DRAGONS (Diffusing biodiversity Response-able Action and awareness raising through citizen empowerment, inclusive engagement and innovative GOvernance of Nature and Society) is a Horizon Europe project that develops, tests, and diffuses innovative approaches to overcome the psychological, emotional, and structural barriers that limit meaningful action for biodiversity.

Despite growing awareness of biodiversity loss, translating concern into action remains a major challenge. DRAGONS addresses this ecological paradox by tackling the “Dragons of Inaction” – the complex factors that prevent people, communities, and institutions from engaging with biodiversity and nature restoration.

Working across five Biodiversity Engagement Domains in Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, and Colombia, the project brings together behavioural science, environmental justice, participatory governance, and social innovation to co-create and test transformative interventions. Through institutional and individual champions, networks, and practical tools, DRAGONS explores how solutions can be effectively diffused across different social and ecological contexts.

Project objectives

DRAGONS will:

Understand how psychological, emotional, structural and technological barriers influence biodiversity engagement and support for environmental action.
Co-create and test transformative interventions that support democratic innovation, conflict transformation and sensitised governance across multiple biodiversity engagement domains.
Develop culturally grounded communication and engagement strategies that connect biodiversity with issues such as health, wellbeing, climate resilience and social justice.
Empower biodiversity champions and change-makers across communities, institutions and sectors.
Diffuse successful approaches across scales, sectors and countries to support lasting societal transformation and biodiversity action.

Impact statement

DRAGONS contributes to advancing international research on biodiversity governance, public engagement and societal transformation by integrating perspectives from environmental psychology, political ecology, participatory governance, care ethics and social innovation. The project will generate new understanding of the psychological, social and institutional barriers that influence public engagement with biodiversity loss and nature restoration, helping to bridge the gap between awareness and action.

DRAGONS will deliver practical tools, engagement approaches and policy-relevant resources. These include LANTERN, a reflective toolkit supporting emotional awareness and narrative exploration, and COMPASS, a practical guide for inclusive governance and citizen participation. By combining emotionally resonant communication, citizen engagement, and multi-level networks, DRAGONS aims to strengthen biodiversity action while supporting health, equity, climate resilience, and democratic participation.

Ultimately, DRAGONS contributes to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the EU Nature Restoration Law by creating pathways for biodiversity engagement that are socially inclusive, emotionally grounded, and capable of generating lasting transformative change.