A further objective was to identify, adapt and test behavioural, creative and deliberative methods capable of supporting transformative change across diverse place-based and sectoral contexts, and to generate pathways to inform EU and international policy and business practice.

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

PLANET4B investigated how biodiversity is perceived, valued and prioritised across diverse social groups and institutional settings, and how this shapes decision-making. We carried out a comparative discourse analysis (D1.1) a systematic review of social and behavioural theories (D1.2) and developed an intersectionality framework (D1.3) to examine how e.g. gender, age, disability, ethnicity, and place-based identity influence relationships with nature. These insights were synthesised into a holistic transdisciplinary diagnostic framework (D1.7) which guided intervention design across case studies.
We compiled and refined a catalogue of intervention methods (D2.4) including experiential learning, storytelling and co-creative arts-based approaches, adapted to local contexts through iterative co-design in 11 case studies.
Case studies applied the framework and methods to co-develop and implement interventions with local communities, civil society, business and policy actors. Intervention processes included shared stewardship of urban gardens, biodiversity observation in school gardens, seed circulation networks, inclusive access to outdoor recreation and value-chain dialogues. Impacts were assessed through systematisation-of-experience (D3.2 D3.3) documenting intrapersonal (awareness, care), interpersonal (shared practices, trust) and institutional (norms, planning and governance) changes. These insights were synthesised into the Compendium of Transformative Change Stories and sectoral transformation pathways.
We mapped key policy processes, institutional entry points and actor coalitions relevant to biodiversity prioritisation at EU, national and sector levels (D4.1 D4.3). Drawing on case study evidence and the pathways developed, we produced a series of policy briefs (D4.4) addressing biodiversity in seed systems, textiles, finance, trade and cross-sector governance. These outputs clarify how transformative approaches can inform sectoral policies, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
We ensured that project knowledge could be used beyond the project lifetime by producing the Making Change guidelines for NGOs, businesses and policymakers (D5.8) and the care-full courses online training platform (D5.9 D5.10) for educators and key enabling actors. To enhance uptake, a Synergies and Cooperation Strategy (D5.6) structured collaboration with Horizon Europe projects (e.g. BIOTraCes, DAISY, MAIA). Overall, the project developed, tested and evidenced how biodiversity prioritisation can be strengthened by transforming values, relationships, practices and governance structures, not only by improving knowledge availability. The outcomes provide applied frameworks, methods, pathways and policy guidance for enabling socially just biodiversity transformation across local, sectoral and EU/global levels.

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)

PLANET4B has advanced the state of the art by demonstrating that biodiversity prioritisation depends not only on ecological knowledge or economic incentives, but on how people and institutions relate to nature, how values are formed, and how social identities and power relations shape decision-making.
Key results:
- The first integrated transdisciplinary framework that combines discourse analysis, behavioural theory, intersectionality, and systems thinking to understand and influence biodiversity-relevant decisions at intrapersonal, interpersonal and institutional levels (D1.7) operationalised in case studies.
- A catalogue of transformative intervention methods, adapted to real-world biodiversity settings (D2.4)
- 11 Transformative Change Stories and sectoral transformation pathways, evidencing behavioural, relational and institutional change, producing empirical evidence on how transformative change can emerge through co-produced interventions, shared stewardship, and relational learning (D3.2 D3.3)
- A suite of policy briefs (D4.4) that translate these insights into actionable guidance for EU, national and sectoral governance,
- The Making Change guidelines for NGOs, business and policymakers, and the care-full courses educational platform, supporting capacity-building and wider uptake.
The project showed that biodiversity action is strengthened when interventions foster care, belonging, shared agency and visible small-scale ecological change, and when institutions recognise biodiversity as linked to wellbeing, cultural identity and other priorities, not only environmental regulation. These insights directly contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

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