Tethering Natural Capital and Cultural Capital for a More Sustainable Post-COVID-19 World

Abstract

The world faced stark challenges during the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Large forces such as climate change, cultural ethnocentrism and racism, and increasing wealth inequality continue to ripple through communities harming community well-being. While the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 exacerbated these forces, lessons across the globe have been captured that inform the field of community well-being long-after the end of the pandemic. While many scholars have looked to political capital, financial capital, and social capital to tackle these challenges, natural capital and cultural capital have extreme relevance. However, scholarship tends to overlook the inextricable and important links between natural capital and cultural capital in community development and well-being work. These capital forms also inform contemporary understandings of sustainability and environmental justice, especially in the fields of community development and well-being. This perspective article showcases the deep connections between natural capital and social capital through literature review and community cases across the globe. Questions are posed for future research and practice tethering together cultural capital and natural capital when looking to bolster community well-being.

Using photovoice to explore Bolivian children’s experiences of COVID-19

“…Closely related to the previous theme on the use and understandings of plants and farming practices, the children in the project, demonstrated in their choice of photos, nuanced interactions among nature, culture, and well-being. The term ‘Natural capital’ refers to the natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things ( Talmage et al , 2022 ). And cultural capital to the accumulated knowledge, traditions and practices as well as agricultural techniques, the community uses to support their well-being and livelihoods ( Talmage et al , 2022 ).…”

“…The term ‘Natural capital’ refers to the natural assets which include geology, soil, air, water and all living things ( Talmage et al , 2022 ). And cultural capital to the accumulated knowledge, traditions and practices as well as agricultural techniques, the community uses to support their well-being and livelihoods ( Talmage et al , 2022 ).…”

“…As the comments from the children illustrated, nature and cultural capital including access to natural environments, and relationship with people and animals in these environments provided them with support, cultural knowledge and a sense of well-being. There is strong evidence from research on children and COVID-19 around the world that nature deprivation under the pandemic lead to diminished well-being of children in high density urban areas ( Talmage et al , 2022 ). This finding reinforces the importance of future research on public health policy planning to consider the role of nature connectivity in children well-being and the potential of local nature contact to support individual well-being in a background context of emotional distress and social isolation ( Talmage et al , 2022 ).…”

Reconciling culture and conservation of wildlife: Field insights regarding sustainable community development projects and stakeholder well‐being

“…It is essential that explorations of such forms of capital, like cultural capital, expand beyond and challenge what the elite control (Fuchs, 2017). Additionally, indigenous, historical and local perspectives are going to be required to move forward in examining the intersections between different forms of capital (Holcombe & Kemp, 2020; Talmage et al, 2022). This article demonstrates that it is now the time for sustainable development to become more integrated in the work around wildlife conservation, community development, and community well‐being.…”

“…Moreover, critical perspectives on who controls cultural capital are essential in improving research, policy, and practice (Fuchs, 2017). Such perspectives must also consider local, indigenous, and historical perspectives as well (Holcombe & Kemp, 2020; Talmage et al, 2022). Furthermore, much of the discussion regarding the intersections between wildlife conservation as natural capital and local culture has remained in the tourism literature (e.g., Moswete et al, 2019; Stone & Nyaupane, 2014); thus, the sustainable development literature and its scholars have a great deal to offer to the discussion around how natural capital and cultural capital are tethered.…”