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Green (and blue) spaces receive attention as important components of cities that can help to mitigate the effects of climate change, support biodiversity and improve public health. Green space planning aims to transform cities towards urban sustainability and resilience. In a longitudinal study, representatives from eleven European municipalities that had previously been interviewed in 2014 were re-interviewed in 2020–2021 on changes in urban greening and related practices. The interviewees reported mainly advancements in dealing with ecological issues, such as new plans, strategies, regulations or funding programmes for climate adaptation or biodiversity support, as well as some progress in co-governance with non-governmental stakeholders. Promising developments include breaking professional silos by creating new units that can better deal with complex urban issues. In a few cases, high-level local politicians induced profound changes. These changes stimulated the development of new planning and governance cultures, resulting in more co-creation of urban green spaces. However, from a transformation studies perspective, incremental strategies dominate, and even when municipal representatives are aware that substantive changes are needed, they often lack the means to act. For more radical system change, significant extra efforts are needed.

Recently, new approaches to wildlife management are being developed, such as coexistence management and convivial conservation. These approaches aim to shift management practices from mitigating human–wildlife conflicts towards cohabitation and explore mutual benefits. To align empirical research to these new approaches, we argue for the relevance of positive psychology theory to inspire and structure research into the benefits of human–wildlife interactions. Positive psychology suggests three pathways through which human–wildlife interactions may lead to happiness and well-being: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Applying these pathways to human–wildlife research may (i) structure existing research into the benefits of human–wildlife interactions, (ii) disclose unidentified benefits of human–wildlife interactions, and (iii) unravel mechanisms which make experiencing and protecting wildlife worthwhile and rewarding. Also, we suggest a potential feedback loop between wildlife experiences, happiness and well-being, and pro-environmental behaviours. More in-depth research into these mechanisms may improve our understanding of attitudes towards conservation of wildlife and its habitat and may suggest strategies to strengthen stewardship actions and public support for conservation strategies. Together, these strands of research could initiate research into what could be called a “Positive Ecology”.

Impact assessment is a key step in mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions (NBS). Yet, it remains unclear if and how assessment frameworks influence urban planning, design and management. We contend that the potential of current NBS assessment frameworks is not fully exploited due to: (1) limited contextualisation of monitoring and assessment to place-specific contexts and (2) the depoliticisation of co-production. To address this, we present a practical five-step action framework to guide inclusive participation across different stages of monitoring and assessment of urban NBS, including indicator selection. Unlike previous approaches, applying selection criteria at the level of individual indicators, we also use criteria at the aggregate level of the indicator set. We conclude that participatory assessment contributes to mainstreaming urban NBS for sustainable and just cities, provided data is contextualised to local decision-making contexts and the process is designed to amplify marginalised voices.

The recently published EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 emphasizes nature’s benefits to humans. In line with wider shifts in nature conservation discourses in many European countries, moving from nature’s intrinsic value towards its instrumental values, the EU strategy strongly focuses on a ‘Natural capital’ view. In this context of a European wide search for business opportunities and societal engagement in nature conservation, this article investigates efforts from Dutch governments to strengthen the link between nature conservation and society. Over the past 10 years, policy responsibilities for nature conservation in the Netherlands have been decentralized from the national level to the twelve provinces, who have employed a variety of approaches to stimulate societal engagement in nature conservation. Through discourse analysis, we show how the previously hegemonic “Ecology First” discourse – a hierarchical mode of governance with a strong focus on intrinsic values – has transgressed towards a more flexible and adaptive "Partnership for Nature" discourse, with a strong focus on aligning with local stakeholders through network governance. In addition, we describe the emergence of three new discourses: a “Green Economy” discourse, capitalizing on ecosystem services to unleash new financial resources; a “Relational Nature” discourse with a strong focus on people’s connections to nature; and a “Democratic Nature” discourse focusing on nature’s intrinsic and relational values combined with a mosaic governance approach. While the EU Biodiversity Strategy focus on natural capital aligns very well with the Dutch Green Economy discourse, the EU strategy gives little attention to the relational and democratic dimensions of societal engagement. Based on our analysis, we show that changing modes of governance relate to changes in values of nature. Government’s need for new conservation partners requires opening up for new values of nature. In addition, changing values of nature require a change in governance structures to allow new actors to participate and contribute. The increasing focus on natural capital and green economy at the European level may be a first step in such diversification. However, we argue that Europe needs to develop additional strategies beyond instrumental values, to allow for further diversification of values and include all stakeholders from society.

The chapter focuses on people’s experiences of natural places and changes in their sense of place through the use of social media. It explores how social media are linked to senses of place and experiences of nature from a social–ecological–technological systems perspective. This is illustrated through four empirical cases representing specific people–place–tech systems, i.e. systems where different social, ecological and tech contexts interact. From a system perspective, those couplings are integrated parts of people’s experiences of nature that bridge virtual and physical worlds, thereby facilitating and communicating cognitive, affective and behavioural social-ecological interactions. These interactions foster novel individual and co-constructed meanings of place and thus plural senses of place; they can also mobilise people around shared meanings of place that are used to question dominant views. Thus, it is argued that social media can mediate and proliferate plural meanings of place, leading to new conceptualisations of senses of place.

