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This paper explores the role of trust in mosaic governance (MG) and is based on in-depth case studies in three municipalities with green volunteers and municipal planners in three municipalities in Denmark. MG refers to a normative governance design focused at stimulating the reflexive co-creation and management of natural areas. Results show that trust is crucial for successful collaboration between municipalities and green volunteers, and hence the unfolding of MG. Municipalities with higher levels of volunteer engagement report greater trust between volunteers and public officials. We show how different kinds of trust (institutional, procedural, rational, and affinitive) influence how collaborations are organized, and how the institutional context influences the possibilities for green volunteer engagement. Trust comes into play in different places and phases of MG and can be said to be the lubricant of MG.

The unprecedented growth of metropolitan areas creates challenges for maintaining liveable and biodiverse cities. Urban areas face multiple demands on sparse space whilst various stakeholders similarly aim to promote greening efforts. In this context, authorities need to balance various policy objectives with demands from diverse urban stakeholders. Part of this challenge is the question how generalized data-driven green space planning approaches can be connected to local, contextualized understandings, practices and values related to green space.In this paper, we present a participative application of GIS that contributes to bridging the gap between data-driven and citizen-centred approaches in urban greening. Through an empirical study in Amsterdam, we show how this can link local priorities with larger-scale policy frameworks through deliberative and data-driven co-creation. In our case study, local stakeholders and researchers jointly identified criteria for greening, translated these into indicators and eventually identified potential locations for small-scale greening. Site visits by local experts helped to validate the model results and translate this into concrete plans for greening several locations.Our approach promoted a dialogue between stakeholders, linking spatial data with practical experiences and aligning local priorities with policy programmes. Combining various knowledges from involved stakeholders also contributed to the quality of analysis and validation of modelling results. By increasing transparency and inclusiveness of planning, it also contributed to acceptance of process outcomes and empowering local stakeholders. With increasing urgencies for environmental measures in many cities, we emphasize the potential of transdisciplinary GIS-approaches to navigate different interests and integrate various types of valuable knowledge. We suggest that similar approaches may be applied to other environmental challenges that have a strong spatial chara

23 mei 2023, Contains fulltext : 292927.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

The last decade has seen a profound increase in the development of assessment frameworks for ecosystem services, green infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NBS). This has improved understanding of NBS impact assessment, including processual aspects related to participatory planning and governance. We argue that, although representing a move in the right direction, NBS assessment frameworks would benefit from a broader framing of governance, including the role of government-led laws, policies and regulations along with community-led and collaborative multi-stakeholder initiatives. The consideration of marginalised communities and environmental justice should also be strengthened. To ensure a feasible and comprehensive approach to NBS governance assessment, we carried out a systematic literature review on the topic of urban NBS governance. Using thematic analysis, we developed a framework of five themes encompassing nine governance dimensions, of which some are further broken down into sub-dimensions. To assess the different NBS governance dimensions, we developed a tool in the format of a survey for urban decision-makers and other stakeholders, encompassing nine urban NBS governance indicators corresponding with the identified dimensions. Further to complementing NBS governance assessment approaches in important ways, we were able to highlight knowledge gaps around integrating features of the planning process and community-based or traditional knowledge. Our tool for monitoring urban NBS governance is simple to use and provides cities with a low-cost and comprehensive approach for monitoring and evaluating their readiness for mainstreaming NBS.

The human relationship with nature is a topic that has been explored throughout human history. More recently, the idea of connection to nature has merged as an important transdisciplinary field of study. Despite increased scholarly attention to connection to nature, the notion of disconnection from nature remains undertheorized and understudied.In this perspective article, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of disconnection from nature to strengthen theories of human-nature relationships that goes beyond individual relationships and considers social and collective factors of disconnection, including institutional, socio-cultural and power dimensions.Drawing on case insights, we present the ‘wheel of disconnection’ to illustrate how disconnections from nature manifest across individual or societal meaning-making processes, thereby problematizing existing research that seeks to create dualisms between human positive and negative impacts on the environment in isolation from cultural or political contexts.We do not seek to discount research or important practical efforts to foster an individual's connection to nature by elevating disconnection. Instead, we hope that creating greater awareness and understanding of disconnection will be able to guide opportunities going forward for strengthening a connection to nature along a continuum from the individual to the social.

This report analyses co-creation and co-governance approaches for Nature Based Solutions (NBS). Each project represents different ways in co-designing, co-developing, co-implementing and co-monitoring NBS that are being deployed in diverse European contexts. The analysis presents best practices regarding the co-creation of NBS at its different stages, phases and scales. It provides guidelines for researchers, practitioners and other experts that are researching, implementing and/or evaluating territorial processes that prioritise and advocate for inclusive and nature-based approaches.

