Multispecies Sustainability

Abstract

The sustainability concept in its current form suffers from reductionism. The common interpretation of “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” fails to explicitly recognize their interdependence with needs of current and future non-human generations. Here we argue that the focus of sustainability on human well-being – a purely utilitarian view of nature as a resource for humanity – limits its conceptual and analytical power, as well as real-world sustainability transformation efforts. We propose a broadened concept of ‘multispecies sustainability’ by acknowledging interdependent needs of multiple species’ current and future generations. We develop the concept in three steps: 1) discussing normative aspects, fundamental principles underlying the concept, and potential visual models, 2) showcasing radically diverging futures emerging from a scenario thought experiment based on the axes sustainable-unsustainable and multispecies-anthropocentric, and 3) exploring how multispecies sustainability can be applied to research and policy-making through two case studies (a multispecies stakeholder framework and the Healthy Urban Microbiome Initiative).

The Intersection of Animals and Global Sustainability—A Critical Studies Terrain for Better Policies?

“…Re-evaluation of sustainability as a concept as such and from a critical perspective is not common but five recent ones have been identified. Three of them draw explicitly on critical theory [20][21][22], and two, one published and one under review, draw on critical perspectives more generally [24,25]. The first three are presented next, the latter two are discussed in Section 6.…”

“…Bergmann [24] and Rupprecht et al [25] developed frameworks for inter-and multispecies sustainability respectively. For the purpose of this paper, multispecies and interspecies sustainability can be considered interchangeable terms.…”

“…For the purpose of this paper, multispecies and interspecies sustainability can be considered interchangeable terms. Rupprecht et al's [25] (p. 2) starting point is that "the current sustainability concept focuses on a perceived generational conflict, namely between those currently living and those yet to be born, rather than situating this relationship in broader contexts of intrahuman and interspecies relationships". They explore these broader contexts and develop a multispecies sustainability concept built on the interdependence of all life.…”

“…They developed four multispecies sustainability-derived future scenarios. One of them, the "shared futures of multispecies wellbeing scenario" [25] (p. 12, Figure 5), is characterised by seven aspects, three of which show parallels to the aspects of Bergmann's model [24] listed below, including "mutual flourishing", "multispecies operational autonomy" and "biocultural diversity". The other four aspects describing the nature of their multispecies wellbeing scenario are "world in which many worlds fit", "post-development and degrowth pluriverse", "limited wants/unlimited means" and "sufficiency oriented economies".…”

An argument for pandemic risk management using a multidisciplinary One Health approach to governance: an Australian case study

“…This includes local voices to co-create policies, laws, programs and services, with a strong partner and feedback processes and devolution of power to the local level [ 96 ]. A ‘Healthy Country, Healthy People’ approach to One Health would also give priority to more-than-human health as a means of pandemic prevention, including the wellbeing of animals and ecosystems [ 97 ].…”