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Relational Values and Nature Recovery: Navigating the Politics of Environmental Decision-Making
Abstract: Environmental decision-making often grapples with the tension between generalized sustainability goals and the culturally specific ways communities relate to nature. Relational values have been promoted as a way of navigating this tension. In this seminar, I argue that the primary contribution of a relational values perspective is the way it has swapped a rather tired debate about the intrinsic-instrumental value of nature, with a more lively debate about nature’s substitutability. Using the example of development pressure in the UK, I explore where a relational focus takes us politically, and how it might help broker new approaches to decision making of relevance to questions of nature recovery.
Biography: Rob is Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Imperial College. He is a social scientist and human geographer by training, with research interests in the social and cultural dimensions of natural resource management. He has a particular specialism in agricultural and rural systems. Rob’s work is distinguished by its participatory and collaborative nature, as well as by direct intervention in the policy process. In recent years, he has played a prominent role in the elaboration of interdisciplinary approaches to the valuation of nature within environmental policy and decision making. He is a founding lead editor of the BES Journal People and Nature. His recent graphic textbook, Valuing Nature: the Roots of Transformation won the Taylor & Francis Outstanding STEM Book (2021).
The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.
Date:
5 December 2025, 16:15
Venue:
Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details:
Place suite
Speaker:
Robert Fish (Imperial College London)
Organising department:
Environmental Change Institute
Organisers:
Carlyn Samuel (University of Oxford),
Jane Applegarth (University of Oxford, Oxford University Centre for the Environment)
Host:
Professor Yadvinder Malhi (University of Oxford)
Part of:
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and the Biodiversity Network seminar series
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Carlyn Samuel
