Strengthening Societal Connectedness with Nature
On a broader scale, society as a whole must shift towards more intentional and effective sustainability practices.86 To push this transformation forward, growing research supports the idea of reconnecting people with nature. In particular, the correlational literature demonstrates a strong association between nature connection and pro-environmental behaviour, suggesting that our relationship with nature could play an essential role in informing high-level policy and interventions.86 Rebuilding a respectful relationship with nature will necessitate the re-evaluation of cultural values, such as individualism and short-term orientation.87 It will require changes to how many of our political, social, and economic systems are designed.88 The following section will discuss the importance of people-nature reconciliation and ecosystem-based conservation planning (EBCP) in redirecting our societies towards sustainability.
Elyse Tsang shares the values that she thinks are important in our connection to nature (1:14)
People-Nature Reconciliation
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) put forward 94 Calls to Action to document the truth of Survivors, their families and communities, redress the legacy of residential schools in Canada and further the process of reconciliation.89 From the TRC Traditional Knowledge Keepers Forum in June 2014, Elder Stephen Augustine shared that other aspects of the human experience are imperative in the journey towards reconciliation, such as our relationships with the earth and all living things.90 Elder Reg Crowshoe shared the following statement at the Forum:
“Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians, from an Aboriginal perspective, also requires reconciliation with the natural world. If human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to destroy the natural world, then reconciliation remains incomplete. This is a perspective that we as Commissioners have repeatedly heard: that reconciliation will never occur unless we are also reconciled with the earth.”
– Elder Reg Crowshoe, The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 6, pg 13 (bold added for emphasis)90
These important statements highlight that our relationship with nature is a vital, yet often overlooked, part of furthering reconciliation. Von Essen and Allen write that people-nature reconciliation must happen alongside people-people reconciliation, where experts and locals must be reconciled to one another in terms of their different and often conflicting views of nature and its meaning to reach a consensus.91 Once this consensus has been established, people-nature reconciliation can be achieved. Aldo Leopold was a forest, wildlife biologist and author who pioneered writing about reconciliation with the natural world. He penned, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”92 Leopold writes about ‘land ethic,’ which he envisions as extending the ethics among and between people towards one that includes the biophysical world.93
We should honour, respect, and invoke the terms of reconciliation put forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in their Calls to Action report and beyond
Ecosystem-Based Conservation Planning
As pioneered by the Silva Forest Foundation, ecosystem-based conservation planning (EBCP) “is a method of ecosystem protection, maintenance, restoration, and human use that, as the first priority, maintains or restores natural ecological integrity—including biological diversity—across the full range of spatial (from very large to very small areas) and temporal (from short to long periods) scales.”88 When applied to an ecosystem of interest, the goal of EBCP is to create an ecological framework for human activities where the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the ecosystem is prioritized for sustainability. This framework appreciates the hierarchical relationship between ecosystems, culture, and economies, where economies are recognized as part of cultures and cultures as part of ecosystems.94 Accordingly, by protecting the health of the overarching ecosystem, their respective cultures and economies also progress on a sustainable path.
Two fundamental understandings form the groundwork of ecosystem-based planning.88 Firstly, ecosystems are diverse and come in many different flavours. In this regard, EBCP seeks to identify the context-specific characteristics of a unique ecosystem to guide ecologically responsible anthropogenic activity. Secondly, EBCP acknowledges that ecosystems are dynamic with many interacting parts. There is great emphasis on creating healthy ecosystems rather than focusing on each component in isolation. EBCP could play a pivotal role in moving the world towards a more sustainable future if we can reframe our societies and communities with this approach in mind.
Ecosystem-based conservation planning should be promoted to maintain and restore natural ecological integrity
Case Study: Xaxli’p Survival Territory
Xaxli’p is an Indigenous government located in the Central Interior-Fraser Canyon region of British Columbia.95,96 During the 1900s, the Xaxli’p territory experienced intense industrial deforestation under the legislation of the Province.97 Ever since, the Xaxli’p people have persisted in asserting the decision-making authority of the land known as their Survival Territory. To date, their efforts in negotiating with the government for control over Xaxli’p Survival Territory have been met by an interim measure under the Community Forest Agreement, which was signed on March 2, 2011. The Community Forest Agreement was developed through ecosystem-based conservation planning to protect their forests, water, wildlife, and cultural activities.95 Their Ecosystem-Based Plan offers a series of maps designating specific regions of land management, such as “Human Use Areas” for ecologically responsible activities (non-timber forest products, ecotourism, etc.) and “Cultural Use Protected Areas” for supporting the needs of the Xaxli’p people.
The following is an excerpt from the Xaxli’p Community Forest website:
“Ecosystem-based planning is a way of relating to and using forests that reflects Xaxli’p values. In 2001 Xaxli’p employed Silva Ecosystem Consultants to prepare the Ecosystem-Based Plan for Xaxli’p Survival Territory, with extensive involvement of Xaxli’p Elders and other Xaxli’p experts. The Ecosystem-Based Plan guides all land use within Xaxli’p Survival Territory.”95
