From biocultural homogenization to biocultural conservation: A conceptual framework to reorient society toward sustainability of life

Biocultural homogenization entails interwoven losses of native biological and cultural diversity at local, regional, and global scales. It is a driver and a product of complex and pervasive losses of biological and cultural diversity; however, it is not yet widely recognized to its full extent. In this book we show how the processes of biological and cultural homogenization are intricately interrelated. A guiding theme is the conceptual framework of the biocultural ethic and its ``3Hs'' model, which facilitates understanding how some life habits that are being globalized can lead to homogeneous habitats with detrimental consequences for many human and other-than-human co-inhabitants. The 3Hs conceptual framework enables a visualization of the interrelations between the homogenization of habits and habitats and the consequences it has for the well-being or the displacement of human and other-than-human co-inhabitants. In this way, it can inform and provide insights for decision-making in environmental policies, development, and educational programs, in order to foster processes of biocultural conservation and avoid pressing social and environmental injustices conveyed by current processes of biocultural homogenization