Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Reports
DOI 10.57699/7s83-7z35
Licence creative commons licence
Document publication document
Title (Primary) Transformative change for a sustainable management of global commons — biodiversity, forests and the ocean. Recommendations for international cooperation based on a review of global assessment reports and project experience
Author Wittmer, H. ORCID logo ; Berghöfer, A.; Büttner, L.; Chakrabarty, R.; Förster, J.; Khan, S.; König, C.; Krause, G.; Kreuer, D.; Locher-Krause, K.; Moreno Soares, T.; Muñoz Escobar, M.; Neumann, M.; Renner, I.; Rode, J. ORCID logo ; Schniewind, I.; Schwarzer, D.; Tröger, U. ORCID logo ; Zinngrebe, Y.; Spiering, S. ORCID logo
Source Titel UFZ Report
Year 2021
Department NSF; UPOL
Volume 3/2021
Page To 154
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords sustainable development; biodiversity; forests; the ocean; ecosystems; transformative change; SDGs; sustainability goals; global assessments; global commons; sustainability transformation; policy measures; German Development cooperation; governance
Abstract Global scientific assessments increasingly reach the conclusion that transformative change of global production and consumption systems is necessary to safeguard and maintain global commons, such as biodiversity, natural forests and the ocean, and to stabilise climate at the global scale. Against this background the present study analyses the conclusions of global assessments and derives recommendations on how to increase the transformative potential of international negotiations and agreements as well as development cooperation programs, projects, and initiatives. The study develops a conceptual framework building on the academic literature and argues that interventions are much more likely to achieve transformation to sustainability if they are embedded within a more comprehensive framing of transformative change consisting of 1. a compelling transformative vision, 2. knowledge on systemic change, 3. navigation of the dynamics inherent in changing development pathways, and 4. emancipated agency providing room for inclusive deliberation and 5. combine transformative modes of governance. The study identifies core challenges and gaps for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity in general and for forests and the ocean by (i) examining the recommendations from global assessments and reports on the state of nature and the environment, and (ii) by analysing international cooperation projects for biodiversity, forests and the ocean with regard to their transformative potential. Finally, the study provides recommendations on how Germany can support transformation in the context of international and development cooperation.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25945
Wittmer, H., Berghöfer, A., Büttner, L., Chakrabarty, R., Förster, J., Khan, S., König, C., Krause, G., Kreuer, D., Locher-Krause, K., Moreno Soares, T., Muñoz Escobar, M., Neumann, M., Renner, I., Rode, J., Schniewind, I., Schwarzer, D., Tröger, U., Zinngrebe, Y., Spiering, S. (2021):
Transformative change for a sustainable management of global commons — biodiversity, forests and the ocean. Recommendations for international cooperation based on a review of global assessment reports and project experience
UFZ Report 3/2021
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, 154 pp. 10.57699/7s83-7z35