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While climate change is often understood as a collective action and a market problem, we look at it as a problem of planning and coordination. Long-term planning is necessary to promote structural change, which will be required to keep the Paris Agreement's temperature goals. By encouraging states to develop a long-term climate strategy, the Paris Agreement invites countries to turn anticipatory governance into an international governance instrument. In this paper we explore how these strategies describe countries' climate plans and what the perceptions of government officials are about the potential for realization of these strategies. Using mixed methods, we explore both 1) planning dimensions (actions, actors and policies described in the strategies) by applying a topic modeling analysis to 50 documents; and 2) perceptions of the content and challenges to their realization among domestic policy professionals of four major emitters. Our results show that the strategies lack a detailed discussion on how decarbonization pathways could be materialized and who has the responsibility for implementation of long-term targets. Moreover, rather than being a steering instrument, the strategies are dominated by scenario planning and there is also a lack of attention to political issues. Taken together, we contend that strategies are limited in the way they present the future possibilities of low emissions development. To make them more effective in steering long-term decarbonization, greater attention needs to be placed on potential conflicts, barriers and stumbling blocks that may arise along the way. • Long-term climate planning has potential to shift the way we address climate change. • The language used in the strategies are dominated by technical terms and GHG emissions scenarios. • The strategies tend to reduce the political and social complexities of climate change. • As governance instruments, the strategies lack capacity to guide implementation and guidance on how to solve goal conflicts. • The strategies' main value is to provide a platform for alternative discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal communities and their environments are facing unprecedented changes, with climate change driving rising global mean sea level, exacerbating extreme sea level events, and increasing hazards. Whilst adaptations to change have been central to coastal life for millennia, climate change brings a speed and intensity of change not previously experienced. Researchers are noting that adaptations are needed that are large scale and systemic with significant changes to lives and livelihoods – Transformational Adaptations – yet there is little evidence of this in practice, and there remains an operationalisation gap between ambitions and actions. This paper uses a qualitative case study method to assess how existing policy may enable and inhibit local stakeholder involvement in transformational adaptation in English coastal flood and erosion risk management. Through twenty interviews with coastal management stakeholders, the capacity for local coastal management stakeholders to initiate transformational adaptation and the perceived involvement of residents are analysed. The results indicate that transformational adaptation remains a distant aspiration in the English coastal management system, with local stakeholders possessing limited capacity to initiate it. The perceived role for residents in adaptation processes is often focused on their being recipients of adaptation interventions, and there are a range of barriers to their further involvement. The paper concludes that despite the theoretical interest in transformational adaptation, there is limited evidence its implementation in English coastal flood and erosion risk management, and there are multiple priority areas for policy development to support capacity for engaged transformational adaptation practices in coastal management contexts. • There are few examples of transformational adaptation in the English coastal flood and erosion risk management. • The perceived role for residents in adaptation processes is often focused on their being recipients of interventions. • There are a range of barriers for local stakeholders to develop and enact coastal adaptation policy or practice. • There are multiple priorities for policy development to support capacity for engaged transformational adaptation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban vacant spaces represent a potential for sustainable development, but their reuse is a complex and conflicting decision-making problem. This paper draws on social-ecological justice (SEJ) approach, as proposed by Grossmann, Connolly, Dereniowska, Mattioli, Nitschke, Thomas and Varo (2022), who argued that sustainability needs a major reconceptualization to deliver its social and ecological goals. The aim of this paper is to contribute to SEJ development on three levels: 1) on the conceptual level, SEJ is connected to vacant space reuse, where recognition, procedural and distributional dimensions of SEJ are explored; 2) on the practical level, a context-sensitive approach to achieving SEJ in vacant space reuse policies (demolitions, temporary use of buildings and lots, infill development & redevelopment) is employed, drawing on the case study of Czechia; 3) on the methodological level, the way how the SEJ normative concept was reflected in the mixed-method research is discussed. Utility of SEJ concept was demonstrated in the studied context, although achieving all three dimensions in practice was significantly conditioned by national-level institutions catered towards interests of market actors, unequal power relations among policy stakeholders, and internalized norms on the level of individual public officials. The paper concludes by showing conceptual, practical and methodological opportunities and challenges of achieving SEJ beyond the studied context. • Social-ecological justice (SEJ) aims to transcend mainstream sustainability. • We contribute to SEJ on conceptual, methodological and practical level. • Recognition, procedural, and distributional justice is explored. • Socio-spatial factors are accounted for in vacant space reuse policies. • SEJ was in Czechia notably moderated by political-economic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative adaptation (TA) places emphasis on changing the underlying causes of climate risk. Little is known about how TA can be achieved in practice in southern African cities. This paper reports on a set of criteria, derived from the literature and transdisciplinary engagements, for taking TA from theory into practice. These are: fundamental/sustainable changes in thinking and doing; inclusivity; challenging