Digital communication tools for information sharing are being increasingly used in governance, including green space governance and natural resource management and planning. Citizens’ resources in the form of knowledge, skills, as well as their collaboration with authorities have been identified in the governance literature as crucial elements in sustainable development. Technical advancement in internet communication technology (ICT) presents novel opportunities for engaging and leveraging civic knowledge and skills into different levels of governance. These options are still largely unexplored in governance research on urban green infrastructure (UGI). In this paper, we analyse three different digital tools (e-tools) from the perspective of a Scandinavian planning context. We explore how e-tools can support UGI governance and the perceived barriers. The e-tools explored are three digital platforms with a focus on public participation related to UGI. The three e-tools are map-based, i.e., users share information on digital maps: so-called Volunteered Geographic Information. Here, we call them place-based e-tools. We explore and analyse their adoption into UGI governance, the institutional contexts that affect them and also discuss potential of e-tools in place-based governance. Our findings indicate that the analysed tools all facilitate UGI governance in terms of engaging citizens in use, management, and planning of UGI. However, there are challenges to be aware of, such as the digital divide and the importance of clear participatory frameworks. We conclude that place-based e-tools have potential for UGI governance and that there is potential to strengthen links to ‘place’, while continuously testing and challenging new opportunities as technology rapidly develops.

Despite growing evidence pointing to the multiple benefits of home gardening, few studies have considered the health and well-being benefits perceived by gardeners who are principally motivated by biodiversity conservation (i.e. home gardening for biodiversity conservation). This study explores the environmental, social and economic co-benefits (and costs) of home gardening for biodiversity conservation in the City of Winnipeg, Canada. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews (30–60 min each) were conducted with 50 home gardeners who were formally certified or locally recognised for undertaking multiple gardening activities that promote biodiversity conservation. Thematic analysis revealed that study participants self-reported a range of environmental, psychological, physiological and social outcomes associated with their home gardening experiences. Despite home gardening often being a solitary activity, most gardeners valued the multiple forms of social interaction that occurred during important social events in their garden, or when connecting with passers-by. Home gardeners also cited benefits related to connection to nature and place attachment; attention restoration; reduced stress and anxiety; improved mood; satisfaction and pride; increased self-esteem and courage to do things differently in life; and, important education or learning opportunities. However, conflicts relating to the nexus between biodiversity and perceived tidiness of gardens emerged, which raise important ethical and social justice issues for sustainability planning. We compare key insights to the benefits (and costs) of community gardening and make some recommendations for future research, including how to engage more disadvantaged groups in gardening for conservation.

While ample attention is given to the hydrological and ecological aspects of river restoration projects, local residents and their perspectives on changing environments are often neglected. In this chapter we argue that including the meanings and values these environments hold for this stakeholder group is vital for long-term public support. This chapter identifies the theoretical foundations of studies addressing residents’ perspectives on river restoration and the related concepts to be included, such as sense of place, place identity, and cultural values. We then discuss two river restoration case studies from two different countries, focusing on the design and outcomes of these studies, and show the relevance and the added value of including the residents’ perspectives of river environments in the planning and evaluation of river restoration projects for both the success of projects and learning for future projects. We conclude with several implications of this approach for both scholars and practitioners in the field.

Citizens' initiatives and NGOs often aim to green society. They do this at a local level, but often large-scale changes are also pursued, changes we can label “transitions” towards a more nature-friendly society. However, such transitions are not easy to achieve. By drawing up and reflecting on a Theory of Change (ToC), active citizens can develop goals, strategies and concrete activities to increase their potential impact. In this research, we have reconstructed the Theory of Change in two projects:“Beach Clean Ups”, which try to draw attention to plastic waste throughout the Netherlands, and call on the government and companies to take their responsibility, and “Tiny Forests”, where IVN and local residents and schools work together. While both projects engage in local activities, we see clear differences in their strategy of using local action to drive large-scale change. Veel burgerinitiatieven en NGO’s streven naar vergroening van de samenleving. Zij doen dat op lokaal niveau, maar vaak worden ook grootschalige veranderingen nagestreefd, “transities” richting een meer natuurvriendelijke samenleving. Dergelijke transities zijn echter niet gemakkelijk te realiseren. Door een Theory of Change (ToC) op te stellen en daarop te reflecteren kunnen actieve burgers doelen, strategieën en concrete activiteiten ontwikkelen om hun mogelijke impact te vergroten. In dit onderzoek hebben we de Theory of Change gereconstrueerd. We hebben dit gedaan voor “Beach Clean Ups” die verspreid over heel Nederland aandacht proberen te vragen voor plastic afval, en overheid en bedrijven oproepen hun verantwoordelijkheid te nemen, en “Tiny Forests”, waarbij op meer dan honderd locaties IVN en lokale bewoners en scholen samenwerken. Terwijl beide projecten lokale activiteiten ondernemen, zien we duidelijke verschillen in hun strategie om lokale actie te gebruiken om grootschalige veranderingen te bewerkstelligen.

Suites of concepts and approaches have been launched during recent years to promote urban nature and greener cities. However, it is doubtable whether tinkering within the current economic and political system can provide adequate solutions. Nature-based Solutions can be seen as a new conceptual approach to the human-ecological connection, and as an outcome of an evolutionary development of socio-ecological concepts. In this Communication, we argue for drawing upinspiration by natureas an outset for the development of more sustainable and inclusive cities, balancing anthropocentric and ecocentric values and acknowledging the importance of the social and governance dimensions in a more balanced socio-ecological perspective. We call this approach Nature-based Thinking.

