Biodiversity loss and climate change are inseparable challenges which have to be addressed together. This project’s main purpose is to examine how values and human-nature relationships are affected by these two challenges through a study of glacierized environments in Scandinavia and the Himalayas.
Glaciers are retreating at unprecedented rates around the world. The changes are affecting people and societal relations worldwide on many levels by influencing mountain ecosystems, water resources for drinking, agriculture and energy production as well as tourism economies and other types of livelihoods. Furthermore, glacier retreat is projected to increase floods or droughts, landslides, and ground destabilization, which will lead to increased risk for infrastructure, as well as for cultural, tourism, and recreational assets.
NATURICE seeks answers to the following questions:
· In what ways does glacier retreat affect human-nature relations and plural values of nature across glacierized sub-regions in Scandinavia and the Himalaya?
· How are the impacts of the glacier change distributed across social differences in relation to gender, socioeconomy, race, age and other dimensions?
· What lessons can be drawn for implementing sustainable goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda by linking effects of climate change on biodiversity and plural values of nature?
NATURICE is led by associate professor Mine Islar at Lund University Centre for Sustainability. Project partners are The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research NINA and GRID-Arendal. The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development FORMAS. It responds to FORMAS’ call for integrated knowledge of climate change, ecosystems and society. The project addresses the need for in-depth study of the human-nature relationship by crossing boundaries between different research fields ecosystem services and valuation, political ecology and glaciology.
