Perceptions of biodiversity and related concepts. Report No D1.1 of the Horizon Europe Project 101082212 – PLANET4B

1.1.5
2
PLANET4B ecei es unding om he Eu opean Union’s Ho izon Eu ope
esea ch and inno a ion p og amme unde g an ag eemen No 101082212.
This p ojec is unded by UK Resea ch and Inno a ion (UKRI) unde he UK
go e nmen ’s Ho izon Eu ope unding gua an ee.
This wo k has ecei ed unding om he Swiss S a e Sec e a ia o Educa ion,
Resea ch and Inno a ion (SERI).
Views and opinions a e o hose o he au ho s only and do no necessa ily
e lec hose o he Eu opean Union, Eu opean Commission, he go e nmen o
he Uni ed Kingdom, o he go e nmen o Swi ze land. The Eu opean Union,
he Eu opean Commission, he go e nmen o he Uni ed Kingdom, o he
go e nmen o Swi ze land canno be held esponsible o hem.
iii
Key deli e able in o ma ion
Deli e able numbe
D1.1
Deli e able i le
Pe cep ions o biodi e si y and ela ed concep s
Task leade
Resea ch Ins i u e o O ganic Ag icul u e (FiBL)
Co esponding au ho
Mi jam Schlei e
Dissemina ion le el
Public
S a us
Final
Deli e able desc ip ion
This epo is he esul o a sys ema ic analysis o ecen academic and g ey li e a u e, including images
and pos e s, and p in and digi al media, and iden i ies he ela ionships be ween di e en social g oups’
wo ld iews, alues, ideologies, poli ics hei discou ses on biodi e si y, i s communica ion and achie ed
impac s.
Ve sion
S a us
Da e
Au ho s/Re iewe s
0.1
D a
19/04/2023
Au ho s: Mi jam Schlei e (FiBL); Ba ba a Smi h (CU);
Rebekka F ick (FiBL); Yennie B edin (NINA); Ghezal Sabi
(FiBL); Donna Udall (CU); Gyö gy Pa aki (ESSRG); G ania
Cooke; F ode Singsaas (NINA); Ilkhom Solie (MLU);
Ca men Cze (ESSRG); Ma a Bone i (UNIPI); Ma eo
Villa (UNIPI); Linda Fi zka (IFZ); Blanka Loučko á (CG);
Vinícius Mendes (RU); Robe Home (FiBL)
0.2
D a
21/04/2023
Re iewe s: Alex F anklin (CU); Agnes Zolyomi
0.3
D a
26/04/2023
Au ho s: Mi jam Schlei e (FiBL); Ba ba a Smi h (CU);
Rebekka F ick (FiBL); Yennie B edin (NINA); Ghezal Sabi
(FiBL); Donna Udall (CU); Gyö gy Pa aki (ESSRG); G ania
P ojec ac onym
PLANET4B
P ojec i le
unde s anding Plu al alues, in e sec ionali y, Le e age poin s,
A i udes, No ms, beha iou and social lEa ning in T ans o ma ion o
Biodi e si y decision making
S a ing da e
01s No embe 2022
Du a ion
36 mon hs
Websi e
h ps://plane 4b.eu/
P ojec coo dina ion and
scien i ic lead eam
Ilkhom Solie ; Alex F anklin; Agnes Zolyomi; To s en Wähle
i
Cooke; F ode Singsaas (NINA); Ilkhom Solie (MLU);
Ca men Cze (ESSRG); Ma a Bone i (UNIPI); Ma eo
Villa (UNIPI); Linda Fi zka (IFZ); Blanka Loučko á (CG);
Vinícius Mendes (RU); Robe Home (FiBL)
0.4
D a
28/04/2023
Re iewe s: Alex F anklin (CU); Agnes Zolyomi
1.0
Final
30/04/2023
Re iewe : To s en Wähle (MLU)
Con ibu o s o ac ion/in e en ion di ec ly leading o his deli e able
Alex F anklin (CU); Sebas ien Kaye; To s en Wähle (MLU); Agnes Zolyomi
Recommended ci a ion
Schlei e , M., Smi h, B., F ick, R., B edin, Y., Sabi , G.,
Udall, D., Pa aki, G., Cooke, G., Singsaas, F.,
Solie , I., Cze , C., Bone i, M., Villa, M., Fi zka, L., Loučko á, B., Mendes, V., & Home, R. (2023).
Pe cep ions o biodi e si y and ela ed concep s. Repo No D1.1 o he Ho izon Eu ope P ojec
101082212 – PLANET4B. B ussels: Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e Agency.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14865522
Righ s and license
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License. The C ea i e
Commons A ibu ion license allows e-dis ibu ion and e-use o a licensed wo k on he condi ion ha
he c ea o is app op ia ely c edi ed. Read mo e.
Acknowledgemen s
We would like o hank all PLANET4B pa ne s o hei suppo and con ibu ion o his
ask. Thei knowledge o he local si ua ion in each pa ne coun y was in aluable o
collec ing he ma e ials and o alida ing he indings.
Lis o abb e ia ions and ac onyms
Ac onym
De ini ion
AT
Aus ia
CG
CzechGlobe – Global Change Resea ch Ins i u e o he Czech Academy o Sciences
CH
Swi ze land
CU
Uni e si y o Co en y
DHA
Discou se His o ical Analysis
ESSRG
En i onmen al Social Science Resea ch G oup
FAZ
F ank u e Allgemeine Zei ung
FDP
F eisinnig-Demok a ische Pa ei
FiBL
Resea ch Ins i u e o O ganic Ag icul u e
FPÖ
F eihei liche Pa ei Ös e eichs
FT
Financial Times
HN
Hospoda ske no iny
IFZ
In e disciplina y Resea ch Cen e o Technology, Wo k and Cul u e
IT
I aly
MDG
Miljøpa ie de G ønne
MLU
Ma in Lu he Uni e si y o Halle-Wi enbe g
M5S
Mo imen o 5 S elle
NGO
Non-go e nmen al o ganisa ion
NINA
No wegian Ins i u e o Na u e Resea ch
NO
No way
NZZ
Neue Zü che Zei ung
ÖVP
Ös e eichische Volkspa ei
RSPB
Royal Socie y o he P o ec ion o Bi ds
RU
Radboud Uni e si y
SLS
S i ung Landscha sschu z Schweiz
SP
Sozialdemok a ische Pa ei de Schweiz
SPÖ
Sozialdemok a ische Pa ei Ös e eichs
SVP
Schweize ische Volkspa ei
SZ
Süddeu sche Zei ung
TA
Tages Anzeige
UNIPI
Uni e si y o Pisa
WBSCD
Wo ld Business Concil o Sus ainable De elopmen
WEF
Wo ld Economic Fo um
WWF
Wo ld Wide Fund o Na u e

1
Table o Con en s
Key deli e able in o ma ion .................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgemen s ................................................................................................. i
Lis o abb e ia ions and ac onyms .......................................................................
Execu i e summa y .................................................................................................. 2
1 In oduc ion ............................................................................................................ 2
1.1 O e iew o he deli e able ........................................................................................ 3
1.2 Theo e ical backg ound: discou se his o ical app oach ......................................... 4
1.3 Ope a ionalising he discou se his o ical app oach ................................................ 6
2 Academic li e a u e e iew ................................................................................... 8
2.1 Me hod .......................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Resul s .......................................................................................................................... 9
3 Biodi e si y discou se in news ou le s ............................................................. 22
3.1 Me hod ........................................................................................................................ 22
3.2 Resul s ........................................................................................................................ 24
4 Biodi e si y discou se o poli ical pa ies ........................................................ 34
4.1 Me hods ...................................................................................................................... 34
4.2 Resul s ........................................................................................................................ 36
5 Biodi e si y discou se o en i onmen al NGOs ............................................... 44
5.1 Me hod ........................................................................................................................ 44
5.2 Resul s ........................................................................................................................ 46
6 Biodi e si y discou se in business and indus y ............................................. 51
6.1 Me hod ........................................................................................................................ 51
6.2 Resul s ........................................................................................................................ 52
7 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 58
7.1 Plu al alues o biodi e si y ..................................................................................... 59
7.2 Rhe o ic unc ion ....................................................................................................... 60
7.3 Coun y speci ic obse a ions ................................................................................. 62
7.4 Ini ial e lec ions on and some limi a ions o he wo k .......................................... 68
8 Conclusion and ou look ...................................................................................... 69
Re e ences .............................................................................................................. 71
S a emen on da a a ailabili y ............................................................................... 75
S a emen on e hics ................................................................................................ 75
Annexes ................................................................................................................... 76
Annex 1. O e iew o discou ses in academic a icles ............................................... 76
Annex 2. Full lis o e iewed academic a icles ........................................................... 78
2
Execu i e summa y
• This epo p o ides insigh in o he biodi e si y discou se by biodi e si y-
ele an ac o g oups in Eu ope.
• The absence o a common unde s anding o biodi e si y allows ac o g oups o
choose he o ic s a egically.
• Biodi e si y discou se is used s a egically o pe suade, ga he cus om o
suppo , o jus i y ac ion o inac ion.
• An h opocen ic alues a e mos ly used when a guing bo h o and agains
biodi e si y conse a ion.
• The biodi e si y discou se is domina ed by he o ic o wa ning, pe suading,
calling o ac ion, accusing, and in o ming.
• The he o ic used in biodi e si y discou se di e s be ween coun ies.
• Knowledge o socie al discou ses a e aluable o ailo in e en ions o p omo e
biodi e si y, such as hose in PLANET4B case s udies.
1 In oduc ion
“Don’ know wha biodi e si y is? You can’ . Pe haps biodi e si y is an app op ia e
e m. The con usion i con eys e eals ou pa he ic weakness in hinking we can
de ine, know, and con ol a na u e ha will always dance jus beyond ou g asp.”
(Da id Takacs, 1996, p. 341)
The meaning we assign o he wo ld a ound us in luences he way we beha e and
ea hings. The e o e, i is o g ea impo ance o be e unde s and how socie y iews
and unde s ands undamen al challenges o ou ime, such as biodi e si y loss. This
knowledge will help o make social, poli ical, o economic in e en ions mo e e ec i e
in p ese ing and enhancing biodi e si y and also help communica e adequa ely abou
he issue o biodi e si y loss.
Wha is biodi e si y?
The e m: ‘biodi e si y’ is a ibu ed o Wal e G. Rosen who coined he e m in 1986
a he con e ence o The Na ional Fo um on Biodi e si y. I was an a emp o a ac
a en ion o he mass decline o species and des uc ion o na u al ecosys ems by
humans (Je zkowi z e al., 2012, Töp e , 2019). Rosen in ended o c ea e oom o
‘emo ion and spi i ’ in he scien i ic concep o ‘biological di e si y’, so used a play on
wo ds by emo ing he ‘logical’ and me ging he pa s; hus ending up wi h he e m
‘biodi e si y’ (Rosen 1992, in Takacs 1996). Nowadays, he de ini ions gi en o he
e m a e less emo ionally loaded. Fo example, he In e go e nmen al Science-Policy
Pla o m on Biodi e si y and Ecosys em se ices (IPBES) de ines biodi e si y as “ he
a iabili y among li ing o ganisms om all sou ces including e es ial, ma ine and
o he aqua ic ecosys ems and he ecological complexes o which hey a e a pa . This
includes a ia ion in gene ic, pheno ypic, phylogene ic, and unc ional a ibu es, as
well as changes in abundance and dis ibu ion o e ime and space wi hin and among
species, biological communi ies and ecosys ems.”
Howe e , since 1986 he e m biodi e si y has massi ely gained p ominence in public,
policy and science. Biodi e si y has become a a he uzzy e m; being used in a ious
3
con ex s and ela ions, se ing as an umb ella e m o any hing ela ed o na u e
conse a ion o na u e p o ec ion (Töp e , 2019), o e en as a “scien izied synonym
o na u e” (Takacs, 1996, p. 106). Whe he such agueness is powe ul can be
deba ed. Ce ainly, i has suppo ed he e m in becoming p ominen (Töp e , 2019).
Wha is a discou se?
The issue o biodi e si y loss, like mos en i onmen al issues, is complex, wi h many
associa ed ac o s including habi a des uc ion and deg ada ion, ag icul u al
in ensi ica ion, clima e change, u banisa ion, pollu ion, and in oduced species and
in e connec ed wi h all ace s o mode n li e (Wagne , 2020). In o de o deal wi h such
issues, humans build hei own unde s anding o he si ua ion and y o make meaning
o hings (D yzek, 2005). These meanings a e socially cons uc ed and also exp essed
in language as a discou se. A discou se con ains “ ep esen a ions and sys ems o
meaning” (Howa h, 2010, p. 311), is in e subjec i e, and ep oduced and ans o med
by hose who subsc ibe o i . The e o e, discou ses a e highly dependen on he
con ex and subjec i e expe iences o hei meaning-making ac o s (D yzek, 2005).
Analysing discou ses p o ides insigh in o how a g oup o people unde s and a ce ain
issue and e eals a common wo ld iew, he alues and o en belie s ha a e a ached
o he p oblem, and po en ial solu ions (Adge e al., 2002; D yzek, 2005, D yzek,
2013). The eby discou ses can coo dina e he ac ions o la ge g oups o people who
subsc ibe o a sha ed unde s anding o he wo ld.
Why do discou ses ma e ?
Discou ses ma e because hey embody powe ela ions by implying alues and
he eby can suppo o supp ess he in e es s o ac o s (Foucaul , 1980). P oponen s
o discou ses s i e o make hei unde s anding o a phenomenon he dominan s o y
o he only ue s o y, he la e being known as discu si e hegemony (Haje , 1995).
When discou ses become dominan , hei unde s ood powe ela ions mani es in he
eal wo ld h ough s uc u a ion and ins i u ionalisa ion. S uc u a ion desc ibes he
p ocess when a ce ain phenomenon, and how i ela es o he wo ld, is epea edly
concep ualised in he same way (e.g. he e e ence o biodi e si y as ecosys em
se ices). Ins i u ionalisa ion happens when unde s andings a e u he mani es ed in
laws, policies, o ins i u ions (Haje , 2006). The a ailabili y o discou ses in socie y
in luences ou pe cep ion o wha is possible and accep able (Spash and Aslaksen,
2015). The analysis o dominan and al e na i e discou ses in socie y help o
unde s and why ce ain measu es a e aken and os e ed o no .
1.1 O e iew o he deli e able
Aim
Wi h his analysis o he socie al discou se on biodi e si y, we aim o gain an
unde s anding o how di e en social g oups pe cei e and communica e abou
biodi e si y, he wo ld iew his implies, and how pe cep ions, communica ion, and
wo ld iews in e sec wi h alues. In o de o do so, we s a by e iewing he exis ing
academic li e a u e on biodi e si y discou ses and iden i y he main discou ses and
implied alues (sec ion 2). Based on his we conduc discou se analysis using a
Discou se-His o ical App oach ( he app oach desc ibed in de ail in subsec ion 1.2) on
ma e ials p oduced by ou di e en biodi e si y- ele an ac o g oups in Eu ope (news
ou le s, poli ical pa ies, en i onmen al NGOs, and business and indus y leade s).
The exac p ocedu e o he analysis wi hin each o hese g oups is desc ibed in he
espec i e sec ions (3–6). Ul ima ely, he esul s o he di e en sub-analyses a e
discussed join ly, and he discou ses wi hin ac o g oups a e discussed in ela ion o
4
he scien i ic li e a u e iden i ied in he sys ema ic e iew (sec ion 7). We in es iga e
whe he he e m biodi e si y is unde s ood in he wide communi y and whe he lack
o unde s anding may lea e he e m open o use, o pe haps abuse, by ac o g oups
o u he hei agenda. We hypo hesise ha he language used in he biodi e si y
discou se can be chosen by ac o g oups s a egically wi h he in en ion o pe suading
an audience o ake ac ion o inac ion, wi h in luences on biodi e si y ou comes, o o
jus i y o explain hei own ac ion o inac ion.
When conside ing socie al discou se on biodi e si y, i is impo an o emembe ha
Eu ope is no homogenous bu a he con ains a wide a ie y o cul u es who may
unde s and, and use, he e m ‘biodi e si y’ di e en ly. Wi h conside a ion o he
esou ce cons ain s o PLANET4B, we di e en ia e ou analysis be ween Eu opean
coun ies. P ojec pa ne s om I aly, U.K., Swi ze land, Czech Republic, The
Ne he lands, Hunga y, Ge many, No way, and Aus ia each collec ed da a ha
enabled he analysis o he discou se used by news ou le s. Financial esou ces and
he associa ed ime es ic ions did no allow da a on poli ical pa ies and
en i onmen al NGOs o be collec ed om e e y pa ne coun y, so hese analyses
a e es ic ed o I aly, Swi ze land, No way and Aus ia o he analysis o he
publica ions om poli ical pa ies; and o he U.K., Swi ze land, and No way o he
analysis o publica ions by NGOs.
The speci ic ocus on he ou ac o g oups in di e en na ional con ex s enables us o
deepen ou knowledge o he PLANET4B a ge g oups (ci il socie y, policy make s,
and business ep esen a i es), which will be used o in o m he nex s eps wi hin he
p ojec , and con ibu e o he Expec ed Ou come 1: “Concep ual unde s anding o how
he e ms biodi e si y, ecosys em se ices and na u e-based solu ions a e pe cei ed
by and communica ed o he key a ge g oups”. In his s udy, we chose o ocus on
biodi e si y, a he han ecosys em se ices and na u e based solu ions, because
hese a e an h opocen ic ways o e alua ing biodi e si y (along wi h in insic and
science-cen ic). In ha way, gaining an unde s anding o how biodi e si y is
pe cei ed, alued, and communica ed inhe en ly includes an unde s anding o he
oles o hese an h opocen ic pe spec i es.
This epo co e s ex ensi e esea ch wo k in ou iden i ied ac o g oups: news
ou le s, poli ical pa ies, en i onmen al NGOs, and business and indus y leade s
along wi h a e iew o academic li e a u e on he opic o he biodi e si y discou se. I
is he e o e ex ensi e. Howe e , we an icipa e ha some eade s will only be
in e es ed in he discou se among speci ic ac o g oups, so each sec ion is s uc u ed
as a s and-alone ex . We ha e he e o e included me hodological in o ma ion o each
o hese g oups in hei espec i e sec ions, which may lead o some epe i ion.
1.2 Theo e ical backg ound: discou se his o ical app oach
This s udy applies a discou se his o ical app oach (DHA), which p o ides a s uc u ed
way o iden i ying he alues and he o ic unc ions ha a e exp essed wi hin he ex s
ha a e analysed (Reisigl, 2017). Fi s ly, we use he DHA o iden i y he plu ali y o
alues o biodi e si y. The DHA acili a es he iden i ica ion o he a gumen a i e o
s a egic use o language by ac o g oups, which we e e o as “ he o ic unc ion”
(Lönng en & an Poeck, 2010), and how he ac o g oups enlis alues o enhance he
unc ions. Finally, we use he DHA o guide he selec ion o ac o g oups om which
he documen s we e sou ced: namely academia, news ou le s, en i onmen al NGOs,
business and indus y, and poli ical pa ies.
11
The analysis o he e ie ed academic a icles e ealed nine di e en ypes o
biodi e si y discou ses; some wi h hei sub-discou ses. These discou ses and hei
sub-discou ses a e depic ed in Figu e 5 below, while Table 3 p o ides a desc ip ion o
he discou ses.
The e appea ed o be a alue-based ange o discou ses, illus a ed g aphically in
Figu e 5, om o ally “unin ol ed”, a e m sugges ed by Takala e al. (2022a, pp. 5–
8), and sepa a e om biodi e si y, h ough iewing na u e as a eposi o y o esou ces
o be u ilised by humans, up o iewing na u e as abo e humani y encompassing all
c ea u es ega dless o wha p ope ies hey possess. The e a e also discou ses ha
expand ac oss a numbe o hese iews and some, such as anscendence, ha a e
concep ually qui e dis inc and de ached om his ange o iews.
Figu e 5. Main biodi e si y- ela ed discou ses and hei sub-discou ses in academic li e a u e.
Table 3. Types o discou ses and hei popula i y wi hin he analysed academic a icles.
Discou se ype
B ie Desc ip ion
N . o a icles
e e ing o
discou se
ype (*)
U ili a ian
U ili a ian
An h opocen ic discou se ocused on he u ili y o
biodi e si y and ecosys em se ices’ p o ision o he
bene i o humans.
Examples:
“[…] na u e as a esou ce o be managed o social wel a e”
(Lee e al., 2021, p. 2);
28

12
“[…] egula ing o suppo ing [se ices] as de ined in he
Millennium Ecosys em Assessmen . Examples: pollina ion,
pes con ol, seed dispe sal […] clima ic egula ion
se ice[, p] o ec ion agains in asi e species[, and so on]”
(Howa d e al., 2018, p. 1568).
Economic
de elopmen
“Economic de elopmen [discou se…] sees biodi e si y as
an incohe en sum o na u al esou ces o be ex ac ed, and
is eluc an o u he biodi e si y conse a ion” (Chalaye,
2022, p. 2).
