Bibliography

711 publications found

• What do we mean by justice in sustainability pathways? Commitments, dilemmas, and translations from theory to practice in nature-based solutions

  Wijsmana, K. & Berbés-Blázquez, M. Environmental Science & Policy (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901122002088?via%3Dihub

  Abstract

  Justice and fairness have become key considerations in sustainability pathways and nature-based solutions (NBS), following activists and critical scholars who have long argued that the urban environment is an inherently political space that requires an analysis of benefits and burdens associated with its existence, use, and access. However, what justice means and how it is expressed, recognized, or achieved is often implicit in the literature on NBS, even though underlying notions of justice shape the analysis done and actions proposed. This paper starts from the premise that justice knows many different interpretations, therefore warranting scholars and practitioners working on NBS to carefully consider the differences and frictions between competing meanings of justice. Drawing from the history of social and environmental justice theory, we give an account of some key justice dilemmas and discuss their tenets as it relates to the end, means, and participants in the making of justice. From this, we draw out questions and commitments academics and practitioners in the NBS space should grapple with more explicitly. We argue that the emergent tension between pragmatic policy approaches and critical theoretical engagement is hindering a version of NBS that goes beyond a reflection of the justice implications of NBS to ensuring that NBS contributes to the furthering of justice. We advocate for the inclusion of critical social sciences and humanities perspectives and approaches beyond tokenism to instead encourage ontological, epistemological, and political reflection of the work academics and practitioners do in the NBS space.

  Nature-based solutions in generalOtherClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationDisaster risk reductionEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & developmentArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Landscape-scale habitat fragmentation is positively related to biodiversity, despite patch-scale ecosystem decay

  Riva, F. & Fahrig, L. Ecology Letters (2022). Original Research.
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14145

  Abstract

  Positive effects of habitat patch size on biodiversity are often extrapolated to infer negative effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity at landscape scales. However, such cross-scale extrapolations typically fail. A recent, landmark, patch-scale analysis (Chase et al., 2020, Nature 584, 238–243) demonstrates positive patch size effects on biodiversity, that is, ‘ecosystem decay’ in small patches. Other authors have already extrapolated this result to infer negative fragmentation effects, that is, higher biodiversity in a few large than many small patches of the same cumulative habitat area. We test whether this extrapolation is valid. We find that landscape-scale patterns are opposite to their analogous patch-scale patterns: for sets of patches with equal total habitat area, species richness and evenness decrease with increasing mean size of the patches comprising that area, even when considering only species of conservation concern. Preserving small habitat patches will, therefore, be key to sustain biodiversity amidst ongoing environmental crises.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementNatural resource managementNature-based solutions in generalEcosystem health

• Habitat Fragmentation Increases Overall Richness, but Not of Habitat-Dependent Species

  Chetcuti, J. et al. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.607619/full

  Abstract

  Debate rages as to whether habitat fragmentation leads to the decline of biodiversity once habitat loss is accounted for. Previous studies have defined fragmentation variously, but research needs to address “fragmentation per se,” which excludes confounding effects of habitat loss. Our study controls for habitat area and employs a mechanistic multi-species simulation to explore processes that may lead some species groups to be more or less sensitive to fragmentation per se. Our multi-land-cover, landscape-scale, individual-based model incorporates the movement of generic species, each with different land cover preferences. We investigate how fragmentation per se changes diversity patterns; within (alpha), between (beta) and across (gamma) patches of a focal-land-cover, and if this differs among species groups according to their specialism and dependency on this focal-land-cover. We defined specialism as the increased competitive ability of specialists in suitable habitat and decreased ability in less suitable land covers compared to generalist species. We found fragmentation per se caused an increase in gamma diversity in the focal-land-cover if we considered all species regardless of focal-land-cover preference. However, critically for conservation, the gamma diversity of species for whom the focal land cover is suitable habitat declined under fragmentation per se. An exception to this finding occurred when these species were specialists, who were unaffected by fragmentation per se. In general, focal-land-cover species were under pressure from the influx of other species, with fragmentation per se leading to a loss of alpha diversity not compensated for by increases in beta diversity and, therefore, gamma diversity fell. The specialist species, which were more competitive, were less affected by the influx of species and therefore alpha diversity decreased less with fragmentation per se and beta diversity compensated for this loss, meaning gamma diversity did not decrease. Our findings help to inform the fragmentation per se debate, showing that effects on biodiversity can be negative or positive, depending on species’ competitive abilities and dependency on the fragmented land cover. Such differences in the effect of fragmentation per se would have important consequences for conservation. Focusing conservation efforts on reducing or preventing fragmentation in areas with species vulnerable to fragmentation.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementNatural resource managementEcosystem health