Europe has a rich diversity of landscapes because of differences in biophysical conditions, land use practices and cultures. Immigration brings new people from other cultures to the continent, with different preferences regarding the landscape they live in. Because of these and other differences cultural minorities may lack access to landscape use and planning. We explore this problem and discuss what the case of cultural minorities in the Netherlands can tell us about inclusion of vulnerable groups in landscape use and planning.

06 april 2021, Item does not contain fulltext

Item does not contain fulltext

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”.

Contains fulltext : 228629.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)

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.

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.

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 up inspiration by nature as 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.

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., 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.

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.

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.

BackgroundThe role of authorities in green space decision-making and management is increasingly supplemented with activities from citizens. Research has shown how citizens across Europe nowadays engage in a wide variety of practices to accomplish their green space-related objectives. In this way, citizens contribute to the management of protected natural areas, rural landscapes and urban green spaces.The current focus on active citizenship in green space governance brings about important debates. This includes discussions about how to best govern and protect our green spaces. There are also democratic debates about the roles and responsibilities of different actors in green space governance. While citizens potentially contribute towards the realization of public policy, their objectives can also clash with the formal responsibilities and preferences of authorities. There might also be tensions between and inequalities among citizens.Thesis aims and research questionsThis PhD-project specifically focuses on forms of governance in which active citizens play a leading role in realizing, protecting and/or managing public green space. The main research aim is to contribute to scientific and societal debates on active citizenship in green space by studying its relevance for the governance, management and protection of green space. For this purpose, four main research questions have been formulated to address four main knowledge gaps regarding the involvement of active citizens in green space governance:What are the overall scope and key characteristics of active citizenship in green space governance?What are the benefits and co-benefits of different types of active citizenship in green space governance?What factors contribute to or constrain the long-term continuity of active citizenship in green space governance?How can the transformative potential of active citizenship in green space governance be understood?Research approachThis PhD-research focuses on the study of dai

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’.

Programma Nieuwe Natuur Provinciale Staten van Flevoland vroegen op 20 maart 2013 in een motie Gedeputeerde Staten de robuuste verbindingsfunctie van het Oostvaarderswold los te laten als provinciale inzet en in plaats daarvan in te zetten op het realiseren natuurontwikkeling dichtbij grotere stedelijke concentraties. Daarvoor stelden GS een plan van aanpak Nieuwe Natuur op dat op 3 juli 2013 aan Provinciale Staten is gepresenteerd. Het uitgangspunt van het programma is dat initiatiefnemers, zoals ondernemers, bewoners, terreinbeherende organisaties en gemeenten, worden uitgenodigd plannen voor de ontwikkeling van nieuwe natuur in aan de provincie Flevoland voor te leggen. De sturingsfilosofie van het programma wordt gekenmerkt door een bottom-up proces waarin private partijen ideeën over natuurontwikkeling aandragen en realiseren en een publieke taak uitoefenen. Begin 2014 konden initiatiefnemers een projectidee indienen. Na een ideeënmarkt, werden de ingediende projectideeën beoordeeld door een aantal extern deskundigen. Deze fase wordt aangeduid als ‘zeef I’. Een deel van de ideeën werden als niet passend binnen het programma beoordeeld. De resterende projectideeën zijn vervolgens verder uitgewerkt tot een volwaardig projectvoorstel. De nader uitgewerkte projectideeën zijn opnieuw ingediend en aan de hand van een meetlat met twaalf criteria beoordeeld. De fase van verdere planuitwerking en de beoordeling langs de meetlat wordt aangeduid als ‘zeef II’. Op 14 december 2014 zijn in een besluit van Provinciale Staten de definitieve projecten toegewezen die binnen het programma kunnen worden ontwikkeld, waarvan een aantal afzonderlijke projecten geclusterd zijn samengebracht door de provincie. In dit besluit zijn een aantal projectvoorstellen door de Staten gekoppeld (de zgn, ‘ketting en kralen’) Evaluatie Naar aanleiding van de ‘Tussenbalans programma Nieuwe Natuur’ hebben Provinciale Staten op 24 januari 2018 besloten tot de evaluatie van het programma Nieuwe Natuur

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.

Het woord burgerinitiatief duikt steedsvaker op. Actieve burgers wachten niettot de overheid iets voor hen doet, maarnemen zelf het heft in handen als zegroen willen verbeteren of onderhouden.Tegelijkertijd is de vraag naar een bijdragevanuit de participatiesamenleving terugte zien bij terreinbeherende organisaties,provincies en het ministerie vanEconomische Zaken. De verwachtingenover de bijdrage van georganiseerdeburgers aan natuur, bos en landschap zijnsoms hooggespannen. Maar is dat welrealistisch? Wij beschrijven in dit artikelde effecten die groene burgerinitiatievenhebben en reflecteren op wat datbetekent voor het natuurbeheer inNederland.