prof.dr. AE (Arjen) Buijs

I am Professor of Human-Nature-Relations and Transformative Change at the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy group of Wageningen University. From a sociological perspective, I investigate human-nature relationships and civic engagements for forest and nature conservation in the Global North. I critically assess transformative pathways from inner transformations to collective action and, ultimately, to socio-political impact.

I consider transformative change as deep, structural, and inclusive changes in views, practices and structures that together shape pathways towards more sustainable societies. I am interested in how human-nature relationships can be nurtured to strengthen people’s connections with natural environments (views), how these connections inspire communities to self-organise as citizen collectives to protect biodiversity and natural landscapes (practices), and how these engagements may build agency to drive systemic change in policies and regulations (structures).

Working at the crossroads of science, policy, and society, I explore approaches towards Relational Biodiversity governance to connect biodiversity as a scientific and political concept with the daily experiences of people and their relationships to the natural environment. I am interested in justice impacts of sustainability transitions, and engage with polarisation and socio-political backlash related to conservation and change, including how environmental values and attitudes shape and are shape by conservation policies.

My current projects include the Horizon Europe projects BIOLOGUE (Co-PI) on biodiversity perceptions, polarization, and communication, RELATE4NATURE (WP-Lead), on innovative relational biodiversity transformations, and wildE (Task-lead), on social acceptability of rewilding across 30 European countries. In addition, I participate in projects on urban green governance using a Mosaic Governance approach, including NATURO and Planning with Youth. I coordinate the development of the European Biodiversity Perceptions BAROMETER, the first pan-European database of biodiversity perceptions and attitudes.