Unfurling western notions of nature and Amerindian alternatives

Zent, Egleé L.

doi:10.3354/esep00159

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Human perceptions and understandings of nature, biological diversity and the natural world are embedded in language. The term 'nature' itself is an example of such a lens that implicitly draws lines and sets boundaries, which to some (indigenous) people does not even exist (Zent, 2015). By talking about nature in a certain way, people distinguish certain elements (e.g.…”

Section: Methodmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Societal Relationships with Nature’: A framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values

et al. 2022

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In this paper, we operationalize the concept of Societal Relationships with Nature (SRN) as a framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values. Based on three dimensions knowledgescape, interactions and identity, we propose a set of questions for the empirical analysis of conflict situations. We use two case studies—designation of a biosphere reserve in southern Chile and the return of the wolf in Germany—to illustrate how the SRN framework can reveal and structure the complexity of human–nature relationships. From the conceptual advances and the academic debate on multiple values of nature, we derive four requirements for approaches to analyse nature‐related conflicts and how different stakeholders attribute importance to nature. These should (a) cover the relevant aspects and reveal the critical issues underlying a conflict, (b) enable an understanding of differences and commonalities in people’s perspectives and positions, (c) be comprehensive enough to uncover important issues in complex situations without losing empirical practicability and (d) take power relations into account. We discuss whether and how the SRN framework meets these requirements. We present the SRN framework in particular to the academic community working at the interface with policy and practice on multiple values of nature and nature‐related conflicts. SRN analysis can also be applied to complement valuation approaches by specifying and explaining differences in people’s attributions of value to nature. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Section: Methodmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Societal Relationships with Nature’: A framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values

et al. 2022

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“…They provide a form of thought, as a way of creating meaning and processing events in our external world, but also represent a form of discourse since stories and narratives are some of the main ways in which we communicate about our lives (Bruner, 1991). However, as evidenced in this review, distinguishing between those forms is often difficult to communicate since the distinction between words and thoughts in itself is a difficult one to make and perceive (Zent, 2015). In terms of the different levels they operate at, we've roughly divided them for the purpose of this review into different categories: When referring to narratives that happen on a personal level related to the experience of one individual, we use the term "story."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…At the core of the consolidation of WSK is the ontological binary divide between nature and culture. Such conceptualisation sees one as the opposite of the other: Non-human spaces, entities and dynamics are natural, while on the contrary, all human processes and constructions are sociocultural (Gudynas, 2014;Zent, 2015). This conceptualisation is also asymmetrical in its power relations and holds an anthropocentric ethic of nature: nature is there to be appropriated for human needs and desires and has to be controlled for those purposes (Boyd, 2012;Kernohan, 2012;Gudynas, 2014).…”

Section: Dominant Narratives In Marine Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, our way of communication reflects the specific socio-cultural context of the communicator (Björk, 2008). For example, as pointed out before, for many Amerindian communities the two distinct spheres of life (nature and socio-cultural) are not conceivable, according to Zent (2015): "they do not have words equivalent or even approximate to our idea of nature, neither do they have words to label our corresponding socio-cultural sphere." What we want to stress is that since different linguistic patterns and categories of conceptualisations of nature can produce different thought and behavioural patterns, being exposed to narratives from various cultures can expand what is possible to imagine, and prompt us to evaluate our internalised concepts and categories and even our feelings toward nature and non-human beings (Björk, 2008;Zent, 2015;Fernández-Llamazares and Cabeza, 2018;Trisos et al, 2021).…”

Section: Storytellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Through the Eyes of Another: Using a Narrative Lens to Navigate Complex Social-Ecological Systems and to Embrace Multiple Ways of Knowing

Relva

Jung²

2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Many social-ecological issues are characterised by a multiplicity of stakeholder voices with often fundamentally divergent values, beliefs or worldviews. Those differences in perspective can be also viewed as different narratives on individual, community and cultural scales that both express and reinforce people’s identity, value system and manifested behaviours. Navigating between those narratives requires approaches that facilitate the co-existence of multiple ways of knowing. The currently dominant knowledge production system of Western scientific knowledge often fails to meet those challenges due to its positivist and reductionist tendencies. However, embracing a co-existence of knowledges isn’t just necessary from a pragmatic perspective to adequately engage in those situations, but also represents an ethical imperative that includes acknowledging the colonial and oppressive history of Western scientific knowledge toward other knowledges, especially regarding Indigenous knowledge production systems. We propose adopting a narrative lens as a metaphor for embracing multiple ways of knowing and being as narratives play a key role for human cognition, communication and in shaping and expressing fundamental values at different levels. Using an example of contested narratives from a fisheries management conflict, we illustrate how narratives can help to develop a richer understanding of social-ecological conflicts. We also reflect on some narrative discourses commonly used in marine science that stem from the binary nature-culture divide prominent in Western scientific knowledge and discuss their implication for hindering sustainable ocean governance. Furthermore, we demonstrate how storytelling methods can be used to surface and share those narratives and to unravel the underlying values and fundamental beliefs and to re-shape them. The narrative lens we propose is suitable under multiple simultaneous disciplinary homes including Indigenous methodologies and systems thinking. They share the key features of having a holistic and relational approach that recognises the co-existence of multiple ways of knowing and being and use self-reflection as key for critical engagement with the situation and to surface and acknowledge one’s own internal narratives. This represents no exhaustive review of narrative inquiry, but a reflective journey illustrating how engaging with narratives can facilitate knowledge co-existence including different ways of relating to human and non-human beings.

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“…Inclusive conceptualizations of nature feature prominently in many Indigenous languages (Atleo, 2011;Kohn, 2013;Porter, 2014;Zent, 2015). For example, Indigenous ontologies in Latin America move away from the representation of an abstract and universal nature towards recognition of 'Earth beings' as animate manifestations of nature (De La Cadena, 2010).…”

Section: Exploring Multiple Naturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

Coscieme

Hyldmo

Fernández‐Llamazares

et al. 2020

Environmental Science & Policy

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Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of "nature" in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.

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Unfurling western notions of nature and Amerindian alternatives

Cited by 7 publications

References 72 publications

‘Societal Relationships with Nature’: A framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values

‘Societal Relationships with Nature’: A framework for understanding nature‐related conflicts and multiple values

Through the Eyes of Another: Using a Narrative Lens to Navigate Complex Social-Ecological Systems and to Embrace Multiple Ways of Knowing

Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance

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