TY - JOUR

T1 - Reconnecting with nature for sustainability

AU - Ives, Christopher D.

AU - Abson, David J.

AU - von Wehrden, Henrik

AU - Dorninger, Christian

AU - Klaniecki, Kathleen

AU - Fischer, Joern

N1 - Funding Information: This research has been supported by Volkswagen Foundation (Grant Number A112269). Two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments, which helped to improve this article. Handled by Carolyn Lundquist, University of Auckland, New Zealand. Funding Information: Acknowledgements This research has been supported by Volkswagen Foundation (Grant Number A112269). Two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments, which helped to improve this article. Publisher Copyright: © 2018, The Author(s).

PY - 2018/9/1

Y1 - 2018/9/1

N2 - Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing literature and direct future research on human–nature connections. Five types of connections to nature are identified: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. These various types have been presented as causes, consequences, or treatments of social and environmental problems. From this conceptual base, we discuss how reconnecting people with nature can function as a treatment for the global environmental crisis. Adopting a social–ecological systems perspective, we draw upon the emerging concept of ‘leverage points’—places in complex systems to intervene to generate change—and explore examples of how actions to reconnect people with nature can help transform society towards sustainability.

AB - Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing literature and direct future research on human–nature connections. Five types of connections to nature are identified: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. These various types have been presented as causes, consequences, or treatments of social and environmental problems. From this conceptual base, we discuss how reconnecting people with nature can function as a treatment for the global environmental crisis. Adopting a social–ecological systems perspective, we draw upon the emerging concept of ‘leverage points’—places in complex systems to intervene to generate change—and explore examples of how actions to reconnect people with nature can help transform society towards sustainability.

KW - Human–nature relationship

KW - Social–ecological systems

KW - Sustainability

KW - Transformation

KW - Sustainability Science

KW - Sustainability Governance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042583515&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9

DO - 10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 30220917

AN - SCOPUS:85042583515

VL - 13

SP - 1389

EP - 1397

JO - Sustainability Science

JF - Sustainability Science

SN - 1862-4065

IS - 5

ER -