Human relationship with Nature

The LDRA included a chapter (2) which examined the conceptual and perceptual issues that relate to why some forms of degradation either go undetected, or are not acted on despite being apparent. It is clear that people in different parts of the world, and/or at different times, and/or experiencing different social and economic circumstances, perceive their natural environment differently, and this fundamentally affects what they consider acceptable and unacceptable change. There is also a suggestion that in many parts of the world, those ‘human relationships with nature’ (which form the essence of the IPBES conceptual model) are currently undergoing change, perhaps more rapidly than they have in the past. For instance, there is a movement in many parts of the world, adding to a human-centric rights framework an parallel ‘animal rights’ ethical standpoint. One manifestation is an increase in vegetarianism in Western societies. In other places, the law itself is changing to recognise ‘rights’ or obligations with respect to nature as a whole; for instance in the constitution of countries, or with respect to particular ecosystems, such as rivers. If progress towards halting and reversing land degradation requires first a recognition that a problem exists, and that a high priority be assigned to addressing it (in competition with many other urgent and important issues), then a better understanding of human-nature relationships, including their diversity, origin and dynamics, is a prerequisite to effective action. Robert Scholes