• Tradeoffs and synergies in wetland multifunctionality: A scaling issue

  Hambäck, P.A. et al. Science of The Total Environment (2022). Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722078494?via%3Dihub

  Abstract

  Wetland area in agricultural landscapes has been heavily reduced to gain land for crop production, but in recent years there is increased societal recognition of the negative consequences from wetland loss on nutrient retention, biodiversity and a range of other benefits to humans. The current trend is therefore to re-establish wetlands, often with an aim to achieve the simultaneous delivery of multiple ecosystem services, i.e., multifunctionality. Here we review the literature on key objectives used to motivate wetland re-establishment in temperate agricultural landscapes (provision of flow regulation, nutrient retention, climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation and cultural ecosystem services), and their relationships to environmental properties, in order to identify potential for tradeoffs and synergies concerning the development of multifunctional wetlands. Through this process, we find that there is a need for a change in scale from a focus on single wetlands to wetlandscapes (multiple neighboring wetlands including their catchments and surrounding landscape features) if multiple societal and environmental goals are to be achieved. Finally, we discuss the key factors to be considered when planning for re-establishment of wetlands that can support achievement of a wide range of objectives at the landscape scale.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementNatural resource managementClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & developmentArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialWetland

• How Social Considerations Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of Ecosystem Restoration

  Löfqvist, S. et al. BioScience (2022).
  https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biac099/6865284

  Abstract

  Ecosystem restoration is an important means to address global sustainability challenges. However, scientific and policy discourse often overlooks the social processes that influence the equity and effectiveness of restoration interventions. In the present article, we outline how social processes that are critical to restoration equity and effectiveness can be better incorporated in restoration science and policy. Drawing from existing case studies, we show how projects that align with local people’s preferences and are implemented through inclusive governance are more likely to lead to improved social, ecological, and environmental outcomes. To underscore the importance of social considerations in restoration, we overlay existing global restoration priority maps, population, and the Human Development Index (HDI) to show that approximately 1.4 billion people, disproportionately belonging to groups with low HDI, live in areas identified by previous studies as being of high restoration priority. We conclude with five action points for science and policy to promote equity-centered restoration.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem healthHuman well-being & development

• Short-range multispectral imaging is an inexpensive, fast, and accurate approach to estimate biodiversity in a temperate calcareous grassland

  Jackson, J. et al. Ecology and Evolution (2022). Original Research.
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9623

  Abstract

  Image sensing technologies are rapidly increasing the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity monitoring efforts. Species differences in the reflectance of electromagnetic radiation can be used as a surrogate estimate plant biodiversity using multispectral image data. However, these efforts are often hampered by logistical difficulties in broad-scale implementation. Here, we investigate the utility of multispectral imaging technology from commercially available unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) in estimating biodiversity metrics at a fine spatial resolution (0.1–0.5 cm pixel resolution) in a temperate calcareous grassland in Oxfordshire, UK. We calculate a suite of moments (coefficient of variation, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) for the distribution of radiance from multispectral images at five wavelength bands (Blue 450 ± 16 nm; Green 560 ± 16 nm; Red 650 ± 16 nm; Red Edge 730 ± 16 nm; Near Infrared 840 ± 16 nm) and test their effectiveness at estimating ground-truthed biodiversity metrics from in situ botanical surveys for 37–1 × 1 m quadrats. We find positive associations between the average coefficient of variation in spectral radiance and both the Shannon–Weiner and Simpson’s biodiversity indices. Furthermore, the average coefficient of variation in spectral radiance is consistent and highly repeatable across sampling days and recording heights. Positive associations with biodiversity indices hold irrespective of the image recording height (2–8 m), but we report reductions in estimates of spectral diversity with increases to UAV recording height. UAV imaging reduced sampling time by a factor of 16 relative to in situ botanical surveys. We demonstrate the utility of multispectral radiance moments as an indicator of biodiversity in this temperate calcareous grassland at a fine spatial resolution using a widely available UAV monitoring system with a coarse spectral resolution. The use of UAV technology with multispectral sensors has far-reaching potential to provide cost-effective and high-resolution monitoring of biodiversity.

