BioTraCes

01/01/2022 -

31/12/2026

Horizon Europe, Work Programme 2022 - Cluster 8

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It is not enough to become net zero; our world needs to become nature-positive. Based on this disruptive idea, all our activities not only minimise nature loss but actually enhance nature and ecosystems. In this context, the EU-funded BIOTraCes project will develop knowledge, tools and novel approaches to enable transformative changes necessary for achieving a nature-positive society. To achieve this goal, the project will engage stakeholder networks around transformative biodiversity innovations in high-impact sectors – from agriculture and food to forestry, water and urbanisation. A series of local case studies across Europe will be used to create a portfolio of good and failed examples. A nature-positive goal is in line with the agreed global climate target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Main objectives

The key objective of the BIOTraCes project is to co-produce knowledge enabling to develop approaches and strategies that contribute to transformative changes. These changes are necessary to preserve and restore biodiversity across Europe. The objective will be achieved by building upon principles of pluralising, empowering, politicising and embedding, developing capacities for innovation and fostering transformative (i.e. adaptive, plural and equitable) governance approaches to achieve just and nature-positive societies. The following are objectives that will specify the main objective: O1: Understand the role of diverse values, knowledge systems, power, and behaviour in transformative biodiversity approaches. O2: Demonstrate practices and key principles of transformative change for nature-positive societies. O3: Develop strategies to aid transformative (i.e. integrative, adaptive, inclusive and pluralistic) governance approaches. O4: Contribute to propelling transformative changes for biodiversity, local to global. BIOTraCes will develop Theories of Transformative Change for Biodiversity that relate plurality of (cultural, religious, social, economic) values and power (lock-ins and leverage) to behavior (practices, actions, choices and decisions) in relation to the underlying drivers of biodiversity decline. BIOTraCes focuses on transformative biodiversity innovations in four high-impact sectors through nine cases: agriculture and food, forestry, water and urbanization. These local case studies are spread across Europe and will help to understand how plural and often marginalized values, identities (intersectionality) and knowledge systems, related to living with and caring for nature, can shape behavior. In 2 year long case studies, we do participative action research in which we work together with societal partners and with whom we will be testing interventions. We will analyze indirect causes of biodiversity loss: structural factors, such as power lock-ins, that form barriers to sustainable decisions and behavior and the levers to overcome these obstacles.

Main results

BIOTraCes aims to go beyond the state of the art by: 1) Being inclusive. Current research and policy are dominated by views that separate humans and nature, without questioning underlying values, and do not recognise the diversity of worldviews and human-nature relationships. BIOTraCes will expose plurality of views and values and actively give the stage to groups, views and values that are often marginalised, but are promising for a nature-positive society. 2) Being effective. Current views on biodiversity governance, in science and policy making alike, are mostly mechanistic. A better understanding of behaviour and the role of values, culture, intersectionality and power will help developing more effective and transformative public and private biodiversity policies. We aim to make a significant contribution to strategy development in realizing a nature positive society at multiple levels using multiple pathways. 3) Being just. Current institutions and social structures, create or overlook forms of social, intergenerational and environmental injustice. BIOTraCes makes such perverse practices visible and offers alternative principles and approaches. 4) Being integrative. BIOTraCes has been designed to work in an integrative way, which for example means that all research partners are involved in the various WPs and that there is a strong connection between the WPs. Moreover, there is co-production of knowledge with societal partners. Social Science and Humanities perspectives are well integrated within our project team. In addition to a natural science background, quite a few team members have a background in social science and/or humanities (eg. anthropology, political science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, cultural studies). Besides doing transdisciplinary research, quite some case studies make use of art-based methods and cooperation with artists and designers. 5) Being innovative. BIOTraCes supports biodiversity innovations that combine nature-based solutions), social and institutional innovation in case studies and contributes to innovation of governance approaches making them more transformative, integrative, inclusive, equitable, adaptive and pluralistic.

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