Example:
“[…] when di ing in o ‘non-en i onmen al’ policies, such as
anspo o ag icul u e, economic pe spec i es a e almos
hegemonic and e e ence o biodi e si y is o en comple ely
absen ” (Chalaye, 2022, p. 13).
7
Scep ical
Wha e e needs o ge done o biodi e si y is al eady
being done.
Example:
“The scep ical discou se a oids de ining he e m
biodi e si y and me ely eminds us ha high-quali y
sil icul u e and o es y ensu es ha all is well” (Takala e
al., 2022, p. 6).
3
Na u e as ca ing
and p o iding
Na u e is iewed as a nu u ing en i y ha con inues
p o iding.
2
Ecological
mode nisa ion
Na u e is iewed as a sou ce o ecological esou ces ha
humans u ilise e icien ly.
Examples:
“[…] na u e is ep esen ed in e ms o i s excellence (I make
ai ) and gene osi y (I ga e i all o hem)” (Olausson &
Uggla, 2021, p. 362).
“[…] na u e would be applied and inco po a ed in o exis ing
business models. Eme gen concep s in he blend such as
‘g een de elopmen ’, ‘g een eco e y’ and ‘na u e-based
solu ions’ we e commonly used o index his posi ion”
(D u y e al., 2022, p. 49).
“The concep s o sus ainable de elopmen and ecological
mode niza ion bea a close esemblance o each o he ,
e en hough bo h ha e been in e p e ed in a ious ways.
[…] Wha we ha e seen a a he o ical le el is a shi in
emphasis om con lic s o consensus, o he econcilia ion
o economic and en i onmen al conside a ions”
(Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002, p. 238–9).
12
Obliga ions
13
Mo al and Poli ical
obliga ions
This discou se ela es o humans’ obliga ions owa ds
biodi e si y. I is di ided in o wo s eams:
1)
Mo al obliga ions: e e s o he need o p ese e
biodi e si y ou o mo al obliga ion and/o
obliga ions o u u e gene a ions (e.g. in Blicha ska
& G andin, 2013).
2)
Poli ical obliga ion: Humans a e poli ically o legally
bound o p o ec biodi e si y.
a.
Cosmopoli ics: “A poli ics oo ed in
acknowledgemen o he mul iple, di e se
and cons an ly ans o ming beings ha
cons i u e he cosmos” (Isabelle S enge s,
2005, in Mi chell, 2016, p. 32).
b.
Righ s: discou se on igh s o biodi e si y
bene i s (e.g. knowledge/science) and
poli ical ecogni ion and powe o con ol in
decisions ela ed o biodi e si y.
Examples:
Mo al obliga ions:
“[…] biodi e si y conse a ion was a mo al ma e ”
(Blicha ska & G andin, 2015).
“Time may be ipe o con empo a y en i onmen alism o
mo e om a mo ali y ounded on u ili y o a mo ali y
ounded on ca e” (Mu adian & Gomez, 2021, p. 6).
Poli ical obliga ions:
“A he local le el he a gumen s ela ed o legal du ies o
comply wi h in e na ional and na ional biodi e si y
legisla ion and obliga ions o comply wi h na ional and local
biodi e si y ele an policies” (Ca men e al., 2018, p.
1607).
12
Na u e conse a ion discou ses
In e en ionis
This discou se sees in e en ion in na u e and p o ec ed
a eas by humans as necessa y o inc ease and manage
biodi e si y. I is ocused on ac ions ha ha e he po en ial
o con ibu e o add essing he issue o biodi e si y loss.
Example:
“Humans we e ecosys em enginee s ha ha e e ol ed
oge he wi h he landscapes ha hey shape, hus c ea ing
niches and habi a s ha p omo e highe biodi e si y, and
cul u al and p o isioning ES [ecosys em se ices],
especially as ep esen ed by adi ional sheep husband y
and li e s yles” (B edin e al., 2015, p. 204).
4
14
P ese a ionis
This discou se is aims o p ese e 'un ouched' na u e ia
na u e conse a ion and pe cei es human in e e ence as
ha m ul o he p ese a ion o biodi e si y.
Example:
“[…] hen associa ing p io i y conse a ion alue wi h
biodi e si y and speci ically species p o ec ion: ‘a p is ine
eel can ob iously be possible o e-c ea e in a ew
decades, while a los species is gone o e e ’ […]. Many
opinions hus emphasized he isks o inac ion mo e han
he isks o ac ion” (S einwall, 2015, p. 8).
11
Responsibili y
This discou se is conce ned abou he agen s ha a e
esponsible o in e ening in he issue o biodi e si y.
Example:
“Conce ning esponsibili ies, in he ames o go e nmen
and ci il socie y he key- ole is a ibu ed o business.
Al hough i is ecognised ha o he ac o s play hei pa ,
hei ole is mainly o suppo he ini ia i es aken by he
business-communi y. Businesses hemsel es do
ecognise hei pi o al ole in he p o ec ion o biodi e si y
and a e mo e ou spoken abou he oles o o he ac o s, in
pa icula go e nmen s” ( an den Bu g & Bogaa d , 2014,
p. 183).
4
Solu ions and
issues wi h hem
Solu ions and po en ial issues wi h he solu ions o he
issue o biodi e si y a e discussed and deba ed in his
discou se.
Example:
“Despi e he ecogni ion o he impo ance o in eg a ing
biodi e si y in EIA [en i onmen al impac assessmen …],
he e is a lack o anspa ency ega ding EIA
documen a ion among de elopmen coope a ion ac o s.
The e is also a lack o sys ema ic conside a ion o
biodi e si y issues, as well as a lack o consensus on how
o conside , ame and e alua e he quali y o biodi e si y
in eg a ion. Mo eo e , he posi ion o EIA wi hin decision-
making and he wide se o p ocesses and ools ocusing
on biodi e si y & de elopmen is o en no su icien ly clea ”
(Huge e al., 2017, p. 100).
2
Solida i y
Cul u al solida i y
and alues
Solida i y o connec edness o humans o na u e ia cul u e
and iden i y
Example:
“A he na ional le el his included biodi e si y con ibu ing
o ‘‘ou na ional iden i y and he dis inc cha ac e o ou
local communi ies’’ (Na u al England 2011). A a local le el
11
15
a gumen s ela ed o local cha ac e and p ide we e also
used, oge he wi h he conse a ion o local indus ial
he i age” (Ca men e al., 2018, p.1606).
Ecological
solida i y
Ecological solida i y, which conside s human emancipa ion
and heal hy ecosys ems as in e dependen , and aims o
cul i a e ecip ocal ela ionships be ween hem (Chalaye,
2022).
Examples:
“The dis inguishing s a emen s in P4 had me apho ical
language and e e ed o spi i , meaning and sys emic
connec ion wi h na u e […], which is why we labelled he
pe spec i e Connec ion. The a gumen ha na u e and i s
di e si y make ou li es meaning ul appealed o he P4
esponden s because ‘i we wan a heal hy en i onmen ,
we need o s ess he in e -connec edness o i all”
(P imme e al., 2017, p. 598).
“This indica es ha he ela ionship be ween a ming and
biodi e si y is unde s ood as in e wined. Bo h p oduc ion
and biodi e si y objec i es should be conside ed in a
sus ainable balancing ac (#31) and biodi e si y
conse a ion should no jus ocus on a eas ha a e
unsui able o p oduc ion (#14)” (Schaal e al., 2022, p. 6).
9
Holis ic (Mo he ea h)
Holis ic (Mo he
Ea h)
This iew places humans as pa o na u e and na u e as a
ca egi e o all c ea u es ha a e equally impo an .
Example:
“In esponse o he ‘‘wes e n iew’’, Boli ia p oposed an
al e na i e amewo k ha o li ing-well in balance and
ha mony wi h Mo he Ea h. This posi ion mi o s a law
which has been adop ed in Boli ia, he ‘‘Law o he Righ s
o Mo he Ea h’’ which a ibu es igh s o na u e (Boli ia,
Law 071, 2010)” (Bonie & Hulme, 2015, p. 492).
6
Biocen ic
The s ance ha gi es equal in insic alue o all li ing
hings.
Example:
“Biocen ism a gues ha all animals and plan s possess
in insic alue. In p ac ice his means a biocen ic alue
sys em equi es equal mo al conside a ion o all li ing
hings, om a single cell o ganism o a human being”
(Agges am, 2015, p. 1054).
1
Ecological collapse
The iew ha na u e has in insic alue and humans’
ac i i ies a e esponsible o ecological collapse.
Example:
3
16
“[…] Mye s (1993) used he me apho o a “bio ic holocaus ”
in his a icle “Fo Dea Li e” o desc ibe he i e e sible
na u e o he en i onmen al c isis. […] The me apho s o a
lib a y and a museum conc e ize biodi e si y loss, and
when connec ed o he powe ul image o uncon olled i e,
hey call o immedia e ac ion” (Vali e onen & Hells en,
2002, p. 237).
Na u e as e e nal
and magni icen
Na u e’s image y discou se po ays na u e as e e nal and
magni icen .
Example:
“[...] p onounced ea u e o he campaign is ha na u e,
h ough s a egies o nomina ion, is cons uc ed in e ms o
wha i is, an e e nal, magni icen being, a he han in e ms
o wha i does” (Olausson & Uggla, 2021, p. 359).
1
Na u e as migh y
bu delica e
Na u e needs o be p o ec ed by humans (among o he s
h ough inance and poli ical will).
Example:
“[…] na u e is me apho ically cons uc ed by isual
a ibu es such as hunde s o ms, cal ing icebe gs and
b eaking wa es, accompanied by he sound o hunde , as
well as in e bal s a emen s o wha na u e is able o
accomplish” (Olausson & Uggla, 2021, p. 363).
2
Non-g ouped discou ses
Scien i ic Specimen
logic
Biodi e si y is alued o i is a eposi o y o scien i ic
knowledge.
“In biodi e si y images i is indi iduals and species ha a e
app ecia ed in he i s place, whe eas hei in e ac ions
wi h hei en i onmen and each o he a e pushed in o he
backg ound. This decon ex ualizing, egali a ian logic […] is
essen ial o unde s anding ou concep ualiza ion and
app ecia ion o biodi e si y” (Toep e , 2019, p. 346).
14
Unin ol ed
“Unin ol ed discou se dis anced i sel om he whole issue
[o biodi e si y]” (Takala e al., 2022, p. 5).
Example:
“[…] dis ancing om he epo ed impac s implies he
ecogni ion, albei indi ec , o nega i e impac s on
biodi e si y […]. Ne e heless, hese impac s a e
minimized and seem disconnec ed om cu en co po a e
ac i i ies. This dis ancing can be based on wo main
app oaches: con ex ualizing he impac s and emphasizing
he unce ain ies su ounding hem” (Boi al, 2014, p. 761).
6
Conce ned
Conce ned discou se showed wo y abou he loss o
biodi e si y.
8

17
Example:
“In 2019 and 2020, ‘c isis’, which was no used as o en in
p e ious yea s, was inc easingly used wi h ‘biodi e si y’”
(Oh ani, 2022, p. 371).
T anscendence
Humani y is no equi alen o Homo Sapiens; hus
anscending he biological body.
Example:
“[…] human and a i icial in elligence would me ge o
p oduce inc easingly powe ul and esilien minds
unhinde ed by leshy bodies ulne able o biological
ex inc ion. Bos om’s p ognoses a e pe mea ed wi h he
ea o des uc ion, bu also he echno-millena ian yea ning
o he anscendence o cu en ly-exis ing ‘humani y’.
Indeed, al hough hey may con e ge and condi ion one
ano he , he ex inc ion o Homo sapiens and he ex inc ion
o ‘humani y’ a e no iden ical phenomena – a poin ha
Bos om (2013) himsel s esses” (Mi chell, 2016, p. 28).
1
No e: (*) he ull lis o a icles e e ing o each discou se ypes can be ound in Annex 1.
F om Unin ol ed o Conce ned Discou se
The unin ol ed discou se was epo ed p ominen ly in he case o Finnish o es
owne s (Takala e al., 2022) en ailing emo al o agency o esponsibili y and ei he
did no ecognise biodi e si y o placed i dis an ly: eeling una ec ed by i . The
discou se has been c i icised by Vali e onen & Hells en (2002) o using unin ol ed
me apho s o linguis ic desc ip o s o biodi e si y, such as “web o li e”, and by D u y
e al., 2022), o using p ocess nouns such as o e consump ion o o e ishing. This
he o ic has obbed biodi e si y issues o hei u gency and emo ed go e nmen s,
he public o any o he ac o s om being ac i e agen s in his ega d. Conce ned
discou se s ands in con as o unin ol ed discou se and ecognises biodi e si y loss
as bo h a se ious issue and a h ea . These conce ns ha e been exp essed by ela ing
biodi e si y p o ec ion as a p io i y o a mland (Schaal e al., 2022), and by iewing
loss o biodi e si y as he loss o happiness as pe he analysis o a poli ician’s public
speech in No way (Bjæ ke, 2019). O he popula me apho s used o communica e he
issue o biodi e si y loss include des uc ion o he “lib a y o li e” (Vali e onen &
Hells en, 2002, pp. 229, 231, 234) o a museum o aluable i ems. The wo d “c isis”
has been coupled wi h biodi e si y, wi h he coupling becoming p ominen (Oh ani,
2022) as conce ned oices ha e isen o o e come he unin ol ed discou se.
The anscendence discou se is unin ol ed in he sense ha i deems issues o
biodi e si y o be i ele an o he essence o humani y, which is unde s ood as human
in elligence anscending he biological human. Howe e , c i ique o e loss o
language and cul u e, which has a ela ionship o biodi e si y, has been no ed as
ine i ably in luencing humani y in i s abs ac sense.
18
U ili a ian Discou se
The u ili a ian unde s anding o biodi e si y appea ed as a deeply an h opocen ic
app oach by pu ing human bene i a he cen e o he biodi e si y discou se. The co e
o his discou se lies in he idea ha na u al esou ces a e o be u ilised o economic
de elopmen belie ed o be o u mos bene i o humans. This discou se is p oli ic and
ecu en and commonly educes biodi e si y o i s economic alue in e ms o i s
po en ial o gene a e income. This was exp essed no only by o es owne s in Finland
(Takala e al., 2019) bu also by na u e conse a ion p o essionals in Poland
(Blicha ska & G andin, 2015). Despi e he ubiqui y o he economic alua ion o
biodi e si y, ecosys em se ices a e also commonly ela ed o he social and physical
well-being o indi iduals and socie y, such as p o iding oppo uni ies o ec ea ional,
new d ug de elopmen o educa ional ma e ial (Be y e al., 2018; Ca men e al., 2018;
Howa d e al., 2018; P imme e al., 2017). None heless, i is he economic alue o
na u e ha has allowed he issue o g ain ac ion in poli ical decision-making in o ou
ypes: namely “economic (exp essed as na u al esou ce ou pu s such as ag icul u e,
o es y, comme cial hun ing and ishing, and ou ism), aes he ic, his o ic, and
educa ional” (B une e al., 2020, p. 1661).
The analysis o he a icles yielded wo sub-ca ego ies o he u ili a ian discou se:
scep ical and economic mode nisa ion. The scep ical discou se e e s o Chalaye’s
(2022) “ecological u gency scep icism” (p. 14) poin ing o economic agen s’ e o s in
denying he u gency o biodi e si y conse a ion, which is echoed by o es owne s
(Takala e al., 2022). This b anch o biodi e si y discou se includes p oposes ha
biodi e si y conse a ionis s sp ead e oneous in o ma ion and claims ha p o ec ed
species a e a “nuisance” (Takala e al., 2022) de imen al o he economy, as hey
cons ain he ull po en ial o he ma ke ” (Chalaye, 2022). This scep ical discou se has
gained suppo in public opinion (Takala e al., 2022) as u ili a ian a gumen s ha alue
biodi e si y in e ms o wha i can gi e o people a e mo e a ac i e o many people
han a gumen s o he in insic alue o biodi e si y, which o en call o comp omises
o es ic ions o s op species loss (T oumbis, 2017).
Ecological mode nisa ion is an upg aded e sion o he economic de elopmen
discou se, and has he e m “na u al capi al” a i s co e (Chalaye, 2022). Value is
alloca ed o biodi e si y based on i s po en ial con ibu ion o p oduc ion (Chalaye,
2022) so p ese a ion is suppo ed when he u u e p oduc ion makes economic
sense. The up ake o his discou se in go e nmen policies has been poin ed ou in
schemes o app oaches ha ela e o biodi e si y p o ec ion such as “no ne loss” o
paymen o ecosys em se ices (Chalaye, 2022), sus ainable de elopmen goals
(Ca men e al., 2018), and inc easing yields while educing isks (Howa d e al., 2018).
The u ili a ian discou se has been c i icised such as amoun ing o “hegemonic
capi alism” (Bonie & Hulme, 2015). Se e al au ho s poin ou ha species who
cu en ly ha e no o li le economic alue, o a e conside ed “ugly” a e a isk o be
dep i ed o p o ec ion o e en elimina ed i hey a e assessed as being ha m ul o
economic ou comes (Kusmano e al., 2017; Tu nhou e al., 2013). Fu he mo e, in
suppo o he u ili a ian discou se, an e icien a i icial al e na i e o cu en
biodi e si y conse a ion measu es will be apidly adop ed in a capi alis ma ke -based
poli ical sys em (D u y e al., 2022).
Ano he c i icism o he u ili a ian discou se is he issue o “biopi acy”, which is de ined
as “ he comme cial collec ion, de elopmen and pa en ing o mode n medicines om
biodi e si y and adi ional knowledge in he Sou h” (Adge e al., 2001). Biopi acy has
been desc ibed as ye ano he o m o neo-colonialism whe e he de eloped ake
19
con ol o adi ional knowledge o biodi e si y, making i p ac ically una ailable o he
local communi ies h ough le ying o pa en s. The biopi acy discou se is p e alen
among indigenous people, adi ional heale s and peasan s (Adge e al., 2001) and,
al hough i was no discussed in any o he analysed a icles, may well g ow in he
u u e.
F om Scien i ic o Spi i ual Discou se
The scien i ic discou se e ol es a ound he alue o biodi e si y o scien i ic
knowledge (Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; Howa d e al., 2018; Lee e al., 2021).
Al hough, his discou se is in many ways a ace o u ili a ian discou ses, he alue o
knowledge o he sake o knowing is wha dis inguishes his discou se om he la e .
In analysing poli ical speeches, Lee a al. (2021) e eal how na u e was iewed as
“ eposi o y o scien i ic knowledge” (p. 7) in he con ex o examining i e lies’ use o
ene gy. Scien i ic biodi e si y discou se has been seen as neu al e idence-based and
uni e sal (Tu nhou e al., 2013) g an ing i an ad an age in in luencing policies. An
example o his a gumen is he Na u e Index in No way (Spash & Aslaksen, 2015).
The scien i ic app oach claims o p o ide “objec i e u h, sepa a ion o ac s om
alues and designa ion o expe judgemen as independen om poli ical p ocess”
(Spash & Aslaksen, 2015, p. 247). Howe e , he scien i ic app oach dismisses
biodi e si y’s no ma i e cha ac e (Je zkowi z e al., 2018) as well as he e ec o
science on policy o ma ion (Tu nhou e al., 2013; P imme e al., 2017).
A less p ominen , ye alue-laden iew o biodi e si y, is he iew o na u e being
holis ic and ha ing in insic alue (Be y e al., 2018; Bonie & Hulme, 2015; B une e
al., 2020; Ca men e al., 2018; Lee e al., 2021; Spash e al., 2015). This discou se,
also e e ed o as ecocen ic (Lee e al., 2021), is ep esen ed in Table 3 by he label
Holis ic (Mo he Ea h). This s ands in con as o he scien i ic and u ili a ian
discou ses as i does no objec i y na u e and gi es alue o na u e and i s biodi e si y
wi hou being subjec ed o humans. Buijs e al. (2022) adds ela ional alue, ela ed o
he in e ac ion o humans wi h na u e, in addi ion o he in insic alue o biodi e si y
assumed by ac i e ci izens. In e es ingly, his discou se was mo e p ominen in policy
documen s compa ed o scien i ic discou se as no ed by Agges am (2015) and
demons a ed by Anque & Gi a d (2022).
The biocen ic iew also i s in he holis ic discou se as i claims alue o all li ing
beings; ega dless o hei mo phology o gene ic composi ion (Agges am, 2015). Non-
li ing hings a e no alued wi hin his discou se unless hey p o ide habi a s o o he
esou ces o li ing beings. Sc u inising images o na u e in a biodi e si y campaign,
Olausson & Uggla (2021) a gue ha he images o na u e’s s eng h, as in he image
o c ushing wa es, po ay na u e as migh y and e e nal, while he ha m in lic ed upon
i by human ac ion po ays na u e as delica e. The la e image y in he campaign
‘o he s’ humans in ela ion o na u e, which does no i pe ec ly wi hin he
holis ic/mo he ea h discou se. None heless he alue and cha ac e is ics a ibu ed
o na u e in his discou se gi e na u e an au a o spi i uali y and powe on i s own.