power asymmetries; demonstrability; responsive and flexible; and holistic, complex systems thinking. These criteria were explored through five water-related projects in Durban (South Africa) and Harare (Zimbabwe), which were identified by actors as having transformative potential to reduce urban climate risks. The study suggests that trade-offs might need to be made between several of these criteria, with strong synergies between others. Challenging power asymmetries is important in southern African cities where adaptation should change the structures of society that give rise to highly differential climate vulnerabilities. Challenging power structures largely requires true inclusivity and an equal stake in shaping decisions as opposed to tokenistic participation. While TA is needed in southern African cities, the complexity of these contexts and the scale of TA ambition introduces practical challenges when compared with incremental adaptation, i.e. small changes to existing practices to reduce climate impacts within the current development paradigm. Given such practical limitations, the paper concludes that TA in southern African cities might pragmatically be attempted as part of a process of ongoing learning to identify opportunities for gradual restructuring and expanding, in scale and ambition towards transformation. • Incremental adaptation achieves demonstrable results quickly. • Transformative adaptation needs to expand activities gradually in scope and scale. • Trade-offs exist at points along the incremental-transformative continuum. • Greater inclusivity in transformative adaptation introduces governance challenges. • Going beyond incremental adaptation requires challenging power asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case of environmental conflict caused by a corn-based bioethanol plant in Argentina- one of the world's most important agro-industrial economies. The aim is to illustrate how epistemic inequality is a transversal aspect of environmental injustice. Many of the environmental impacts of this production have been denounced by the affected peoples living next to the plant, which functions in a densely populated area. Their knowledges about health, air pollution and the risk of explosions have been systematically excluded from legal proceedings and policy-making in the case. Additionally, they have demanded the intervention of public universities and research centers in the case, but instead the scientific sector has offered its capacities to advance the agro-industrial complex rather than research the damages and risks made to environmental and human health. Thus, these peoples seem to be confined to a "sacrifice zone" where the protection of the rights to health and a clean environment are systematically violated, along with the denial of their status of legitimate knowers. This paper describes situations in which the knowledge of those affected is disregarded and/or excluded in the process of evidence-making. It also makes visible the co-responsibility of the scientific community in this case regarding the inequality between "production" and "impact" science related to the environmental sustainability of bioethanol. The empirical data of the case is presented within an Environmental/Epistemic Justice and STS framework. In order to overcome the devastating effects of agro-industrial sacrifice zones, this work contributes to the reflection on the interconnectedness of environmental sciences, affected people's knowledge, and politics. • Bioethanol facilities located in populated neighborhoods harm people's health. • Community epidemiology show cases of multiple chemical sensitivity and genotoxicity. • Affected people's knowledges are hardly validated for evidence- making in face of judicial expertise errors. • Public research resources are mostly allocated to bioethanol production science. • Health and environmental impacts of bioethanol production are scarcely studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation of people in decision making and tackling complex problems where there is lack of consensus on the science and relevant values continues to be an important research topic. The 2015 Split Ladder of Participation offered a diagnostic and methodological framework cited in 162 papers. This paper addresses the question: What does a literature review of the Split Ladder of Participation reveal about engaging people in policy problems, effecting transformational change, and how can this diagnostic and strategic tool be improved? A systematic literature review revealed papers that disclose transformational change, or triple loop learning requires: strong social science; social and natural interdisciplinary science; and considerations of uncertainty in environmental science together with uncertainty of values and considerations of power. Policy problems with low levels of trust offer opportunities to engage interest and participation in their resolution. Governments over-utilizing methods limiting participation, may lead to lock-in. Focusing on complex, interconnected problems through participation creates an enduring policy and science, interdisciplinary innovation space. Recognizing participation that is plural, amorphous, and fluid draws attention to power, multiple stakeholder framings of complex issues, advances social learning changing values, norms, power, and the very ethics of science (where social and natural/physical scientists acknowledge and share their power with people), and ultimately advances environmental justice. • Problem diagnosis needs multiple actors. • Consensus on science needs to be unpackaged. • Zero loop learning can motivate participation. • Anthropocene problems need triple loop learning. • Triple loop learning can lead to plural solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising temperatures exacerbated by climate change are a growing concern in the UK. This paper assesses the state of heat risk governance in the country through an analysis of the Adverse Weather and Health Plan (AWHP) launched in 2023, which replaces the former Heatwave Plan (HWP) for England — the prominent policy for addressing heatwaves in the UK. Through 17 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the paper assesses the perceived effectiveness of the new plan in addressing heat risk. The findings demonstrate that AWHP has been positively received and is considered to have well-functioning institutional arrangements and strategies tailored to manage immediate heat risks. However, areas for improvement are identified: the need to enhance public communication and broaden the cross-sectoral understanding of heat impacts beyond the domain of 'health'. Further, the research reveals gaps in leadership, institutional structure, delineation of roles and responsibilities, and funding and resources for addressing long-term heat risk and preparedness in the UK. The paper explores these and highlights the need for strengthening governance and capacity to tackle the multi-dimensional climate risk, i.e., heat, effectively. • UK heat policy lacks consideration for long-term risks. • Understanding heat impacts beyond health is crucial for effective risk mitigation. • Establishing an institutional structure with clear leadership is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of a fragmented and evolving governance landscape, this paper examines how effective climate commissions are in engaging the public to co-produce local climate action in the UK. Climate commissions are emerging amid heightened concerns regarding the top-down style of policymaking on climate change and resource-constrained local authorities. However, less is known about how they engage the public who are pivotal for climate action, both in signalling greater ambition from governments and through their own mitigation and adaptation efforts. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with an array of individuals both inside and outside climate commissions in the UK, and utilises Cash's theoretical framework of 'salience, legitimacy and credibility' to assess how effective climate commissions are in engaging the public to co-produce local climate action. The findings indicate a discernible chasm between commissions and the broader public. Equally however, they provide hopeful perspectives into the effect that more collaborative engagement, that speaks to local concerns and leverages local knowledge, would have on commissions' 'salience, legitimacy and credibility' and, additionally, the legitimacy of local authorities. Moreover, they suggest that deeper collaboration with local networks of community groups, who are not yet represented on commissions, could foster more sustained climate action. It concludes by considering the novel implications of these emergent insights for the Cash framework and what this means for commissions in their future engagement with the public. • Knowledge co-production resonates in both theory and practice. • Local and grassroot action is critical to meet climate mitigation and adaptation goals. • Ensuring 'salience, legitimacy and credibility' can lead to more effective climate policy. • Climate commissions need to better leverage local knowledge to drive climate action. • Community groups are under-utilised in climate conversations and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies which topics of negotiation are providing momentum for climate negotiations after the Paris Agreement and to what extent. To do so, it examines the main requests that developing countries have expressed through different negotiation groups between 2017 and 2023. To measure the progression of climate negotiations, the paper identifies whether those requests have been translated into COP decisions. This is done through discourse analysis contained in numerous daily reports of COPs, summaries, and official decisions. In this research, COP decisions are defined as the expression of collective negotiations in the UNFCCC system, and as decisions with political consequences. The paper identifies advancements on twenty-nine issues in areas like gender, loss and damage, facilitative dialogue, adaptation, and the acceleration of finance flows to small-island developing states. Eighteen issues have been identified as acknowledged in COP decisions, but not fully addressed. These correspond mainly to finance-related items and the commitment to contributing US$100 billion to climate mitigation. Sixteen issues have been identified as ignored in the COP decisions examined. The conclusions suggest that there is agreement on creating new frameworks to allow further discussions on important topics brought to the table by developing states, but there is no real agreement on increasing funding in a significant way. Also, conclusions underline that despite the lack of sufficient funding, commitment to fighting climate change has not declined over time, and states continue to prefer multilateral negotiations to working outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change mandate. • States prefer multilateralism to other forms of cooperation to face climate change. • Climate negotiations remain a key forum for countries' coordination despite the slowness in decision-making. • There has been progress in climate negotiations in the areas of loss and damage, gender or adaptation. • Funding remains a key issue in climate negotiations, being critical to increase trust among parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the increasing use of the term agroecology in scientific literature and how its meanings vary in different contexts. However, the key issue is not the different understandings of agroecology per se, but whether various interpretations align with its intrinsic systemic and transformative meaning. To address this, the paper presents an integrative framework to assess approaches that use the term agroecology, and distinguish between its enabling and disabling interpretations. The framework is applied to yield- and non-yield-oriented approaches (sustainable intensification, conservation agriculture, organic farming and regenerative farming), revealing concerns of hijacking or co-opting through (1) simplification, (2) false equivalence and (3) confusion. To prevent and/or respond to the – not necessarily intentional - process of neutralization of the transformative potential of agroecology, we propose a combination of accountability and regulatory efforts, education and collaboration to protect the integrity of the term and the principles it represents as well as to ensure its just and transformative contribution for (re-)shaping agri-food systems. [Display omitted] • We present a framework to assess approaches that use the term agroecology. • We have applied it to four farming approaches: SI, CA, OF and RF. • Simplification , false equivalence and confusing are the hijacking strategies found. • We discuss the implications for science and policy of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformation from top-down government to collaborative governance for natural resources requires broadening the scope of stakeholders involved. However, the systemic identification and assessment of stakeholder engagement remains a challenge. This paper develops a network-based framework for assessing stakeholder engagement in natural resources governance. The framework proposed five system-level metrics: inclusivity, cohesion, centralization, efficiency, and brokerage, as well as three node-level metrics: dominators, brokers, and