ExCASES Mission: Who decides for Nature? Embedding deliberative democracy in biodiversity renewal.

Research team

Partners

Collaborators

University of Westminster

Aims

ExCASES ‘missions’ provide short, intense periods of focus on issues that have been communicated as priorities for RENEW partner organisations and external stakeholders. The ExCASES team work collaboratively with people across different sectors and disciplines, co-designing research and participatory processes to generate empowering outcomes for people and the environment.

This project investigated how we can use learning from the People’s Plan for Nature – and other innovative deliberative and participatory public engagement processes – to embed democratic governance within the nature sector, to support more inclusive and effective decision-making, and positive outcomes for biodiversity renewal.

Our research employed a process of co-design with 34 participants, using 28 interviews and a workshop (with the partners and collaborators listed above) to:

• explore the influence and impacts of the People’s Plan for Nature,
• identify how we can use learning from the People’s Plan for Nature to improve participation and capacity-building within organisations involved in biodiversity renewal to ‘systematise’ (embed) deliberative democracy within organisational systems and culture, and
• share lessons from the People’s Plan for Nature process, and draw on innovative tools and experiences from other participatory initiatives, to help amplify learning and integrate deliberative democracy across the nature sector – and beyond.

Approach

The ongoing nature and climate crises demand inclusive, rapid and novel solutions. Yet there is an increasing awareness that without incorporating a broader range of voices in decision-making processes, we are unlikely to unlock the transformative pathways necessary to address these ‘wicked’ problems of our time. Deliberative public engagement initiatives have been proposed as a way of addressing this need by creating popular mandates for change, increasing participation in decision-making, enhancing civic education, and generating innovative solutions, due to their potential to build agency and capacity within instigating agencies, the public, and beyond. In doing so, they hold the promise of improving the quality, legitimacy and feasibility of environmental outcomes. What is less-well known about deliberative processes, such as these, is the extent to which they are “legitimate, credible and useful” to those involved (Sandover, 2021).

The People’s Plan for Nature represented a unique example of one such initiative. Rather than being commissioned by a state actor, it was instigated by three environmental NGOs – the National Trust, RSPB and WWF – to engage a diverse range of voices in a national conversation and citizens’ assembly on the future of nature in the UK.

This mission responds to these questions by exploring lessons from the People’s Plan for Nature, and other innovative participatory exercises, by taking a systemic approach to deliberative democracy.  The advantage of this perspective is that it emphasises the interconnections between individual deliberative initiatives, and other actors, institutions and processes, which allows a more holistic view to be taken of whether and how exercises in democratic innovation can set in motion a lasting cascade of deliberative practices, cultures, and systems.

Methods

Using a newly launched evaluation framework, developed by the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA), the study evaluates the impacts of the People’s Plan for Nature, and offers lessons from the process for policymakers, practitioners and academics wanting to understand and integrate more inclusive and effective decision-making processes to bring positive outcomes for people and biodiversity renewal. Drawing on the expertise of the mission’s diverse participants, a spotlight is cast on innovative examples, and recommendations are provided for how the sector can apply these lessons to pull together as a more holistic, deliberative democratic system to benefit people and nature.

In keeping with the ExCASES agile and co-design model of working, the project employed an iterative process, using interviews and a workshop to draw on the expertise of 34 participants from inside – and outside – the People’s Plan for Nature process and nature sector. These participants included: the People’s Plan commissioning team and delivery partners, Assembly members, speakers and on-call experts; democracy experts and practitioners; legal, policy and inclusion specialists; national and local government officials; conservation sector representatives (including youth leaders); business and farming interests; and community engagement and participation practitioners (for the full list of organisations involved, see above).

Key Findings

Our research shows that deliberative initiatives, such as the People’s Plan for Nature, can play an important role in addressing some of the widely recognised deficits of representative democracy. It argues democratic deliberation can provide an alternative and complementary approach by improving the quality, legitimacy, and feasibility of environmental decision-making processes and outcomes.

