A Systemic Approach and Typology for Identifying Natural Nonhuman Stakeholders When Designing for Sustainability

Abstract

This chapter introduces and discusses a systemic approach and typology for identifying natural nonhuman stakeholders when designing for sustainability. First, the chapter introduces principles of systemic sustainability, human dependence on nature, and interconnected socio-ecological systems that inform the typology. Second, it introduces the empirical research approach rooted in multispecies ethnography and systemic analysis used to develop the typology. Then, it introduces a typology with seven distinct yet overlapping types of stakeholders: single organisms, single-species collectives, multispecies collectives, life processes, living systems, biogeochemical cycles, and processes of the atmosphere. The chapter continues by presenting and discussing two critical considerations for using the systemic approach and typology: the notion that one observable entity corresponds to several stakeholder types and the notion that not only living but also artificial entities can be linked to natural nonhuman stakeholders through inferable entities and the nonhuman stakeholder can be dispersed across time and space. The chapter concludes with closing remarks and avenues for further research.