To s imula e ac ion o hal he loss o biodi e si y, ala ming e ms and me apho s a e
used. The e m ‘ecological collapse’ (Chalaye, 2022; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002)
gi es a sense o u gency o hal he loss o biodi e si y. While he up ake by ci il
socie y has been e ec i e, i has had li le e ec on go e nmen al policies: a leas in
he F ench poli ical con ex (Chalaye, 2022). On ano he no e, me apho s such as
bu ning he lib a y o li e (Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002) ha e been used in he holis ic
discou se o s imula e biodi e si y p o ec i e ac ion. Such me apho s assume in insic
20
alue o na u e, bu posi ion humans as agen s esponsible o he collapse and
capable o amending, o a leas p e en ing, u he biodi e si y loss.
Obliga ions and Solida i y Inspi ing Ac ion
In cong uence wi h he spi i ual discou se, he in insic alue o na u e obliges humans
mo ally o p ese e biodi e si y (Mi chell, 2016) as an obliga ion o u u e gene a ions
(Blicha ska & G andin, 2013). P oponen s o he obliga ions discou se poin ou ha
humans a e no en i led o make decisions abou he li e o o he beings in na u e.
Ancho ed in mo ali y, his discou se also en ails eligious belie s and e hics ha
highligh he obliga ions o o he people (Howa d e al., 2018). Gus a sson (2013)
poin s ou ha he mo al obliga ion owa ds biodi e si y p ese a ion is one o he h ee
mos p e alen biodi e si y discou ses; he o he wo being na u e as an objec o
knowledge (science-cen ed) and as a esou ce o socie y (an h opocen ic). Na u e’s
dependence on humans u he highligh s he obliga ion o humans owa ds
biodi e si y p ese a ion (D u y e la., 2022). Howe e , his an h opocen ic s ance
has been c i icised as suppo ing he a gumen s o hose who p opose ha
echnological ad ancemen s, as opposed o na u al me hods, p o ide he solu ions o
hal biodi e si y loss (D u y e al., 2022).
U ili a ian mo ali y, on he o he hand, e e s o he mo al obliga ion owa ds
biodi e si y because o he bene i s o biodi e si y o humans (Mu adian & Gomez,
2021). The u ili a ian discou se encou ages he an h opocen ic iew o na u e as a
p o ide o human needs ha we mus p o ec so ha i can keep gi ing. The
“o he ing” o humans is iewed as sepa a ing na u e om humans, while
simul aneously placing humans a he cen e o he biodi e si y discou se (Olaussan
& Uggla, 2021). This s ance ha has been likened o he ecommenda ion pu o wa d
by a Jesui p ies ega ding he ea men o sla es, which was no o hi he sla es
when one is ang y as his could ende a sla e useless (Mu adian & Gomez, 2021).
Poli ical obliga ions owa ds biodi e si y s em om he a gumen o igh s o na u e
and include ecogni ion o he igh s o Indigenous popula ions whose cul u al iden i y
and alues a e closely connec ed o na u e. Fo go e nmen s, ins i u ions, and
indi iduals, policies and ac ions o p ese e biodi e si y can be seen as an oppo uni y
o gain popula i y and claim na ional o global leade ship (Ca men e al., 2018) o o
enhance hei epu a ion (Howa d e al., 2018). An in e es ing p oposi ion in ela ion o
poli ical in luence is p esen ed in an a icle by Mi chell (2016) ha desc ibes he e ec
o b inging li ing and non-li ing en i ies in o he poli ical a ena, which is e med as
“cosmopoli ics”. Cosmopoli ics is de ined as “a poli ics oo ed in acknowledgemen o
he mul iple, di e se and cons an ly ans o ming beings ha cons i u e he cosmos”
(Isabelle S enge s, 2005 in Mi chell, 2016, p. 32). This o ien a ion acco ding o Mi chell
(2016) may c ea e an open access and demand o igh s, by all beings ha a e
a ec ed by a poli ical decision. The dis up ions ha his may b ing in o he poli ical
a ena is welcomed by his o ien a ion as p o iding an oppo uni y o “c ea i e poli ical
ac ion” (Mi chell, 2016, p. 33). This discou se, howe e , is ma ginal and has no
ecei ed much a en ion in he a icles analysed o his epo .
The discou se o igh s o na u e and hose o Indigenous popula ions, on he o he
hand, ha e a longs anding exis ence. Indigenous people and local communi ies ha e
o en been called “p emode n” o e en “enemies o na u e”, a iew s ill pe asi e in
pa s o A ica (Anque & Gi a d, 2022), which is c i icised as pos -colonial sc ip s “ o
jus i y o ced displacemen s o enc oachmen s upon indigenous e i o ies and lands
in he name o economic de elopmen .” (Anque & Gi a d, 2022, p. 281). Howe e , he
lack o access o he legal sys em by hese communi ies is a challenge o b ing
27
When a icles de ined biodi e si y some o hese de ini ions we e implici – e.g. by
saying ha biodi e si y is he opposi e o uni o mi y (Il Mani es o, R163). The explici
de ini ions usually men ion aspec s o a ie y and a iabili y, o example: “I 's abou
he di e si y o li e, di e en species o animals and plan s, bu also ecosys ems”
(T ouw, R239) o a e mo e all-encompassing e.g. “ he o ali y o all li ing hings on
ea h and hei di e se in e connec ions” (NZZ, R138). O en de ini ions also include a
alue judgemen o explana ion why biodi e si y is ele an o humans a all by saying,
e.g. “I is he in as uc u e ha sus ains all li e on Ea h” (Il Fa o Quo idianio, R155).
In e es ingly i was news ou le s in he UK ha mos equen ly de ined biodi e si y. In
some a icles his was done by o e ing links o o he a icles which in es iga e he
e m. The ou le mos a en i ely o de ine “biodi e si y” was he BBC (which is he
na ional b oadcas e o he UK). O he 10 analysed a icles om he BBC, six de ined
biodi e si y. As an example o such a de ini ion:
“Biodi e si y is he sum o all li ing hings on he plane and he way hey a e connec ed
in a complex web o li e ha we ely upon o ood, clean ai and wa e ” (BBC, R248).
In con a y, news ou le s in Hunga y ne e and in he Czech Republic and Aus ia only
once de ined biodi e si y. The one a icle in he Czech Newspape Lido e no iny
de ined “biodi e si y” wi h “ he a ie y o li e” (Lido e no iny, R28).
No pa e n could be obse ed in he occu ence o biodi e si y de ini ions among news
ou le s wi h di e en poli ical s ances. S iking was howe e , ha biodi e si y was no
de ined in any a icle o he news ou le s associa ed wi h a igh poli ical pa ies.
Values
Biodi e si y’s alue, by which we mean why i is wo h p o ec ing o p ese ing, was
discussed in e ms o i s alue o humans (an h opocen ic) in almos hal o he a icles
(n=175, 45 %). An h opocen ic alues a e he mos equen ly men ioned alues
compa ed o ecocen ic and science-cen ed in all coun ies excep in he Ne he lands.
Ecocen ic alues we e assigned only in 124 a icles (32 %) and science-cen ed
alues only in 9 % o he a icles (n=34). I should be no ed, ha one a icle can e e
o mo e han one alue ca ego y.
Du ing he analysis i also became clea ha some a icles made no alue s a emen s
ela ed o biodi e si y. Howe e , as we did no code o he absence o any alue
s a emen , he numbe o a icles conce ned by his canno be quan i ied.
An h opocen ic
The iden i ied an h opocen ic alue s a emen s o biodi e si y di e conside ably in
desc ibing how angible and undamen al he alue o biodi e si y o humani y is. Less
angible bu mo e undamen al alues a e: “Biodi e si y is he basis o ou exis ence.”
(FAZ, R87) o ha “Humani y elies on he heal hy unc ioning o all ecosys ems o
su i e” (The Gua dian, R283). In o he ins ances, an h opocen ic alues desc ibe
e y angible ou comes by s a ing ha biodi e si y is impo an o ood p oduc ion o
example: “ecosys em se ices p o ided by bi ds, such as pollina ion o c ops, seed
dispe sal o pes con ol” (P á o, R38), o medicines and clean ai o example: “we
need plan s and biodi e si y jus o b ea he. Abou wo hi ds o ou medicine cabine
is made up o medicines ha a e based on na u e” (Lido e no iny, R24) o p o ec ion
agains na u al o ces “Na u al habi a s […] o e p o ec ion agains s o ms and loods
and egula e he clima e” (FAZ, R91). In ewe ins ances, educa ional and aes he ic
alues o biodi e si y a e men ioned, o example by a guing biodi e si y is impo an

28
so ha “we don' ha e o go o he zoo o see abbi s, la ks and o he animals” (Dia y,
R9).
Some o he less undamen al and less emo ional alue s a emen s concen a e on
economic consequences o biodi e si y loss. These include mone a y alua ions: “I
we had o do he pollina ion wo k o he insec s on ou plan a ions ou sel es, i would
cos 150 o 600 billion eu os pe yea ” (Bild, R72), he alue o biodi e si y o he
economy “An in ac na u e is essen ial o a pe manen ly success ul economic sys em.”
(FAZ, R89) o e e ences o p ospe i y by s a ing ha “ he wo ld's p ospe i y is a s ake”
(Le Ma in, R114). News ou le s associa ed wi h he igh ideology pe cep ion spec um
such as he UKs Financial Times, he Swiss NZZ, he Ge man FAZ o he I alian Il sole
24 o e seem o use economic alues o biodi e si y mo e o en: “Biodi e si y is key o
a new ision o na u al capi al as he ul ima e sou ce o all g ow h, secu i y and
ul ilmen o humani y” (Financial Times, R274) o “ he alue o biodi e si y is
es ima ed a 33 illion dolla s pe yea ” (NZZ, 134).
Ecocen ic
Ecocen ic alues o biodi e si y, by which we mean ha na u e has in insic alue,
we e less equen ly men ioned in he analysed a icles (n=124, 32 %). Such alua ions
anged om s a emen s alking abou he disappea ance o species. This includes
s a emen s saying ha e en hough he COP15 was pos poned o wo yea s due o
he pandemic “Meanwhile, a million species, mainly insec s, a e in dange o
disappea ing o e e ” (A eni e, R187). In ano he a icle, he Ge man Bild alks abou
“a ca as ophe” which is aking place and ha “e e y day, abou 150 species become
ex inc in his wo ld. Animals and plan s ha ne e e u n. 150 imes a day, he his o y
o a species, millions o yea s o e olu ion, is des oyed” (Bild, R72). Ecocen ic alues
can also make an appeal o mo al obliga ions, o ins ance: “ he e a e a eas wi h
species o which Swi ze land has a special esponsibili y because hey a e a e” (NZZ,
R155). O he s highligh ed ha humans sha e he plane wi h o he species:
“Because no animal o plan li es alone in he wo ld. All li ing c ea u es a e connec ed
o each o he and o inanima e na u e ia o en complica ed ne wo ks” (TA, R111)
In e es ingly, ew news a icles also e e o eligious alues when alking abou
biodi e si y. As he a gumen a ion o he eligious alues was along he na a i e o
in insic alue o na u e, we classi ied such s a emen s as ecocen ic. A good example
p o ides he I alian, ca holic-inspi ed, newspape A eni e: This news ou le uses also
qui e emo ional language o example alking abou “mo he ea h” (R193) o in he
ollowing s a emen :
“le us weep wi h he bi e c y o c ea ion, le us lis en o i and espond wi h deeds so
ha we and u u e gene a ions may s ill ejoice wi h he c ea u es' swee song o li e
and hope" (R193).
Also, one a icle o he Ge man Die Wel was w i en by a ca holic p ies (R97) who
s ongly appealed o mo al and eligious obliga ions o p ese e biodi e si y by ci ing
Pope F ancis:
“I is no enough o hink o he a ious species only as possible usable ' esou ces' and
o ge ha hey ha e in insic alue. E e y yea housands o species o plan s and
animals ha we can no longe know, ha ou child en can no longe see, disappea
los o e e .”
In e es ingly hese wo newspape s a e ca ego ised wi h comple ely di e en poli ical
s ances: A eni e (le ) and Die Wel ( a - igh ). Ecocen ic alue s a emen s o o he
29
news ou le s p ominen wi h a igh such as he Hunga ian Index o Telex a e a he
ac ual, epo ing on he upcoming ex inc ion o some species:
“Wa ming and changes in hyd ology a e also a ec ing lo a and auna, wi h up o 84%
o endemic moun ain species h ea ened wi h ex inc ion. Many species ha e mig a ed
o highe al i udes in ecen decades, bu his canno con inue inde ini ely, as he e is
no highe g ound a e a limi , says Anna Kis.” (Index, R48)
S a emen s om news ou le s associa ed wi h he le seem a bi mo e emo ional:
“We should emembe , o example, ha mo e han 85% o he plane ’s we lands ha e
been los since 1700. We ha e mo e han a million species a isk o ex inc ion and
we’ e seeing ex inc ion a es ha a e a hei highes since he loss o he dinosau s.
Ye we’ e s ill seeing d i e s o biodi e si y loss, like land clea ing, con inue.”(The
Gua dian, R284)
Science-cen ed
Science-cen ed s a emen s we e only ound in 34 ins ances o he analysed a icles.
These a icles suppo ed hei a gumen s by ci ing scien i ic s udies o ad ances;
he eby placing he measu emen o biodi e si y in he scien i ic ealm and implying
he alue o scien i ic wo k, ei he 1) o unde s and he na u al wo ld and celeb a e
scien i ic ad ancemen : “Globally ep esen a i e da a on he numbe o species in plan
communi ies in small a eas ha e no been a ailable be o e” (P á o, R35) o 2) as
suppo in pe suading o wa ning hei eade s: In one a icle a scien is explains he
indings o a biodi e si y s udy in he Swiss alps and con inues o s a e ha "The unique
biodi e si y o he Alps is he e o e unde conside able p essu e” (Bild, R101). In
ano he a icle, e e ence o science has an emo ional one:
“We know abou wo million species, bu i is es ima ed ha he plane is inhabi ed by
mo e han eigh million species. As a zoologis , I ully ag ee wi h hese wa nings, and
ha e d awn up long lis s o species ha may be gone” (Il Fa o Quo idiano, R153)
These examples illus a e ha science is used o suppo he c edibili y o an in o ming
unc ion, which may e en be some imes alue ee, wi h he scien i ic suppo used as
a mechanism o he au ho o he a icle o dis ance hemsel es om alua ion by
po aying ha hey a e simply epo ing scien i ic ac s. Toge he , hese esul s
sugges ha he discou se includes a alua ion o science, a he han a science-
cen e ed alua ion o biodi e si y.
Rhe o ic unc ion
In o ming
In o ming s a emen s epo ed on he biodi e si y opic bu did no y o con ince he
eade o i s ele ance o pe suade hem o ac . A icles wi h such s a emen s (n=136)
usually deal wi h upda ing he eade s on any poli ical de elopmen (e.g. ega ding
he COP15) o included in e es ing snippe s o in o ma ion abou some species o
ecosys ems:
“Ge man esea che s ha e e en obse ed how, a e a e mi e-hun ing expedi ion, he
"ambulance se ice" o one species o A ican an s ca ies an inju ed com ade back o
he nes o ea men and con alescence. He does his, howe e , no o any noble
easons, bu simply because i bene i s he colony. Reco e ed wa io s emain alid
membe s o socie y and pa icipa e in u u e wa expedi ions.” (R28)
30
Some abloid news ou le s, such as he UK Me o o The Sun had a icles wi h mo e
in o ming he o ic han o he s. Those we e usually qui e sho a icles. No pa e n was
obse ed ela ed o poli ical s ance o he news ou le s.
Pe suading
Pe suading elemen s ( ound in 119 a icles) usually in ol ed a call o ac ion which
could be a he gene al, o ins ance: (“We ha e o ix he wo ld we ha e."(Die Zei ,
R86). In o he ins ances, such calls speci ically a ge ed he eade , o example by
con incing hem o plan na i e species in he ga den (e.g. TA, R108), o go e nmen s:
"This summi is a chance he wo ld mus no miss, p obably he las chance o
go e nmen s o u n he ide and sa e ou p ecious li e suppo sys em," said
Be nade e Fischle Hoope ” (Le Ma in, R115).
O he pe suading he o ic p o ided a p oposi ion o wha ough o be done: “We need
iche and mo e di e se o es s” (Na ionen, R321). O he a icles used biodi e si y o
a gue o ood democ acy (Die Wel , R100) lowe ing s ips (SZ, R93), me ics o
assess co po a e ac ion (FAZ, R89), educed mea consump ion (FAZ, R87) o
su iciency (Die Zei , R83)).
Only in e y ew a icles we e he e pe suading he o ic agains he biodi e si y c isis.
In one example om Swi ze land, he newspape Le Ma in ci ed a biodi e si y loss
denie o a igh poli ical pa y:
"The popula ion has o he p oblems han a biodi e si y c isis ha does no exis . Once
again he Fede al Councillo is in he pocke o an ex emis g oup. S op being nai e
like wi h he Glacie ini ia i e. [..] "Le 's make laws ha add ess human beings... We
a e o e popula ed because o immig a ion and ha is why we ha e a biodi e si y
p oblem in ou coun y. [said Michael G abe , SVP]” (Le Ma in, R113)
Accusing
Accusa ions we e iden i ied in 30 % o he a icles (n=117). Such s a emen s ei he
blame o he ac o s o inac ion o w ong p io i ies o p ese e biodi e si y loss. Such
accusa ions in many cases a ge he poli ical sphe e (public adminis a ion, poli icians,
go e nmen ) by saying ce ain policies a e “i esponsible” (Na ionen, R322) o ha
poli ics lacks ac ion:
“[ he cu en I alian go e nmen ] has always opposed any measu e in Eu ope ha wen
in he di ec ion o p o ec ing biodi e si y, including ag icul u al biodi e si y” (Il
Mani es o, R167).
In o he ins ances accusa ions a e less speci ic, a ge ing poli ics o business, o
example” Swi ze land has no done much in he las en yea s” (Le Ma in, R133) o
“Clima e change and in ensi e ag icul u e ha e al eady almos hal ed he numbe s o
insec s in he mos impac ed pa s o he wo ld” (The Me o, R288).
En e aining
Eigh o he 11 en e aining a icles we e ound in abloid news a icles, especially he
Ge man Bild, The No wegian Dagblade and he Swiss 20 Minu en. En e aining
elemen s used biodi e si y ele an opics o en e ain eade s. Fo example, by
epo ing abou a bi d a elling by public anspo o be eleased in a na u e ese e
(Bild, R74), po aying King Cha les as an “eco-en ep eneu ” (Dagblade , R311) o
Sebas ian Ve el’s biodi e si y iendly side p ojec s:
“He is he as es en i onmen al ac i is in he coun y. Sebas ian Ve el (34) no only
d i es Fo mula 1, bu is also commi ed o biodi e si y”, (Bild, R81).
31
O he ing
O he ing he o ic was only iden i ied in 17 o he analysed a icles. I was especially
dominan among news ou le s p ominen in he igh poli ical spec um o Hunga y
whe e o he ing he o ic a ge ed he Eu opean Commission, le -wing poli icians o
“ adical en i onmen alis s” (Magya Nemze , R56) (see Sec ion 7.3 o mo e
in o ma ion). In No way he abloid news ou le s VG and Dagblade also had a ew
a icles wi h o he ing elemen s. Howe e , hese elemen s we e less s ong han in
Hunga y.
Raising hope
Hope aising elemen s we e p esen in 110 o he analysed a icles. Such s a emen s
ei he diminished he se e i y o he biodi e si y c isis by epo ing abou he
ein oduc ion o hal ing decline o ce ain species, o example “hal ing bi d popula ion
decline in Eu ope. This is good news” (Il Sole 24 o e, R), o showing e o s ac o s a e
al eady in es ing in biodi e si y “‘ a me s a e doing e e y hing hey can o inc ease
biodi e si y on hei land” (Algemeen Dagblad, R201). One a icle in he Ge man Bild
alks o "winning" and "loosing" animal species due o he global changes (R77). This
aming obscu es he eal complexi y o species ex inc ion, by saying ha he e will jus
be a change in composi ion o he species inhabi ing ou plane .
In o he ins ances, hope aising elemen s acknowledged he se e i y o he si ua ion,
bu exp essed hope a e he ag eemen was eached a COP15, o con eyed in
gene al ha we can s ill u n he cou se o ac ion:
“The decline o Ea h’s biodi e si y is no ine i able. Se e al s udies show ha he
con inued loss o wildli e a ound he wo ld can be p e en ed” (The Gua dian, R277)
Hope aising he o ic seemed o be mo e p e alen among igh and cen e news
ou le s such as he No wegian VG, he I alian Il Sole 24 o e, he UK BBC o he
Hunga ian Magya Nemze and Index.
Wa ning
O all he o ic elemen s analysed wi hin his s udy, wa ning he o ic’s we e he mos
equen ly used (n=161, 41 %). The wa ning he o ic was o en qui e emo ional
men ioning he si ua ion is “ e i ying” (A eni e, R189), “ igh ening” (TA, R106) and
ha he ea h aces a “mass ex inc ion” (Daily Mail, R262). Also, many news ou le s
men ion he s a us o biodi e si y as a “c isis”, some e en speak o “collapse” (e.g. The
Gua dian, R279), “apocalypse” (A eni e, R187) o a “nigh ma e” (Co ie e della se a,
R184). Also wa ning s a emen s issued by NGOs o wo ld leade s a e o en ci ed:
“We a e losing his wa , added Ma k W igh o WWF's UK o ice” (HN, R23).