  OtherEcosystem healthGrassland

• H2020 projects and EU research needs for nature-based adaptation solutions

  Al Sayah, M. J. et al Urban Climate (2022). Original Research. Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209552200147X

  Abstract

  This paper investigates the documentation produced by 21 Horizon 2020 (H2020) projects for the use of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) for climate change adaptation (NBaS). Accordingly, an updated state-of-the-art on current knowledge and its limits is presented. Findings are then capitalized on for highlighting research needs. The main objective of this study is to inform future orientations on NBaS research. Accordingly, it can be considered as an effort to complement the 2021 European strategy for climate change adaptation, under which NBaS is listed as one of the three cross-cutting priorities. The obtained results reflect actual outcomes from completed projects, while ongoing projects provided a substantial amount of relevant knowledge. From the exhaustive knowledge-research need inventory, one of the most significant identified gaps was the need for developing further the fundamental scientific basis behind these solutions, as the concept favors its practical nature and places less emphasis on its scientific counterpart.

  Nature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptation

• Ocean conservation boosts climate change mitigation and adaptation

  Jacquemont. J. et al. One Earth (2022). Systematic Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332222004808?via%3Dihub

  Abstract

  Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being promoted as an ocean-based climate solution. However, such claims remain controversial because of the diffuse and poorly synthesized literature on climate benefits of MPAs. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of 22,403 publications spanning 241 MPAs and analyzed these across 16 ecological and social pathways through which MPAs could contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that marine conservation can significantly enhance carbon sequestration, coastal protection, biodiversity, and the reproductive capacity of marine organisms as well as fishers’ catch and income. Most of these benefits are only achieved in fully or highly protected areas and increase with MPA age. Although MPAs alone cannot offset all climate change impacts, they are a useful tool for climate change mitigation and adaptation of social-ecological systems.

  Ecosystem-based adaptationEcosystem-based mitigationClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationMarine

• Financing Conservation in the Twenty-First Century – Investing in Nature-Based Climate Solutions in Makame Wildlife Management Area

  Baker, M. et al. Tarangire: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in a Fragmented Ecosystem (2022). Book (chapter).
  https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-93604-4_15

  Abstract

  Wildlife conservation in Africa has been dominated by protected areas (PAs) that largely excluded the interests of local communities. While this “fortress conservation” has succeeded in securing natural habitat and wildlife populations, it has come at a cost to local communities who forego access to natural resources on which their livelihoods depend and who obtain few direct benefits from the designated PAs. Concomitantly, climate change poses formidable challenges that require urgent attention to meet global climate goals. Combining finance mechanisms primarily intended for climate outcomes with community-based conservation models presents opportunities to integrate nature conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation while providing direct income to local communities. In this chapter, we present an example of a results-based system of payments for ecosystem services – the purchase of verified emission reductions for use as carbon offsets. We outline the key steps for planning and implementing the REDD+ project of Makame Wildlife Management Area, and emphasize the monitoring of key parameters associated with climate, community and wildlife benefits. Our case study depicts an innovative, nature-based solution to climate change, wildlife conservation, and rural livelihoods for an African savannah rangeland where conventional approaches are insufficient to meet the costs of conservation.

  Ecosystem-based mitigationClimate change mitigationSavanna

• Transforming land use governance: Global targets without equity miss the mark

  McDermott, C. et al. Environmental Policy and Governance (2022). Original Research.
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eet.2027

  Abstract

  A confluence of concerns about tropical forest loss, global warming, and social inequality drive calls to transform land use governance. Yet there is widespread debate about what must be transformed, by whom, and how. The increasing equation of transformation with ambitious, quantitative global targets, such as “net zero emissions” or “zero deforestation” has gained widespread appeal as a means to inspire action and hold powerful actors to account. However presenting targets themselves as the end goals of transformation, obscures both the means of achieving them and the social and environmental values that legitimate them. The escalation of targets for land use, in particular, is disconnected from targeted geographies, lacks accountability to socially diverse knowledge and priorities, and is readily appropriated by powerful actors at multiple scales. This paper argues instead, for an equity-based approach to transformation that reveals how unequal power distorts both the ends and the means of global governance. We illustrate this argument with five case-study “vignettes” in Indonesia, Ghana, Peru, and Brazil that reveal how de-contextualized, target-based thinking has reinforced state and corporate control over resources at the expense of local access, while largely failing to deliver the promised environmental outcomes. We conclude that equity-focused, case study research is critical not only to unpack the local consequences of pursuing global targets, but also to make visible alternative efforts to achieve deeper socio-environmental transformations.

