Some 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction,
Many of these will be lost within our lifetimes, and it's happening faster than ever before.
We’re well aware that biodiversity provides the foundations for human well-being, supplying us with food, clean water, medicine and materials. Yet we continue to lose species and ecosystems at a staggering pace.
Why? Well, both local actions and global frameworks are to share responsibility, as developed nations outsource deforestation and habitat destruction to less developed ones.
Out of sight, out of mind.
That means efforts to protect biodiversity are doomed to fail unless we reassess the value we assign to it—and raise awareness of the true cost of losing it.
That’s where the EU-funded PLANET4B project comes in. They’re dedicated to understanding the factors that shape how individuals and institutions interact with biodiversity with a view to driving change. By focusing on deep-rooted barriers, they’re pioneering new, participatory approaches that empower communities, businesses, and policymakers to make more just and sustainable choices.
To find out more, we spoke to Project Coordinator Prof. Ilkhom Soliev (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) and Co-Coordinators Prof. Alex Franklin (Coventry University) and Agnes Zolyomi (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg).
What influences the decisions actors make around biodiversity, and what stops them from making “better” choices?
Based on our research, decisions are shaped by a complex web of social, institutional and systemic factors.
What prevents actors, at various - from individual to institutional - levels, from making “better” biodiversity-related choices is a deeper set of structural and cognitive barriers (besides limited awareness and opportunities). These include resistance to change from actors benefiting from the status quo, as well as insufficient access to tailored, actionable knowledge and tools.
Key influences for individuals include intersectional social identities (like gender, age, race, disability and cultural background) which shape how they perceive and engage with biodiversity.
Actors, especially at the higher institutional level where decisions often have more substantial and immediate consequences, are guided not only by policy frameworks but also by power dynamics, economic paradigms and vested interests that prioritise short-term gains, that for example correspond to electoral cycles, over long-term sustainability.
The lack of inclusive participation in decision-making processes further limits the ability to reflect diverse perspectives and local knowledge, often sidelining those most directly affected by the degradation of biodiversity.
We’ve shown that transformative change requires fixes at multiple levels—from deeper leverage points such as values, worldviews and paradigms to institutional design and changing policy or system elements.
Our work points toward co-creative, participatory approaches and systemic alignment as critical strategies for overcoming these barriers and enabling more just and sustainable biodiversity decisions at different levels.
How do factors like gender, culture, religion, etc., shape people’s attitudes and behaviours regarding biodiversity protection?
Our work highlights that biodiversity-related attitudes and behaviours are profoundly shaped by intersecting aspects of social identity, including gender, culture, religion, age, race and disability.
These factors influence how individuals relate to nature, the opportunities they have to engage with it, and the barriers they may face in doing so.
For example, evidence from our studies shows that children with disabilities in Norway (led by OOF and NINA) encounter system-wide obstacles in accessing outdoor spaces.
Ethnic minority communities in Central England (led by Dadima CIC and Coventry University) and Austria (IFZ) often experience exclusion from natural environments due to a mix of cultural, structural, and historical factors.
In Germany, our case study (CGE and MLU) shows that urban youth with migration backgrounds frequently lack access to biodiversity-related decision-making, impacting their sense of environmental responsibility and connectedness.
To address these systemic inequalities, we employ an intersectional, reflexive approach that recognises the diversity of experiences and power dynamics within society. This involves encouraging researchers and practitioners to critically examine their own assumptions and positionalities. Also, using participatory methods to engage diverse communities in co-creating knowledge and solutions.
By embedding inclusion into the design of interventions and decision-making processes, we aim to ensure that biodiversity action is not only ecologically sound but also socially just.
This inclusive strategy helps to build trust, legitimacy, and sustained engagement in biodiversity actions across all sections of society.
What role do businesses and investors play, and how can they be encouraged to make more biodiversity-positive choices?
Businesses and investors play a pivotal role in shaping biodiversity outcomes.
Sectors like agriculture, construction, finance and fashion often contribute to biodiversity loss through unsustainable practices and short-term profit priorities. Financial systems then reinforce this by directing capital to ecologically harmful activities.
Insights from our finance case study (NINA-led) show that, although many investors (although not enough) intend to act sustainably, their decisions are often influenced by cognitive biases. For example, overconfidence, following the crowd instead of thinking independently, and “home bias” (favouring local investments, products, or decisions over foreign alternatives, often ignoring potentially better options abroad). A lack of biodiversity-relevant data is also a factor.
To counter this, both structural and behavioural changes are needed. Improving biodiversity data quality and visibility can reduce uncertainty, while addressing cognitive biases, increasing decision-making diversity and better integrating biodiversity into Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks are essential for more sustainable investment choices.
Furthermore, the transformative pathways for the four additional sectors we’re working in—agriculture (FiBL and ESSRG fashion industry (University of Pisa), trade and education (ESSRG))—emphasise the importance of targeting deeper leverage points—such as intent and design—to facilitate shifts in societal values towards prioritising biodiversity over short-term gains. Nevertheless, our case studies also emphasise the importance of infrastructure, practical choices, and broader structural-institutional environment that can support shifts in societal values in ways that are more just and sustainable.