communicators. By using public submission data on four government policy initiatives each reflecting a major component of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, this study assessed the structural aspects of stakeholder engagement relevant to water resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin following legislative reforms in 2007. Findings suggested that current stakeholder engagement structures are neither balanced, nor have adequate maturity to develop a governance approach to resolve issues within the Basin. High variability between patterns of involvement in submissions to key policy initiatives indicated there were haphazard aggregations of public comments and the top-down approach to water management is still dominant. The framework developed in this paper offers a structural and systemic perspective for re-configuring stakeholder engagement networks for improving collaborative governance. • A framework for assessing the structure of stakeholder engagement is developed. • Currently, the Basin's stakeholder engagement structures lack balance and maturity. • A top-down approach to water management is still dominant in the Basin. • This framework assists in the reconfiguration of stakeholder engagement networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of experts in implementing Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiatives at the national level and explores the performative politics and power dynamics involved. Original research conducted in Malaysia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, where REDD+ efforts were underway, provides the empirical basis for the study. The findings reveal tensions between the official win-win narrative of REDD+ and the reflective perspectives of experts based on their empirical knowledge and unique positionalities. These tensions raise questions about the underlying norms and values associated with REDD+. However, the pursuit of professional development within the international development and conservation sector, reliant on donor funding, impedes constructive reflection. The alignment of experts with donor visions for career advancement contributes to this obstacle. Therefore, the paper argues for creating space for a more reflexive approach among scholars and practitioners to foster comprehensive reflection and a fundamental rethink of the future of REDD+. • Examination of REDD+ experts' discourses at the national level reveals another operational challenge for REDD+. • Empirical observations and past experiences of REDD+ experts raise doubts about the core norms and values of REDD+. • The lack of emphasis on this empirical knowledge in international policy processes hinders REDD+'s progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning is often a component, and sometimes an explicit goal, of sustainability transition projects. Despite a growing interest in designing, facilitating, and evaluating such exploratory initiatives with respect to their systemic, less work has focused on how such initiatives support learning and capacity-building among its partaking actors and institutions including building experimental governance capacity. In this paper, we aim to better understand how exploratory and experimental initiatives with transformative sustainability ambitions relate to and influence their partaking actors and institutions. We draw from the North Mid Sweden Challenge Lab, an initiative to adapt, test and learn a governance approach to navigate complex sustainability challenges and transformations. It was part of a high impact action within a pilot for regional industrial transition framed around experiments in governance and policy by the European Commission and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, where peer-learnings by and between regions was stated as an explicit goal. We focus on the kind of learning and knowledge creation processes that occur in these open-ended and multi-levelled social interaction processes. In this paper, we empirically engage with such learning processes with a focus on governance capacity, based on direct experiences from its participating actors and related institutions. This study builds on and extends conceptual understandings of scaling, embedding and other types of strategies and diffusion mechanisms in sustainability transformations and transitions with a focus on learning. We conclude that conducting exploratory initiatives seems to have functioned in legitimizing open-ended, cross-sectoral purposeful activities of deliberation, learning and search. However, sending out and leading explorations is not the same as preparing for and working with procedures to scale, transfer, embed and institutionalise learnings and results to alter mainstream ways of governing for complex challenges and systemic change – all key elements in developing experimental governance capacity in response to sustainability challenges. • Facilitating learning at – and between- different actor scales has potential to accelerate transitions and support docking with existing institutions. • Conducting exploratory initiatives seems to have functioned in legitimizing open-ended, cross-sectoral purposeful activities of deliberation, learning and search. • Preparation and procedures are required to scale, transfer, embed and institutionalise learnings and results to alter mainstream ways of governing for complex challenges and systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecosystem services (ES) approach has been widely applied for assessing nature's values and human-nature links. Over the past two decades, this research approach has experienced remarkable growth, exerting global influence on the sustainability policy agenda. Recent literature indicates that North America, Europe, East Asia, and Australia are major contributors to ES research, while other regions are progressing at a slower pace. Many countries in these regions remain under-represented due to various factors, including but not limited to knowledge transfer gaps, disparities in research capacities, as well as distinct needs and challenges among researchers in the Global North and South. Although the ES literature in Asia is growing in topics, methodologies, quality and quantity, many Asian researchers, especially Early Career Researchers (ECRs), still face problems typical of the Global South while conducting ES research. In this paper, we outline four major challenges from the perspective of ECRs. They include: 1) Inequality in career prospects and capacity-building, 2) Inequality and challenges in data access & knowledge transfer, 3) Circulation of research findings in global scientific publishing, 4) Challenges in funding. This perspective paper draws special attention to the challenges faced by