“Ou plane is in mo al dange . I s lungs, ou na u e, o es s and lakes a e ailing, said
Scholz” (Die Zei , R84)
O en wa ning abou biodi e si y loss is combined wi h discou se pe suading
s akeholde s o p o ec i . Also hope aising elemen s a e o en in he same a icles.
The ollowing example illus a es he combina ion o wa ning and hope aising
elemen s wi hin he same a icle:
“Will i be di e en his ime? Acco ding o en i onmen al NGOs, he Mon eal
ag eemen is a s ep o wa d, bu a he same ime i con ains a numbe o comp omises
compa ed o he o iginal d a ex . Fo example, i does no name ha m ul ac i i ies
ha should be excluded om p o ec ed a eas. "The e is a dange ha eal p o ec ion
will emain on pape , G eenpeace said.” (P á o, R40)
32
Role o ex e nal ac o s
The mos equen ly men ioned ac o s in he biodi e si y discou se o he news ou le s
a e go e nmen al ac o s (191), ollowed by scien is s (136), NGOs (128) and business
(115).
Go e nmen
Go e nmen al ac o s seem o be men ioned mo e equen ly among newspape s wi h
a le and cen e poli ical s ance (men ioned on a e age 4.8 imes among le news
ou le s, while only 3.9 o 3 imes among news ou le s popula among he igh o a -
igh ). This includes s a emen s ha epo abou ce ain poli ical de elopmen s ela ed
o biodi e si y p o ec ion o ha accuse poli ics o inac ion. Also, such discou se clea ly
pu s go e nmen s in esponsibili y o ac :
“wo ld go e nmen s ha e no ye succeeded in slowing he decline o wildli e” (Il Fa o
Quo idiano, R154)
I is no su p ising, ha among he poli ical igh news ou le s, less esponsibili y is
a ibu ed o go e nmen s.
Scien is s
In he s a emen s abou scien is s, his ac o g oup is epea edly e e ed o as a us ed
sou ce o in o ma ion on biodi e si y o as he ones wa ning o he biodi e si y c isis:
“Scien is s ag ee on he u gency o ac ” (A eni e, R). In o he ins ances, scien is s o
scien i ic p ojec s a e desc ibed ha p o ed de ailed in o ma ion on he s a us o
biodi e si y o he e ec s o ce ain in e en ions.
Only in a ew ins ances do scien is s ge asc ibed an ac i e ole in he p ese a ion o
biodi e si y such as by p ese ing seeds o a e plan a ie ies (Il Mani es o, R163) o
by con ibu ing o inno a ions (Il Sole 24 o e, R172).
NGOs
NGOs seem o be men ioned mo e equen ly among newspape s wi h a le and cen e
poli ical s ance. Newspape s popula among he le , men ion NGOS in 4.3 a icles,
whe eas igh and a - igh leaning newspape s alk abou NGOs only in 2.2 and 1.8
a icles espec i ely. Simila o scien is s, hey a e e e ed o as a us ed sou ce o
in o ma ion on biodi e si y o as he ones wa ning o he biodi e si y c isis:
“En i onmen al Alliance, an alliance o se e al en i onmen al associa ions, is sha ply
c i ical. [...]. "We don' need new pape ige s, bu e ec i e measu es." (TA, 107)
In ew a icles, he ac i i ies o NGOs in con ibu ing o na u e p o ec ion o public
awa eness campaigns a e men ioned.
Business
The ole o indus y and business in con ibu ing o o ackling he biodi e si y c isis is
men ioned mo e o less equally among news ou le s wi h di e en poli ical s ances (see
Table 6). Howe e , he newspape s di e in he exac ole hey a ibu e o business.
Newspape s o he poli ical le , see business as pe pe a o s o he biodi e si y c isis:
“ he expansion and in ensi ica ion o ag icul u e is he g ea es h ea o he wo ld's
bi ds” (TA, 112).
“Business g oups block ac ion ha could help ackle biodi e si y c isis” (The Gua dian,
R280).

33
On he o he hand, in mos s a emen s he igh news ou le s ei he see business as
ec o s o inno a ion ha suppo he igh agains biodi e si y loss, o example “ he
commi men o he Sanpelleg ino g oup is i uous” (Il sole 24 o e, R174), o business
as being a ec ed by he decline in na u al di e si y:
“A 2020 epo by he Wo ld Economic Fo um (WEF) ound ha mo e han hal o global
g oss domes ic p oduc (GDP) – $44 illion – was po en ially a isk due o economic
dependence on na u e. Cons uc ion, ag icul u e, and he ood and be e age indus ies
we e he h ee mos na u e-dependen economic sec o s.” (NZZ, 134)
Gene al public
The ole o he gene al public and ci izens in ela ion o biodi e si y is only men ioned
in 74 o he analysed a icles. Su p isingly, in 14 o he news ou le s he gene al public
is no men ioned a all. The news ou le s o I aly, Swi ze land and No way men ion he
public equen ly. This is usually by gi ing ad ice on wha ci izens can do o hal he
loss o biodi e si y, o example by adop ing a ce ain ype o die (Na ionen, R317) o
ga den managemen (TA, 136). In o he cases, e o s o ci izens o aise awa eness
o he biodi e si y c isis o ac upon i a e men ioned:
“Many amilies wi h child en, esiden s o he neighbou ing neighbou hoods, bu also
ac i is s and sympa hise s om all o e he ci y ma ched o ask he Region o ex end
he na u al p o ec ions.” (Il Mani es o, R168)
In addi ion, he gene al public is men ioned implici ly by blaming he beha iou o
socie y o he cu en si ua ion: “I is he e o e on ou o e -consump ion ha we mus
ques ion ou sel es” (A eni e, R186)
Only in ew ins ances do a icles discuss how people will be a ec ed by he loss o
biodi e si y.
Finance
The ole o he inancial sec o is discussed in 62 a icles. No su p isingly he UK FT
men ions he inance sec o mos o en (in se en ou o he 10 analysed a icles). The
ole o inance o biodi e si y is ei he discussed in e ms o unds needed o inance
na u e conse a ion p ojec s, especially in he global Sou h o as he impac o
biodi e si y loss on he inance sec o . The FT, he Swiss NZZ and he Ge man FAZ
mainly de o e segmen s o desc ibe how he inance sec o has s a ed o conside
biodi e si y in hei ope a ions:
“The impac o ecosys ems is i mly oo ed in ou inancial sys em” (NZZ, R134).
“Biodi e si y has also played a a he mino ole in he inancial sec o so a . When
people alk abou sus ainable inancing, hey a e essen ially alking abou he igh
agains clima e change” (FAZ, R89)
“As a esul , biodi e si y is “now he as es de eloping ESG heme in global capi al
ma ke s […]. In jus h ee yea s, he issue has mo ed om being i ually igno ed by
mains eam ins i u ional in es o s o being acknowledged by all.” (FT, R268)
34
4 Biodi e si y discou se o poli ical pa ies
Au ho : Rebekka F ick, Mi jam Schlei e , F ode Singsaas, Yennie B edin, Ma a
Bone i, Ma eo Villa, Linda Fi zka, Robe Home
4.1 Me hods
Collec ion o documen s
The documen analysis was ca ied ou o ou coun ies: Aus ia, I aly, No way, and
Swi ze land. Each o he pa ne s om he espec i e coun ies ollowed a p ede ined
p ocedu e o collec he documen s. Fi s o all, he i e mos impo an na ional poli ical
pa ies we e selec ed acco ding o hei ela i e impo ance a he la es elec ions. Fo
each pa y, he websi e add ess was iden i ied and he e m “biodi e si y” was
ansla ed o he local language. A Google News sea ch was conduc ed using he
sea ch command “biodi e si y si e: www.you Pa y.com” o “biodi e si y si e:
you Pa y.com”. In coun ies, whe e se e al wo ds a e used o he concep o
biodi e si y such as in Aus ia wi h he e ms “Biodi e si ä ” and “A en iel al ”, he
sea ch command was adap ed acco dingly by using bo h e ms (e.g. “biodi e si ä OR
a en iel al si e:www.ö p.de”). The i s 10 e u ns we e ansla ed in o English using
he ansla ion ool Deepl.com.
Desc ip ion o Poli ical Pa ies
We use a classi ica ion o he poli ical pa ies de eloped by Pa lGo – a da a
in as uc u e o poli ical science, con aining in o ma ion o all EU and mos OECD
democ acies (h ps://www.pa lgo .o g/). Poli ical pa ies a e assigned o eigh di e en
pa y amilies using a wo-dimensional pe spec i e o poli ical compe i ion (Dö ing,
2016): s a e s. ma ke (economic) and libe y s. au ho i y (cul u al). Pa lGo iden i ies
eigh pa y amily ca ego ies ha can be placed in o such a wo-dimensional space:
Communis /Socialis , G een/Ecologis , Social democ acy, Libe al, Ch is ian
democ acy, Ag a ian, Conse a i e, and Righ -wing. The nin h ca ego y, “no amily”,
includes special issue pa ies wi hou a clea le / igh posi ion. Figu e 6 shows he
dis ibu ion o he 20 analysed pa ies among he pa y amilies.
Figu e 6. Dis ibu ion o pa ies o pa y amilies acco ding o Pa lGo classi ica ion (Dö ing,
2016).
0
1
2
3
4
5
Ag a ian
Ch is ian democ acy
Conse a i e
G een/Ecologis
Libe al
Righ -wing
Social democ acy
no amily
35
Table 7. Poli ical Pa ies by coun y and pa y amily acco ding o he Pa lGo da abase.
Coun y
Pa y name
English name
Pa y amily
Aus ia
(AT)
Die G ünen
The G eens
G een/Ecologis
F eihei liche Pa ei
Ös e eichs (FPÖ)
F eedom Pa y o Aus ia
Righ -wing
NEOS
NEOS – The New Aus ia
Libe al
Ös e eichische
Volkspa ei (ÖVP)
Aus ian People's Pa y
Ch is ian
democ a ic
Sozialdemok a ische
Pa ei Ös e eichs
(SPÖ)
Social Democ a ic Pa y o Aus ia
Social democ a ic
I aly (IT)
F a elli d’I alia
B o he s o I aly
Righ -wing
Pa i o Democ a ico
Democ a ic Pa y
Social democ a ic
Mo imen o 5 S elle
(M5S)
Fi e S a Mo emen
No amily
Lega pe Sal ini
League o Sal ini
Righ -wing
Fo za I alia
Go I aly
Conse a i e
No way
(NO)
A beide pa ie
Labou Pa y
Social democ a ic
F emsk i spa ie
P og ess Pa y
Righ -wing
Høy e
Conse a i e Pa y
Conse a i e
Miljøpa ie de G ønne
(MDG)
G een Pa y
G een/Ecologis
Sen e pa ie
Cen e Pa y
Ag a ian
Swi ze -
land
(CH)
Die Mi e
The Cen e
Ch is ian
democ a ic
F eisinnig-
Demok a ische Pa ei
(FDP)
F ee Democ a ic Pa y o Swi ze land
Libe al
G üne
G eens
G een/Ecologis
Sozialdemok a ische
Pa ei de Schweiz (SP)
Social Democ a ic Pa y o Swi ze land
Social democ a ic
Schweize ische
Volkspa ei (SVP)
Swiss People's Pa y
Ag a ian
36
Documen analysis
Ou o he 20 pa ies, he e we e h ee pa ies (I aly – Fo za I alia,
No way – F emsk i spa ie , Aus ia – ÖVP) o which we did no ind any p ess
eleases dealing wi h he concep o biodi e si y using ou sea ch s a egy. The
documen s we e impo ed o he so wa e MaxQDA o quali a i e con en analysis. O
he 10 documen s, a leas six documen s pe pa y we e coded. The analysis was
guided by he heo e ical and me hodological concep o Discou se His o ical Analysis
(see sec ion 1.2 and 1.3).
4.2 Resul s
Values
O e all, all pa ies ha e mainly an an h opocen ic pe spec i e on biodi e si y. They
e e o he u ili y o biodi e si y o humans and he supe io i y o humans o na u e.
The e we e, howe e , also a ew s a emen s indica ing a a he ecocen ic pe spec i e
aken on he opic. Below, he di e en posi ions a e desc ibed in mo e de ail.
An h opocen ic alues
Pa ies om all pa y amilies e e o a ious bene i s ha biodi e si y p o ides o
humans. Se en pa ies highligh he ole o biodi e si y as he basis o ou exis ence
and li elihoods.
“Landscapes, habi a s, biodi e si y: hey a e no only a p e equisi e o ou quali y o
li e, hey a e ou li elihood," Bal hasa Glä li s essed in his speech o he delega es“
(CH_G üne, Pos. 80)
“Biodi e si y p o ides he basis o human li e on Ea h”. (A beide pa ie , NO, Pos. 23)
Fi e pa ies e e o he need o p omo ing biodi e si y o u u e gene a ions and
exp ess hei conce ns abou u u e li elihoods.
“Conse a i es wan u u e gene a ions o inhe i a plane ha is in be e condi ion
han i is now” (Høy e, NO, Pos. 6)
Conc e ely, pa ies e e o he ole o biodi e si y in main aining good quali y o wa e ,
ai , and soils and o p oduce ood. Fu he , he ole o biodi e si y in p o iding space
o ec ea ion is highligh ed. Pe cep ions o biodi e si y p omo ion as an oppo uni y
o alue and job c ea ion as pa o a g een de elopmen s a egy did no appea o
be a ached o a pa icula pa y amily.
Apa om hese mo e undamen al an h opocen ic alues o biodi e si y, pa ies om
di e en amilies discuss he economic alue o biodi e si y. G een/Ecologis and
Social democ a ic pa ies in No way and Swi ze land call o he calcula ion o he
economic alue o biodi e si y. They claim ha hose who damage biodi e si y do no
pay o he cos s and ha he e a e no inancial incen i es o conse e and p omo e
biodi e si y. The e o e, hey call o a p ice o be alloca ed o biodi e si y and o
in e nalisa ion o ex e nal cos s.
“A la ge pa o he bene i s o biodi e si y is a ailable ee o cha ge as a public good.
The lack o a p ice con ibu es o he ac ha he e a e ha dly any incen i es o i s
conse a ion and p omo ion. Those who damage biodi e si y o en do no pay o he
cos s. A he same ime, hose who ake p o ec i e measu es lack he money. This
43
amily o pa ies, bu o he pa ies call o simila expansion based on economic
in e es s: as illus a ed by he s a emen o he I alian Social democ a s:
“New and simple managemen models o ou p o ec ed a eas, ea men o land
dis up ion and wa e and ai pollu ion, p o ec ion o auna and lo a, and sus ainable
managemen o ecosys ems a e c ucial ools in he igh agains he clima e c isis,
capable o gua an eeing signi ican economic bene i s, especially in ma ginal a eas,
and new jobs". (Pa i o Democ a ico, IT, Pos. 37–43)
Ca o s – Ma ke in e en ions
Ano he app oach o p omo ing biodi e si y is o p o ide inancial incen i es in o de
o companies o p i a e households o olun a ily ake measu es. Libe al and
conse a i e pa ies om di e en coun ies highligh he need o in e en ion o be
olun a y and ma ke -based. Pa ies om all amily ypes emphasise he need o
combine biodi e si y p omo ion wi h economic g ow h. The e is no pa y ha
challenges he concep o economic g ow h.
An example o such a measu e is he in e nalisa ion o ex e nal cos s so ha he ma ke
p ices display he eal cos s ha occu o socie y. Such an in e nalisa ion may be
achie ed by he in oduc ion o axes, such as he na u e ax sugges ed by he
No wegian G eens, o he pes icide ax sugges ed by he Swiss G eens. In addi ion,
he Swiss social democ a s and he No wegian G eens ad oca e o he pollu e -pays-
p inciple:
“A la ge pa o he bene i s o biodi e si y is a ailable ee o cha ge as a public good.
The lack o a p ice con ibu es o he ac ha he e a e ha dly any incen i es o i s
conse a ion and p omo ion. Those who damage biodi e si y o en do no pay o he
cos s. A he same ime, hose who ake p o ec i e measu es lack he money. This
imbalance mus be add essed h ough he in e nalisa ion o ex e nal cos s and he
a ge ed managemen o inancial esou ces.” (SP, CH, Pos. 25)
The No wegian and Swiss G een pa ies also ask o biodi e si y-damaging incen i es
o be abolished. In pa icula , in Swi ze land and Aus ia, he ole o ag icul u al
subsidies is emphasised. The Swiss Ch is ian democ a ic pa y highligh s he need o
compensa e a me s o hei e o s o biodi e si y. The Aus ian G eens acknowledge
he need o compensa e a me s o loss o ag icul u al animals due o wild animals.
The same pa ies emphasise he need o inancially suppo he managemen o
moun ain pas u es o i o be con inued.
Se mons – In o ma ion measu es
Among he se mons, he mos p ominen measu es we e s a emen s abou biodi e si y
a ge s. Va ious pa ies highligh he impo ance o de ining clea a ge s o
biodi e si y. One example is a ea a ge s whe e a ce ain pe cen age o he a ea pe
coun y needs o se e biodi e si y p omo ion. This seems o be a con o e sial opic,
especially in Swi ze land. The Swiss libe als ask o all ypes o a eas o be eligible o
be coun ed in, including ag icul u al biodi e si y p omo ion a eas o all quali y le els.
The Swiss Ag a ian pa y and he Ch is ian democ a s a e agains he in oduc ion o
an a ea a ge o biodi e si y. They highligh ha ag icul u e al eady p omo es
biodi e si y on a conside able po ion o i s land.
In No way, he G een pa y calls o he in oduc ion o a ze o ne loss a ge o na u e,
using he e m ‘land-neu ali y’. Mo eo e , pa ies ask o conc e e a ge s ela ed o
species di e si y (AT-Die G ünen; NO-A beide pa ie ; NO-MDG; CH-FDP).

44
The I alian igh -wing pa y F a elli d’I alia emphasises he need o se goals bu
highligh s ha hese goals mus be ealis ic and should no ha m companies o he
economy:
“Today he challenge we ace is o combine en i onmen and economic g ow h. We
belie e ha companies mus be accompanied owa ds an ecological ansi ion. I is
igh o se goals, e en ambi ious ones, p o ided, howe e , ha hose goals a e
ealis ic. The ansi ion mus be g adual, and imposing new bu dens on companies is
a mis ake ha leads o u he po e y and job losses.” (F a elli d’I alia, IT, Pos. 18).
Va ious pa ies (di e en pa y amilies) highligh he need o ha e a comp ehensi e
pe spec i e on land use and ha land should be a ailable o biodi e si y p omo ion.
The Swiss libe al pa y emphasises he need o habi a connec ion and a
comp ehensi e pe spec i e on he “ecological in as uc u e” (FDP, CH, Pos. 65).
In o ming and awa eness aising measu es a e only sugges ed by a ew pa ies. Th ee
pa ies (one Conse a i e, one G een/Ecologis , one Social democ a ic) emphasise
he need o map habi a s and he s a e o biodi e si y. These pa ies call o an
in en o y, eposi o y, egis e , o map on ecosys ems, biodi e si y, habi a s, species,
e c. One Libe al pa y e y speci ically asks o mo e esea ch o be conduc ed on
gene ic enginee ing:
“Genome edi ing can lead o mo e esis an a ie ies ha a e be e able o cope wi h
pe iods o hea and d ough . In addi ion, hey a e mo e esis an o po en ial pes s,
equi e less pes icides and hus be e p o ec biodi e si y.” (FDP, CH, Pos. 117)
The Aus ian G eens, which hemsel es a e ac i ely engaged in he o ganisa ion o
awa eness- aising e en s, call o e o s o aise awa eness abou biodi e si y loss
among ci izens.
5 Biodi e si y discou se o en i onmen al NGOs
Au ho : Rebekka F ick, Mi jam Schlei e , Ba ba a Smi h, F ode Singsaas, Yennie
B edin, Robe Home
5.1 Me hod
Collec ion o documen s
The documen analysis was ca ied ou o h ee coun ies: Uni ed Kingdom,
Swi ze land and No way. Each o he pa ne s om he espec i e coun ies ollowed
a p ede ined p ocedu e o collec he documen s. Fi s ly, i e en i onmen al NGOs
we e selec ed by he esea ch eam o be hose, in hei own coun y, wi h he highes
isibili y, ac i i y, and in luence wi hin he na ional con ex (see Table 8). The NGOs
we e selec ed based on an in o med, bu subjec i e, e alua ion o he NGOs by he
esea ch eams in each coun y, who collec i ely ha e many yea s o expe ience
wo king wi hin he ield o biodi e si y esea ch in hei espec i e coun ies. Fo each
NGO, a Google sea ch was conduc ed o “biodi e si y” and “p ess elease” ( ansla ed
o he local language) using he ollowing sea ch command “biodi e si y AND “p ess
elease” si e: www.<NGO’s web add ess>”. In coun ies, whe e se e al wo ds a e used
o he concep o biodi e si y, such as in Aus ia wi h he e ms “Biodi e si ä ” and
“A en iel al ”, he sea ch command was adap ed acco dingly by using bo h e ms. The
sea ch was no es ic ed o pa icula yea s and he i s en e u ns, which we e lis ed
45
in he sequence as e u ned by he google algo i hm (see sec ion 7.4 on limi a ions),
we e collec ed in a documen and ansla ed o English using he ansla ion ool
Deepl.com.
