Jane Davidson

The Earthbound Report Review

[Davidson] was instrumental in several Welsh environmental initiatives, including the country’s admirable record on recycling, and several attempts to embed sustainability at the heart of government. The book helpfully explains these attempts and why they didn’t quite work, showing how the machinery of government works and the limits of top-down leadership. The Future Generations Act was necessary because too many other sustainability measures hadn’t made a difference. This new attempt combined social, cultural and environmental goals in one vision. It found new language for them, rejecting the word ‘sustainability’ itself for example, in favour of distinctively Welsh formulations. A major national conversation, including young people, delivered a vision for the ‘Wales we want’ – and that then informed the act.

I-M Magazine Review

This book is being published as finally, the world feels ready to come out of the lockdown imposed to control the spread of Covid-19, a pandemic that has unfortunately taken many lives, but has also given us the opportunity, as the author Jane Davidson puts it, “To capitalize on our rediscovered kindness and sense of society, to celebrate the importance of nature, to build on our increased virtual engagement to act on that other silent killer –climate change- for the benefit of current and future generations.”

The Bookseller Review

“I live in the most incredibly beautiful, warm, bilingual— therefore culturally different—and special place. And I want people to know more about it.” So says Jane Davidson, formerly minister for environment, sustainability and housing in the Welsh government, and now the author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country. It’s a book that does indeed focus attention on her adopted home nation of Wales, and it also provides considerable food for thought for those interested in how we might tackle the momentous issues that face us, both locally and globally. 

Interview with Smart Thinking Books

Jane Davidson, author of #futuregen : Lessons from a Small Country, has some important recommendations for us this week! 

Thinking in systems by Prof. Donella Meadows. She was inspirational to me in becoming interested in sustainability through her Limits to Growth in 1972 where she clearly demonstrated that exponential growth is incompatible with the world’s finite resources. Thinking in Systems is the how to address the issues. She breaks down very complex thinking into bite sized chunks so effective action can be achieved through the right processes.

Press Release: University of Wales Trinity Saint David and University of Wales

In #futuregen, Dr Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015—the first piece of legislation on Earth to place regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government. Unparalleled in its scope and vision, the Act connects environmental and social health and looks to solve complex issues such as poverty, education and unemployment.

In an excerpt from the book entitled ‘Rethinking Business for a Changing World’ Dr Davidson outlines how UWTSD’s Carmarthen Business School started its mission to change the nature of Business as a discipline in Higher Education when the Act was passed.

Gerry Gillespie: The Importance of Legislation and Law to Future Generations

#futuregen is a 'must read' for any person struggling with the environmental protection of future generations. This book details the buildup to the development of the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act which became law in 2015. It is a lesson in strategic planning, positioning and management for anyone who has struggled with any level of governance and attempts to make any form of change in a strong field of very vested interests. You may not have heard of this Act as yet, but you will!