The role of science in developing innovative pathways for nature and people: A transdisciplinary approach applied in Mount Kenya, East Africa

Achieving human well-being for mountain communities based on finite natural resources requires new partnerships between science, policy, civil society, and the private sector. New pathways towards sustainability and innovative strategies are required to tackle the pressing issues of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and land for human development. But what can and should be the role of science in such an endeavour? In this presentation, with the example of Mount Kenya in East Africa, we will present a transdisciplinary approach that brought together researchers, practitioners and local actors in the framework of a new initiative for nature and people. As part of this process, a co-design workshop was held with the aim to build a joint narrative among the participants about transformative pathways for sustainability in Mount Kenya. Thematically, the workshop brought together perspectives on mountain social-ecological systems and their dynamics, on actors and their power relations, and on existing innovations and major transformative trends. The workshop’s objectives were to: 1) identify and select promising transformative interventions that can be tested by the initiative; 2) develop a common understanding on the main socio-economic and environmental issues, knowledge and data needs, and knowledge products that can be jointly developed by initiative’s partners; and 3) co-design a science-society-policy platform that can support the selected transformative interventions. The workshop adopted a participatory and bottom-up approach in order to ensure that the needs, visions, and innovative potentials from local partners, practitioners and direct beneficiaries were fully recognized and harnessed in the design of the initiative