Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Multiscale scenarios for nature futures

Targets for human development are increasingly connected with targets for nature, however, existing scenarios do not explicitly address this relationship. Here, we outline a strategy to generate scenarios centred on our relationship with nature to inform decision-making at multiple scales.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Strategy to develop the next generation of biodiversity and ecosystem services scenarios supporting the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Fig. 2: Constructing multiscale, multisectoral visions for nature futures.

References

  1. Ferrier, S. et al. (eds) The Methodological Assessment Report on Scenarios and Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2016). 

  2. Pereira, H. M. et al. Science 330, 1496–1501 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kok, M. T. et al. Sustain. Sci. 12, 177–181 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Moss, R. H. et al. Nature 463, 747–756 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Alcamo, J., van Vuuren, D. & Ringer, C. in Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Scenarios Vol. 2 (eds Carpenter, S. R., Prabhu, L. P., Bennet, E. M. & Zurek, M. B.) 147–172 (Island Press, 2005).

  6. van Vuuren, D. P. & Carter, T. R. Clim. Change 122, 415–429 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. van Zeijts, H. et al. European Nature In The Plural: Finding Common Ground For A Next Policy Agenda (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2017).

  8. Kok, M. et al. How Sectors Can Contribute To Sustainable Use And Conservation Of Biodiversity CBD Technical Report No. 79 (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2014).

  9. Ferguson, B. C., Frantzeskaki, N. & Brown, R. R. Landsc. Urban Plan. 117, 32–45 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Isbell, F. et al. Nature 477, 199–202 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Harrison, P. et al. Ecosyst. Serv. 9, 191–203 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Civantos, E., Thuiller, W., Maiorano, L., Guisan, A. & Araújo, M. B. BioScience 62, 658–666 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. van der Sande, M. T. et al. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 26, 69–76 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Rieb, J. et al. BioScience (in the press).

  15. Bauch, C. T., Sigdel, R., Pharaon, J. & Anand, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 14560–14567 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. An, L. Ecol. Model. 229, 25–36 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Pecl, G. T. et al. Science 355, 6332 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Leadley, P. et al. BioScience 64, 665–679 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

These recommendations emerged from a workshop held at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), in Leipzig, between 3 and 6 October 2016, organized and funded by the Technical Support Unit on Scenarios and Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of IPBES Deliverable 3c, and iDiv. I.M.D.R. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 703862.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

I.M.D.R. and H.M.P. wrote the paper with input from all co-authors. All co-authors were participants in the workshop, and provided comments and revisions to the manuscript. Note that the author list, after the fourth author, is in alphabetic order by authors’ surname.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Isabel M. D. Rosa or Henrique M. Pereira.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rosa, I.M.D., Pereira, H.M., Ferrier, S. et al. Multiscale scenarios for nature futures. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 1416–1419 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0273-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0273-9

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing