Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COEVOLVERS (Coevolutionary approach to unlock the transformative potential of nature-based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities)
Période du rapport: 2022-11-01 au 2024-04-30
COEVOLVERS holds that the most effective way to contribute to an overall transformation responding to the ambitious targets of EU Biodiversity Strategy and Climate adaptation strategy entails a radical change in how European societies understand and practice their nature policy and nature-based solutions (NBS) as means of it.
Consequently, for COEVOLVERS the challenge is to understand NBS as ecosocial structure implying that various environmental, economic, social, political, ethical, and cultural features contingently condition their initiation, design, and functioning. This challenge will be targeted through design and advancement of coevolutionary theory and engagement of relevant human and nonhuman actors, especially the most vulnerable, with political and administrative actors in seven communities of inquiry in seven different socio-political contexts across Europe (Living Labs) to co-design just NBS governance techniques, models, and practices.
Consequently, for COEVOLVERS the challenge is to understand NBS as ecosocial structure implying that various environmental, economic, social, political, ethical, and cultural features contingently condition their initiation, design, and functioning. This challenge will be targeted through design and advancement of coevolutionary theory and engagement of relevant human and nonhuman actors, especially the most vulnerable, with political and administrative actors in seven communities of inquiry in seven different socio-political contexts across Europe (Living Labs) to co-design just NBS governance techniques, models, and practices.
During the first reporting period the Living Labs started their work with local individuals, local stakeholders, and national stakeholders to support inclusive design and implementation of NBS contributing to transdisciplinary learning across the contexts, disciplines, and project partners. For COEVOLVERS, NBS are ‘coevolutionary technology’ that ought to be co-created especially from the vulnerable people and nonhuman perspective. By identifying the role and significance of affordances, that is, environmental features that fulfil needs and interests of human and nonhuman actors, COEVOLVERS has developed an actor-centred and place-based approach for NBS design and implementation. The socio-political situations in seven LLs have been assessed with the overall objective of co-creating, testing, and evaluating NBS for improved governance processes. Existing human-nature challenges, institutional arrangements for governing them, and the need for the improvement of governance practices in LLs environments have been identified. The knowledge gaps and needs across the sectors and partner countries have been identified to promote cross-sectoral knowledge exchange and learning toward actionable synthesis of the techniques and governance models. The first activities and results are being disseminated and communicated through various platforms and channels to reach the key target audiences. COEVOLVERS has engaged in collaborative and co-creative research, making connections between disciplines and actors from different sectors, initiating cooperation also with the Overseas Cousins and the sibling projects. The ethical aspects have been embedded in all activities and explored together within the project and the Ethical Advisor.
COEVOLVERS has targeted theoretical, conceptual, epistemological, empirical and practical advances in NBS design and implementation
Co-creation & coevolution
As described above, COEVOLVERS suggests a radical solution for NBS design and implementation. Instead of approaching NBS design as an engineering task, NBS are being re-conceptualised as science-advised co-creative process, artworks, that sustain and enrich co-evolutionary potential in and between the ecosystems and human habitats in which they are implemented. NBS enhance the resilience of the communities under conditions of polycrisis and uncertain global environmental change. (Table 1.)
COEVOLVERS’s approach for co-creation has led to considering a creation of a new type of “natureculture”, structures that bring opportunities for both people and nature. This creativity space enhances co-evolutionary potential instead of reducing the complexities to technical rationalities and linear development pathways that envision the future through past states of nature alone. COEVOLVERS has rethought NBS design by taking the notion of ‘design’ seriously as a synthesis of evidence-based problem-solving and aesthetic principles: Art transcends the rationality of discourse. COEVOLVERS deals with the formation of habits and intrinsic values in the long run, such as gradually changing the aesthetics of urban greenery towards an interspecies view, embodied in the greenery as artworld beyond the human.