ECRs in ES research in Asia. By presenting recommendations, we strongly advocate that the research community work together to make ES research a level playing field for ECRs like ourselves working in Asia and elsewhere. • We provide an overview of the inequalities in scientific production on Ecosystem Services in Asia. • From an early career perspective we highlight four key categories young researchers face difficulties in. • These include: career prospects & capacity-building, data access & knowledge transfer, access to publishing, and funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blue economy was originally conceptualised as having a strong focus on social equity; however, in practice, these equity considerations have been overshadowed by neo-liberal capitalist agendas, which have become dominant in blue economy discourse. A continued expansion of ocean industry developments and activities has resulted in an inequitable share of the burdens and benefits of utilising ocean spaces and has exacerbated wealth disparities and power asymmetries. Therefore, finding mechanisms to reinstate equity as fundamental to blue economy governance and practice is increasingly important. However, there remain few practical examples that outline how to embed equity within blue economy governance and current frameworks for understanding equity are complex, often divergent and less focused on implementation. This paper outlines a new model for conceptualising equity that is clear and easily understood, captures equity's key components and dimensions, and covers key ethical concerns that arise in blue economy development. Furthermore, this model can be practically applied and embedded into governance structures. To demonstrate the model's application, the paper outlines one participatory approach to implementing the model in blue economy governance. • Social equity is under implemented in blue economy governance. • Embedding equity should be a priority for decision makers. • There are few practical examples on how to embed equity in blue economy governance. • Current frameworks for understanding equity are complex, often divergent, and less focused on implementation. • This paper outlines a clear and easily understood model for conceptualising equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are implemented across multiple cities worldwide and feature as promising solutions in local and global agendas. As solutions that can deal with interlinked urban challenges, NBS are being taken up by cities in different geographies and are considered to be mainstreaming. The process, referred to as mainstreaming, and how this can be achieved needs to be better understood, which is identified as a research gap. In this paper, we examine the roles that actors can undertake that contribute to the mainstreaming of NBS in cities. The aim is to understand the roles that urban actors, especially those within local governments, assume in the process of NBS mainstreaming to mobilise and implement novel and innovative strategic solutions for cities. This topic is explored in a case study of the metropolitan Melbourne region in Australia, where urban forest strategies are gaining traction in local governments for addressing urban resilience concerns. We present how the roles different actors assume contribute to the (re)shaping, building, and/or transformation of institutions to attain climate and ecologically resilient cities. The main contribution of this paper is a pathways framework that illustrates how sustainability norms can move through the mainstreaming process, facilitated by the roles that actors undertake – to champion, advocate, and realise transformative discourses and actions within urban politics and urban practices. Our key findings are framed as success factors of mainstreaming agencies and pathways underpinning transformation, which are: commitment longevity, innovative capacity, collaborative mindset, and on-ground delivery. • Policy, practice, and research actors can facilitate NBS mainstreaming in cities. • Role archetypes describe the mainstreaming actions of specific actors. • The configuration of roles is analysed to explain mainstreaming pathways. • Define mainstreaming pathways framework for actors' roles in NBS mainstreaming. • Success factors are commitment, innovation, collaboration, and on-ground delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of energy and climate policy is usually seen as an 'expert' domain, relying on technical tools such as economic analysis. However, policy requires the support of politicians and citizens alike, through the democratic process. Many policies, such as reducing carbon emissions from homes and transport, also affect people's lives directly. It is thus necessary to supplement technical analysis with methods that allow an exploration of people's views, values and behaviours. One such method is codesign, whereby groups of citizens work with policy analysts to develop strategies informed by the lived experience of citizens, as well as the specialist knowledge of analysts. There is a history of co-design approaches in public services such as healthcare, but there have been few attempts to co-design public policy measures. This paper reports on a Citizens' Panel, a representative group of people working with specialists to create co-designed policy recommendations for reducing carbon emissions from homes. The process revealed that policy co-design can provide detailed, viable proposals. In this case, panellists emphasised the necessity of leadership and support from government; tailored, consistent information; targeted regulation; and financial incentives. Finally, the wider potential role for policy co-design for energy and climate is addressed. • Co-design processes are widely used but rarely applied to the design of energy and climate policy. • Co-design processes can embed citizen perspectives in policy design. • The paper reports on an experimental panel on home energy decarbonisation. • Co-design can ensure that policies are effective and will gain support of politicians and publics. • Changes to cultures of policymaking are needed to embed such approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many cities in developing countries, the design and implementation of flood adaptation measures face planning challenges, they are often underdeveloped in practice. This paper aims to investigate the potential for urban flood adaptation solutions and design in practice within the context of a climate-vulnerable Southeast Asian city. We specifically explore the "design workshop" -- an essential process providing valuable experience and conditions for effective climate adaptation in Bangkok. As part of our research, the workshop was organized to introduce