How do our relations with environmental spaces shape the way we govern ecosystems?

All humans have some sort of emotional relation to nature, be it a specific ecosystem or a space in nature. Such a relationship implies a valorization of the specific natural space or ecosystem which may give rise to new norms based on which humans treat common goods. Focussing on two rewetted peatland sites in North-Western Germany, I assess the values stakeholders attribute to peatlands to answer the question "How do our relations with environmental spaces shape the way we govern ecosystems?" Relying on the typology of human-nature relations by Muradian and Pascual (2018) and the interview protocol for nonmaterial values by Gould et al. (2015) to do so, I further aim to identify the pathways stakeholders describe to realize the rewetting of peatlands. These viewpoints feed into a participatory process with practitioners, state actors and the public on governing rewetted peatlands. This transdisciplinary approach is meant to bridge the diverse opinions and value systems regarding nature and to assess how these can influence decision-making processes and alter the institutions on which we base our governance styles. The second part of the study thus assesses the role of human-nature relations in shaping new institutions and transforming the way we manage landscapes.