Strengthening the link between humans and natural ecosystems as a pathway for improving human health and biodiversity worldwide – BIOLINK

A combination of several methodologies from Barragan-Jason’s different disciplines of expertise and the expertise of the consortium will be used to achieve the three objectives which corresponds to the three following Work Packages (WPs). In WP1, a cross-cultural questionnaire to measure well- being, HNC, perception of nature and pro-environmental behaviors will be developed and validated by an interdisciplinary consortium of researchers built by Barragan-Jason, then distributed by panelists specializing in the distribution of surveys and local collaborators, to children, adolescents and adults in 20 countries and 5 traditional populations. This will enable us to target the factors that promote human health and well-being, as well as the adoption of PEBs. Characterizing cultural and developmental variations will enable us to refine the implementation and analysis of interventions aimed at improving HNC and human health in WP2. In WP2, a meta-analytical approach followed by a randomized controlled trial approach will enable us to gain unprecedented insights into the causal determinants of HNC, PEBs and human health and insights to increase and maintain them across the lifespan in one country from the Global North (France) and one country from the Global South (Colombia). The results of the two first WPs will be used in WP3 to disseminate efficient tools and practices, through the academic and extra- academic collaborators involved, to citizens, governmental and non-governmental organizations worldwide.

WP1: Large-scale Survey on Human-Nature Connectedness

WP1 focuses on a comprehensive survey aimed at exploring cultural and developmental influences on Human-Nature Connectedness (HNC), human health, and Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) across approximately 20 countries and 5 traditional populations. The primary objectives include identifying developmental variations in HNC, examining cultural norms and values that enhance HNC, and assessing HNC’s role in sustainability. This observational study will help characterize the social and environmental factors that foster HNC and PEB among both children and adults. Understanding these variations will inform interventions aimed at improving HNC and human health in WP2.

WP2: Behavioral Interventions Study

WP2 is designed to establish a causal link between HNC and increases in PEB and well-being. Given the lack of experimental studies in this area, WP2 aims to identify factors that enhance HNC and improve human and environmental health through targeted behavioral interventions in France and Colombia. This WP is divided into two sub-components:

WP2.1 will investigate the causal relationship between HNC enhancement and improvements in human well-being and environmental protection. It will identify effective interventions through a meta-experimental approach involving national and international collaborations.
WP2.2 will employ randomized controlled trials to rigorously test the behavioral interventions identified as most effective in WP2.1. The findings from WP2 will inform WP3’s dissemination efforts.
WP3: Promoting Environmental Awareness and Public Policies

WP3 leverages insights from WP1 and WP2 to enhance public awareness and influence policy. The findings from these earlier phases will provide valuable knowledge for governmental and non-governmental organizations, including UNESCO and OECD. Efforts will focus on training educators and parents on effective interventions to foster HNC in children. To facilitate this, WP3 will produce educational materials (videos, brochures) and create interactive tools for data visualization. Additionally, webinars will be organized to engage citizens and a web platform will be developed to evaluate new initiatives and empower community action.

In summary, the project spans three work packages aimed at understanding and enhancing Human-Nature Connectedness through extensive surveys, behavioral interventions, and strategic dissemination of findings to foster public engagement and policy development for a sustainable future.

BIOLINK will constitute an unprecedented breakthrough in the study of the human-nature relationship across lifetime and societies, and will provide unprecedented knowledge that will be widely published in high-impact journals as it fills critical gaps with important environmental, ecological, educational, ethical, political and societal implications. The interdisciplinary BIOLINK project will provide a scientific validation for simple, low-cost solutions to change our relationship with living beings, mitigate biodiversity loss and limit global warming while increasing human well- being. This project will seek to improve the effectiveness of environmental and educational policies. BIOLINK will also establish genuine communication between scientists, educators, teachers and political decision-makers, in order to offer citizens and governments sustainable, low-cost, but efficient, nature-based solutions that can be implemented on a global scale. The BIOLINK dissemination, exploitation of the results and communication activities are designed to raise awareness on the project’s outputs to all relevant scientific and stakeholder groups (WP3). Those activities are tailored to the needs of various audiences, and this strategy will ensure that the general public will benefit from the project outputs and is well informed of them.

Results will be presented at meetings in experimental economics conferences (ASFEE, ESA), in psychology (SRCD, CDS APA) and ecology (BES, ESA, SFEE). This project will also lead to the publication of several high-quality scientific articles in international generalist (e.g., Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Sustainability, PLoS One, PNAS), and specialist journals with high impact (Conservation Letters, Biological Conservation, Proceedings B, The Lancet, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Experimental Economics, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Developmental Psychology) in which the project leaders and the consortium of collaborators have already published.

Despite the international agreements to preserve biodiversity and the climate, the effectiveness of actions taken by governments remains limited since sustainable targets have not been met. How can we reverse the trend? Through a recent meta-analysis of 206 studies, we showed that the extent to which people see themselves as part of nature - known as the Human-Nature Connectedness (HNC) - is a promising lever for developing a sustainable relationship between humans and natural ecosystems, since it is positively linked to human and ecosystem health (Barragan-Jason et al., 2021, 2022). The aim of the present project is to better understand in what socio-cultural context and at what age, this lever could lead to an efficient and transformative behavioral change We will study the inter- and intra-cultural variations and developmental trajectory of HNC, the practices that influence it and their consequences for human and ecosystem health. The results of this work will enable the development, validation and dissemination of effective programs, practices and tools for communities and governmental and non-governmental organizations. At the frontiers between psychology, health, ecology, conservation and computer sciences, this interdisciplinary project will help us to understand the causes and consequences of HNC, and thus to determine and validate the effectiveness of simple nature-based solutions for conserving life while improving human health and well-being on a global scale.