Policy Brief | What policymakers need to learn from bottom-up biodiversity action

More substantial efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss are urgently needed. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) calls for transformative societal change that evolves along ‘system-wide shifts in views, structures and practices’ (O'Brien 2025: 5). IPBES underscores the critical role of bottom-up actors, asserting that meaningful change cannot just be forced top-down by public authorities.

Initiatives and interventions generated by bottom-up actors – citizen groups, non-governmental organisations, and frontrunning enterprises and civil servants engaged in innovative practices – can and often do open new avenues for the making of transformative change. This was shown in recent findings by the project ‘Biodiversity Nexus: Transformative Change for Sustainability’, co-funded by Horizon Europe and the UK Research and Innovation.

Valve, H., Hebinck, A., Saarikoski, H., D’Amato, D., Airos, M.