and experiment the implication of adaptation pathway approach with designers, urban planners, and decision-makers. Findings reveal that the design workshop provided a collaborative environment, offers transformative space for formulating integrated and context-specific flood adaptation solutions - new possibilities for urban climate resilience in the making. The application of the adaptation pathways facilitates a concrete, quantifiable, and time-bound design process for identifying and sequencing potential flood adaptation measures in Bangkok. Consequently, this paper concludes that multidisciplinary and collaborative processes, along with the introduction of adaptation pathways, stimulating urban flood adaptation planning and implementation in a more collaborative and participative way. However, it is important to note that the feasibility assessment of the proposed solutions still requires essential conditions such as policy synchronization, technical skills, and local resources. To effectively realize these strategies in real-world urban planning practice, this research suggests that local governments should consider implementing a multidisciplinary design process in urban development and flood risk management. • There are opportunities for assessing co-benefits of adaptation measures at the local level. • The flood resilience planning should incorporate real-time data to identify long-term adaptation strategies. • The local government should invite a stimulating design approach along with experimentation of various adaptive measures. • Multidisciplinary approaches are essential for successful flood resilience planning in Bangkok. • The Adaptation Pathways helps to demonstrate the possibilities for long-term perspectives in Flood Risk Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic analyses (SEA), as an established method to evaluate the costs and benefits of actions, has been used to make chemical risk management plans and international compliance decisions. The exiting SEA has made significant progress in the impact assessment of chemical management, yet the key insights and challenges of costs and benefits evaluation has not been comprehensively summarized. This paper conducts a narrative review of recent SEA studies from developing countries and developed regions, focusing on the field of chemicals management. This review has explored the steps and methods of SEA in chemicals management and summarized the major challenges of SEA in terms of data availability, diversity of health endpoints, and interdisciplinary integration. The results showed that SEAs for chemicals management have been widely documented. However, there are still many challenges, especially the results of risk assessment are difficult to provide useful input for SEA. In addition, most SEAs do not consider the non-fatal health consequences of chemical exposure, and the selected health endpoints only include cancer or mortality. Due to the lack of dose-response relationship between chemical pollution concentration and ecosystem impact, it is difficult to quantify environmental benefits. Finally, it is strongly recommended to break the "communication barriers" between scholars in different fields by setting up research funds and projects. [Display omitted] • This paper reviews the challenges of SEA in chemicals management. • The results of risk assessment are difficult to provide practical input for SEA. • The environmental benefits of chemicals management are difficult to quantify. • Most SEAs ignore the non-fatal health consequences caused by chemical exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a principle originally known as the Common Heritage of Mankind, which has been central to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and in the ocean governance concerning the exploration and exploitation of the deep ocean seabed (legally known as the 'Area') and the minerals (polymetallic nodules) it contains. In more recent times the applicability of the principle—renamed as Common Heritage of Humankind principle (henceforth abbreviated as CHP)—to marine genetic resources (MGR) in areas beyond national jurisdictions (ABNJ) has been heavily debated as part of the negotiations which led to the landmark UN High Seas Treaty agreed in March 2023 (also known as BBNJ Treaty or BBNJ agreement). This paper has a twofold goal. First, it offers a theoretical/conceptual framework to better understand the nature of epistemic injustices in marine scientific research and ocean governance. Equitable ocean governance should start by recognising these deeply seated epistemic inequalities affecting some prominent interpretations of CHP which are often invoked in negotiations about ocean resources. The second goal of the paper is to provide a different conceptual reading of the most promising interpretation of CHP , namely the one offered by the Group of 77 nations, through the lens of 'environmental cosmopolitanism' as a form of non-elitist or 'subaltern cosmopolitanism' that grounds relational obligations to care for a communal good. • Discusses the principle of Common Heritage of Mankind /Humankind (CHP) in UNCLOS and the UN High Seas Treaty. • Analyses two kinds of epistemic injustices at work in some interpretations of CHP. • Offers a novel philosophical framework for interpreting CHP for more equitable ocean governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand how co-production can become embedded as a collaborative governance practice by which city governments plan, deliver and steward nature-based solutions. To these ends, the paper analyses how policy officers manifest capacities for co-production in three European cities – Genk (Belgium), Glasgow (United Kingdom) and Poznań (Poland) – while experimenting with co-production to develop and scale nature-based solutions. Co-production capacities include conditions and activities to (1) create space for co-production, (2) safeguard inclusive and legitimate co-production, and (3) link co-production processes and results to contexts. The results demonstrate how policy officers in the three cities have mobilised and created resources, skills, institutional support and partnerships to implement diverse processes to co-produce nature-based solutions. While these conditions mark starting changes in urban governance, engaging with and embedding co-production causes tensions between the dynamic and diffuse nature of co-production and existing formal governance settings and processes. Lessons for strengthening the capacities to embed co-production as a collaborative governance practice in nature-based solutions planning, delivery and stewardship are: (1) embedding a tailor-made approach for inclusive co-production to meaningfully engage diverse actors in place-based