Inner Dimensions of Regeneration: Relational Values and Mindsets as Catalysts for Transformative Change in Land Stewardship

Practices associated with regenerative grazing are increasingly recognized as necessary for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Targets 15.3 (end desertification and restore degraded land) and 15.5 (protect biodiversity and natural habitats), both of which have to do with Life on Land. Evidence from grasslands around the world suggests that regenerative grazing can improve soil health, increase biodiversity, enhance ecosystem function, and restore degraded land and habitats. However, what often goes underappreciated -- both in research and in policy -- are the inner dimensions of regenerative land stewardship: the values, mindsets, mental models, and worldviews that make such practices not only possible, but successful and enduring. Without these relational underpinnings, technical interventions risk becoming fragmented, short-lived, or disconnected from the social-ecological systems they aim to support. Drawing on qualitative data from a multi-year study of 60 U.S. ranchers, this paper explores how regenerative grazing is animated by a relational value system rooted in humility, attentiveness, reciprocity, and care for more-than-human life. Ranchers in the study describe regeneration not merely as a land management strategy, but as a way of seeing, relating, and belonging -- a worldview that reshapes how they engage with land, make decisions, and define success over time. This analysis supports Strategy 5 of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment, which calls for a shift in societal views and values to recognize and support human-nature interdependency, and a move away from relations of domination towards relations of care. It also aligns with the Inner Development Goals (IDG) initiative, which identifies inner capacities -- such as empathy, connectedness, and systems thinking -- as essential to achieving systemic transformation and the global SDGs. We argue that efforts to protect biodiversity and restore ecosystems must move beyond surface-level solutions to engage the mindscapes that shape land-based practices. Recognizing these inner dimensions helps clarify when, how, and why interventions become truly transformative—supporting both ecological restoration and the regeneration of human-nature relationships.