Wellbeing in the more-than-human world

In this chapter, we aim to lay the foundations of how ecological economics may approach the assessment and achievement of wellbeing in the more-than-human world. We first discuss ways to move towards a de-centered non-anthropocentric understanding of wellbeing. We then explore which beings are considered to experience wellbeing (the “who†) and provide an overview of the major scales and approaches in which humans have historically considered the wellbeing of non-humans (the “how†). Our final section provides discussion and emphasis on why considering the wellbeing of all beings necessary for a future for all of us. We have included important research questions and directions throughout, nearest the topics they touch upon – making clear that the approaches we cover comprise an interdisciplinary framing for new approaches to consider in a Research Agenda for Ecological Economics. We conclude with broader research challenges and questions.