This chapter introduces and defines central terms needed to understand and discuss contemporary urban open space (UOS) governance and management. It discusses how governance and management already are, and can increasingly become, related to each other in practice. It describes theoretical models, including ‘strategic management’ and the ‘combined governance and management model’. It also provides examples illustrating self-governance, open co-governance and closed co-governance, which are useful to the understanding and development of UOS governance and management. Finally, it contextualises the combined approach to governance and management as a way to promote strategic and inclusive development, responding to current crisis and trends, which increase pressure on UOS.

Since 2013 the provincial governments have further developed their policies for strengthening social engagement with nature. This study is part of the Second Reflexive Evaluation of the Nature Pact and examined provincial policy strategies for stimulating social engagement with nature. The study examined eight cases involving volunteers, citizens’ initiatives, social care and recreation in eight provinces. The cases analysed the provincial policy programmes and regulations concerning social engagement. From interviews and a document analysis a picture was compiled of stakeholders’ expectations regarding the policies and goals. The outcomes of the policies and experiences of those involved were then assessed in the light of these expectations. De provincies hebben sinds 2013 hun beleid voor het versterken van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur verder ontwikkeld. In het kader van de Tweede Lerende Evaluatie van het Natuurpact is in dit onderzoek gekeken naar provinciale beleidsstrategieën voor het stimuleren van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur. In het onderzoek zijn 8 casussen geselecteerd rondom vrijwilligers, burgerinitiatieven, zorg en recreatie in 8 provincies. In deze casussen staan beleidsprogramma’s en regelingen van de provincie rondom maatschappelijke betrokkenheid centraal. Middels interviews en documentenanalyse zijn de verwachtingen die de betrokken partijen hebben voor het beleid en de doelen opgetekend. Op basis van de verwachtingen is gekeken naar de resultaten van het beleid en de ervaringen die betrokken partijen hiermee opdoen.

Relational values reflect the qualities of the relationships between humans and nature, such as care, social bonding, place attachment and spiritual meanings. In this perspective article, we argue that understanding relational values is vital for nature conservation, and we identify how incorporation of these values may function as leverage points for achieving more effective nature policy. We discuss the distinctive features of the concept of relational values and elaborate how relational values strongly influence people’s perceptions of, engagement with and action for nature. Relational values can also provide important deep leverage points for policy interventions aiming to support citizen’s contribution to nature conservation, to strengthen biodiversity policy and the relationship between people and nature. Based on three realms of leverage (re-think, re-structure and re-connect), we distinguish six routes through which relational values can be integrated in policies and practices of nature conservation: (1) incorporation of pluralized meanings of nature; (2) the uptake of relational language in policy discourse; (3) a prioritization of landscape-based policy; (4) empowering citizens in nature conservation; (5) re-orienting nature education to stimulate people’s personal bond with nature; and (6) using digital technology to stimulate new relationships with nature.

Making our cities more sustainable includes the need to make the transition a just one. This paper focuses on distributive justice with regard to greenspace in cities. Urbanisation and densification will likely result in less greenspace in urban residential areas, especially in deprived neighbourhoods. This is a threat to the aim of healthy and liveable cities, as greenspace has positive effects on human health and well-being. In this study, we show that in The Netherlands, neighbourhoods with a low socioeconomic status already tend to have a lower presence and quality of greenspace than those with a high socioeconomic status. This outcome is independent of the greenness metric that was used. However, depending on the precise greenness metric, socioeconomic differences in greenness between neighbourhoods are smaller in highly urban municipalities than in less urban municipalities, rather than larger. The paper discusses the implications of these outcomes for policy and planning regarding urban greenspace.

This report contains a critical reflection on the assumptions in Dutch nature policy about the relation between social engagement with nature and the legitimacy of nature policy. On the basis of a literature study we reconstructed ten assumptions about social engagement and tested them against findings from the academic literature. In general, we can conclude that experiences in nature do indeed create a connection with nature and can be a reason for people to become actively engaged in nature conservation. The democratic and ethical importance of engagement is widely acknowledged. The influence of such connection and engagement on social legitimacy and its eventual impact on nature conservation is less clear and depends heavily on the social, administrative and political dynamic within which this engagement takes shape and on the chosen vision of democracy and styles of governance. Further research is needed into the influence of this social, administrative and political context on the success of social engagement. Dit rapport geeft een kritische reflectie op de aannames in het natuurbeleid over de relatie tussen maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur en de legitimiteit van het natuurbeleid. Op basis van literatuurstudie reconstrueren we tien vooronderstellingen over maatschappelijke betrokkenheid en confronteren deze met bevindingen vanuit de wetenschappelijke literatuur. In grote lijnen kan gesteld worden dat natuurervaringen inderdaad leiden tot binding met natuur en aanleiding kunnen zijn tot actieve betrokkenheid bij natuurbehoud. Het democratisch-ethische belang van betrokkenheid wordt breed gedeeld. De invloed van binding en betrokkenheid op maatschappelijke legitimiteit en de uiteindelijke impact op natuurbehoud is minder eenduidig, sterk afhankelijk van de maatschappelijke en bestuurlijke dynamiek waarbinnen de betrokkenheid vorm krijgt en van de visies op sturingsstijlen en democratie. Meer onderzoek naar de invloed van deze maatschappelijke en bestuurlijke context op het succes van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid is gewenst.

