Transformative change for a just and sustainable future
When local communities know more than scientists
For most of my conservation career, I have worked with communities living in some of the highest and most remote locations of the Himalayan region. This has allowed me to experience stunning landscapes and unique cultures. It has also given me insights into how Indigenous Peoples and local communities govern their resources, especially in the relative ‘absence’ of public officials.
During a forest inventory trip to farwestern Nepal in 2014, I was part of a team collaborating with youth from the local Paripaatal community forest. Chandra Thagunna was one of four youth engaged in our team. We were the only two women in our group. Her knowledge of the forest left me and other team members in awe. She could name five varieties of oak trees in the forest while the men and us scientists had names for only two; and she could confidently tell us the use and benefit of every plant in the forest!
A decade earlier, the forest that we were inventorying had been on the verge of irreversible damage due to over-grazing and unchecked fuelwood extraction. But the women of Thagunna’s village had rallied together, registered the community forest and banned livestock grazing inside the forest area, allowing it to regenerate and ultimately flourish. Little surprise then that she had such a close affinity with the forest.
Transforming forestry
In Nepal, community forestry, where local communities manage, protect and sustainably use their forest resources, has collectively brought about transformative change. It has been attributed to nearly doubling the country’s forest cover from 26 per cent to 45 per cent over a period of 25 years (1992–2016).
The shift of authority to manage forests from government to communities has ensured a stronger connection between local communities and their forests. Community forests are managed for long-term, rather than immediate, benefits. This is one of many ways in which community forestry ensures that forests provide ecosystem services in a sustainable manner.
Defining transformative change
Today, as the world faces a multitude of crises – biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution and social inequalities, there are many calls for going beyond business-as-usual and achieving ‘transformative change’.
Notable among these are the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Sixth Assessment Report , and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in its two global assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services and values and valuation of nature .
I was privileged to be one of over 100 scientists from 42 countries brought together by IPBES to determine what transformative change is and to identify strategies for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity .
Between 2022 to 2024, this team collaborated on a process that engaged authors with diverse expertise, drew on a range of knowledge systems – including Indigenous and local knowledge – and underwent intensive government and stakeholder review to define transformative change and see how it can be achieved for a just and sustainable future.
We define transformative change as “fundamental, system-wide shifts in views – ways of thinking, knowing and seeing; structures – ways of organizing, governing and regulating; and practices – ways of doing, behaving and relating”. We note that “deliberate transformative change for a just and sustainable world shifts views, structures and practices in ways that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline”.
We have identified three underlying causes: 1) disconnection of people from nature and domination over nature and other people, 2) concentration of power and wealth, and 3) prioritization of short-term individual and material gains. And we have outlined the four key principles that can address these underlying causes: equity and justice, pluralism and inclusion, respectful and reciprocal human-nature relationships, and adaptive learning and action.
Community forestry through the lens of transformative change
Community forestry has experienced fundamental shifts in views – in the ways both the local communities and the government perceive forests; structures – shifting power from the government to the communities; and practices – with communities patrolling, managing and sustainably using forest resources.
Community forestry has facilitated communities to better connect with their forests and to sustainably plan forest use for the long-term, especially when ‘power’ over the forests was no longer with government officials. Benefits from community forestry are shared equitably across households regardless of social or economic rank. Meanwhile, the political, social and environmental contexts of community forestry are continually changing, and there are opportunities to adaptively learn and act in response to these changes.
Through our work in community forestry and social forestry, RECOFTC is already working to achieve transformative change for a just and sustainable future for Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This is true for the Southeast Asian region as well as Nepal.
Our core values – innovation, adaptive learning, commitment and responsibility, collaboration, sustainability, gender equality and social inclusion, and wellbeing – align with the key principles of transformative change. As we move forward, we remain committed to addressing the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline. This will be essential to achieving lasting biodiversity and sustainable development outcomes for people and the planet.
Note: The advance unedited version of the Summary for Policymakers of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment, which was approved at the IPBES 11 th Plenary session from 10–16 December 2024, can be found here .
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Janita Gurung is Programme Lead, Governance and Rights, at RECOFTC and co-led Chapter 1 of the Transformative Change Assessment.
RECOFTC’s work is made possible with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Government of Sweden.