From Visions to Practice: Insights from Recent Applications of the Nature Futures Framework

This contribution presents an updated synthesis of the rapidly expanding literature engaging with the IPBES Nature Futures Framework (NFF). Building on a recent synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature published in 2025, we broaden the scope to include most recent publications and practice-based (“grey”) literature, resulting in a body of close to 80 publications referencing the NFF since 2020. Among the publications newly added since the 2025 synthesis, approximately 45% are peer-reviewed articles, with limited but notable non-English contributions. Most studies identify a specific geographic context, with the highest representation in Europe and Central Asia, followed by Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. Ecosystems most frequently examined include forests, urban and peri-urban areas, water bodies, and croplands, reflecting the wide range of socio-ecological settings in which the NFF is being tested.

Preliminary analyses reveal an important shift in how the NFF is being applied. While earlier work primarily used the NFF to develop future visions, recent studies increasingly use it as an exploratory tool to identify and articulate diverse nature-related values across contexts, often in participatory or transdisciplinary settings. The inclusion of grey literature and practice-oriented theses highlights growing uptake beyond academia and captures regionally grounded experimentation that conventional reviews often overlook.

Our synthesis also examines how NFF applications link to major policy frameworks such as the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals, with several studies explicitly connecting plural valuation exercises to national or subnational planning processes. Emerging gaps point to key areas for future research, including strengthening the operational use of the NFF for policy and action, addressing trade-offs among diverse perspectives, advancing equity and justice dimensions, and more fully addressing the diversity of Indigenous People and Local Communities’ knowledge systems. Together, these insights illustrate both the momentum and the remaining challenges in translating the NFF into actionable pathways for nature-positive futures.