NATURE FUTURES FRAMEWORK
What is the Nature Futures Framework ?
The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a flexible tool developed by the IPBES Task Force on Scenarios and Models to support the development of scenarios and models of desirable futures for people, nature and Mother Earth. Unlike traditional scenarios that often focus on single goals or outcomes, the NFF provides an opportunity to explicitly consider different outcomes based on different value perspectives, making space for plurality in how we understand and value nature.
The Nature Futures Framework is a flexible tool developed to support the development of scenarios and models of desirable futures for people, nature and Mother Earth. Decision IPBES/9/1
Future Ecosystems for Africa’s role
FEFA has been at the forefront of applying and advancing the NFF through our partnership with the IPBES Task Force on Scenarios and Models. The Future Ecosystems for Africa (FEFA) program co-funded the IPBES Nature Futures Framework workshop in partnership with the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). The workshop was organized by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Taskforce on Scenarios and Models and hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Rural Facility from 14 to 17 November 2022. The main aim of the workshop was to provide input for the revision of methodological guidance of the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) and provide feedback on its use from various case studies and fields of expertise.
Professor Laura Pereira co-facilitated the hosting of the workshop through her position as a member of the IPBES Taskforce and as the FEFA Co-Principal Investigator, a program funded by the Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation (OGRC). Further, three PhD students from the Wits Global Change Institute (GCI), Senankpon Stephane Tcheton (FEFA funded), Joyce Ojino (Exxaro Funded) and Mulako Kabisa (FEFA funded) provided support as rapporteurs for all sessions during the workshop.
Photo of the group from the Task Force and invited participants’ fieldtrip into Kruger
Why this matters
Our application of the NFF represents a groundbreaking approach to future planning that incorporates plural values and diverse worldviews to strengthen the positive relationship between people and nature across complementary African ecosystems. We advance novel anticipatory governance systems and capabilities through FEFA’s case studies that demonstrate the transformative potential of integrating indigenous knowledge with contemporary conservation science. The innovation in our work lies in applying the Nature Futures Framework across different ecosystem types, moving beyond imposing singular conservation models to authentically integrate multiple ways of understanding and valuing nature, creating pathways that are both ecologically sound and culturally grounded in African contexts.