Draft:Relational values

Relational values

Relational values are a concept in environmental ethics and conservation social science that emphasize the significance of relationships—between people, and between people and nature—as central to how individuals and communities value the environment. Unlike intrinsic values, which posit that nature has value in and of itself, or instrumental values, which view nature primarily for its utility to humans, relational values stress the importance of meaningful, reciprocal, and often identity-forming relationships with the natural world.

Background

The term "relational values" emerged from growing critiques of traditional environmental valuation frameworks, particularly those that reduce nature to either a resource to be exploited or an entity with value that is independent of human concerns. These frameworks tended to divide values into two dominant categories: instrumental value—the utilitarian benefits people derive from nature, often expressed in economic terms such as ecosystem services—and intrinsic value—the idea that nature has worth in and of itself, regardless of human use. Researchers observed that many people do not relate to nature solely through these lenses but rather through personal, cultural, and social relationships grounded in care, responsibility, and identity.

The concept gained academic prominence in the mid‑2010s through the work of environmental scholars such as Kai Chan and colleagues, who proposed relational values as a distinct category to expand the normative basis for environmental decision-making and policy analysis. Their work drew on insights from environmental ethics, conservation social science, and Indigenous knowledge systems, highlighting that many communities view the environment in terms of lived relationships rather than abstract categories of “use” or “non-use.”

Conceptual Framework

Relational values encompass a variety of moral, cultural, and emotional dimensions of human–nature relationships. Examples include:

• Responsibility: A moral or cultural duty to care for or steward the environment.
• Identity: The way in which connections with the environment shape personal and collective identity.
• Reciprocity: Mutual care or obligation between humans and non-human nature.
• Place attachment: Emotional and cultural bonds with specific landscapes or ecosystems.
• Kinship and community: Viewing nature as part of a broader social community that includes non-human entities.

These values are often formed and expressed through lived experience, storytelling, traditional ecological knowledge, and social practices, rather than through abstract ethical reasoning or economic valuation.

Applications

Relational values have influenced research and practice across multiple fields by highlighting the importance of people–place–nature relationships in decision‑making.

Environmental policy and planning

Relational values have become increasingly prominent in environmental policy because they can illuminate why communities care about places, species, or ecosystems beyond economic utility. For example, environmental impact assessments in New Zealand have integrated Māori concepts of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) to better reflect relational responsibilities toward land and waterways. Similarly, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has explicitly adopted frameworks that emphasize stewardship and sense of place alongside ecosystem services, helping governments design conservation strategies that honor community identities and obligations. These approaches have been applied in land use planning for Great Bear Rainforest, where Indigenous and local knowledge systems contributed to policies that balance logging restrictions with cultural and livelihood needs.

Sustainability science

In sustainability science, relational values broaden how researchers conceptualize human–nature interactions by including emotions, identities, and ethics alongside ecological metrics. For instance, Klain et al. (2017) found that coastal communities in British Columbia strongly linked marine conservation with feelings of responsibility for future generations, shaping how they viewed marine protected areas. Likewise, studies in urban sustainability have shown that community gardens provide not just food but a sense of connection, reciprocity, and shared care for land—factors that strongly influence long‑term participation in green infrastructure programs. These insights have encouraged sustainability projects to move beyond “ecosystem services” language to also address relational factors such as cultural identity and collective memory.

Indigenous and local knowledge systems

Relational values often resonate strongly with Indigenous worldviews, which emphasize interdependence, stewardship, and kincentric relationships. For example, Salmón’s (2000) concept of kincentric ecology describes how many Indigenous peoples view animals, plants, and landscapes as relatives rather than resources. In Canada, Anishinaabe teachings about water as a living relative have shaped water governance processes that stress responsibility and reciprocity. Similarly, the inclusion of Indigenous fire stewardship practices in Northern Territory has been framed as a relational obligation that benefits both cultural continuity and ecosystem health. These cases illustrate how Indigenous and local knowledge systems operationalize relational values in ways that complement or challenge Western environmental management paradigms.

Environmental education

Relational values also underpin approaches to environmental education that focus on building empathy, care, and connection with nature. Programs such as Vermont’s Winooski River watershed initiative explicitly encourage learners to reflect on their relationships with local rivers, fostering stewardship behaviors beyond compliance with regulations. Zoo‑based education programs have likewise found that framing wildlife conservation through relationships with animals (e.g., stories of individual animals’ lives) can strengthen learners’ willingness to support conservation actions. Outdoor school programs, forest schools, and Indigenous‑led camps often adopt similar relational approaches, helping participants build enduring emotional ties to the land and more-than-human world.

Related concepts

• Intrinsic value (ethics)
• Instrumental value
• Ecosystem services
• Biocultural diversity
• Environmental ethics
• Traditional ecological knowledge
• Nature connectedness

Notable scholars

• Kai Chan
• Rosemary-Claire Collard
• Michael J. Manfredo
• Unai Pascual
• Robin Wall Kimmerer (related work on relationality in Indigenous science)

External links

• IPBES Conceptual Framework
• Kai Chan Lab – University of British Columbia