The current phase in the history of the Earth has been conceptualised as the Anthropocene, in which humans have become a significant, maybe the dominant, environmental and geographical force. Human...

An increased involvement of citizens in the management of European green spaces raises questions about its contributions to nature conservation. In this research, we study the effects of different types of active citizenship in green space. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, we look at the benefits of 50 green self-governance practices in which citizens aim to realize, manage or protect green space in the Netherlands. While most of these practices contribute to nature conservation (80%) and/or the conservation of cultural landscapes (50%), our analysis shows that the benefits of green self-governance are much broader. This includes so called ‘co-benefits’, social, cultural and economic benefits such as the use function of green for human activity (78%), environmental education (88%) and social cohesion (50%). The benefits and co-benefits of green self-governance strongly depend on the type of practice. Using a typology of green self-governance, we show that a majority of practices focuses on direct benefits to nature conservation through hands-on activities and/or political actions. However, we also show that this focus is regularly combined with efforts to realize co-benefits. Practices with an explicit focus on co-benefits often also produce benefits - and vice-versa. In this way, co-benefits can provide a first step towards the realization of more direct benefits to nature conservation. Even so, there are also tensions between benefits and co-benefits, for example when an increase of recreation negatively affects biodiversity values or when ‘wild’ nature is being replaced by a cultivated garden. Relating to co-benefits can be an effective strategy for governments or environmental NGO’s, but we have to be aware that the benefits generated by green self-governance are generally of a much smaller scale than those realized by ‘traditional’ managers of green space such as authorities.

Scholars observe an increased involvement of citizens in green space governance. This paper focuses on green self-governance, in which citizens play a major role in realizing, protecting and/or managing green space. While existing research on green selfgovernance focuses mostly on specific cases, we aim to contribute towards a large overview via an inventory of 264 green self-governance practices across The Netherlands. With this, we discuss the relevance of green self-governance for nature conservation and its relationship with authorities. In our analysis, we show that green self-governance practices are very diverse: they pursue a wide variety of physical and social objectives; employ a multitude of physical and political activities; involve different actors besides citizens; mobilize different internal and external funding sources; and are active within and outside of protected areas. While green selfgovernance can contribute towards protection and management of green space and towards social values, we highlight that this contribution is mostly of a local relevance. Most practices are small scale and objectives do not always match those of authorities. Although we speak of self-governance, authorities play an important role in many practices, for example, as financial donor, landowner or regulatory authority. In this, self-governance is often not completely ‘self’.

This paper discusses the long-term management or ‘place-keeping’ of urban green space by citizens and highlights enabling and constraining factors that play a crucial role in this continuity. While authorities have historically been in charge of managing public green spaces, there is an increased involvement of citizens in green space management. It is therefore relevant to study how citizens can contribute towards place-keeping and realize a continuity in managing and conserving the qualities of urban green spaces. We contribute to these debates by looking at three European cases characterized by long-term involvement of citizens in place-keeping. We conducted document analysis and interviewing of key informants to study green space management over time. Our analysis highlights what factors have contributed towards the continuity of this management, but also shows challenges and difficulties which citizens have experienced. Based on our fieldwork, we identify three factors of particular relevance for the continuity of place-keeping involving citizens. We found that long-term continuity is supported by a degree of formalization : established rules and procedures within groups provide stability to citizens. We also highlight the importance of adaptive capacity : citizens need to be able to adapt to contextual changes in order to cope with external political, socio-economic and cultural developments over time. The supporting role of authorities was also key in legitimizing and supporting place-keeping by citizens. Authorities can support place-keeping by citizens by providing security via stable policies, formally protecting the involved spaces, allowing long-term management contracts and contributing resources.

This paper focuses on understanding the transformative potential of active citizenship in green space governance. Through an in-depth case study, we show how citizens promoted the redevelopment of a brownfield into a green space, but eventually also contributed towards a broader co-creative shift in local governance. In this process, we highlight how a shift in citizens’ activities from contestation towards collaboration led to the uptake of citizen-driven discourses and activities in spatial planning. The social connectivity between governance practices is of key importance in this transformation—successful governance practices that involve active citizens can inspire others. Even so, transformation is often a slow and path-dependent process which also depends on an enabling policy environment. Cooperating with authorities provides citizens with power, but also requires alignment with official rules. Creating and maintaining effective partnerships will remain a challenge for citizens and policymakers that strive for societal transformations.

Active citizens may contribute to the environmental, social, and institutional resilience of cities. This review discusses how citizen initiatives protect biodiversity hotspots, contribute to social cohesion, institutional innovation, and diversity in urban green space management. Challenges related to social inclusiveness, ecological connectivity and continuity suggest government involvement is pertinent, but needs to be refocused. To maximise environmental outcomes of active citizenship, governments may adopt an enabling and stimulating governance style that harnesses the transformative potential of active citizenship. This paper argues for mosaic governance to work with the heterogeneous array of people, institutions, and spatial practices associated with active citizenship. Mosaic governance aims for a context-sensitive way of urban green infrastructure planning, enhancing relationships between the diversity of landscapes and communities across cities.

