The human capacity to imagine alternative futures—and thereby enable transformation—is deeply connected to our nature as homo narrans. Narratives and stories play a central role in shaping how we envision desirable futures for both biodiversity and people.
They are also crucial tools in the societal discourse and negotiation processes that decides which futures are realised and how.
In recent years, narratives have increasingly come into focus within biodiversity research (cf. Louder/Wyborn 2020), with various disciplines across the social sciences and humanities approaching the topic from diverse perspectives and with varying conceptual and terminological understandings. This session aims to pursue three interconnected goals:
First, we seek to foster an inter- and transdisciplinary dialogue on how narratives and stories are used in different research disciplines and in biodiversity communication. What roles do they play in shaping public discourse, policy, or conservation practice?
Second, we are particularly interested in the relationship between narrative and ethics: How do environmental narratives reveal the values people attribute to biodiversity? How do they engage with the 'rough edges' of nature—the disvalues or conflicting aspects of biodiversity? And to what extent can narratives help to shape and strengthen the psychological, cultural and moral values associated with biodiversity?
Third, we aim to discuss concrete case studies that showcase environmental narratives which imagine desirable futures for biodiversity—and pathways to reach them.
We invite contributions from scholars across the social sciences and humanities, as well as practitioners engaged in biodiversity communication, who work with or critically reflect on environmental narratives.