Towards an Anthropocene Narrative and a New Philosophy of Governance: Evolution of Global Environmental Discourse in the Man and the Biosphere Programme

ABSTRACT

The Anthropocene emerges as a distinct narrative in Global Environmental Change (GEC) discourse that intertwines theories of geological significance with reflections on humanity and a heightened sense of urgency. As the Anthropocene integrates into governance lexicon, it simultaneously interrupts previously adhered to narratives and the institutional logic which follow. This article analyzes institutionalization of the Anthropocene in UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). Through a discourse-institutional approach, I find an evolution of GEC discourse over the 50-year history of MAB guidance documents. The Anthropocene integrates into MAB’s GEC discourse as a new philosophy, catalyzed by climate projections, but develops alongside historically dominant narratives of conservation and sustainable development. Significant cross-cutting themes between the three narratives are disentangled to provide an empirical understanding of the Anthropocene with three conclusions to support future research: (1) institutionalization of a narrative is not a clear-cut process; (2) the Anthropocene communicates introspection, urgency, and uncertainty in light of rapid ecological changes; and (3) the Anthropocene transforms MAB’s philosophy but sustainable development continues to steer its guidance, revealing a gap between philosophy and practice as the Anthropocene is institutionalized.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropocene
• discourse analysis
• global environmental governance
• institutionalization
• biosphere reserves

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Dr Michele Betsill and Julie Liebenguth for your suggestions and reviews. This paper was presented at the 2019 Earth System Governance Conference in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Narratives are italicized throughout the article. The use of Anthropocene, sustainable development, and conservation without italics is in reference to their common use.

2 The US re-entered UNESCO in 2003 but withdrew again in 2018. US Biosphere Regions remain active and connected to the international network.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Desirée Fiske

Desirée Fiske is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Colorado State University, Research Fellow with the Earth System Governance Project, Outdoor Recreation Planner, and member of the US Biosphere Working Group. Desirée’s research broadly focuses on global environmental governance with interest in Anthropocene , climate change governance, and landscape-scale collaboration.