settings, (2) embedding open-ended co-production with long-term benefits, and (3) embedding new relations and roles to sustain co-production. • Co-production requires investing in new governance capacities. • Diverse co-production processes underpin collaborative NBS governance. • No one-size-fits-all: tailor co-production to contexts, goals, target audiences. • Monitor and evaluate co-production to reveal benefits. • Invest in long-term relations and engagement to sustain co-production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the participatory modeling experiences of five discrete teams across the U.S. working to develop models of food systems to identify leverage points and policies to induce food system transformation. Collaboration between academic and community partners within these individual modeling processes enables teams to address food systems complexity, integrate scientific evidence and local knowledge into models, while improving a model's credibility and accessibility for policymaking. While tools for facilitating participatory modeling are becoming more available, there is scant discussion on the practicalities of community engagement processes, including how teams respond to the needs of partners, navigate challenges that arise during projects, and communicate results. Synthesizing results from five independent teams in Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Flint, Michigan, this paper provides an overview of each team's approach to community engagement for participatory modeling of food systems. Analysis of engagement strategies across these five teams revealed four essential components to successful participatory modeling projects: 1) building research in collaboration with partners from the onset, 2) developing awareness of the challenges of community-researcher partnerships, 3) supporting transparent communication, and 4) promoting justice and trust through accessible dissemination processes. We emphasize that there is no single best approach to participatory modeling with community partners, rather that researchers need to understand and respond to various stakeholder needs. While each team faced challenges to the engagement process, including responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings reveal important considerations for research in participatory modeling for food system policy. • Participatory modeling is useful to bridge academic knowledge and policy-making. • Immediate food access and lasting climate impacts of food systems challenges engaged modeling. • We synthesize lessons from five independent projects on participatory modeling of food systems. • Researchers must be responsive to community assets to produce policy relevant results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' (UNs) 2030 " Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. " This requires much effort of in governmental policies along with public and private sector practices. With regard to this, BGs have a crucial role in bringing this vision of the future. Of the 17 SDGs, Target 15—Life on land is directly associated with the traditional work of botanic gardens (BGs). But other four goals (2—Zero hunger, 4—Quality education, 11—Sustainable cities and communities, 13—Climate action) are also worthy of review and analyze when considering BGs. They could meet the needs of both the local and global communities and are effective in shaping the future and promoting the 2030 goals. In this context, paying attention to the UN's global and inclusive call, this paper focuses on Eden Project, United Kingdom, Ecorium of National Institute of Ecology, South Korea and Konya Tropical Botanical Garden, Turkey. Missions of the projects rely on conservation, restoration, education and community engagement. They address several global concerns, including climate and biodiversity emergency. Aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent the selected BGs can contribute to the SDGs. Results underline BGs as a valuable input in decision-making and policy action concerning environmental justice, equity, and inclusion that encourage transformative steps in achieving the SDGs. ● Eden Project, Ecorium Project and Konya Tropical Botanical Garden are prominent tourist destinations by their role in exhibition, conservation, education and research. ● The selected projects support community engagement activities that can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. ● Botanic gardens in developed or developing countries have potential to boost social justice and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating social and environmental change raises pressing questions about how existing institutions can be reformed to mount a more effective response. In this context, goal-based governance has been widely adopted in order to mobilise existing bodies to agree shared goals and develop common purpose. Increasingly employed in sustainability governance at the international scale, goal-based governance concerns setting pan-organisational goals and mobilising to deliver them. There is growing recognition that this approach needs to be downscaled to the local level in ways that can increase democratic engagement in order to realise significant change. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges involved in doing this in Cornwall, UK. We draw on collaborative research with representatives from statutory organisations as well as civic and civil society to highlight: (1) the significance of institutional structures, culture and relationships; (2) the need to adopt innovative participatory methods to engage and enlist civic and civil society organisations in goal-setting; and (3) the importance of ensuring delivery. The paper explores the extent to which local institutions can engage in goal-based and collaborative governance to respond to the challenges of sustainability in ways that reflect specific geo-political and cultural contexts as well as responding to international demands for greater sustainability. The findings provide insights that have relevance for other contexts as local leaders experiment to better recognise, reflect and respond to the social, ecological and political challenges of our time. • Goal-based governance for sustainability is yet to be adequately implemented on local scales. • Actors often excluded from sustainability governance decisions can help enact meaningful and transformational change. • Institutions need to be more reflexive if goal-based governance is to be locally relevant and democratic. • Our study offers insight into the practical realities of localising and democratising goal-based governance in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drones, lasers and satellites measure forests with seemingly