Traditionally, biocultural diversity (BCD) has been researched in non-western and indigenous societies. Recently, it has also been applied in urbanized and industrialized societies, in particular for the planning and management of urban green infrastructure (UGI). Diversity in human and biological systems is considered to support cities’ adaptation capacity. However, diversity might also increase the risk of conflicts. In this paper, we discuss not only how the BCD approach could strengthen studies on human–nature interactions in an urban context, but also the potential pitfalls of applying BCD. By means of two examples of BCD research, that is people in-places and people-making UGI in cities, we argue that BCD as a reflexive concept can strengthen UGI planning and management.

Contemporary societies are rapidly changing demographically and culturally. This raises new challenges regarding support for and engagement in nature conservation. Our paper discusses differences and similarities between young adult non-immigrants and immigrants in how they understand and value nature, based on group interviews and a survey conducted among young adults of Turkish, Chinese and non-immigrant Dutch backgrounds. We show that how people perceive nature differs between ethnic groups, even though the immigrants included spent (most of) their youth in the Netherlands. Non-immigrants used most strict boundaries to qualify green areas as nature, while especially Chinese immigrants expressed a more inclusive idea of nature. Turkish immigrants articulated most often ecocentric and religious reasons to conserve nature, while Chinese immigrants stood out as mentioning most often anthropocentric reasons. Traditional cultural representations of nature partly seemed to echo in people's perceptions of nature. Support for nature conservation was high among the respondents; however, this hardly translated into engagement in nature conservation.

To inform the Assessment of the Dutch Human Environment (Balans van de Leefomgeving), PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency needs a quantitative measure of the size and scope of green citizens’ initiatives and their impact. The need for this information reflects the ambition of many government authorities to bring the wider community, including individuals, into closer contact with nature and involve them more in nature policy. This report describes a methodology for monitoring green citizens’ initiatives. Further indicators and main findings are given of the methodology used in a pilot project and a baseline assessment. Vanuit de betrokkenheid van de Balans van de Leefomgeving is het voor het Planbureau van de Leefomgeving (PBL) van belang om een kwantitatief beeld te krijgen van het geheel van groene burgerinitiatieven en hun impact. Deze behoefte vindt plaats tegen de achtergrond van de wens van veel overheden om de samenleving, waaronder burgers, meer te betrekken bij natuur en natuurbeleid. Dit rapport beschrijft een methodiek om groene burgerinitiatieven te monitoren, en geeft indicatoren en ervaringen die zijn opgedaan bij het uitvoeren van de methodiek in de pilot en de nulmeting.

To inform the evaluation of the Nature Pact (Natuurpact) and the Assessment of the Dutch Human Environment (Balans van de Leefomgeving), PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency needs a quantitative measure of the size and scope of green citizens’ initiatives and their impact. The need for this information reflects the ambition of many government authorities to bring the wider community, including individuals, into closer contact with nature and involve them more in nature policy. This report describes the results of a baseline assessment and pilot study to test the newly developed methodology for monitoring green citizens’ initiatives. Besides the results, the report includes several analyses based on the data and presents the main findings. Vanuit de betrokkenheid bij de evaluatie van het Natuurpact en de Balans van de Leefomgeving is het voor het Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (PBL) van belang om een kwantitatief beeld te krijgen van het geheel van groene burgerinitiatieven en hun impact. Deze behoefte vindt plaats tegen de achtergrond van de wens van veel overheden om de samenleving, waaronder burgers, meer te betrekken bij natuur en natuurbeleid. Dit rapport beschrijft de resultaten van een pilot en de nulmeting met de nieuw ontwikkelde methodiek voor het monitoren van groene burgerinitiatieven. Naast de resultaten, is er ook een aantal analyses gedaan op basis van de data en worden de belangrijkste bevindingen gedeeld.

Voor de Balans van de Leefomgeving willen we weten welke feiten en cijfers bekend zijn over maatschappelijke activiteiten, initiatieven en functiecombinaties voor natuur en biodiversiteit en wat de bijdrage hiervan is om de biodiversiteit te verbeteren. In dit onderzoek hebben we gegevens verzameld in de beschikbare literatuur en online bronnen. Uit de verzamelde feiten en cijfers blijkt dat het merendeel van de burgers betrokken zijn bij natuur en dat op onderdelen de betrokkenheid van burgers maar ook van bedrijven toeneemt. De meeste groene burgerinitiatieven zijn gericht op beleefbaar groen maar soms worden ook belangrijke natuurwaarden gerealiseerd die aansluiten bij internationale biodiversiteitsdoelstellingen. Burgers spelen daarnaast een zeer belangrijke rol bij het in kaart brengen van gegevens over planten- en diersoorten. Uit de verzamelde feiten en cijfers blijkt ook dat bij alle huidige vormen van bodemgebruik er mogelijkheden en initiatieven zijn voor natuurcombinaties of voor het vergroten van de biodiversiteit.---For the Assessment of the Dutch Human Environment we want to review what is known about social activities, initiatives and combination of functions for nature and biodiversity and what they contribute to enhancing biodiversity. In this study we collected data from the available literature and websites. These facts and figures show that most people are involved with nature in one way or another and that the involvement of individuals and businesses in some activities is even increasing. Most green citizens' initiatives are focused on amenity green space, but sometimes important natural values that support international biodiversity targets are also created. In addition, citizens play a vital role in monitoring plant and animal species. These facts and figures show also that in all current forms of land use there are possibilities and initiatives for nature combinations or for increasing biodiversity.

