Caring policy-relevant knowledge? The case of the Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Science-policy interfaces like the Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES) aim to provide policy-relevant knowledge that guides decision-makers in addressing the current biodiversity crisis. At the same time, dominant approaches to policy-relevant knowledge have been widely challenged for relying on a misguided linear model that treats science and policy as separate domains, presenting the former through depoliticized ideals of neutrality and objectivity while prioritizing efficiency, standardization, and measurable outputs over transdisciplinary collaboration, inclusivity, and plurality of knowledge systems. This article focuses on “care” as an embodied, situated, and relational practice that could open pathways to policy-relevant knowledge that is inclusive and responsive to diverse human and non-human needs. Through semi-structured interviews and analysis of Summaries for Decision-Makers (SDMs) in BPBES, we investigate how different forms of care shape the content, creation process, and impact of SDMs. Our findings reveal that care is present across all of these dimensions but also that systemic barriers limit its practices. In particular, we argue that the legacy of the linear model often creates tensions with care perspectives as they can often be seen as too subjective and as threatening the credibility of BPBES. We, therefore, conclude that there remain substantial challenges to articulating a vision and practice of “caring policy-relevant knowledge” that embraces care as central to shaping relations between science and policy.