Miryam Katerine Chada and Phoebe Tickell
This study explores how More-than-Human participation can surface systemic conditions relevant to governance in a rural mountain municipality undergoing rapid socio-ecological transformation. By testing the Interspecies Council (IC) in Oppdal, Norway, the inquiry investigates how the perspectives and relationships of species, ecosystems, and landscapes can inform collective deliberation concerning future development.
The process unfolded in three phases: a More-than-Human council grounded in relational and embodied dialogue; a phase of human deliberation within institutional and professional roles; and a concluding plenary where participants shared and discussed insights, reflections, and emerging directions. Five recurring themes were articulated through More-than-Human perspectives.
This study highlights a critical gap between articulating ecological insights and translating them into existing governance structures. Situated at the intersection of More-than-Human participation and Systemic Design, the contribution lies in exploring what becomes visible when collective inquiry expands beyond exclusively human perspectives. The findings raise questions of continuity, responsibility, and how such perspectives may remain present, be translated, and be acted upon in the co-creation of plural regenerative pathways.
Keywords: More-than-Human participation, Systemic Design, regenerative design, participatory governance, rural transformation, co-design, Interspecies Council.