Table 8. O e iew o selec ed en i onmen al NGOs by coun y.
Coun y
NGO
Uni ed Kingdom (UK)
Bu e ly Conse a ion
Plan li e
Royal Socie y o he P o ec ion o Bi ds (RSPB)
The Wildli e T us s
Wo ld Wide Fund o Na u e (WWF)
Swi ze land (CH)
Bi dli e
G eenpeace
P oNa u a
S i ung Landscha sschu z Schweiz (SLS)
Wo ld Wide Fund o Na u e (WWF)
No way (NO)
Bellona
Na u og Ungdom (Na u e and You h, NU)
F iends o he Ea h No way (Na u e n o bunde , NVF)
Sabima
Wo ld Wide Fund o Na u e (WWF)
Documen analysis
The documen s we e impo ed o he so wa e MaxQDA o quali a i e con en
analysis. O he 10 documen s, a leas i e documen s we e coded pe NGO. A icles
ha we e o - opic o didn’ p o ide enough insigh on he posi ion owa ds biodi e si y
and news memos we e excluded. The analysis was guided by he heo e ical and
me hodological concep o Discou se His o ical Analysis (see sec ions 1.2 and 1.3).
The ocus was on unde s anding how he NGOs ame he concep o biodi e si y. The
p ess eleases o en included s a emen s by ac o s ou side he NGO (e.g. go e nmen
o icials o scien is s). These ci a ions we e no coded unless hey con eyed
in o ma ion on a me a-le el so ha i became clea how he NGO is using he ci a ion
o hei a gumen .
46
5.2 Resul s
Values
An h opocen ic alues
The analysed documen s p edominan ly make an h opocen ic a gumen s o he alue
o biodi e si y and na u e. The NGOs epea edly s a e ha biodi e si y is he “basis o
ou exis ence” (SFS, CH) o o ou “li elihood” (e.g. Sabima; NO, Bi dli e, CH). In ew
cases biodi e si y is amed as o less undamen al impo ance when saying ha i is
necessa y o human well-being (WWF, UK) o ha people (elsewhe e) a e su e ing
because o deg aded na u e (Sabima, NO).
The NGOs u he a gue o biodi e si y by e e ing o speci ic ecosys em se ices,
especially egula ing and p o ision se ices, such as:
• Ca bon seques a ion o moo s, ma shes, we lands and o es s (P o Na u a,
CH, WWF, CH; Sabima, No way; NU, NO)
• S o age and pu i ica ion o wa e (P oNa u a, CH; WWF, CH; NU, NO)
• P o ec ion agains ex eme wea he e en s such as hea , d ough o looding
(P oNa u a, CH; WWF, CH; NU, NO; Sabima, NO)
• P o ec ion agains e osion (NU, NO; P oNa u a, CH; WWF, CH)
• P o ision o ood, ei he ia pollina ing insec s (G eenpeace, Swi ze land; WWF,
CH) o di ec ly om an ecosys em (NU, NO)
• Medicine (NU, NO)
• Raw ma e ials (Sabima, NO)
Cul u al ecosys em se ices, such as ec ea ion o aes he ics, a e less equen ly
men ioned. Only one example igu ed among he analysed p ess eleases:
“Access o unspoiled na u e, biodi e si y and a sus ainable en i onmen is o g ea
impo ance o ou physical as well as men al heal h and he eby he quali y o li e o
u u e gene a ions.” (NVF, NO)
Ecocen ic alues
The NGOs a ely a gued o biodi e si y om an ecocen ic pe spec i e and he only
NGO o do so was WWF. In he UK WWF used ecocen ic s a emen s by e e ing o
he wo ld as “ou home” (WWF, UK) o calling o “A change om iewing na u e as
some hing ha ’s op ional o ‘nice o ha e’ o he single g ea es ally we ha e in
es o ing balance o ou wo ld” (WWF, UK). In No way, WWF s a e ha :
“In he deba es abou whe e o d aw he line, i is easy o o ge wha his is eally abou :
The la ge and small animal species ha li e in he ice edge zone and he enewable
ishe ies esou ces. Fo he species ha li e he e, he e is nowhe e else o li e on he
plane .” (WWF, NO)
Rhe o ic unc ion
The analysed p ess eleases show ha en i onmen al NGOs om he UK, Swi ze land
and No way use hei ex s o wa n eade s abou he se e i y and e ec s o
biodi e si y loss, pe suade hem o he need o be conce ned abou biodi e si y
decline, and call o ac ion.
Wa ning
The wa ning he o ic in he UK is mo e ala ming and emo ional han in No way o
Swi ze land. The o ganisa ions om he UK wa n o an “ecological eme gency” (RSPB,
47
UK) wi h “ca as ophic consequences o he plane ” (WWF, UK) gi en he “ ee all” in
wildli e which is in a “ca as ophic decline […] showing no signs o slowing” (WWF, UK)
o o “na u e’s ex eme declines” (Wildli e T us s, UK). Addi ionally, he decline in local
wildli e and he aming o he UK as “na u e deple ed” is a unique na a i e (Wildli e
T us s, UK). In Swi ze land and No way, he mos emo ional language is used by
WWF. Howe e , mos p ess eleases a e less con on a ional han in he UK, o
example:
“The yea 2022 was no a good yea o biodi e si y in Swi ze land and globally. The
biodi e si y c isis is s ill no aken se iously enough, especially in poli ics” (Bi dli e, CH).
Pe suading
A s a egy by he UK, Swiss, and No wegian NGOs is o use he inc eased awa eness
abou clima e change o d aw a en ion o he p oblem o biodi e si y loss and pe suade
eade s o conside hem as in e ela ed. They highligh ha “biodi e si y loss is as
acu e a c isis as he clima e c isis” (Sabima, NO) aming hem as he “ win c ises”
(Plan li e, UK). Such s a emen s a e some imes gi en u he ex e nal jus i ica ion, wi h
he NGOs e e ing o publica ions o s a emen s o us ed ins i u ions, such as he
COP o he UN F amewo k Con en ion on Clima e Change (e.g. Bi dli e, CH) o he
Wo ld Biodi e si y Council (WBC) (e.g. SFS, CH). Biodi e si y loss and clima e change
is unde s ood as being in e ela ed, wi h clima e change p oposed as a majo cause
o biodi e si y loss by “accele a [ing] species ex inc ion” (WWF, CH), while unc ioning
ecosys ems a e “ he mos impo an insu ance agains he consequences o clima e
change” (Sabima, NO). WWF Swi ze land explains he ela ion be ween clima e
change and biodi e si y as ollows:
“Clima e change is a inancial isk ha is ecognised as such by a g owing numbe o
inancial ac o s and egula o s. A ela ed bu un ecognised en i onmen al isk is he
apid loss o global biodi e si y. Clima e change u he accele a es species ex inc ion
and leads o apid changes in ecosys ems. This d as ically limi s he na u al ca bon
seques a ion o ecosys ems, which in u n exace ba es clima e change. This nega i e
spi al has so a been i ually igno ed by decision-make s, he inancial sec o , and i s
egula o s.” (WWF, CH)
The e o e, some NGOs a gue o he need o ackle clima e change and he
biodi e si y c isis join ly and no “play [… hem] agains each o he ” (WWF, CH).
Calling o ac ion
The calls o ac ion by he UK, Swiss, and No wegian NGOs adop an ala ming and
emo ional one, wi h claims ha “The ac s a e clea . Na u e is in c isis” (Bu e ly
Conse a ion, UK) and ha “we mus do e e y hing we can o hal i s decline now”
(Plan li e, UK). The WWF e en uses wa -like allego ies:
“We a e in a igh o ou wo ld: we now know wha needs o be done, and pape
p omises won’ be enough.” (WWF, UK)
The UK, Swiss, and No wegian NGOs ha e hopes o he in e na ional nego ia ions,
as pa o he Con e ence o he Pa ies (COP) on Biodi e si y, o hal he loss o global
biodi e si y. In he majo i y o he calls o ac ion, he NGOs add ess poli icians o u ge
he go e nmen s o ake he deg ada ion o biodi e si y se iously and implemen
e ec i e measu es o hal u he losses. O he ac o s a e ba ely add essed
speci ically. Usually he gene al e m “we” is used o desc ibe measu es o be aken
by poli icians, go e nmen s o he in e na ional communi y. The No wegian NGO
48
Sabima s ood ou wi h i s call o ci izens o conside biodi e si y in he upcoming
na ional elec ions.
Role o ex e nal ac o s
When discussing esponsibili ies o ac o biodi e si y, he NGOs men ioned
go e nmen ac o s (including poli icians and public adminis a ion) mos equen ly,
ollowed by indus ies and ci izens. The ole o science, NGOs o inance is less
discussed.
Go e nmen
When speaking o he go e nmen ac o s, he NGOs equen ly use ‘accusing he o ic’,
c i icising he go e nmen o a lack o ac ion in gene al, ailu e o each a ge s o
comply wi h egula ions (Bi dli e, CH; P o Na u a, CH; SFS, CH; NVF, NO; Wildli e
T us s, UK), de eloping ague, non- igo ous o unambi ious s a egies (G eenpeace,
CH; WWF, CH; Wildli e T us s, UK), o a ou ing o he sho - e m in e es s (in
ag icul u e o ene gy) and he eby weakening en i onmen al p o ec ion (WWF, CH;
Bellona, NO). In his line, go e nmen s a e epea edly accused o being oo in luenced
by business in e es s in o es y (NVF, NO) o ag icul u e (G eenpeace, CH).
S a emen s like he ollowing a e exempla y o he accusing one:
“[…] i is high ime ha he conse a ion o biodi e si y is aken se iously by hose who
go e n he coun y. Na u e needs no mo e big wo ds. The knowledge o wha needs
o be done is in place. I is he ac ion and in es men ha is lacking.” (Sabima, NO)
To jus i y he accusa ions he NGOs use a a ie y o ins umen s. On some occasions,
he NGOs e e o public opinion, s a ing ha he public expec s mo e ac ion om he
go e nmen (Sabima, NO; Wildli e T us s, UK). In o he ins ances, well-es ablished
ins i u ions, who c i icise he coun y, a e ci ed (NU, NO). NGOs in he UK (RSPB, UK,
Wildli e T us s, UK) we e ound o emind go e nmen s o p omises ha hey ha e
made. Ano he ins umen o unde line he poo pe o mance is he compa ison wi h
o he coun ies.
“Today, o es s co e 40% o he coun y's [No way] land a ea. O his, jus o e 3% is
p o ec ed a eas. Howe e , Russia and ou neighbou s on he Scandina ian peninsula
ha e highe igu es o show, al hough e en hey a e no on a ge in a long- e m
pe spec i e.” (NU, NO)
Non-accusa o y he o ic ega ding go e nmen ac ion is seldomly ound. Apa om
in o ming he eade s abou ecen de elopmen in biodi e si y poli ics, some
s a emen s highligh windows o oppo uni y o imp o e biodi e si y p o ec ion (WWF,
CH; RSPB, UK). Only in wo ins ances ha e go e nmen s been p aised o ac ions
aken o p og ess made (RSPB, UK; NU, NO).
Business
The ole o business and indus y in con ibu ing o he biodi e si y c isis has much less
accusa o y no ions han o he go e nmen ac o s. Accusa ions we e mainly abou
en i onmen al impac s o ag icul u al ac i i ies (P oNa u a, CH), o es y (NVF, NO)
and oil ex ac ion (Bellona, NO). In e es ingly he discussion abou he oles o
indus ies was amed in he sense ha go e nmen s need o be e egula e indus ial
ac i i ies, o example in oil ex ac ion o o es y, a he han pushing o indus ies o
become mo e conside a e hemsel es (Bellona, NO; NVF, NO). On one occasion, an
NGO also highligh ed he po en ial ha businesses can ha e o p omo e na u e iendly
p ojec s (Plan li e, UK).

49
Ci izens and he gene al public
The abili y o ci izens o he gene al public o hal he loss o biodi e si y is egula ly
add essed. The NGOs men ion he ole o ci izens conc e ely in con ibu ing o
biodi e si y mapping h ough ci izen science (Bu e ly Conse a ion, UK), olun ee ing
wi h he o ganisa ion (Bi dli e, CH), c ea ing na u al a eas in hei neighbou hood
(Wildli e T us s, UK) o in home ga dens (SFS, CH), in aising awa eness abou he
issue:
“Be he oice o biodi e si y when i needs i mos .” (Sabima, NO)
In addi ion, ci izens a e u ged o in luence he ajec o y o biodi e si y policy h ough
o ing in elec ions (WWF, NO; Sabima, NO). NGOs call on ci izens o adap hei
(consump ion) beha iou by “ lying less, ea ing less mea and educing consump ion”
(WWF, NO). Ul ima ely, ano he way o suppo biodi e si y p o ec ion is o dona e
money o he o ganisa ion (WWF, NO).
Science
Apa om e e ing o in o ma ion desc ibing ( he loss o ) biodi e si y in numbe s o
ci ing epo s o make an a gumen , he ole o science is ba ely men ioned in he
documen s. An excep ion is he case o No way, whe e biodi e si y policy ollows
“knowledge-based managemen ” (NVF, NO). No wegian NGOs aise he need o
u he mapping o ecosys ems (Sabima, WWF and NVF). In addi ion, he e seems o
be a dispu e abou ha ing he igh kind o knowledge:
“We would also like o emphasize ha he accu acy and knowledge base o iden i ying
new and impo an candida es o p o ec ion is no ye good enough. The o es
indus y's own en i onmen al mapping (MiS en i onmen al mapping in o es s) has
p o ed o be e y inadequa e. They cap u e only 14% o wha independen
p o essional biologis s eco d“ (NVF, NO).
NGOs
When he NGOs discuss hei own ole in con ibu ing o biodi e si y, he discou se is
p aising. In such s a emen s he NGOs men ion hei e o s in mapping a e species
(NVF, NO), manage p o ec ed a eas o na u e ese es (Bi dli e, CH) o awa eness
aising campaigns (Bi dli e, CH; Wildli e T us s, UK)
“Wi h hese ac i i ies, he Bi dLi e amily is making a majo con ibu ion o comba ing
he biodi e si y c isis in ou coun y," says Ra ael Ayé, Execu i e Di ec o o Bi dLi e
Swi ze land. (Bi dli e, CH)
Finance
Only one p ess elease by WWF Swi ze land men ions he ole o he inance sec o in
o e coming he biodi e si y c isis:
“Cen al banks and inancial egula o s ha e a c i ical ole o play in he ansi ion o a
mo e sus ainable inancial sys em ha bene i s people, he clima e and na u e.
Clima e- ela ed isks a e inc easingly being conside ed, bu hose ela ed o
biodi e si y loss, such as o es deg ada ion o o e ishing, a e s ill la gely igno ed.
The e is an u gen need o add ess his sho coming." (WWF, CH)
Calls o ac ion
A la ge p opo ion o he NGO p ess eleases deals wi h a gumen a ions o o agains
ce ain policy measu es. As pa o hese, he NGOs call o inc eased unding by hei
go e nmen s o biodi e si y p o ec ion, o ill he “biodi e si y inance gap” (WWF, UK),
50
bo h na ionally and o de eloping coun ies. Some calls a e mo e speci ic o inc ease
inancial esou ces o p o ec ed a eas (SFS, CH; Wildli e T us s, UK), scien i ic s udies
(WWF, NO), o en i onmen al au ho i ies (WWF, NO).
Fo he u he discussion we classi y he policy measu es in o ‘ca o s’, ‘s icks’ and
‘se mons’ based on Bemelmans-Videc e al. (2011) (see also sec ion 1.3).
Ca o s – Ma ke in e en ions
Few o he discussed policy measu es all unde he ca ego y o ‘ca o s’. The emo al
o biodi e si y-damaging subsidies, such as subsidies o oil and gas, o he sales o
animal p oduc s, play a majo ole he e (Bi dli e, CH; Sabima, NO; WWF, NO).
“[Biodi e si y damaging subsidies] a e one o he main causes o ou coun y's se ious
biodi e si y c isis and a he same ime unde mine all e o s o p o ec na u e and
species.” (G eenpeace, CH)
As an al e na i e, measu es acco ding o he pollu e -pays p inciple a e ad oca ed o .
Howe e , wi h no conc e e p oposal on i s design.
S icks – Regula o y measu es
Among he discussed egula o y policy measu es, h ee ypes o ‘s icks’ a e equen ly
encoun e ed. Fi s , he NGOs call o he es ablishmen o addi ional p o ec ed a eas
o o in oducing g ea e es ic ions in p o ec ed a eas (WWF, CH; RSPB, UK; NU,
No way; WWF, NO; Plan li e, UK). Second, hey ad oca e o ce ain bans on ha m ul
p ac ices, such as bu ning pea (RSPB, UK; Wildli e T us s, UK), using pes icides in
ag icul u e (G eenpeace, CH) o g a el ga dens, whe e ga dens a e co e ed wi h
g a el o educe main enance (SLS, CH). Thi d, he o ganisa ions call o s ic e
legisla ion, o make biodi e si y measu es binding (WWF, CH), de ine “powe ul,
legally-binding en i onmen al a ge s” (Wildli e T us s, UK), and o implemen
legisla ion ac oss sec o s (WWF, NO).
In addi ion, we also ound coun y speci ic egula o y measu es. Documen s om he
UK highligh he ole o pea lands and call o he es o a ion o damaged land (Wildli e
T us s, UK; RSPB, UK). Fu he mo e, he UK NGOs p aise ecen de elopmen s in he
pe mission o ein oduce wildli e such as bea e s, wildca o he golden eagle. In
Swi ze land he con lic be ween o he en i onmen al goals and biodi e si y p o ec ion
is discussed. G eenpeace Swi ze land c i icises he elaxa ion o en i onmen al
egula ions o speed up enewable ene gy expansion. And in No way NGOs call o
s ic e equi emen s o isk and impac assessmen ela ed o oil spill (Bellona, NO)
and o he p ojec s (WWF, NO).
Se mons – In o ma ion measu es
The mos p ominen measu es among he discussed ‘se mons’ a e in e na ional
coope a ion and speci ically in e na ional ag eemen s as pa o he COP. Some
en i onmen al NGOs call on hei go e nmen s o push o an ambi ious in e na ional
ag eemen (WWF, UK; WWF, NO) o “se he wo ld on a new cou se” (WWF, CH).
“The ime o pu e na ional in e es s has passed, in e na ionalism has o be ou
app oach and in doing so b ing abou a g ea e equali y be ween wha na ions ake
om he wo ld and wha hey gi e back. The weal hie na ions ha e aken a lo and he
ime has now come o gi e.” By Si Da id A enbo ough (WWF, UK)
Mixed wi h he high hopes o he Kunming-Mon eal Biodi e si y Ta ge ing F amewo k
is he c i icism ha he ag eemen is non-binding and has loopholes, and ha he
Mon eal ea y does no p ope ly add ess he unde lying d i e s o biodi e si y loss
51
(WWF, UK). Fu he mo e, F iends o he Ea h, No way wa ns o a s ong ocus on
pe cen age a ge s as he egional dis ibu ion – o example o p o ec ed a eas – also
plays an impo an ole. A e he COP15, he NGOs call o he implemen a ion o he
ea y (Bi dli e, Swi ze land; NVF, NO). The ollowing s a emen is exempla y:
“Some o he a ge s a e good and ambi ious, o he s a e a he nice decla a ions o
in en , and a mino i y a e e en insu icien . O e all, he adop ion o he Kunming-
Mon eal Biodi e si y Ta ge s F amewo k is an impo an s ep in he igh di ec ion.
The communi y o s a es hus ecognises e en mo e clea ly han be o e ha he wo ld
is acing a se ious biodi e si y c isis. Now he app op ia e measu es mus be aken
quickly and decisi ely so ha we do no end up emp y-handed in 2030.” (Bi dli e, CH)
In Swi ze land, he na ional biodi e si y s a egy is highly c i icised as he go e nmen
is ailing o achie e he de ined goals (Bi dli e, CH) because s a egies a e “ oo hless”
(SFS, CH) and implemen a ion is missing (P o Na u a, CH; WWF, CH).
Apa om in e na ional ag eemen s and na ional s a egies, o he ‘se mons’ o policy
measu es a e ba ely men ioned. The excep ions a e an u ge o he No wegian
go e nmen o moni o he s a e o biodi e si y and map ulne able a eas (Sabima,
No way; NVF, NO) and a call o he Swiss go e nmen o dissemina e mo e
in o ma ion ega ding biodi e si y (Bi dli e, CH).