Biocultural diversity, which refers to the inextricable link between biodiversity and cultural diversity, has been predominantly associated with the traditional ways in which indigenous people in tropical countries interact with the natural environment. But it does not have to be restricted to these circumstances. Biocultural diversity may also be regarded as an interesting concept for understanding how people in industrialized and globalized societies deal with nature. This paper explores biocultural diversity in 20 European cities by considering (i) how biocultural diversity is interpreted in urban planning and governance, and (ii) what actual manifestations of biocultural diversity are present in these cities. Despite the fact that the concept of biocultural diversity was hardly recognized by city authorities, interviewees gave many examples of how biodiversity and cultural diversity are taken into account in (in) formal city policies. The research revealed two main manifestations of biocultural diversity within urban Europe: biocultural diversity grounded in ecological features, and cultural values as a basic foundation for biocultural diversity. Consequently, urban biocultural diversity was found to have two spatial levels: the city level and the site level. The former is the domain of governmental policy makers who discuss biocultural diversity in 'green space networks' in a rather static way. The latter is the domain where citizens participate in decisionmaking and the management of green spaces; it is here that cultural dynamics are most acknowledged.

Existing frameworks for analysing interactions between social and natural systems (e.g. Social-Ecological Systems framework, Ecosystem Services concept) do not sufficiently consider and operationalize the dynamic interactions between people's values, attitudes and understandings of the human-nature relationship at both individual and collective levels. We highlight the relevance of individual and collective understandings of the human-nature relationship as influencing factors for environmental behaviour, which may be reflected in natural resource management conflicts, and review the diversity of existing social-cultural concepts, frameworks and associated research methods. Particular emphasis is given to the context-sensitivity of social-cultural concepts in decision-making. These aspects are translated into a conceptual model aiming not to replace but to expand and enhance existing frameworks. Integrating this model into existing frameworks provides a tool for the exploration of how social-cultural concepts of nature interact with existing contexts to influence governance of social-ecological systems.

This report on public engagement with nature conservation between 1990 and 2017 focuses on public support for nature conservation and on policy discourses about public engagement. Based on a distinction between instrumental and idealistic motivations for engaging with the general public, three policy discourses on public engagement are described: Ecology First, Broadening and Embedding, and Co-creation and Economy. Although policy discourses and public opinion are influenced by a multitude of external factors, critical discourses on nature conservation policies seem to have contributed to a decrease in public support for nature conservation policies from 2006 onwards. The latest questionnaire results from 2017 suggest that public support for nature conservation policy is increasing. Meanwhile, most people do not consider nature conservation a priority for government policy. Dit rapport over vijentwintig jaar burgerbetrokkenheid analyseert de ontwikkelingen in publiek draagvlak tussen 1990 en 2017 in combinatie met de ontwikkelingen in het beleidsdiscours over burgerbetrokkenheid bij het Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. Op basis van onderscheid tussen instrumentele en principiële argumenten voor natuurbescherming worden drie beleidsdiscoursen onderscheiden: Vanaf 1990 is het ‘Ecologie Voorop’ discours dominant geweest. Rond 2000 is tijdelijk het ‘Verbreding en Verankering’ discours belangrijk geweest en na een disruptie in 2011 zien we de opkomst van het ‘Co-creatie en Economie’ discours. Alhoewel beleidsdiscours en publiek draagvlak vooral door externe factoren worden beïnvloed, lijkt de maatschappelijke kritiek op het natuurbeleid een weerslag gehad te hebben op het publiek draagvlak voor het natuurbeleid vanaf 2006. In de draagvlakenquête van 2017 is zichtbaar dat het publiek draagvlak zich herstelt van de dip tussen 2006 en 2013. Tegelijkertijd blijken de meeste burgers natuurbescherming niet als een acuut beleidsprobleem te zien.

The Netherlands were at the forefront of European nature conservation policy until recently. For years, a stable ‘social contract’ around Dutch nature conservation existed. To the surprise of many, this stability suddenly disappeared and Dutch nature policy has taken a dramatic shift with changing discourses on nature conservation, the halting of implementation of several key-policies and budget cuts up to 70%. This paper engages with discursive-institutionalism to understand such abrupt institutional changes through emerging ideas and discourses that reshape and undermine existing institutional arrangements. We show how the institutionalization of policy not only engendered but also restricted the impact of critical discourses in the 1990s and 2000s. However, critical discourses eventually played an important role in the sudden turn in nature conservation policy. The rise of a general populist discourse and the economic crisis contributed to the credibility of critical discourses and their translation into popular frames and storylines. Authoritative actors such as a new State Secretary opened up popular media for the critical discourses and contributed to their resonance among larger audiences. As such, the man and his new administration successfully used already existing counter-discourses to de-legitimise nature policy and break down important institutional arrangements at a pace unseen in Dutch politics. Adding a discursive element to institutionalism provides for analytical tools to understand change from both external as well as internal forces. In turn, enriching discourse theory with insights from neo-institutionalism helps to evaluate which ideas and discourses become materialized in policy and practice.