  Not applicableClimate change mitigationHuman well-being & development

• Carbon removals from nature restoration are no substitute for steep emission reductions

  Kate Dooley, Zebedee Nicholls & Malte Meinshausen OneEarth (2022). Perspective.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.06.002

  Abstract

  The role of nature restoration in mitigating the impacts of climate change is receiving increasing attention, yet the mitigation potential is often assessed in terms of carbon removal rather than the ability to meet temperature goals, such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement. Here, we estimate the global removal potential from nature restoration constrained by a “responsible development” framework and the contribution this would make to a 1.5°C temperature limit. Our constrained restoration options result in a median of 103 GtC (5%–95% range of −91 to 196 GtC) in cumulative removals between 2020 and 2100. When combined with deep-decarbonization scenarios, our restoration scenario briefly exceeds 1.5°C before declining to between 1.25°C and 1.5°C by 2100 (median, 50% probability). We conclude that additional carbon sequestration via nature restoration is unlikely to be done quickly enough to notably reduce the global peak temperatures expected in the next few decades. Land restoration is an important option for tackling climate change but cannot compensate for delays in reducing fossil fuel emissions.

  Ecological engineeringClimate change mitigation

• Return on investment for mangrove and reef flood protection

  Beck et al. Ecosystem Services Volume 56, August 2022 (2022). Review.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101440

  Abstract

  There is a growing need for coastal and marine restoration, but it is not clear how to pay for it given that environmental funding is low, and national budgets are stretched in response to natural hazards. We use risk-industry methods and find that coral reef and mangrove restoration could yield strong Return on Investment (ROI) for flood risk reduction on shorelines across more than 20 Caribbean countries. These results are robust to changes in discount rates and the timing of restoration benefits. Data on restoration costs are sparse, but the Present Value (PV) of restored natural infrastructure shows that ROI would be positive in many locations even if restoration costs are in the hundreds of thousand per hectare for mangroves and millions per km for reefs. Based on these benefits, we identify significant sources of funding for restoring these natural defenses.

  OtherClimate change adaptationCoastline

• Co-productive agility and four collaborative pathways to sustainability transformations

  Chambers, J.M., et al. Global Environmental Change (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378021002016

  Abstract

  Co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice by diverse societal actors, is argued to play an important role in sustainability transformations. Yet, there is still poor understanding of how to navigate the tensions that emerge in these processes. Through analyzing 32 initiatives worldwide that co-produced knowledge and action to foster sustainable social-ecological relations, we conceptualize ‘co-productive agility’ as an emergent feature vital for turning tensions into transformations. Co-productive agility refers to the willingness and ability of diverse actors to iteratively engage in reflexive dialogues to grow shared ideas and actions that would not have been possible from the outset. It relies on embedding knowledge production within processes of change to constantly recognize, reposition, and navigate tensions and opportunities. Co-productive agility opens up multiple pathways to transformation through: (1) elevating marginalized agendas in ways that maintain their integrity and broaden struggles for justice; (2) questioning dominant agendas by engaging with power in ways that challenge assumptions, (3) navigating conflicting agendas to actively transform interlinked paradigms, practices, and structures; (4) exploring diverse agendas to foster learning and mutual respect for a plurality of perspectives. We explore six process considerations that vary by these four pathways and provide a framework to enable agility in sustainability transformations. We argue that research and practice spend too much time closing down debate over different agendas for change – thereby avoiding, suppressing, or polarizing tensions, and call for more efforts to facilitate better interactions among different agendas.

