
Including the more-than-human in decision making
In the face of simultaneous climate, ecological and biodiversity crises, more direct representation of the interests of the environment and non-human animals in democratic and deliberative decisionmaking processes is now broadly advocated. Conceptually, research has established that practices such as proxy representation or ecological reflexivity that incorporate more-than-human (MtH) interests in decision-making and attend to the ecological relationships that support MtH well-being can make a critical contribution to more just and effective environmental, biodiversity and climate policies. In this rapidly developing field, there is a need to continue building knowledge regarding the practical applications, design challenges, effects, and feasibility of different models of More-than-Human Representation (MtHR).
To address these needs, the project has the following goals:
- Document and analyse existing models of More-than-Human Representation and what is currently known about their effects.
- Demonstrate the feasibility of MtHR, evaluate the impacts of different models, and identify both barriers and opportunities for their implementation.
- Enable other organizations and communities to adopt and further develop evidence-based models of MtHR.
To achieve these objectives, the project will undertake the following activities:
- Conduct a comprehensive inventory and analysis of existing practices and models of MtHR.
- Develop two MtHR experiments in Australia and one in Europe. The objective is to test how different models of more-than-human inclusion can be implemented in real-world decision-making contexts and to evaluate their impacts on participants, processes, and decisions.
- Support a global community of practice that connects practitioners and facilitates the sharing of knowledge and learning across continents. The community of practice will provide actors working in different contexts with a platform for exchanging experiences and lessons learned, with the aim of supporting and enhancing the quality of practice across the field.
This project has the potential to produce the evidence based, systematic and practical knowledge about MtHR required to move this field of knowledge and practice from ad hoc innovation to systematic understanding and practice. By producing empirical data and analysis of MtHR, and developing an expert community of practice, it will develop generalisable and transferable guidelines enabling policymakers, scholars, practitioners and communities to co-design MtHR processes for their context.
- International inventory of More-than-Human Representation (MtHR) practices.
- Development of a global community of practice on MtHR.
- Preparation of toolkits and guidelines for the design and implementation of MtHR processes.





