Understanding people’s way of thought on the natural environment may improve communication and collaboration between professionals and stakeholders from the general public. Focusing on similarities and differences between professionals and the public, this study investigates the relation between people’s way of thought and actual attitudes towards conservation measures. Based on an innovative hybrid of quantitative and qualitative research methods, we show that people’s thoughts on nature and landscape have a specific structure, consisting of clusters of normative (how we value it), experiential (how we experience it emotionally) and descriptive (how we define it) meanings. Although professionals and the public use similar structure of thoughts, the specific content and relevance of these thoughts differ significantly. Professionals referred to normative meanings four times more often than the public. Because analysis showed people’s general thoughts on nature informed concrete attitudes on conservation measures, these results have clear management implications. For example, we found important differences in the preferred conservation focus. Contrary to the professional focus on species, habitats and ecosystem health, the public tended to evaluate conservation measures on their effects on individual animals and trees and their consequences for scenic quality. Results may help practitioners to find common ground for discussing with critical groups in society. Expanding communication from predominantly normative arguments to include also the emotional connotations of nature may contribute to a shared emotional connection with the public that can be a powerful tool to overcome resistance and build shared visions on conservation issues.

Studies on immigrants' recreational use of greenspace have tended to focus on ethnic groups as homogeneous entities. In a qualitative study based on group interviews, this article focuses on the cultural diversity among and within ethnic groups. We used an identity perspective to study outdoor recreation of young Dutch adults with Chinese, Turkish, or nonimmigrant backgrounds. Results show that primarily personal identities, age, and ethnicity inform recreational behavior. The multiplicity of peoples' identities results in more heterogeneity between and within ethnic groups, as well as more homogeneity between immigrants and nonimmigrants, than commonly described. When immigrants are considered as a homogeneous group that underparticipates in outdoor recreation, individual immigrants who frequently participate in outdoor recreation are overlooked. Furthermore, we show that acculturation does not progress at the same rate among all ethnic groups, and that ethnic identity may be sustained among second and subsequent generations through certain recreational activities.

This study examines practices in which groups of local people (citizens’ initiatives) take the lead in natureconservation and landscape management projects. In three cases studies the significance of green selfgovernancewas examined by studying knock-on effects: the relations with related practices and therelations between practices and structures at the regime level, such as institutional working practices andpolicies. The bonds and dynamics in these relations – between green self-governance practices, betweengreen self-governance practices and related practices, and between green self-governance practices and theregime level – were found to be considerable. The actual level of influence is hard to determine because thedynamics play out within a changing context. An important lesson for the interaction between citizens andgovernment is that both can learn by working together In deze studie staan praktijken van natuur- en landschapsbeheer waarin groepen burgers(burgerinitiatieven) de ‘lead’ hebben in het realiseren, beschermen en/of beheren van natuur en landschapcentraal. In drie praktijken van groene zelf-governance is gekeken naar de betekenis, door in te gaan op deolievlekwerking die uitgaat van deze praktijken: de relaties met aangrenzende praktijken en naar de relatiestussen praktijken en structuren op regimeniveau, zoals bijvoorbeeld de werkwijzen en het beleid vaninstituties. Het blijkt dat de wederzijdse verwevenheid en dynamiek groot is: tussen praktijken van groenezelf-governance, tussen een praktijk van groene zelf-governance en aanverwante praktijken, en tussen eenpraktijk van groene zelf-governance. De daadwerkelijke invloed is moeilijk vast te stellen omdat dedynamiek zich afspeelt zich een context van veranderingen. Een belangrijke les voor de interactie burgeroverheidis dat er geleerd wordt door samen te doen

People from all ethnic backgrounds spend some of their leisure time in green areas. This study found that urban parks are more inclusive green places than non-urban green areas, and that urban parks can promote social cohesion. The objective of the research was to establish the extent to which urban parks facilitate social cohesion and how social interaction and place attachment can contribute to such cohesion. Quantitative research (a survey) and qualitative research (observations and interviews) carried out in five urban parks in the Netherlands revealed that there are many similarities in the ways that ethnic groups use urban parks and in the meanings of such parks to these groups. Urban parks are sites where different ethnic groups mingle and where informal and cursory interactions can stimulate social cohesion. Furthermore, being involved and concerned with parks can facilitate attachment to these places. Urban parks can provide a vital locality where everyday experiences are shared and negotiated with a variety of people. The design of a park, its location and people's image of the park in combination with the cultural characteristics of various ethnic groups inform the opportunities for intercultural interactions.

esearch on attitudes of the general public toward nature conservation often focuses on values, beliefs, or value orientations as separate cognitions. This article argues for a more holistic approach that integrates various attitudinal components into comprehensive frameworks or ¿images of nature.¿ Based on qualitative studies in the Netherlands, five ideal types of images of nature were derived: the wilderness image, the autonomy image, the inclusive image, the aesthetic image, and the functional image, all with different implications for natural resource management. Some images focus on either individualistic or holistic interpretations of the intrinsic value of nature, while others focus more on beautiful landscapes or utilitarian functions. Integrating the pluralism of cognitions into images of nature may help managers to understand conflicts based on diverging opinions on local nature conservation practices. In participatory processes, images of nature may function as sensitizing concepts to facilitate discussions between experts and the general public.

