The risks of not giving nature a seat at the table

Imagine a world where leaders and citizens consider the state of nature as a key indicator of our wellbeing and shared prosperity. What might that look like?

When we’re younger, we almost exclusively associate "growth" with nature - think plants and flowers, leaves growing on the trees in the spring. But this word has, in the last half-century or so, been framed to be primarily economic. Ironically, although growth is rooted in nature, nature is absent from most conversations about it. Its seat at the decision-making table is conspicuous by its absence.

We live in an era where growth is viewed by many - politicians and the public alike - as an inherently positive thing. Growth means jobs, a lower cost of living; “prosperity”.

As Kate Raworth reminds us, GDP growth has long been “portrayed as a panacea for many social, economic and political ailments”. It’s become a gauge of how well a given society is faring, so deeply entangled with our sense of prosperity and wellbeing, that we forget to question whether this makes sense or not. 

The trouble with this mindset - one that sees us as separate from and superior to nature - is that “infinite growth is ecologically impossible and exceedingly destructive”. It is a powerful cultural story which has no basis in ecological reality, and one which is moving us ever closer to collapse.

So how do we move from mechanistic thinking which ignores the vital importance of nature, to holistic thinking with nature; centralising nature as the fulcrum around which all policy-making rotates? 

Many political leaders believe that infinite growth and business-as-usual economics on a finite planet is a future-proof policy ambition. A recent IPBES report underscored how policymaking globally still considers “only those values of nature reflected through markets”. This kind of thinking is fundamentally set up to fail. If we don’t ask the question, “Yes, but what’s the impact on nature”, at every turn, everything else we do can only be in vain. 

Two recent UK examples of nature’s absence at the table come to mind: The first is the government’s Net Zero Strategy, which heralds bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) as a credible pathway for reaching net-zero. This ignores the now well-understood negative impact that this policy choice will have on nature, as clearly exemplified by the destruction already taking place in Canada. 

Consider too, the £41 million the UK government intended to spend on a range of “nature projects” in its Ten Point Plan. A seemingly large figure, but a drop in the ocean (240x less) when compared to the estimated £10 billion with which it props up the fossil fuel industry every year.

Nature is, of course, not some abstract thing that’s separate from us: it’s the word for everything alive on this Earth, the very thing upon which life itself depends.

As with any phenomenon as complex and multi-faceted as the climate and nature crisis, no solution is a silver bullet. But cultivating in the hearts and minds of those in power, a visceral sense of how nature is at the core of everything, could be the best place to start.

Countries like Bhutan are proving that nature-centric societies and governance can be achieved in practice. In this small Himalayan kingdom, the protection of the natural world is enshrined in the constitution, mandating its leaders to ensure that 60% of its land is covered in forest at all times (current coverage is believed to be 72-73%).

Bhutan isn’t alone in putting nature at the heart of decision-making. Costa Rica has led the way in championing ambitious nature policies, whilst Colombia’s new government has made strong commitments to keep oil in the ground, safeguard indigenous and environmental defenders’ rights and protect its forests from deforestation.

Whilst not perfect, their example is one we can learn from. Imagine a world where governments and people all recognised this, and put nature where it belongs: first - in all of our thinking… 

Bringing about truly nature-centric societies and politics requires a change in our consciousness, with all of us recognising the intrinsic value of nature and our fundamental dependance on and entanglement with nature.

This won’t happen overnight. But we can draw hope and inspiration from the rapidly growing group of thinkers and doers pioneering this kind of decision-making, and use it to capture the hearts and minds of a critical mass of leaders everywhere to tip the balance in favour of nature, before it’s too late.

This is what we do here at AimHi Earth, guided by our mission to accelerate nature-centric decision-making and our vision of a world where nature has a seat at every boardroom, political and kitchen table. We’re sprinting to secure a world where decision-makers at all levels of society are empowered and enabled to ask and answer the question “Yes, but what’s the impact on nature?” If we succeed, then the prize will be a liveable future for everyone now, and for millenia to come.