Ten key lessons and recommendations are presented for how to build on the legacy of the People’s Plan for Nature by mainstreaming the principles of deliberative democracy into broader environmental governance. Pervading these recommendations is the central need to understand how a holistic, deliberative system might work in practice. This involves creating greater consciousness about who decides for nature; namely, who is included (and how), who is marginalised, and who is missing. Only by casting a more power-critical eye on existing biases in the ways – and places – decision-making systems operate will it be possible to develop innovative and appropriate means of addressing them.

The report calls for a more normative and critical approach to create opportunities for embedding the principles of equality, inclusion, and environmental justice. This means cultivating a mindset of ‘power with’ citizens, centring marginalised and unheard voices, and taking a community-based and ‘people and nature’ approach. In practical terms, this involves establishing more flexible and innovative deliberative spaces that are better tailored to the needs of those who are not yet meaningfully able to access or influence decision-making processes on equal terms.

Further, by rebalancing the dominance of natural science with social science perspectives in conservation, using more experimental and reflexive methods, and building an evidence base for understanding where public engagement works best, we can provide a stronger justification for – and examples of how – deliberative processes can be linked to responsive environmental governance.

1. The People’s Plan for Nature created a powerful public mandate for nature action,
   showing there is an appetite and shared urgency among a representative cross-section
   of the population for a progressive environmental agenda.
2. The process has raised the salience of pro-nature policy and pushed the boundaries of
   what ambitious action for nature could look like by proposing radical new pathways,
   such as calling for: access to nature as a human right, legal rights for future generations,
   a permanent Assembly for Nature, and a Director for Nature on every company board.
3. It has paved the way for more joined-up policies and cross-sectoral action for nature
   restoration, and accelerated a shift in attitudes about the value of citizens’ assemblies
   and deliberative democracy more widely.
4. Deliberative activities should not be seen as one-off, democratically ‘curated’ events, but
   opportunities to embed equity and inclusion – and promote environmental justice – in
   wider governance structures.
5. There is an urgent need for the nature sector to pull together as a holistic deliberative
   system, promoting a ‘people and nature’ approach in partnership with the public sector,
   businesses, communities and individuals.
6. Leaders and funders should implement longer project horizons and funding cycles to
   demonstrate their commitment to transformative social and environmental change.

We hope findings from this project offer food for thought, valuable examples of innovation to draw from, and inspiration to adopt more inclusive, deliberative and participatory approaches to deliver the positive outcomes for people and nature we so urgently need.

Testimonials

“I think this report is a is a real tour de force. We haven’t had many reports that look into deliberative processes in such depth and detail as this piece of work. We’re going to share it with everyone to explain how these processes work, what kind of long-term impacts are possible, and how they can work even better.”

Sarah Castell, CEO, Involve

 

“In science/policy institutions we consider ourselves to be the experts and advisers to government on all things natural and often perceive ourselves as not needing external expertise outside trusted partners in eNGOs and academia. I’m really pleased to see this report articulate the real value and integrity of integrating different voices, and I will use it within my own organisation to demonstrate the value of inclusive social processes in building learning and knowledge to complement scientific expertise.”

Paul Hinds, Principal Officer – Public Engagement for Nature & Society, Connecting People with Nature, Natural England

 

“It was my pleasure to have been a part of the project. I’m in total admiration. And it’s helped me grow as a person and a producer for Nature Daze and Radio Nation Coventry.”

Shantyl Rogers, Member of the People’s Assembly for Nature, DJ, Mentor and Youth Advocate

 

“Very practically this will inform our recruitment advice to processes commissioned by charities – that they might need to be more like the multi-stakeholder large remuneration model that PPFN had, in order to get enough public engagement to make recruitment work well.”

Tom Lord, Director, Sortition Foundation

 

“I really enjoyed being part of this process, and am grateful we’ve been able to share the learnings widely.”

People’s Plan for Nature team

 

“Thank you so much for including me in the entire project! It has been an absolute delight to hear from and work with everyone. This is all sooo exciting, I have a real taste for advocating for democracy and equality now!”

Peter Dunbar, Member of the People’s Assembly for Nature, Carer

 

“I now have a stronger belief that, when properly organised, citizens’ assemblies are an IMMENSELY powerful tool for inciting change.”

People’s Plan for Nature team

Who decides for Nature? Embedding deliberative democracy in biodiversity renewal.

Download the Full Report (Release date: 1st May 2025)