6 Biodi e si y discou se in business and indus y
Au ho : Gyö gy Pa aki
6.1 Me hod
Collec ion o ma e ial
In o de o explo e he business and indus y discou se on biodi e si y, wo lines o
inqui y we e chosen: imeliness and ele ance. Fi s , we sea ched o ele an audio-
isual ma e ial o be analysed om he 53 d Annual Mee ing o he Wo ld Economic
Fo um (WEF) in Da os, Swi ze land ha ing aken place in Janua y, 2023. Acco ding
o he o icial websi e o he e en , “ he Annual Mee ing 2023 will b ing oge he mo e
han 2,700 leade s om go e nmen , business and ci il socie y, a a pi o al ime o
he wo ld.” We used he sea ch engine o he WEF webpage2, ini ia ing a sea ch o
he e m “biodi e si y” and iden i ied o he po en ially ele an p og amme i ems by
eading h ough he p og amme. This sea ch esul ed in se en ideos ha we e all
wa ched and he session3 “Business Ac ion in Na u e” was iden i ied and chosen o
analysis as he mos ele an o explo e a business pe spec i e on biodi e si y.
Al hough he pa icipan s on s age ep esen ed di e se g oups (incl. ag icul u al and
mining companies, inance sec o , NGO sec o , and go e nmen ), he language used
by pa icipan s e e ed equen ly o “business”, wi h key exp essions and e ms used
such as “ he alue o na u e in e ms o money”, “asse s”, “demand”, “na u e is
p o i able” and many mo e.
2 h ps://www.we o um.o g/e en s/wo ld-economic- o um-annual-mee ing-2023/p og amme
3 h ps://www.we o um.o g/e en s/wo ld-economic- o um-annual-mee ing-2023/sessions/in es ing-in-
na u e
52
Second, we analysed wo documen s by he Wo ld Business Council on Sus ainable
De elopmen (WBCSD). As o he ele ance o his choice, he o icial websi e4 claims
he ollowing: “WBCSD is he p emie global, CEO-led communi y o o e 200 o he
wo ld’s leading sus ainable businesses wo king collec i ely o accele a e he sys em
ans o ma ions needed o a ne -ze o, na u e posi i e, and mo e equi able u u e.” One
o he documen s is he lagship ini ia i e VISIONS 2050: Time o T ans o m (WBSCD,
2021), which pu s he e m “ ans o ma ion” in o he ocus. The o he one is a
p ac i ione guide on he meaning o na u e posi i e business (WBSCD, 2021). I claims
“na u e posi i e” as being a allying e m o ake ans o ma i e ac ion in all sec o s o
economy and socie y.
Documen analysis
The analysis was guided by he heo e ical and me hodological concep o Discou se-
His o ical Analysis (see sec ion 1.2 and 1.3).
6.2 Resul s
Wo ld Economic Fo um session
The se ing
The ideo is abou a panel discussion. The mode a o is a chie execu i e o ice (CEO)
o an in e na ional conse a ion non-go e nmen al o ganisa ion (NGO). The ou
membe s o he panel consis o ep esen a i es o he ag icul u al sec o , he mining
sec o , inance and in es men sec o s, and NGO sec o . In e es ingly, he go e nmen
sec o is also ep esen ed by an ini ial speech o one o he minis e s o Ecuado who,
a e his sho speech, le he discussion.
The e en was scheduled on he ou h day o WEF 2023 and i s ideo las ed 45
minu es 44 seconds.
Summa y o he speci ic con ibu ions
The mode a o has se he s age o discussion by a sho in oduc ion ha s a ed wi h
he achie emen s o COP15 in Mon eal a e he pandemic: he Global Biodi e si y
F amewo k (GBF) and he 30-by-30 a ge (p o ec ing 30% o land and wa e by 2030
ag eed by all pa ies o he in e na ional mee ing). The mode a o called his a “massi e
ambi ion” and di ec ed he audience o “ge o he business o how we make his
happen?” Then, he in oduced he Ecuado ian minis e as a “ eal champion o na u e”
and ga e him he loo .
The i s speake ep esen ing he public sec o (go e nmen ) has chosen o ocus his
alk on his own business expe ience and wha lessons he has lea n om “25 yea s in
he business o sa ing he Plane .” His job, as he explained, was o ad ise he p i a e
sec o on how o mo e owa ds being a sus ainable company. His line o a gumen
was ha he had spen he i s 15 yea s o his consul ancy wo k by e e ing o “clima e
change, loods, empe a u e, losing biodi e si y” bu – mos p obably – wi hou much
e ec since he had changed his a gumen a ion. In he las decade, he – mo e
e ec i ely – used ano he line o a gumen ha es s on he mone a y alue o na u e.
Rhe o ically, he used he example o Cos a Rica, as opposed o Ecuado , in o de o
4 h ps://www.wbcsd.o g/O e iew/Abou -us
59
and business leade s), he alues ha a e e iden wi hin hem (an h opocen ic,
ecocen ic, and science-cen ic), and he he o ic unc ions hey use (wa ning, calls o
ac ion, in o ming, pe suading, accusing, en e aining, o he ing, and aising hope). The
esul s we e s uc u ed acco ding o ac o g oup, so in his discussion sec ion, we will
examine he alues and he o ic unc ions be ween ac o g oups including wi hin
na ional con ex s.
We ha e shown ha he e m biodi e si y is a ely unde s ood, which lea es i open o
use, o pe haps abuse, by ac o g oups o u he hei agenda. We hypo hesised ha
he language used in he biodi e si y discou se can be chosen by ac o g oups
s a egically wi h he in en ion o pe suading an audience o ake ac ion o inac ion o
o jus i y o explain hei own ac ion o inac ion. The esul s om he news ou le s,
poli ical pa ies, and NGOs, a leas implici ly, suppo his p emise while he esul s
om he business ac o g oup suppo i explici ly.
7.1 Plu al alues o biodi e si y
An h opocen ic alue
We hypo hesised ha pa icipan s in he an h opocen ic discou se a ound biodi e si y
ame hei alues o biodi e si y in e ms o he con ibu ion i can make o people.
This se o an h opocen ic alues was ound o be ubiqui ous in publica ions by all o
he ac o g oups. This esul is unde s andable o he news ou le s, who ha e an
in e es in connec ing hei con en wi h he li es o hei eade s so ha he eade s
will con inue o subsc ibe o he news ou le . I is also unde s andable om he poin o
poli ical pa ies, who seek o gain o main ain powe by ep esen ing he popula ion, so
a e se ed by connec ing hei posi ion wi h he e e yday li e o hei cons i uen s. F om
a business poin o iew, aking an an h opocen ic iew o biodi e si y migh be used
o gain cus ome s by demons a ing co po a e social esponsibili y. Howe e , i was
less in ui i e o en i onmen al NGOs, many o whom pe cei e an in insic alue o
na u e, including biodi e si y, as cen al o hei iden i y.
Ecocen ic (in insic) alue
We hypo hesised ha a ange o ac o s pe cei e biodi e si y o ha e in insic alues
and assume he ole speaking on i s behal , wi h his ole aken p edominan ly by
en i onmen al NGOs. O e all, he analysis shows ha he NGOs included in his s udy
mainly use an h opocen ic alues o a gue o biodi e si y p o ec ion, which is
su p ising because hey simul aneously, o mo e p ominen ly, a gue o ecogni ion
ha biodi e si y has in insic alues. Essen ially, hey ace " he En i onmen alis s'
Dilemma" (No on, 1991) o whe he ou obliga ion is o sa e na u al esou ces o
u u e consump ion, o o sa e na u e om consump ion, which is sol ed by a guing
o he o me o achie e he la e . This esul sugges s ha he en i onmen al NGOs
a e p agma ic in hei ope a ionalisa ion o he biodi e si y concep , and use i o
mo i a e pa icipa ion and ac ion by connec ing i o he well-being o he people hey
a e a ge ing. Howe e , we did no ind any s a emen s exp essing mone a y alues o
biodi e si y o i s se ices. This clea ly se s he biodi e si y discou se o en i onmen al
NGOs apa om discou ses in news ou le s, business, and poli ical pa ies.
Science cen ic alue
We also hypo hesised ha pa icipa ion in his science-cen ic discou se on biodi e si y
leads o biodi e si y being alued in e ms o i s po en ial con ibu ion o scien i ic
endea ou . Indeed, his he o ic was ound in 13 scien i ic a icles bu a ely in
publica ions by he o he ac o g oups. Excep ions include some examples o he o ic

60
indica ing science cen ic alues ha we e ound in publica ions by poli ical pa ies and
by business, al hough bo h o hese esul s migh be explained by de i ed
an h opocen ic alues in ha hey wish o suppo scien is s. Al hough science-cen ic
alues o biodi e si y ha e been ound in academic pape s ha analyse biodi e si y
discou ses (such as Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; Howa d e al., 2018; Lee e al., 2021;
Mi chell, 2016; and Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002), we a gue ha science-cen ic is a
speci ic example o an an h opocen ic pe spec i e in ha scien is s, who a e he usual
pa icipan s in he scien i ic discou se, a e in e es ed in p ese ing a biodi e si y as a
esou ce ha is use ul o hem.
Table 9 p o ides an o e iew o he alue domains o biodi e si y in he discou se o
he di e en ac o g oups analysed wi hin his wo k.
Table 9. O e iew o he appa en p e alence o he alue domains o biodi e si y in he
publica ions om he di e en ac o g oups.
Ac o
g oups
Value o
biodi e si y
Academic
li e a u e
News
ou le s
Poli ical
pa ies
NGOs
Business
An h opocen ic
++
+++
+++
+++
+++
Science-cen ic
+++
+
+
In insic
+
+
+
7.2 Rhe o ic unc ion
We hypo hesised ha he o ic abou biodi e si y is used by indi iduals o g oups o be
a gumen a i e o s a egic and o pe suade in o de o u he hei agendas. The
he o ic unc ions discussed in his wo k we e induc i ely iden i ied, which means hey
we e d i en by he da a and used o gene a e heo y. We acknowledge he subjec i i y
o such induc i e wo k, bu some compa ison wi h he esul s o p e ious s udy adds
plausibili y o he in e p e a ions. The dep h o he o ic unc ions iden i ied in he e iew
o he 64 ele an a icles, which is desc ibed in de ail in sec ion 2, could be educed
o h ee majo unc ions o he o ic: Wa ning, Calling o Ac ion, and In o ming.
The wa ning he o ic in he academic li e a u e is based a ound wo dominan alue
domains: in insic and an h opocen ic.
1) The in insic alue o biodi e si y, as a pa o na u e, ha is unde h ea , such as
Bjæ ke (2019) who equa ed losing biodi e si y wi h losing happiness and Blicha ska,
and G andin (2015) who epo ed a discou se ha all species ha e a igh o exis ,
e en i hey ha e no clea bene i o humans; and
2) The an h opocen ic alue o na u e as a i al esou ce, wi h human exis ence
inex icably ied o he p ese a ion o biodi e si y. This discou se was iden i ied in 28
pape s ha ha e analysed he discou se on biodi e si y.
Simila ly, wa ning was iden i ied as a main s eam o he o ic unc ion in he public
discou se in each o he ou ac o g oups. Al hough he e we e di e ences ound in
he sensa ionalism in which wa nings we e p esen ed, his he o ic unc ion was used
ex ensi ely by news ou le s. Mu adian and Gomez-Bagge hun (2021) poin ou a
61
s a egy o use he o ic unc ion o c ea e a connec ion be ween he audience and he
phenomenon by ancho ing expe ience in analy ical ca ego ies, es ablishing causal
ela ionships, and con eying symbolic meaning. Indeed, he wa ning he o ic used by
news ou le s commonly had an an h opocen ic ocus, wi h wa nings ypically amed
in e ms ha connec hem wi h he indi idual eade , which a e in ended o mo i a e
hem o consume media as a s a egy o a oiding he consequences o biodi e si y
loss. Simila ly, wa nings in he he o ic used by en i onmen al NGOs we e also amed
wi h an an h opocen ic ocus o mo i a e he audience o change beha iou , con ibu e
o he NGO, o bo h. Wa ning he o ic by poli ical pa ies and by business was amed
in such a way ha he ac o s placed hemsel es as pa o he solu ion, which could
encou age o es o cus om, espec i ely.
The Calling o Ac ion he o ic is p ima ily based on he an h opocen ic a gumen s
ha we ha e:
1) A mo al obliga ion o p ese e biodi e si y as a esou ce o u u e gene a ions, in
10 pape s, including Vali e onen and Hells en (2002) who iden i ied discou se a ound
“g een medicine” and Mu adian and Gomez-Bagge hun (2021) who iden i ied a
na a i e in which na u e and biodi e si y a e ep esen ed as domains ha a e ex e nal
o human socie ies and om which a posi i e low o bene i s eme ge.
2) A poli ical obliga ion o p ese e biodi e si y o enable economic de elopmen , in
i e pape s, including Se ano e al. (2019) who iden i ied a discou se ha sees
biodi e si y as a p oduc o his o ies ha shows he in e connec ion be ween na u e
and socie y wi h di e se global con ex s, such as cul u e, science, and economy.
3) A solida i y based obliga ion o p ese e biodi e si y o espec he cul u al ies wi h
biodi e si y held by o he s, wi h 11 pape s iden i ying his discou se, including Bjæ ke,
(2019), Blicha ska and G andin (2015), and Se ano e al. (2019).
A gumen s o p ese e biodi e si y based on i s scien i ic alue as a s o e o scien i ic
knowledge we e p esen , bu less common, in he academic li e a u e. Excep ions
include Vali e onen and Hells en (2002) who iden i ied he desc ip ion o biodi e si y
as he “lib a y o li e”. Scep ical a gumen s ha enough is al eady being done o
p ese e biodi e si y, we e also ound, o example, by Takala e al. (2022a), bu we e
e en a e . Calling o Ac ion was iden i ied as dominan discou ses in all analysed
ma e ials.
The in o ming unc ion o he o ic appea s o be he exclusi e domain o news ou le s
and academic li e a u e, wi h mos academic a icles adop ing a neu al one when
desc ibing a pa icula biodi e si y issue. While mos uses o he concep o biodi e si y
in publica ions in he o he ac o g oups included some in o ma ion unc ion, i was
almos always a ached o ano he he o ic unc ion.
Howe e , away om he academic discou se, in he ealm o public discou se, a ange
o o he he o ic unc ions we e iden i ied. These included 1) pe suading: pa icula ly
by NGOs and poli ical pa ies, bu also news ou le s; 2) accusing: pa icula ly by NGOs
poli ical pa ies, and news ou le s; 3) en e aining, which was exclusi ely he domain
o news ou le s; 4) o he ing: which was ound in poli ical pa ies and news ou le s; and
5) aising hope, which was commonly ound in business and poli ical pa ies who each
ied o ep esen he op imis ic u u e.
An o e iew o he occu ence o he iden i ied he o ic unc ions in publica ions by he
espec i e ac o g oups is shown in Table 10.
62
Table 10. O e iew o he o ic unc ion used in ela ion o biodi e si y by di e en ac o g oups.
Ac o
g oups
Rhe o ic
unc ion
Academic
li e a u e
News
ou le s
Poli ical
pa ies
NGOs
Business
Wa ning
+++
+++
+
+++
Calls o ac ion
+++
++
++
+++
In o ming
++
++
++
+
Pe suading
+++
+++
+++
+++
Accusing
++
+++
+
En e aining
+
O he ing
++
+++
Raising hope
+
+
++
7.3 Coun y speci ic obse a ions
Discou se and especially con lic s in biodi e si y ele an opics end o be locally
ele an . Mos o he con lic s ha we iden i ied, in all o he ac o g oups, we e p ima ily
ele an a he na ional le el, o e en mo e locally. Fo example, many we e ela ed o
he in ensi y o ag icul u al p oduc ion o ensu e ood p oduc ion, he d p o ec ion om
wild animals, o he p oduc ion o enewable ene gy (namely wa e and wind powe ).
The e a e also con lic s wi h local cul u al alues as illus a ed by he No wegian
example o weekend cabins. This sugges s he alue o looking a na ional con ex s
indi idually. The ollowing na ional po ai s a e in ended o gi e an o e iew o each
pa icipa ing coun y wi h he pe spec i es o he ac o g oups ha we e analysed
wi hin ha coun y (see also Table 11).
Table 11. O e iew o he ype ac o g oups ma e ials analysed pe coun y.
Ac o
g oups
Coun ies
News ou le s
Poli ical pa ies
En i onmen al NGOs
I aly
+
+
U.K.
+
+
Swi ze land
+
+
+
Czech Republic
+
Ne he lands
+
Hunga y
+
Ge many
+
No way
+
+
+
63
Aus ia
+
+
I aly
In gene al, he biodi e si y he o ic among I alian news ou le s seems mo e emo ional
han in coun ies such as Ge many. The e is mo e accusing, wa ning o hope aising
language using some imes quie d as ic exp essions. Fo example, accusa o y
segmen s include: “ i e ho semen o he apocalypse” (Il Mani es o, R164) o
“Excessi e consump ion by he ich is a dange o li ing species” (A eni e, R186).
Also, accusa ions o he go e nmen a e qui e se ious. The wa ning he o ic is equally
emo ional. In e es ingly, among he I alian news sample hope aising language is
a he equen . Pa icula ly s iking is he language in Il sole 24 o e, who aise hope in
7 o he 10 a icles analysed. In hei a icle’s humani y is al eady success ully e e sing
he end o biodi e si y loss.
Also, ega ding he ole o ac o s, he I alian newspape Il sole 24 o e is in e es ing.
This newspape has a e y neolibe al discou se and po ays big indus ies as sa iou s
o biodi e si y. They seem o ques ion scien i ic e idence by s a ing ha " he scien i ic
communi y belie es […]" (R173) and equen ly ci e scien i ic ou pu s gene a ed by
business o inanced by business. The discou se in Co ie e della se a is simila ,
ega ding he ole o indus ies as a gene a o o solu ions o he biodi e si y c isis. In
con as , he newspape s Il Mani es o and A eni e po ay indus ies a he as he
pe pe a o s o biodi e si y loss, wi h s a emen s like he ollowing:
“I wan o ask, in God's name, he big ex ac i e companies – mining, oil, o es y, eal
es a e, ag ibusiness – o s op des oying o es s, we lands and moun ains, o s op
pollu ing i e s and seas, o s op in oxica ing peoples and ood.” (ci ing The Popoe in
A eni e, R193)
In he biodi e si y discou se among he poli ical pa ies, he posi ion o he F a elli
d’I alia is pa icula ly in e es ing. On he one hand, his igh wing pa y clea ly iden i ies
i sel as p o ec o s o na u e:
Na u al he i age conse a ion is a undamen al elemen o he poli ical iden i y o us
conse a ionis s. […] he e is no hing mo e ' igh -wing' han ecology. The Righ lo es
he en i onmen because i lo es he land, he iden i y, he homeland. P ese ing he
en i onmen means p ese ing and passing on o ou child en he places whe e hey
we e bo n, making hem known and de ending hem. (F a elli d’I alia, IT, Pos. 15)
Howe e , in hei iew he e is no need o p o ec na u e om humans, since hey “do
no conside he p esence o man and his ac i i ies o be a odds wi h en i onmen al
p o ec ion. (F a elli d’I alia, IT, Pos. 16). Ins ead, his pa y uses he biodi e si y
discou se as an a gumen o na ionalis poli ics:
In ou ision, man is he cus odian o C ea ion, who enjoys he beau y in which he is
imme sed and eels an exis en ial du y o p o ec i and hand i o e o hose who will
su i e him. Ou s is a p agma ic and ealis ic a i ude ha holds oge he lo e o
Na u e, he de ence o ou landscapes and he sus ainabili y o ecosys ems wi h human
ac i i ies. (IT_F a elli d’I alia)
Some opics seemed o be pa icula ly ele an o he I alian biodi e si y discussion:
educ ion o plas ic was e in he en i onmen , p ese a ion o ag icul u al a ie y and
gene ically-modi ied o ganisms (GMOs).
64
UK
In he UK, o e all, he biodi e si y discou se seems qui e emo ional. This became
e iden in he ype o language he NGOs use o pe suade eade s o he se e i y o
biodi e si y loss. Also, in he news ou le s – excep o he Me o – he a icles we e
equen ly an h opocen ic and o en accusa o y in na u e. 17 o he 60 a icles
analysed had an accusa o y one wi h commen s such as “Obse e s ha e slammed
he "snail's pace" o nego ia ions and a e p essing o a s eng hening o ambi ions”
(BBC, R248). Ou le s such as he BBC o en issued a wa ning wi h ega d o
biodi e si y decline wi h commen s like he ollowing being common place: “Scien is s
ha e issued epea ed wa nings abou h ea s o na u e d i en by human ac ions,
including chopping down o es s and u ning na u al land o e o a ming” (BBC, R248).
