Plural valuation of nature for equity and sustainability: Insights from the Global South

Plural valuation is about eliciting the diverse values of nature articulated by different stakeholders in order to inform decision making and thus achieve more equitable and sustainable outcomes. We explore what approaches align with plural valuation on the ground, as well as how different social-ecological contexts play a role in translating plural valuation into decisions and outcomes. Based on a co-constructed analytical approach relying on empirical information from ten cases from the Global South, we find that plural valuation contributes to equitable and sustainable outcomes if the valuation process: 1) is based on participatory value elicitation approaches; 2) is framed with a clear action-oriented purpose; 3) provides space for marginalized stakeholders to articulate their values in ways that can be included in decisions; 4) is used as a tool to identify and help reconcile different cognitive models about human-nature relations; and 5) fosters open communication and collaboration among stakeholders. We also find that power asymmetries can hinder plural valuation. As interest and support for undertaking plural valuation grows, a deeper understanding is needed regarding how it can be adapted to different purposes, approaches, and social-ecological contexts in order to contribute to social equity and sustainability. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

This work was supported by the PEGASuS program of Future Earth funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through subgrant GBMF5433 to the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) to support the EQUIVAL project and the work of UP, PB and NZ-C. The authors wish to thank the Sida funded Swedbio programme at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) of Future Earth and the Future Earth Montreal Global Hub , the Institute of Ecosystem and Sustainability Research at the Autonomous National University of Mexico , and the Division of Science Policy and Capacity-Building (SC/PCB) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , the Red Socioecos CONACYT 2017- 260483, CISEN V, The ValuES project from GIZ supported by the BMUB and ecoSERVICES from Future Earth, and the Frank Jackson Foundation for providing support and financial resources. PB enjoyed sabbatical leave during the final iterations of this manuscript and UP enjoyed a research stay at the University of Life Sciences (Norway) at the beginning of the research project, funded by the Basque Government through an “Ikermugikortasuna” grant. Laslty, UP and NZ-C acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, under BC3 ‘Unit of excellence’ (MIMECO, MDM-2017- 0714).

Institute of Ecosystem and Sustainability Research, Frank Jackson Foundation, Basque Government, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, UNESCO, University of Life Sciences, Autonomous National University of Mexico, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, BMUB, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sida, Red Socioecos CONACYT, Division of Science Policy and Capacity-Building