   

  Community-based adaptationHuman well-being & development

• The role of agroforestry in restoring Brazil’s Atlantic Forest: Opportunities and challenges for smallholder farmers

  Shennan-Farpón, Y., et al. People and Nature (2022). Original Research.
  https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10297

  Abstract

  1. Restoring the degraded Atlantic Forest is one of the biggest conservation challenges in Brazil. In a biome with high human presence, understanding the potential for restoration approaches, such as agroforestry, to provide benefits to smallholder farmers and biodiversity is essential in developing equitable restoration strategies.
  2. Smallholder or family farmers are essential to national food security, producing most fruit and vegetables consumed in Brazil. Their farms can also provide ecological stepping stones for biodiversity. To better understand their role in Atlantic Forest restoration, this study explores the use of agroforestry by smallholder farmers from the Movimento Sem Terra (MST), the Rural Landless Workers’ Movement, in Pontal do Paranapanema.
  3. We use quantitative and qualitative data to assess farmer perceptions of the measures which support agroforestry farming, barriers to implementation and its impact on indicators of wellbeing. We find agroforestry farmers report significant benefits in 8 of 18 tested indicators. Attitudes to agroforestry are varied, but common themes emerge including the high value of tree cover for shade and cooling effects, and the difficulties in selling agroforestry products. Our results show lack of policy support and initial investment needs are the biggest constraints to agroforestry, but opportunity cost is not considered a large barrier.
  4. Tailored policies and financial measures are needed to integrate thousands of smallholder farmers into the Atlantic Forest restoration agenda, helping to reach biome restoration targets while supporting rural livelihoods and national food security. Further research is required into links between additional socio-economic and biogeographical variables and agroforestry uptake in the region
  Forest landscape restorationNatural resource managementNature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialForest

• Recognizing Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in the post-2020 Biodiversity Agenda

  Reyes-García, V., et al. Ambio (2022). Perspective.
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-021-01561-7

  Abstract

  The Convention on Biological Diversity is defining the goals that will frame future global biodiversity policy in a context of rapid biodiversity decline and under pressure to make transformative change. Drawing on the work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, we argue that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in biodiversity policy. We support this argument with four key points. First, Indigenous peoples and local communities hold knowledge essential for setting realistic and effective biodiversity targets that simultaneously improve local livelihoods. Second, Indigenous peoples’ conceptualizations of nature sustain and manifest CBD’s 2050 vision of “Living in harmony with nature.” Third, Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ participation in biodiversity policy contributes to the recognition of human and Indigenous peoples’ rights. And fourth, engagement in biodiversity policy is essential for Indigenous peoples and local communities to be able to exercise their recognized rights to territories and resources.

  Community-based adaptationEcosystem healthHuman well-being & development

• What influences the implementation of natural climate solutions? A systematic map and review of the evidence

  Schulte, I., et al. Environmental Research Letters (2022). Review.
  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4071/meta

  Abstract

  Emerging research points to large greenhouse gas mitigation opportunities for activities that are focused on the preservation and maintenance of ecosystems, also known as natural climate solutions (NCS). Despite large quantifications of the potential biophysical and carbon benefits of these activities, these estimates hold large uncertainties and few capture the socio-economic bounds. Furthermore, the uptake of NCS remains slow and information on the enabling factors needed for successful implementation, co-benefits, and trade-offs of these activities remain underrepresented at scale. As such, we present a systematic review that synthesizes and maps the bottom-up evidence on the contextual factors that influence the implementation of NCS in the peer-reviewed literature. Drawing from a large global collection of (primarily case study-based, N = 211) research, this study (1) clarifies the definition of NCS, including in the context of nature-based solutions and other ecosystem-based approaches to addressing climate change; (2) provides an overview of the current state of literature, including research trends, opportunities, gaps, and biases; and (3) critically reflects on factors that may affect implementation in different geographies. We find that the content of the reviewed studies overwhelmingly focuses on tropical regions and activities in forest landscapes. We observe that implementation of NCS rely, not on one factor, but a suite of interlinked enabling factors. Specifically, engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities, performance-based finance, and technical assistance are important drivers of NCS implementation. While the broad categories of factors mentioned in the literature are similar across regions, the combination of factors and how and for whom they are taken up remains heterogeneous globally, and even within countries. Thus our results highlight the need to better understand what trends may be generalizable to inform best practices in policy discussions and where more nuance may be needed for interpreting research findings and applying them outside of their study contexts.

  Ecosystem-based mitigationNature-based solutions in generalClimate change mitigation