Swi ze land
In he Swiss media a icles pe suading he o ic was e y equen . Ce ain opics s ood
ou in he Swiss discou se such as p i a e ga dening (TA, R108; Le Ma in R122; 20
Minu en; Blick R125), enewable ene gy p ojec s (TA, R103 and R104; Blick R131) o
in asi e species (20 Minu e, R144, R146). Accusa ions ha e been iden i ied in a ound
20 a icles o he Swiss sample, mos o hem a ge ing public adminis a ion, poli icians
o “Swi ze land” in gene al. In addi ion, a pa icula accusa o y discussion is cu en ly
aking place ela ed o biodi e si y. In esponse o he ene gy c ises, he e a e a a ie y
o p oposals in he Swiss pa liamen o speed up he cons uc ion o big sola o
hyd opowe plan s. In his ma e some blame en i onmen al associa ions o be
“sabo aging he comp omise” (Blick, R124) while o he s accuse poli icians:
“Wha is happening in poli ics a he momen is i esponsible. P inciples o he ule o
law a e being h own o e boa d. I is no necessa y o elax en i onmen al egula ions
and massi ely damage biodi e si y in o de o ad ance enewable ene gies” (TA,
R106).
The newspape Le Ma in s ood pa icula ly ou , as i was cha ac e ised by a populis ic
epo ing s yle, wi h only seldom e e ence o he alue o biodi e si y. In one a icle
he newspape ci ed a biodi e si y loss denie among he igh poli ical pa y SVP. Also,
o he newspape s ha e a icles c i icising biodi e si y p o ec ion as being in con lic
wi h o he en i onmen al goals (e.g. enewable ene gy p oduc ion), ood so e eign y
o ou ism. In a he populis ic newspape 20 Minu en, he e u n o h ea ened species
is po ayed as con o e sial as i o en implies p oblems o he local popula ions (e.g.
bea e s in u ban a eas).
Ag icul u e seems o be an emo ional opic in he Swiss biodi e si y discou se. Among
he poli ical pa ies and he NGOs, he e is dispu e abou he ole o a me s in
con ibu ing o biodi e si y loss o p ese ing he la e , he ype o (ag icul u al) a eas
eligible o p o ec ion and calls om NGOs, le and g een pa ies o abolish “ha ming”
subsidies. Also, wild p eda o s a e discussed equen ly. The Ch is ian democ a ic
pa y highligh he need o con olling popula ions o p eda o s such as wol es and
ibex o p e en hem om ep oducing uncon ollably especially in p o ec ed a eas.
The G eens on he o he side, ask he pa liamen no o allow mo e and mo e p o ec ed
species such as he wol o he swan o be sho .
Czech Republic
In gene al, he one o many news ou le a icles is hope ul and he EU laws a e
desc ibed in posi i e e ms:

65
“The mos e ec i e ools o p o ec ing species a e EU-le el laws, such as di ec i es
on en i onmen al p o ec ion, land use o species di e si y. The expansion and linking
o p o ec ed a eas, he managed e u n o species o he wild and e o s o imp o e
he na u al en i onmen , among o he hings, a e wo king.” (P á o, R39)
On balance ‘ aising hope’ is a common he o ic unc ion used whe e a icles wa n hey
equen ly aise hope as a coun e balance. Al hough he e a e accusa o y s a emen s
in Czech news ou le s, such as:
“The main easons o he d ama ic decline in he numbe s o hese bi ds, acco ding o
he , a e he e e -inc easing in ensi y o ag icul u e” (P á o, R38) and “Unlike b eeding
in zoos, he pu pose o which is o p ese e biodi e si y and p o ec endange ed
species, ci cuses b eed animals jus o en e ainmen and p o i ” (Lido e no iny, R25).
In gene al, he one o a icles p esen s biodi e si y as in e es ing in i sel , as well as a
opic o conce n ha needs add essing.
Ne he lands
O e all, news ou le a icles in he Ne he lands we e less accusing and nega i e
compa ed o a icles om o he coun ies, such as he UK. Many a icles in he
Ne he lands epo ed easons o hope, wi h 13 a icles including s a emen s such as
“ a me s a e doing e e y hing hey can o inc ease biodi e si y on hei land”
(Algemeen Dagblad, R201) and “Fo una ely, he e a e now also posi i e
de elopmen s a COP27. Thanks in pa o he B azil o u u e p esiden Lula da Sil a
(who was welcomed like a pop s a in Sha m el-Sheikh on Wednesday)” (De
Volksk an , R221). Ac ually, hope aising he o ic (n=14) we e mo e o en obse ed
han wa ning elemen s (n=12). Al hough some scien i ic a icles we e e iden , mos
a icles we e conce ned wi h he discussion a ound go e nmen le el esponse.
Hunga y
Only a ew o he Hunga ian news ou le a icles add ess biodi e si y as a cen al opic.
Hunga ian a icles a e cha ac e ised by he use o biodi e si y as a suppo ing
a gumen , o pe suade and a gue o o he in e en ions including: cleaning up wa e
cou ses (Index, R43), o es managemen (Index, R44), educing nu ien en ichmen
om dog aeces (Magya Nemze , R52), educ ion o chemical p oduc ion and pollu ion
(Index, R42), and add essing he issue o mic oplas ic in coas al wa e s (O igo, R59).
The discou se In Hunga y includes a nega i e esponse by business and he na ional
go e nmen o EU a emp s o p o ec biodi e si y and conside s i a h ea o
ag icul u al sec o p o i s. This is e idenced in accusa o y s a emen s and wa nings:
“The Na ional Chambe o Ag icul u e is igh ing o he las on he ba le ield in B ussels.
Balázs Győ y, p esiden o he public body, old ou newspape ha he Eu opean
Commission would a he use poli ical capi al o o ce un ealis ic expec a ions on
a me s in he G een Deal han he in e es s o ag icul u e and en i onmen al
p o ec ion” (Magya Nemze , R54)
“Almos all he s udies we ha e seen ag ee ha he measu e would no only ha m he
li elihoods o a me s, bu ha consume s would also pay a high p ice o he inabili y
o eed he ag i- ood indus y.” (Magya Nemze , R49)
Biodi e si y and allied opics a e used in poli ical poin -sco ing h ough o he ing:
“This is he classic le -wing empo: ax e e yone, ax he a me s, he dominan social
s a um o he coun yside. […] Howe e , wha we a e seeing is ha he Timme mans
eam is no app oaching he issue om an economic poin o iew, no a e hey e en
66
d i en by en i onmen al conce ns. I am i mly con inced ha hey a e making poli ics
ou o his oo.” (Magya Nemze , R54)
The a gumen s a ound biodi e si y a e poli icised om bo h sides wi h accusa ion and
coun e accusa ion: “Fo me employees o Bi dLi e Bela us (APB) a e suspec ed o
ying o des abilise he coun y's poli ical li e unde he guise o bi d p o ec ion. A e
24 yea s o wo k, he o ganisa ion was o de ed o close down by he cou ” (Index,
R46)), wi h he a gumen b inging in con lic ha ex ends beyond he Hunga ian bo de .
Despi e his ension in he discou se, hope is aised in se e al cases al hough, o he
mos pa , i is a celeb a ion o he na ional go e nmen p ojec s o p aise o he ac ion
o he Hunga ian people.
Ge many
In Ge many, a bi less han hal o he news ou le a icles had pe suading elemen s
wi hin hem. Usually his in ol ed a call o ac ion (“We ha e o ix he wo ld we
ha e."(Die Zei , R86) o a p oposi ion o wha ough o be done (“Less money o ca ch
c ops and a egionally adap ed subsidy o allow land would he e o e be much mo e
cle e ” (Die Wel , R96). O he a icles used biodi e si y o a gue o ood democ acy
(Die Wel , R100) lowe ing s ips (SZ, R93), me ics o assess co po a e ac ion (FAZ,
R89), educed mea consump ion (FAZ, R87) o su iciency (Die Zei , R83)).
Accusa ions o wa ning he o ic was also used in nine and eigh a icles espec i ely.
Accusa ions we e mainly inexplici and blamed humani y in gene al. In wo a icles he
UN Sec e a y-Gene al An ónio Gu e es was quo ed, calling humani y a "weapon o
mass des uc ion" (Die Zei , R83; Die Zei , R86). Few a icles oiced mo e explici
accusa ions owa ds he ag icul u al lobby (Die Zei , R83), indus ialised coun ies (Die
Zei , R84), China (FAZ, R91) o big companies such as Coca-Cola o Nes lé (Die Wel ,
R100). The Bild newspape s ands ou by being he only newspape om he analysed
i e wi h en e aining and hope aising messages. Wa ning he o ic we e especially
equen in Die Zei ( h ee ou o i e a icles) and used d as ic s a emen s by wo ld
leade s such as Ola Scholz o Jus in T udeau.
Ac o s equen ly e e ed o we e scien is s (19 a icles) and go e nmen s (18 a icles).
In e es ingly he majo i y o e e ences o business ac o s e e s o a me s and
ag icul u al companies. NGOs we e men ioned in all a icles o Die Zei , while being
less p esen in he epo ing o he o he newspape s.
No way
A as majo i y (28 o 37) o No wegian news a icles con ained an h opocen ic alue
s a emen s, o en e e ing speci ically o he mone a y alue o biodi e si y: “I we do
no pu a p ice in k one on na u e, he alue is in p ac ice ze o, i is claimed.”
(Klassenkampen, R334) The he o ic a ound biodi e si y was la gely wa ning o he
isk in i s loss, accusing ei he business o he go e nmen o no p o ec ing
biodi e si y well enough, o pe suasi e in an a emp o inc ease biodi e si y’s
pe cei ed alue. In compa ison o o he coun ies, mo e news a icles ocussed on
ac ion ca ied ou by he gene al public o we e somehow di ec ly ele an o he
gene al public han ela ing o business impac s.
In No way a pa icula biodi e si y ele an opic seems o be he use o cabins. This
has become e iden in he analysis o poli ical pa ies and he news ou le s. The
No wegian G eens ask o a limi a ion o he cons uc ion and expansion o cabins. The
Conse a i es a e clea ly agains such limi a ions as cabin cul u e is an impo an
No wegian alue. The con lic is also e iden in he news:
67
“We an abou he loss o biodi e si y, bu poli icians con inue o allow he cons uc ion
o cabins. I 's ha d o see he connec ion," (A enpos en, R299)
Rema kable is also a pa icula discou se on he “ igh ” ype o knowledge ela ed o
na u e managemen in No way. On a ious occasions he ac o s e e o he aspi a ion
o No way o ollow a “knowledge based poli ics o managemen ”. Howe e , whe he
he ele an knowledge al eady exis s and which kind o knowledge is he igh one,
seems o be unde dispu e. Among he poli ical pa ies, he No wegian Cen e pa y
highligh s he ole o knowledge abou biodi e si y. They s a e ha once we ha e a
good knowledge base, con lic s abou esou ce use can be sol ed. The e is no
ag eemen be ween pa ies o wha ex en we al eady ha e enough knowledge o s ill
need o acqui e knowledge. One libe al and one conse a i e pa y pe cei e ha we
al eady do ha e all he knowledge ha is needed o ake measu es. On ano he
occasion, one o hese wo pa ies call o mo e anspa ency on he loss o biodi e si y.
This is in line wi h he s a emen o he No wegian Social democ a ic pa y whe e hey
highligh a need o be e unde s anding he causes o biodi e si y loss and he
e ec i eness o measu es o suppo biodi e si y. In his dispu e, unce ain y in science
is hus used o a gue o speci ic managemen decisions and di e en g oups call on
di e en scien i ic esul s. In a way he discussions hus become powe s uggles o e
knowledge.
Aus ia
The biodi e si y discou se in all analysed Aus ian news ou le s seems gene ally
in o ming, wi h less emo ional language compa ed o o he coun ies such as he UK
o No way. Such in o ming segmen s a e o en abou places ha a e ich in
biodi e si y, o abou scien i ic disco e ies. The Ku ie p esen s biodi e si y as
some hing o be inspi ed by, o example, one a icle p esen s a long lis o animals,
plan s, ungi and mine als o he yea 2023 wi h desc ip ion o hese species (R360).
Howe e , excep o a ew hin s, he a icle does no p o ide any sugges ions o suppo
hese species.
Accusing he o ic is only ound in a ew a icles (n=7, 15 %). Fo example, one a icle
on COP15 epo ed on an accusa ion by G eenpeace "G eenpeace has ha shly
c i icised he ou come o he summi , saying ha he goal o p o ec ing a leas 30
pe cen o land and ma ine a eas by 2030 has "signi ican gaps" (K onen Zei ung,
R352). Whe e a icles a e wa ning, i is usually a ac ual wa ning abou biodi e si y
loss such as "Rep iles, amphibians, bi ds and insec s in pa icula a e s uggling wi h
d ama ic popula ion declines" (Heu e, R338). In con a y he wa nings in he Kleine
Zei ung a e s a ke : “Human ac i i y, such as he des uc ion o na u al habi a , has
disas ous consequences o he di e si y o li e on ou plane ” (Kleine Zei ung, R376).
In he Ku ie wa nings we e only de ec ed in one a icle.
Ecocen ic (n=17) and an h opocen ic (n=18) alues we e balanced among he
Aus ian news ou le s. Howe e , Kleine Zei ung ended o ocus on mo e
an h opocen ic consequences such as “Among o he hings, biodi e si y o e s us
ood secu i y and can be used o ad ances in medicine” (Kleine Zei ung, R376),
whe eas in Heu e ecocen ic alues we e men ioned mo e equen ly han
an h opocen ic alues. In he Ku ie , alues o biodi e si y a e men ioned only in h ee
ins ances.
In Aus ia he biodi e si y discou se among he analysed poli ical pa ies seems o be
s ongly domina ed by he pa y “Die G ünen” who accoun ed o he majo i y o
s a emen s ha we e coded wi hin he espec i e p ess eleases. The FPÖ, NEOS and
68
SPÖ seem o be much less in ol ed in biodi e si y poli ics and o he ÖVP, we did no
ind any p ess elease men ioning he wo d biodi e si y o ‘A en iel al ’.
Some opics seemed o be pa icula ly ele an o he Aus ian biodi e si y discussion:
alpine pas u e managemen , p omo ion o p eda o s and o he wild animals (especially
wol es), pa en s on plan s and animals, ban on pes icides, expansion o o ganic
a ming.
In e es ingly, he FPÖ uses biodi e si y policy o a gue o a dissolu ion o poli ical
powe owa ds he na ional le el. They call o s op he “dic a e om B ussels” as “The
condi ions in he na ion s a es a e a oo di e en ”.
7.4 Ini ial e lec ions on and some limi a ions o he wo k
The app oach applied wi hin his s udy has o e all p o en as e icien and easy o use
and has p o ided a s uc u ed way o analyse discou ses om a ange o ac o g oups
in di e en Eu opean coun ies. Fo u u e s udies we ecommend emo ing he
‘science-cen ic’ alue ca ego y when s udying biodi e si y alues and ins ead hink o
science-cen ed discou se as a a ia ion o an h opocen ic alues (see sec ion 7.1).
A limi a ion o his wo k is ha he e was no ime es ic ion o publica ions om NGOs
and poli ical pa ies, and ha he news ou le a icles we e sou ced om 2022. While
his app oach gi es an in o ma i e snapsho o he socie al discou se on biodi e si y,
i is limi ed in he abili y o ack he de elopmen o discou ses o e ime. The ex ensi e
pic u e o he cu en socie al discou se places u u e esea ch in he posi ion o add o
his knowledge wi h snapsho s om o he ime pe iods ha would allow conclusions o
be d awn as o changes in he discou se.
A u he limi a ion is ha he esea ch was limi ed o ou ac o g oups om a limi ed
numbe o coun ies o in dep h analysis. Al hough hese ac o g oups we e selec ed
acco ding o he DHA, as ou lined by Reisigl (2017), and combined wi h ca ego isa ions
sugges ed by Lee e al. (2021) and Bemelmans-Videc e al. (2011), he e a e o he
ields, such as educa ion o heal h, ha may be in o ma i e o unde s anding he
socie al discou se on biodi e si y. Time and esou ce cons ain s did no allow he
inclusion o coun ies in he analysis o he discou se in news ou le s o he han he
pa ne coun ies in PLANET4B, while he analysis o he discou se in poli ical pa ies
and NGOs was limi ed o ou and h ee coun ies espec i ely. The inclusion o u he
coun ies in he analysis may ha e gained addi ional insigh s and emains he
challenge o u u e esea ch. Such u u e esea ch will also be aced wi h
me hodological challenges, as his s udy was, such as in e -code eliabili y and he
po en ial o nuance o be los due o ansla ion.
The sea ch s a egy was also a limi a ion o his esea ch. Al hough he sea ch
s a egies o each ield o in e es we e as sys ema ic as possible wi hin ou a ailable
esou ces, some p agma ic decisions had o be made. Fo example, he NGO s udy
was limi ed o p ess eleases because hey we e deemed o be a good way o lea ning
he indi idual NGO’s pe spec i es, bu o he documen ypes, such as speech and/o
in e iew ansc ip s, migh also ha e been in o ma i e. Al hough he “si e” que y in
Google is well sui ed o e u n esul s om one speci ic domain, he que y is no mean
o be comple e and he e o e also no sui able o diagnos ic pu poses. Ins ead o
p o iding in o ma ion on how many pages exis on a gi en domain ha ma ch wi h he
sea ch que y, i e u ns documen s based on a google algo i hm o e alua e ele ance.
75
Väli e onen, E. & Hells en, I. (2002). F om “Bu ning Lib a y” o “G een Medicine”: The
Role o Me apho s in Communica ing Biodi e si y. Science Communica ion,
24(2). 229–245. DOI: 10.1177/107554702237848
Wagne , D. (2020). Insec declines in he An h opocene. Annual Re iew o
En omology, 65, 457–480. h ps://doi.o g/10.1146/annu e -en o-011019-
025151
WBCSD (2021). Wha does na u e-posi i e mean o business? Wo ld Business
Council o Sus ainable De elopmen (WBCSD). A ailable a :
h ps://www.wbcsd.o g/P og ams/Food-and-Na u e/Na u e/Na u e-
Posi i e/Resou ces/Wha -does-na u e-posi i e-mean- o -business (accessed
Ma ch 25, 2023).
WBCSD (2021). Vision 2050 – Time o T ans o m. Wo ld Business Council o
Sus ainable De elopmen (WBCSD). A ailable a :
h ps://www.wbcsd.o g/con en wbc/download/11765/177145/1 (accessed
Ma ch 25, 2023).
Williams, T. (2021). Ad ancing business unde s anding o “na u e posi i e. A ailable
a : h ps://www.wbcsd.o g/O e iew/News-Insigh s/WBCSD-
insigh s/Ad ancing-business-unde s anding-o -na u e-posi i e (accessed
Ma ch 25, 2023).
Wodak, R. (2015). C i ical discou se analysis, discou se-his o ical app oach. In: The
In e na ional Encyclopedia o Language and Social In e ac ion. K. T acy, C.
Ilie & T. Sandel (eds.), Hoboken: JohnWiley & Sons, pp. 1–14.
Wodak, R. & Reisigl, M. (2015). Discou se and Racism. In: The Handbook o Discou se
Analysis, 2nd edn. D. Tannen, H. E. Hamil on & D. Schi in (eds.), Ox o d:
Blackwell Publishe s, pp. 576–596.
h ps://doi.o g/h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/9781118584194.ch27
S a emen on da a a ailabili y
All o he da a ha we e used o gene a e his epo a e publicly a ailable online, wi h
de ailed desc ip ions o he sea ch me hodologies explained in each o he ac o g oup
sec ions (2–6). These desc ip ions will allow eady eplicabili y o he s udy using he
same da e ha we e used in his analysis.
In addi ion, he ull collec ion o analysed ma e ials can be ound on PLANET4B’s
communi y in publicly accessible da a eposi o y Zenodo
(www.zenodo.o g/communi ies/plane 4b).
S a emen on e hics
This wo k exclusi ely used published ma e ial ha was eely a ailable on he In e ne .
No pe sonal da a we e collec ed, so no e hical issues a e appa en . The au ho s
decla e no po en ial con lic s o in e es .

76
Annexes
Annex 1. O e iew o discou ses in academic a icles
Table A1. Types o discou ses ha eme ged om he analysis o academic a icles and he
a icles whe e he discou ses we e p esen ed.