Toward nature-based governance
Governance is typically understood as the coordination of multilayered social relations and processes in the absence of a unifying authority. Governance encompasses a diverse range of approaches that involve stakeholder collaboration, community engagement and reflexivity to effectively implement environmental and societal solutions. However, understanding and addressing vulnerabilities in NBS has remained in a blind spot. COEVOLVERS has targeted its work on the vulnerability-producing circumstances that require specific governance measures to protect the sovereignty, autonomy, and individuality of people, but also non-human agencies. COEVOLVERS call this approach nature-based governance: it is governance mode where multispecies’ living environments (Umwelts) and affordances are systematically addressed to co-design institutional reconfigurations that respond to circumstantial life-challenges and multispecies’ justice requirements. The nature-based governance mode is explicitly responsive to the vulnerability among and between the human and other species.
Transdisciplinary collaboration, learning and ethics
COEVOLVERS work has been transdisciplinary in all three meanings: across disciplines, with the practitioners in real-life settings and aiming to reach knowledge beyond normal disciplinary boundaries by means of arts, aesthetics, and other co-creative methodologies. hen doing research with the vulnerable and marginalized people and nonhuman animals ethical concerns and dilemmas arise. Ethical questions are continuously followed, discussed, and reflected to become prepared to identify and solve ethical question as they emerge. The transdisciplinary research practice has been carried out in consortium meetings, specific thematic workshops, and, for example, the readers’ teatime that has dealt with theoretical, conceptual, methodological issues emerged from the ongoing work of the project. This leads to a transdisciplinary learning, i.e. aesthetic sensitivity, ethical growth, methodological advancements and practical improvement, strengthened through the Mobility Programme and assessed with the Systematization of Experience methodology.
Co-creation & coevolution
As described above, COEVOLVERS suggests a radical solution for NBS design and implementation. Instead of approaching NBS design as an engineering task, NBS are being re-conceptualised as science-advised co-creative process, artworks, that sustain and enrich co-evolutionary potential in and between the ecosystems and human habitats in which they are implemented. NBS enhance the resilience of the communities under conditions of polycrisis and uncertain global environmental change. (Table 1.)
COEVOLVERS’s approach for co-creation has led to considering a creation of a new type of “natureculture”, structures that bring opportunities for both people and nature. This creativity space enhances co-evolutionary potential instead of reducing the complexities to technical rationalities and linear development pathways that envision the future through past states of nature alone. COEVOLVERS has rethought NBS design by taking the notion of ‘design’ seriously as a synthesis of evidence-based problem-solving and aesthetic principles: Art transcends the rationality of discourse. COEVOLVERS deals with the formation of habits and intrinsic values in the long run, such as gradually changing the aesthetics of urban greenery towards an interspecies view, embodied in the greenery as artworld beyond the human.
Toward nature-based governance
Governance is typically understood as the coordination of multilayered social relations and processes in the absence of a unifying authority. Governance encompasses a diverse range of approaches that involve stakeholder collaboration, community engagement and reflexivity to effectively implement environmental and societal solutions. However, understanding and addressing vulnerabilities in NBS has remained in a blind spot. COEVOLVERS has targeted its work on the vulnerability-producing circumstances that require specific governance measures to protect the sovereignty, autonomy, and individuality of people, but also non-human agencies. COEVOLVERS call this approach nature-based governance: it is governance mode where multispecies’ living environments (Umwelts) and affordances are systematically addressed to co-design institutional reconfigurations that respond to circumstantial life-challenges and multispecies’ justice requirements. The nature-based governance mode is explicitly responsive to the vulnerability among and between the human and other species.
Transdisciplinary collaboration, learning and ethics
COEVOLVERS work has been transdisciplinary in all three meanings: across disciplines, with the practitioners in real-life settings and aiming to reach knowledge beyond normal disciplinary boundaries by means of arts, aesthetics, and other co-creative methodologies. hen doing research with the vulnerable and marginalized people and nonhuman animals ethical concerns and dilemmas arise. Ethical questions are continuously followed, discussed, and reflected to become prepared to identify and solve ethical question as they emerge. The transdisciplinary research practice has been carried out in consortium meetings, specific thematic workshops, and, for example, the readers’ teatime that has dealt with theoretical, conceptual, methodological issues emerged from the ongoing work of the project. This leads to a transdisciplinary learning, i.e. aesthetic sensitivity, ethical growth, methodological advancements and practical improvement, strengthened through the Mobility Programme and assessed with the Systematization of Experience methodology.