Which industries or processes have significant impacts on biodiversity and, therefore, potential for change?
We’ve identified several key sectors with significant impacts on biodiversity and strong potential for transformative change.
In agriculture, industrial practices lead to habitat loss and pollution, but revitalising traditional and local seed systems offers a powerful alternative. These decentralised systems are often community-led and stewarded by women and local and Indigenous communities. They can help preserve genetic diversity, support agroecological farming and strengthen community resilience and food sovereignty.
Similarly, the fashion industry’s fast production cycles and wasteful supply chains harm biodiversity and ethical labour practices. But the growing “slow fashion” or zero consumption movement presents a hopeful shift toward reduced production, ethical sourcing, circular design and reduced ecological impact. Shifting cultural norms that emphasise ethical production, quality and sustainability can significantly reduce biodiversity pressures. Crucially, this targets not only surface-level parameters but also challenges dominant production and consumption models and value systems.
Finance, trade, and urban development are also critical. Global trade in commodities like palm oil, soy and textiles often externalises biodiversity loss. So we’re calling for more transparent, fair trade systems that embed ecological safeguards into policies. Shortening supply chains is also key.
In finance, investment decisions are shaped by cognitive biases and limited biodiversity data. We can address these issues through improved awareness and metrics. Also, by integrating data into ESG frameworks. This can help to tackle cognitive bias, increase transparency and promote investor awareness, redirecting capital toward nature-positive practices.
Urban planning also offers further leverage through inclusive, nature-based solutions.
Across all sectors, we need to shift values, empower communities and redesign decision-making systems to support positive and lasting outcomes for biodiversity and people. The most impactful leverage points are those that include shifts in the underlying goals, narratives and decision-making processes supported by practical and situated solutions—paving the way for more inclusive, just, and lasting transformations.
What’s the role of communities, education systems or similar in protecting biodiversity?
Education systems and community groups are central to fostering biodiversity protection by nurturing environmental awareness and stewardship from an early age.
We highlight the transformative potential of experiential learning methods, such as school gardens, interactive biodiversity lessons and participatory theatre. For instance, school gardens serve not only as educational tools but also as community-building spaces, enhancing students' cognitive skills, deepening their connection with nature and fostering potentially long-term behavioural change.
Hands-on experiences encourage students to appreciate the complexity of ecosystems and the importance of biodiversity. However, systemic challenges, including rigid curricula and limited policy support, can hinder the widespread adoption of innovative approaches.
Community groups complement formal education by providing non-formal learning opportunities that engage individuals across different age groups and social backgrounds. Activities like community gardening, nature walks and biodiversity-themed games facilitate experiential learning and foster a sense of collective responsibility towards the environment.
For example, our Learning Communities employ creative methods like our Pathbreak: A Biodiversity-Food-Governance Game to simulate real-world decision-making scenarios. This enhances participants' understanding of the interconnectedness between human actions and biodiversity outcomes. Such initiatives further empower communities to take proactive roles in biodiversity conservation, bridging the gap between knowledge and action.
How are you helping to promote change in your learning communities and wider society?
We combine systems thinking with participatory and reflexive approaches that engage actors at individual, community, and institutional levels in context-sensitive, situated ways.
Across our case studies, we use co-creative methods—such as photo elicitation, participatory filmmaking, serious games and participatory theatre—to make biodiversity decision-making more inclusive and accessible. These tools don’t just raise awareness, but they actively involve people in exploring the values, social norms and trade-offs embedded in their everyday behaviours and often intransparent policy-making processes.
We're turning these creative methods into engaging, user-friendly resources—think interactive online method cards, practical guidelines, MOOCs (coming soon here!), and vibrant educational materials for high school and university students, available in three languages.
But we’re not stopping there: we’re also tailoring targeted tools for policy-makers and businesses, making it easy for them to apply these approaches in real-world decision-making and strategic planning.
And the change is already happening. We’re seeing ripple effects in the 200+ researchers and learning community members who are directly involved in PLANET4B. They themselves are questioning many assumptions taken for granted before, mobilising communities and resources for policy change in specific locations and at different scales, and are also embracing new practices like composting, shifting food choices and deepening their appreciation for biodiversity.
We’re also seeing new communities form around shared values, and organisations forging new partnerships, launching collaborative projects, and securing funding for nature-positive action.
These seeds of transformation are only growing!
So what’s next?
PLANET4B will conclude in October 2025. Our final event will be on September 11, 2025, in Brussels. There, we’ll showcase stories of transformative change, societal impacts and the most promising methods for triggering transformative change.
While PLANET4B is coming to an end, though, our legacy continues: Largely building on our outcomes, the DAISY follow-up project will take the next step by designing and testing intervention mixes that blend classical regulatory and economic tools with creative methods and social and digital innovations, aiming to scale up transformation for biodiversity and society.
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