Discou se ype
Occu ence ac oss a icles
U ili a ian
U ili a ian
(Adge e al., 2001; Agges am, 2015; Be y e al., 2018; Bjæ ke, 2019; Blicha ska &
G andin, 2015; Bonie & Hulme, 2015; B edin e al., 2015; B une e al., 2020; Buijs e
al., 2022; Ca men e al., 2018; D u y e al., 2022; Gus a sson, 2013; Howa d e al., 2018;
Huge e al., 2017; Je zkowi z e al., 2018; Jinnah, 2011; Kusmano e al., 2017; Lee e
al., 2021; Mi chell, 2016; Mu adian & Gomez-Bagge hun, 2021; P imme e al., 2017;
Schaal e al., 2022; Se ano e al., 2019; Takala e al., 2019; T oumbis, 2017; Tu nhou
e al., 2013; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002; an den Bu g & Bogaa d , 2014)
Economic
de elopmen
(Chalaye, 2022; Howa d e al., 2018; Mu adian & Gomez-Bagge hun, 2021; Se ano e
al., 2019; Spash & Aslaksen, 2015; Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; Ca men e al., 2018)
Scep ical
(Chalaye, 2022; Takala e al., 2019, 2022a)
Na u e as ca ing
and p o iding
(Bjæ ke, 2019; Olausson & Uggla, 2021)
Ecological
mode nisa ion
(Adge e al., 2001; Agges am, 2015; Anque & Gi a d, 2022; B edin e al., 2015; Ca men
e al., 2018; Chalaye, 2022; D u y e al., 2022; Howa d e al., 2018; Spash & Aslaksen,
2015; Tu nhou e al., 2013; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002; an den Bu g & Bogaa d ,
2014)
Obliga ions
Mo al and Poli ical
obliga ions
(Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Bjæ ke, 2019; Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; Gus a sson, 2013;
Howa d e al., 2018; Mi chell, 2016; Mu adian & Gomez-Bagge hun, 2021; P imme e
al., 2017; Sebas iao and Soa es, 2022; Spash & Aslaksen, 2015; an den Bu g &
Bogaa d , 2014)
Na u e conse a ion discou ses
In e en ionis
(B edin e al., 2015; Mi chell, 2016; Se ano e al., 2019; an den Bu g & Bogaa d , 2014)
P ese a ionis
(Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Be y e al., 2018; Bjæ ke, 2019; Blicha ska & G andin, 2015;
B edin e al., 2015; Howa d e al., 2018; Huge e al., 2017; Mangachena & Picke ing,
2021; Mi chell, 2016; S einwall, 2015; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002)
Responsibili y
(Huge e al., 2017; Takala e al., 2019; an den Bu g & Bogaa d , 2014 ; Zemanek, 2022)
Solu ions and
issues wi h hem
(Huge e al., 2017; an den Bu g & Bogaa d , 2014)
Solida i y
Cul u al solida i y
and alues
(Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Mi chell; Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Aus en e al., 2023; Bjæ ke,
2019; Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; B edin e al., 2015; Buijs e al., 2022; Ca men e al.,
2018; Howa d e al., 2018; Se ano e al., 2019; Takala e al., 2019), 2016)
77
Ecological
solida i y
(Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Bjæ ke, 2019; Chalaye, 2022; D u y e al., 2022; Howa d e al.,
2018; Jinnah, 2011; P imme e al., 2017; Schaal e al., 2022; Se ano e al., 2019)
Holis ic (Mo he ea h)
Holis ic (Mo he
Ea h)
(Be y e al., 2018; Bonie & Hulme, 2015; B une e al., 2020; Ca men e al., 2018;
Howa d e al., 2018; Lee e al., 2021)
Biocen ic
(Agges am, 2015)
Ecological collapse
(Anque & Gi a d, 2022; Chalaye, 2022; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002)
Na u e as e e nal
and magni icen
(Olausson & Uggla, 2021)
Na u e as migh y
bu delica e
(Olausson & Uggla, 2021; Zemanek, 2022)
Non-g ouped discou ses
Scien i ic Specimen
logic
(Bjæ ke, 2019; Blicha ska & G andin, 2015; Boi al, 2016; Gus a sson, 2013; Howa d e
al., 2018; Je zkowi z e al., 2018; Lee e al., 2021; Mi chell, 2016; P imme e al., 2017;
Spash & Aslaksen, 2015; Toep e , 2019; Tu nhou e al., 2013; Vali e onen & Hells en,
2002)
Unin ol ed
(Adle e al., 2017; Boi al, 2016; D u y e al., 2022 ; Ibou oi e al., 2021 ; Takala e al.,
2022b; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002)
Conce ned
(Bjæ ke, 2019; Boi al, 2016; Ca men e al., 2018; Ibou io e al., 2021; Oh ani, 2022;
Schaal e al., 2022; Takala e al., 2022b; Vali e onen & Hells en, 2002)
T anscendence
(Mi chell, 2016)
78
Annex 2. Full lis o e iewed academic a icles
Adge , W. N., Benjaminsen, T. A., B own, K. & S a s ad, H. (2001). Ad ancing a
poli ical ecology o global en i onmen al discou ses. De elopmen and
Change, 32(4), 681–715. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/1467-7660.00222
Adle , R., Mansi, M., Pandey, R. & S inge , C. (2017). Uni ed Na ions Decade on
Biodi e si y A s udy o he epo ing p ac ices o he Aus alian mining indus y.
Accoun ing Audi ing & Accoun abili y Jou nal, 30(8), 1711–1745.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/aaaj-04-2015-2028
Agges am, F. (2015). F aming he ecosys em concep h ough a longi udinal s udy o
de elopmen s in science and policy. Conse a ion Biology, 29(4), 1052–1064.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/cobi.12516
Anque , R. & Gi a d, F. (2022). Biocul u al Communi y P o ocols and he E hic o
S ewa dship: The So e eign S ewa ds o Biodi e si y. In: Biocul u al Righ s,
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communi ies: P o ec ing Cul u e and he
En i onmen . F. Gi a d, I. Hall, & C. F ison (eds.), London: Rou ledge, pp. 271–
313. h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781003172642-14
Apos olopoulou, E., Bo mpoudakis, D., Paloniemi, R., Cen , J., G odzinska-Ju czak,
M., Pie zyk-Kaszynska, A. & Pan is, J. D. (2014). Go e nance escaling and
he neolibe aliza ion o na u e: he case o biodi e si y conse a ion in ou EU
coun ies. In e na ional Jou nal o Sus ainable De elopmen and Wo ld
Ecology, 21(6), 481–494. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13504509.2014.979904
Aus en, G. E., Dallime , M., I ine, K. N., Fishe , J. C., Fish, R. D. & Da ies, Z. G.
(2023). The di e si y o people’s ela ionships wi h biodi e si y should in o m
o es es o a ion and c ea ion. Conse a ion Le e s, 16(1).
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/conl.12930
Aus en, G. E., Dallime , M., I ine, K. N., Maund, P. R., Fish, R. D. & Da ies, Z. G.
(2021). Explo ing sha ed public pe spec i es on biodi e si y a ibu es. People
and Na u e, 3(4), 901–913. h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/pan3.10237
Ba naud, C., Fische , A., S addon, S., Blacks ock, K., Mo eau, C., Co be a, E., Hes e ,
A., Ma he e , R., McKee, A., Reyes, J., Si ami, C. & Eas wood, A. (2021). Is
o es egene a ion good o biodi e si y? Explo ing he social dimensions o
an appa en ly ecological deba e. En i onmen al Science & Policy, 120, 63–72.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en sci.2021.02.012
Ba ios-O’Neill, D. (2021). Focus and social con agion o en i onmen al o ganiza ion
ad ocacy on Twi e . Conse a ion Biology, 35(1), 307–315.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/cobi.13564
Benjaminsen, T. A., Kepe, T. & B a hen, S. (2008). Be ween global in e es s and local
needs: Conse a ion and land e o m in Namaqualand, Sou h A ica. A ica,
78(2), 223–244. h ps://doi.o g/10.3366/e0001972008000144
Be y, P. M., Fabok, V., Blicha ska, M., B edin, Y. K., Llo en e, M. G., Ko acs, E.,
Geamana, N., S anciu, A., Te mansen, M., Jaaskelainen, T., Hasle , J. R. &
Ha ison, P. A. (2018). Why conse e biodi e si y? A mul i-na ional explo a ion
o s akeholde s’ iews on he a gumen s o biodi e si y conse a ion.
Biodi e si y and Conse a ion, 27(7), 1741–1762.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-016-1173-z
79
Beume , C. & Ma ens, P. (2013). IUCN and pe spec i es on biodi e si y conse a ion
in a changing wo ld. Biodi e si y And Conse a ion, 22(13–14), 3105–3120.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-013-0573-6
Bjæ ke, M. R. (2019). Making in isible changes isible: Animal examples and he
communica ion o biodi e si y loss. Cul u e Unbound, 11(3), 394–414.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3384/CU.2000.1525.191127
Blicha ska, M. & G andin, U. (2015). Why p o ec biodi e si y? Pe spec i es o
conse a ion p o essionals in Poland. In e na ional Jou nal o Biodi e si y
Science, Ecosys em Se ices and Managemen , 11(4), 349–362.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/21513732.2015.1050969
Boi al, O. (2016). Accoun ing o he Unaccoun able: Biodi e si y Repo ing and
Imp ession Managemen . Jou nal o Business E hics, 135(4), 751–768.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10551-014-2497-9
Bonie, M. & Hulme, M. (2015). F aming global biodi e si y: IPBES be ween mo he
ea h and ecosys em se ices. En i onmen al Science & Policy, 54, 487–496.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en sci.2015.05.009
B edin, Y. K., Lindhjem, H., an Dijk, J. & Linnell, J. D. C. (2015). Mapping alue
plu ali y owa ds ecosys em se ices in he case o No wegian wildli e
managemen : A Q analysis. Ecological Economics, 118, 198–206.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.07.005
B une , N. D., Dagenais, D., B eux, S. & Handa, I. T. (2020). A cha ac e iza ion o
media ep esen a ion o biodi e si y and implica ions o public pe cep ions
and en i onmen al policy: he case o Quebec, Canada. En i onmen
De elopmen and Sus ainabili y, 22(2), 1655–1669.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10668-018-0244-6
Buijs, A., Kampho s , D., Ma ijssen, T., Kuinde sma, W., Bouwma, I. & an Dam, R.
(2022). Policy discou ses o econnec ing na u e wi h socie y: The sea ch o
socie al engagemen in Du ch na u e conse a ion policies. Land Use Policy,
114. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105965
Ca men, E., Wa , A. & Young, J. (2018). A guing o biodi e si y in p ac ice: a case
s udy om he UK. Biodi e si y and Conse a ion, 27(7), 1599–1617.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-016-1264-x
Chaigneau, T. & B own, K. (2016). Challenging he win-win discou se on conse a ion
and de elopmen : analyzing suppo o ma ine p o ec ed a eas. Ecology and
Socie y, 21(1). h ps://doi.o g/10.5751/es-08204-210136
Chalaye, P. (2022). The discu si e sou ces o en i onmen al p og ess and i s limi s:
biodi e si y poli ics in F ance. En i onmen al Poli ics, 32(1), 90–112.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/09644016.2022.2034411
Damiens, F. L. P., Po e , L. & Go don, A. (2021). The poli ics o biodi e si y o se ing
ac oss ime and ins i u ional scales. Na u e Sus ainabili y, 4(2), 170–179.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/s41893-020-00636-9
Dempsey, B. (2021). Unde s anding con lic ing iews in conse a ion: An analysis o
England. Land Use Policy, 104.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105362.
D u y, M., Fulle , J. & Keijze , M. (2022). Biodi e si y communica ion a he UN Summi
2020: Blending business and na u e. Discou se & Communica ion, 16(1), 37–
57. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/17504813211043720
80
Du and, L. & Vazquez, L. B. (2011). Biodi e si y conse a ion discou ses. A case s udy
on scien is s and go e nmen au ho i ies in Sie a de Huau la Biosphe e
Rese e, Mexico. Land Use Policy, 28(1), 76–82.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.landusepol.2010.04.009
Espinosa, C. (2013). The iddle o lea ing he oil in he soil-Ecuado ’s Yasuni-ITT
p ojec om a discou se pe spec i e. Fo es Policy and Economics, 36, 27–
36. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j. o pol.2012.07.012
Gus a sson, K. M. (2013). En i onmen al discou ses and biodi e si y: he cons uc ion
o a s o yline in unde s anding and managing an en i onmen al issue. Jou nal
O In eg a i e En i onmen al Sciences, 10(1), 39–54.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1943815X.2013.769455
Howa d, B., B aa , L. C., Bug e , R. J. F., Ca men, E., Hails, R. S., Wa , A. D. & Young,
J. C. (2018). Taking s ock o he spec um o a gumen s o biodi e si y.
Biodi e si y and Conse a ion, 27(7), 1561–1574.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-016-1082-1
Huge, J., Roche e, A. J., de Bis ho en, L. J., Dahdouh-Guebas, F., Koedam, N. &
Vanho e, M. P. M. (2017). U ili a ian amings o biodi e si y shape
en i onmen al impac assessmen in de elopmen coope a ion. En i onmen al
Science & Policy, 75, 91–102. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en sci.2017.06.003
Ibou oi, M. T., Dhu ham, S. A. O., Besna d, A. & Lescu eux, N. (2021). Unde s anding
D i e s o Unsus ainable Na u al Resou ce Use in he Como o Islands.
T opical Conse a ion Science, 14.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/19400829211032585
Je zkowi z, J., an Koppen, C. S. A., Lidskog, R., O , K., Voge -Kleschin, L. & Wong,
C. M. L. (2018). The signi icance o meaning. Why IPBES needs he social
sciences and humani ies. Inno a ion: The Eu opean Jou nal o Social Science
Resea ch, 31, pp. 38–60. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13511610.2017.1348933
Jinnah, S. (2011). Ma ke ing Linkages: Sec e a ia Go e nance o he Clima e-
Biodi e si y In e ace. Global En i onmen al Poli ics, 11(3), 23–43.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1162/GLEP_a_00067
Jou sen i a, M. (2009). A Language Pe spec i e o En i onmen al Managemen and
Co po a e Responsibili y. Business S a egy and The En i onmen , 18(4),
240–253. h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/bse.574
Kelemen, E., Nguyen, G., Gomie o, T., Ko acs, E., Choisis, J. P., Choisis, N., Paole i,
M. G., Podmaniczky, L., Ryschawy, J., Sa hou, J. P., He zog, F., Dennis, P.
& Balazs, K. (2013). Fa me s’ pe cep ions o biodi e si y: Lessons om a
discou se-based delibe a i e alua ion s udy. Land Use Policy, 35, 318–328.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.06.005
Kusmano , A. M., Fidle , F., Go don, A. & Bekessy, S. A. (2017). Decline o
“biodi e si y” in conse a ion policy discou se in Aus alia. En i onmen al
Science & Policy, 77, 160–165. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.en sci.2017.08.016
Lee, S. H., Kang, Y. H. & Dai, R. (2021). Towa d a Mo e Expansi e Discou se in a
Changing Wo ld: An Analysis o Poli ical Leade s’ Speeches on Biodi e si y.
Sus ainabili y, 13(5). h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/su13052899
Linds om, K. (2019). Classic and cu e: F aming biodi e si y in Japan h ough u al
landscapes and masco cha ac e s. Popula Communica ion, 17(3), 233–251.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/15405702.2019.1567735

81
Mangachena, J. R. & Picke ing, C. M. (2021). Implica ions o social media discou se
o managing na ional pa ks in Sou h A ica. Jou nal o En i onmen al
Managemen , 285. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jen man.2021.112159
Ma oun, W., Ushe , K. & Mansoo , H. (2018). Biodi e si y epo ing and o ganised
hypoc isy: The case o he Sou h A ican ood and e ail indus y. Quali a i e
Resea ch in Accoun ing and Managemen , 15(4), 437–464.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/q am-07-2017-0066
Mi chell, A. (2016). Beyond Biodi e si y and Species: P oblema izing Ex inc ion.
Theo y Cul u e & Socie y, 33(5), 23–42.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/0263276415619219
Mo is, C. & W agg, A. (2003). Talking abou he bi ds and he bees: Biodi e si y claims
making a he local le el. En i onmen al Values, 12(1), 71–90.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3197/096327103129341234
Mu adian, R. & Gomez-Bagge hun, E. (2021). Beyond ecosys em se ices and
na u e’s con ibu ions: Is i ime o lea e u ili a ian en i onmen alism behind?
Ecological Economics, 185. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107038
Neumann, R. P. (2004). Mo al and discu si e geog aphies in he wa o biodi e si y
in A ica. Poli ical Geog aphy, 23(7), 813–837.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.011
Oh ani, S. (2022). How is People’s Awa eness o “Biodi e si y” Measu ed? Using
Sen imen Analysis and LDA Topic Modeling in he Twi e Discou se Space
om 2010 o 2020. SN Compu e Science, 3(5).
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s42979-022-01276-w
Olausson, U. & Uggla, Y. (2021). Celeb i ies celeb i ying na u e: he discu si e
cons uc ion o he human-na u e ela ionship in he “Na u e Is Speaking”
campaign. Celeb i y S udies, 12(3), 353–370.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/19392397.2019.1626749
Pa ajuli, P. (1997). Discou se on knowledge, dialogue and di e si y: Peasan
wo ld iews and he science o na u e conse a ion. Wo ld iews: En i onmen ,
Cul u e, Religion, 1(3), 189–210. h ps://doi.o g/10.1163/156853597X00128
P imme , E., Te mansen, M., B edin, Y., Blicha ska, M., Ga cia-Llo en e, M., Be y, P.,
Jaaskelainen, T., Bela, G., Fabok, V., Geamana, N., Ha ison, P. A., Hasle ,
J. R., Coso , G. L. & Ande sen, A. H. K. (2017). Caugh Be ween Pe sonal and
Collec i e Values: Biodi e si y conse a ion in Eu opean decision-making.
En i onmen al Policy and Go e nance, 27(6), 588–604.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/ee .1763
Sand oni, L. T. & Ca nei o, M. J. T. (2016). “Biodi e si y conse a ion” in B azilian
social sciences: A sys ema ic e iew om 1992 o 2010. Ambien e e
Sociedade, 19(3), 21–46. h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/1809-
4422ASOC130181V1932016
Schaal, T., Jacobs, A., Le en on, J., Scheele, B., Lindenmaye , D. & Hanspach, J.
(2022). “You can’ be g een i you’ e in he ed”: Local discou ses on he
p oduc ion-biodi e si y in e sec ion in a mixed a ming a ea in sou h-eas e n
Aus alia. Land Use Policy, 121.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106306
Sebas iao, S. P. & Soa es, I. (2022). En i onmen al diplomacy: om ansna ional
policies o he ole o ambassado s – he con ibu ion o Da id A enbo ough
82
(2018–2020). Jou nal O Communica ion Managemen .
h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/JCOM-04-2022-0030
Se ano, J. V, Gelisan, L. A., Lacas e, A. V, Muyco, P. G. M., Alazada, N. D. S. &
Ma asigan, S. B. (2019). Discou se analysis o indigenous women’s cons uc
on biodi e si y and sus ainable de elopmen . In e na ional Jou nal o Social
Ecology and Sus ainable De elopmen , 10(4), 31–46.
h ps://doi.o g/10.4018/IJSESD.2019100103
Spash, C. L. & Aslaksen, I. (2015). Re-es ablishing an ecological discou se in he
policy deba e o e how o alue ecosys ems and biodi e si y. Jou nal o
En i onmen al Managemen , 159, 245–253.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jen man.2015.04.049
S einwall, A. (2015). Na u alness o Biodi e si y: Nego ia ing he Dilemma o
In e en ion in Swedish P o ec ed A ea Managemen . En i onmen al Values,
24(1), 31–54. h ps://doi.o g/10.3197/096327115X14183182353791
Takala, T., B ockhaus, M., Hujala, T., Tanskanen, M., Leh inen, A., Tikkanen, J. &
Toppinen, A. (2022). Discu si e ba ie s o olun a y biodi e si y conse a ion:
The case o Finnish o es owne s. Fo es Policy And Economics, 136.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j. o pol.2021.102681
Takala, T., Hujala, T., Tanskanen, M. & Tikkanen, J. (2019). Compe ing discou ses o
he o es shape o es owne s’ ideas abou na u e and biodi e si y
conse a ion. Biodi e si y and Conse a ion, 28(13), 3445–3464.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-019-01831-7
Tancau, M. M. (2011). C a ing wild na u e in sou h-wes Uganda: ich communi ies,
happy ou is s? Jou nal o Eas e n A ican S udies, 5(3), 465–481.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/17531055.2011.611669
Toep e , G. (2019). On he Impossibili y and Dispensabili y o De ining “Biodi e si y”.
His o y, Philosophy and Theo y o he Li e Sciences, 24, 341–351.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/978-3-030-10991-2_16
T oumbis, A. Y. (2017). Declining Google T ends o public in e es in biodi e si y:
seman ics, s a is ics o aceabili y o changing p io i ies? Biodi e si y and
Conse a ion, 26(6), 1495–1505. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10531-017-1294-z
Tu nhou , E., Wa e on, C., Ne es, K. & Buize , M. (2013). Re hinking biodi e si y: om
goods and se ices o “li ing wi h.” Conse a ion Le e s, 6(3), 154–161.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00307.x
Vali e onen, E. & Hells en, I. (2002). F om “bu ning lib a y” o “g een medicine” – The
ole o me apho s in communica ing biodi e si y. Science Communica ion,
24(2), 229–245. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/107554702237848
an den Bu g, S. W. K. & Bogaa d , M. J. (2014). Business and biodi e si y: A ame
analysis. Ecosys em Se ices, 8, 178–184.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.ecose .2014.04.005
Zemanek, E. (2022). Be ween agili y and esilience: Ambi alen images o na u e in
popula documen a ies wi h Da id A enbo ough. An h opocene Re iew, 9(2),
139–160. h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/20530196221093477
Zinng ebe, Y. M. (2016). Conse a ion na a i es in Pe u: en isioning biodi e si y in
sus ainable de elopmen . Ecology and Socie y, 21(2).
h ps://doi.o g/10.5751/es-08512-210235