Relational Values
Background
The concept of relational values emerged in environmental ethics and sustainability science as a response to limitations in traditional valuation frameworks that categorized nature’s value primarily as instrumental (utility-based) or intrinsic (inherent worth). Early environmental valuation failed to capture the rich, heterogeneous ways that people value their relationships with nature beyond mere use or inherent qualities.[1]
The term "relational values" was first clearly articulated by philosopher Barbara Muraca in 2011, grounding the idea in a radical relational ontology where relationships are constitutive rather than external to entities.[2] The concept gained high visibility after inclusion in the 2015 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework, which positioned relational values as a third key category of nature’s value alongside instrumental and intrinsic values.[3]
In 2016, a seminal paper by Kai Chan and colleagues in PNAS further popularized relational values, articulating them as the values that arise from the quality and ethics of relationships between people and nature, and also among people through nature.[4] This work built on earlier notions by Brown (1984) who referenced values arising in the relational realm,[5] and expanded the analytical scope beyond previous valuation models.
Since then, empirical and theoretical research has refined relational values as including dimensions of care, responsibility, identity, reciprocity, and kinship, emphasizing reciprocal and non-substitutable qualities. These values have been recognized as critical for decolonizing sustainability, incorporating Indigenous and diverse epistemologies, and reshaping environmental governance. The emerging scholarship continues to explore relational values’ ethical foundations, measurement challenges, and transformative potential in practice and policy.
This background situates relational values as a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and culturally inclusive framework essential for addressing complex social-ecological systems and fostering sustainability transitions.
Introduction
Relational values represent a distinct category of environmental values that emphasize meaningful, reciprocal relationships between humans and nature, as well as among humans across generations. Unlike instrumental values, which focus on nature’s utility to humans, or intrinsic values, which assert nature’s worth independent of human use, relational values center on the quality and dynamics of relationships themselves. This concept integrates diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous epistemologies, and encompasses moral, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. Relational values offer a holistic framework for understanding human–nature connections fundamental to sustainability and environmental ethics, expanding beyond existing valuation paradigms toward more inclusive and transformative approaches.[6][4][7]
Conceptual Framework
Relational values encompass multifaceted dimensions spanning epistemology (ways of knowing), ontology (ways of being), and ethics (ways of doing). As frameworks for knowing, being, and acting, relational values emphasize the interdependence and co-creation among humans and more-than-human entities within complex socioecological systems. These relationships are reciprocal and non-substitutable; their value lies not merely in the entities involved, but in the unique connections themselves. Rooted in kincentric ecology, relational values embrace familial and reciprocal ties with land, species, and ecosystems, challenging anthropocentric and dualistic worldviews prevalent in Western environmental thought.[6][8][9][4]
Applications in Sustainability and Environmental Education
In sustainability science and education, relational values serve as critical leverage points for transformative systemic change. By normalizing human-nature interdependence and fostering ethical responsibility, relational values challenge entrenched Cartesian dualisms and anthropocentrism. Educational programs that incorporate relational values promote empathy, stewardship, and long-term engagement, extending beyond economic or regulatory motivations. This approach is essential in decolonizing sustainability curricula by including Indigenous worldviews and fostering ecological consciousness that acknowledges spirituality and collective responsibility.[6][10][11]
Cultural and Disciplinary Contexts
Relational values resonate across diverse cultural traditions worldwide. Indigenous frameworks such as Latin American buen vivir and African ubuntu illustrate holistic interdependence of community and environment. Major religious and philosophical traditions—including Buddhism’s emphasis on interdependence and Western environmental ethics inspired by Aldo Leopold—also recognize relationality and stewardship. Furthermore, relational values have broad relevance across disciplines, informing environmental psychology, sociology, ethics, economics, and conservation biology, reflecting the inherently inter- and transdisciplinary nature of human-environment relationships.[6][12][13][14]
Challenges, Measurement, and Future Directions
Despite growing recognition, operationalizing and measuring relational values remain challenging due to their contextual, subjective, and culturally embedded nature. Ongoing efforts aim to develop qualitative and quantitative tools that capture relational dimensions without reductionism. Equally important is ensuring inclusivity of Indigenous and non-Western ontologies in such assessments. Future research must focus on refining methodologies, expanding empirical studies, and more fully integrating relational values into environmental governance and policy frameworks to foster sustainability and justice.[6][15][16]
References
- ↑ Ross, Helen; Witt, Katherine; Jones, Natalie A. (2018). "Stephen Kellert's development and contribution of relational values in social-ecological systems". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 35: 46–53. Bibcode:2018COES...35...46R. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2018.10.007.
- ↑ Muraca, Barbara (2016). "Relational values: A Whiteheadian alternative for environmental philosophy and global environmental justice". Balkan Journal of Philosophy. 8 (1): 19–38. doi:10.5840/bjp2016813.
- ↑ Díaz, Sandra; et al. (2015). "The IPBES Conceptual Framework — connecting nature and people". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 14: 1–16. Bibcode:2015COES...14....1D. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2014.11.002.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chan, Kai M. A. (2016). "Why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment". PNAS. 113 (6): 1462–1465. doi:10.1073/pnas.1525002113.
- ↑ Brown, John (1984). "The concept of value in resource allocation". Land Econ. 60 (3): 231–246. Bibcode:1984LandE..60..231B. doi:10.2307/3146184. JSTOR 3146184.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Post, Kimberly M. (2024). "Human-nature relational values: A semi-systematic literature review". Sustainability and Climate Change. 17 (3): 181–196. Bibcode:2024SusCC..17..181P. doi:10.1089/scc.2024.0005.
- ↑ Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Report). IPBES. 2019.
- ↑ Stålhammar, Sanna (2019). "Three perspectives on relational values of nature". Sustainability Science. 14 (5): 1201–1212. Bibcode:2019SuSc...14.1201S. doi:10.1007/s11625-019-00718-4.
- ↑ Salmón, Enrique (2000). "Kincentric ecology: Indigenous perceptions of the human–nature relationship". Ecological Applications. 10 (5): 1327–1332. doi:10.2307/2641288. JSTOR 2641288.
- ↑ Walsh, Zack; Böhme, Jessica; Wamsler, Christine (2021). "Towards a relational paradigm in sustainability research, practice, and education". Ambio. 50 (1): 74–84. Bibcode:2021Ambio..50...74W. doi:10.1007/s13280-020-01322-y. PMID 32112294 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ West, Simon; Haider, L. Jamila; Hertz, Tilman; Garcia, Maria Mancilla; Moore, Michele-Lee (2024). "Relational approaches to sustainability transformations: walking together in a world of many worlds". Ecosystems and People. 20 (1). Bibcode:2024EcoPe..2070539W. doi:10.1080/26395916.2024.2370539. Unknown parameter
|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ Brown, Eleanor; McCowan, Tristan (2018). "Buen vivir: Reimagining education and shifting paradigms". Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. 48 (2): 317–323. doi:10.1080/03057925.2018.1427342.
- ↑ Kellert, Stephen R. (2012). Birthright: People and nature in the modern world. Yale University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Chan, Kai M. A. (2016). "Why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment". PNAS. 113 (6): 1462–1465. doi:10.1073/pnas.1525002113.
- ↑ Himes, Austin; Muraca, Barbara (2018). "Relational values: The key to pluralistic valuation". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 35: 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2018.09.005.
- ↑ Ross, Helen; Witt, Katherine; Jones, Natalie A. (2018). "Stephen Kellert's development and contribution of relational values in social-ecological systems". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 35: 46–53. Bibcode:2018COES...35...46R. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2018.10.007.
This article "Relational Values" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Relational Values. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
