Open AccessBiocultural approaches to sustainability: A systematic review of the scientific literature
Author(s) -
Hanspach Jan,
Jamila Haider Lisbeth,
OterosRozas Elisa,
Stahl Olafsson Anton,
Gulsrud Natalie M.,
Raymond Christopher M.,
Torralba Mario,
MartínLópez Berta,
Bieling Claudia,
GarcíaMartín María,
Albert Christian,
Beery Thomas H.,
Fagerholm Nora,
DíazReviriego Isabel,
DrewsShambroom Annika,
Plieninger Tobias
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
people and nature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2575-8314
DOI - 10.1002/pan3.10120
Subject(s) - sustainability , transdisciplinarity , sustainability science , sociology , engineering ethics , management science , scientific literature , epistemology , social sustainability , social science , ecology , engineering , philosophy , biology , paleontology
Current sustainability challenges demand approaches that acknowledge a plurality of human–nature interactions and worldviews, for which biocultural approaches are considered appropriate and timely. This systematic review analyses the application of biocultural approaches to sustainability in scientific journal articles published between 1990 and 2018 through a mixed methods approach combining qualitative content analysis and quantitative multivariate methods. The study identifies seven distinct biocultural lenses, that is, different ways of understanding and applying biocultural approaches, which to different degrees consider the key aspects of sustainability science—inter‐ and transdisciplinarity, social justice and normativity. The review suggests that biocultural approaches in sustainability science need to move from describing how nature and culture are co‐produced to co‐producing knowledge for sustainability solutions, and in so doing, better account for questions of power, gender and transformations, which has been largely neglected thus far. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.