Country-level factors in a failing relationship with nature: Nature connectedness as a key metric for a sustainable future

Author(s): Miles Richardson, Iain Hamlin, Lewis R. Elliott, Mathew P. White
Abstract: Climate change and biodiversity loss show that the human–nature relationship is failing. That relationship can be measured through the construct of nature connectedness which is a key factor in pro-environmental behaviours and mental well-being. Country-level indicators of extinction of nature experience, consumption and commerce, use and control of nature and negativistic factors were selected. An exploratory analysis of the relationship between these metrics and nature connectedness across adult samples from 14 European countries was conducted (n = 14,745 respondents). The analysis provides insight into how affluence, technology and consumption are associated with the human–nature relationship. These findings motivate a comparison of how nature connectedness and composite indicators of prosperity, progress, development, and sustainability relate to indicators of human and nature’s well-being. In comparison to composite indexes, it is proposed that nature connectedness is a critical indicator of human and nature’s well-being needed to inform the transition to a sustainable future.
Organisation(s): Vienna Cognitive Science Hub
External organisation(s): University of Derby, University of Exeter
Journal: Ambio: a journal of the human environment
Volume: 51
Pages: 2201-2213
No. of pages: 13
ISSN: 0044-7447
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01744-w
Publication date: 05-2022
Peer reviewed: Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012: 501001 General psychology
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Geography, Planning and Development, Ecology, Environmental Chemistry
Portal url: https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/countrylevel-factors-in-a-failing-relationship-with-nature-nature-connectedness-as-a-key-metric-for-a-sustainable-future(c58673a2-9579-44d3-88bb-a7382dc01e4b).html