In many European countries, accommodating water has become the dominant paradigm in river management. In the Netherlands, extensive river restoration projects are being implemented, many of which draw serious opposition from the public. To investigate the causes of such opposition, a comprehensive study of public attitudes towards river restoration was conducted in three floodplains, both before and after river restoration. The study combined quantitative questionnaires (N = 562) with open interviews (N = 29). This paper describes how local residents perceive the effects of river restoration on landscape quality and how residents and protest groups use landscape quality in combination with other arguments to strategically frame river management policies. Results show that measurement of the perceived outcomes of nature restoration needs to be complemented by a more dynamic type of research, focusing on the social processes of the framing of restoration plans. Theoretically, the paper aims to contribute to the development of a rigorous research strategy to study framing processes in environmental management, using a mixed-methods approach. In general, local residents are supportive of river restoration projects. Although restoration may diminish feelings of attachment to an area, for most people this negative effect is compensated by the positive effects on scenic beauty and perceived protection from flooding. However, these positive effects may become contested because of the active framing of river restoration by protest groups. Residents use three distinct frames to give meaning to river restoration projects: (i) an attachment frame , focusing on cultural heritage and place attachment (ii) an attractive nature frame , focusing on nature as attractive living space and the intrinsic value of nature (iii) a rurality frame , focusing on rural values, agriculture and cultural heritage. Resistance to river restoration plans stems from the attachment and rurality frames. People using these frames challenge safety arguments for river restoration and highlight potential threats to sense of place and to agriculture. In the areas surveyed, the project initiator's focus on biodiversity and safety did not resonate very well among the local community, because of their diverging views on nature. Practical implications of the study include the need to incorporate public perception into river restoration projects and the potential for project initiators to form strategic alliances with local residents to promote ecological restoration in combination with river restoration.

Given growing interest in the phenomenon of Responsible Investing (RI), both locally and internationally, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the RI sector in South Africa. It focuses on the definition and characteristics of RI within the South African context; the size and nature of the local RI sector and the obstacles which impede on the growth of the local RI sector. Recommendations are made on overcoming these barriers. It is suggested that local institutional investors drive the rebranding of RI in South Africa and that more RI products be developed to cater for the diverse needs of RI investors, both locally and internationally.

Given growing interest in the phenomenon of responsible investing (RI) in South Africa, this study set out to identify and empirically evaluate the most pertinent drivers, barriers and enablers of RI locally. Telephone interviews were conducted with a sample of pension funds, asset managers and advisory service providers during 2007. All three groups of respondents viewed fiduciary responsibility as one of the most important barriers to RI in South Africa. More legislation/regulation and evidence for increased risk-adjusted returns from local RIs were identified as key drivers of RI in South Africa, whereas the two most important enablers were seen as mainstream RI benchmarks and co-operative initiatives.

Lack of public support for, and protest against, biodiversity management measures have often been explained by the apparently inadequate knowledge of biodiversity in the general public. In stark contrast to this assumption of public ignorance, our results from focus group discussions in The Netherlands, Germany and Scotland show that members of the general public use very rich and complex social representations of biodiversity to argue for particular approaches to biodiversity management. Within these representations, we identified important components, such as (i) the functions and benefits associated with biodiversity, (ii) attributes and values connected to nature, and (iii) views on the relationships between humans and nature. Notions within these components varied across individuals and groups and were closely linked to their views on biodiversity management in general and specific management measures in particular. This study illustrates how a better understanding of these representations and their links to public attitudes is crucial to ensure effective communication on biodiversity and to improve public support for biodiversity management.

Participatory planning is becoming increasingly integral to governance. Numerous planning innovations are developed which aim to increase democratic legitimacy and improve decision making. This paper critically reflects on a typical Dutch innovation: the area committee. Based on two individual case studies, we investigate whether area committees realise democratic legitimacy in existing planning practices. Analytically, we focus on four democratic goods: inclusiveness, popular control, considered judgement and transparency. Based on the interdependencies between area committees and government structures we discuss the potential and dilemmas for the area committee to contribute to the democratic legitimacy of environmental policy and rural development.

Immigrants are often described as ‘under-participating’ in non-urban outdoor recreation. Our quantitative study among 1057 young adults of Chinese, Turkish and non-immigrant descent in the Netherlands, however, showed strong differences in outdoor recreational behaviour between and within ethnic groups. Participation frequency, participation rate, group size and motivations strongly varied between ethnic groups. In our study, a similar share of Turkish immigrants and non-immigrants recreated in non-urban greenspace, while half as many Chinese immigrants did so. Respondents of Turkish descent mainly participated in group-based activities and respondents of Chinese descent in individual-based activities. Respondents subjectively perceived their ethnicity but also personal identities, age and, to a lesser extent, gender and religion to influence their outdoor recreational behaviour. Cluster analysis of participants in non-urban outdoor recreation resulted in five recreational types: ‘Nature lovers’, ‘Social animals’, ‘Activity lovers’, ‘Group-based quiet seekers’ and ‘Individual quiet seekers’. These recreational types were correlated with ethnicity, but also with various other socio-demographic variables. We therefore argue that ‘under-participation’ is a misleading term to typify non-urban outdoor recreational behaviour of immigrants, and that multiple identities should be taken into account to understand this behaviour.