unprecedented detail. In Scotland, private companies are bringing these Advanced Measurement Technologies (AMTs) from ecological science to market. Companies offer landowners the chance to independently measure and verify natural capital commodities, such as woodland carbon credits, using these technologies. Drawing from 61 interviews with stakeholders in the Scottish land sector, alongside six months of ethnographic research, this paper explores the climate governance consequences of high-tech forest carbon measurement. The argument develops from the well-established premise within environmental STS that technologies' apparent objectivity and impartiality obscures the political-economic motivations shaping their use. In Scotland, AMTs are reflexively developed to generate increased financial value from forest creation schemes. AMTs find more carbon in forests than standard measurement practices allow. Carbon is 'known not grown': more numerous and legitimate carbon credits can be created through a shift in knowledge practices rather than a material shift in nature-based carbon sequestration. Three epistemic processes allow for more carbon to be 'known not grown'. Firstly, more carbon volume can be identified within a forest by using sophisticated measurement techniques. Secondly, conservative carbon estimates can be bypassed because of the perceived precision of AMTs. Thirdly, AMT developers cultivate a situated form of measurement accuracy by drawing upon a selective uptake of science. This paper argues 'known not grown' is a novel type of mitigation deterrence. It is a dangerous yet increasingly widespread phenomenon in neoliberal environmental governance and requires further empirical investigation. • Carbon measurement is developing along a privatised and technocratic trajectory. • Measurement technologies are taken from science to 'find' more carbon in forests. • Carbon is 'known not grown': more carbon is measured but not necessarily sequestered. • 'Known not grown' is a novel frontier of mitigation deterrence. • Finding natural capital is increasingly likely in neoliberal nature restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on farmers' capacity to adapt to weather and climate variability tend to follow the resource endowment perspective and ignore the role of information. The paper examines farmers' access to weather information as a resource and its relationship to the uptake of farm-level adaptation strategies while controlling other related variables. It also looks at information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide information to farmers. Four dimensions of ICTs are considered – physical access to ICT devices, farmer's ability to use ICTs , farmer's intent to use ICTs for productive purposes, and farmer's presence in the social ecosystem pertaining to use of ICTs. Structural equation modelling analysis of 463 farmers highlighted the potential of information in facilitating the uptake of farm-level adaptation strategies. The information-adaptation link becomes even stronger with the moderation effect of the farmer's social ecosystem pertaining to use of ICTs. Farmers' abilities to use ICTs are vital in improving their access to weather information. Farmers' intent to use ICTs for productive purposes positively correlates with their stronger presence in the social ecosystem pertaining to use of ICTs. While wealth is an essential determinant of farmers' access to other resources, it is not directly associated with the uptake of farm-level adaptation strategies. The paper highlights ways to enhance farmers' adaptive capacity through non-economic means and facilitate farm-level adaptation. • Access to weather information influences the uptake of farm-level adaptation activities. • Farmers' social ecosystem pertaining to use of ICTs moderates the information-adaptation link. • Ability to use ICTs determines farmers' access to weather information. • Intent to use ICTs for productive purposes influences farmers' link with the social ecosystem pertaining to use of ICTs. • Stock of Wealth does not have any direct effect on the uptake of adaptation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major global agreements and frameworks on climate change, disasters and sustainable development emphasise collaborative, integrated and localised approaches to enable effective implementation of climate and disaster resilient development pathways. Progress in local level climate change and disaster-related research indicates the growing complexity of issues and their solutions also requires more collaborative forms of governance. However, an adequate understanding as to which particular factors make collaborative governance work in the context of climate and disaster resilient development is lacking. This paper contributes to filling this gap by presenting a quantitative systematic literature review of the core factors that enhance the effectiveness of collaborative governance for local-level climate and disaster resilient development. Through the interrogation of 35 papers, key characteristics of collaborative local governance were analysed, including the starting conditions, institutional design, collaborative processes, outcomes, and system interactions of such initiatives. Consideration of diverse worldviews, a breadth of engagement approaches and skilled facilitation by collaboration convenors are amongst the factors that enhance the outcomes of collaboration. Findings indicate that organisations and individuals gain clear social learning benefits from participating in collaborative initiatives which may compensate for the investment required to make a collaboration work. However, the review found that actors with decision making power struggle to share that power with other actors. Investing in the 'soft skills' of collaborative leadership, including in conflict resolution are amongst the important ingredients for actioning global ambition. Findings justify further research in a broader range of regions and cultural settings. • Disaster and climate studies emphasise the need for localised collaboration. • Consideration of diverse worldviews enhances local collaboration outcomes. • Decision makers struggle to share power with other actors. • Organisations gain social learning benefits from collaborative resilient development. • Investing in collaborative soft skills actions global ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2000 s the demand for sand has proliferated at the coastal-land interface to fill up the increasing demand straining Blue Economy (BE) activities and provision of water-energy-food resources. Recent studies have revealed that increased sand mining in both coastal and freshwater zones has continued to impact livelihood-ecological systems threatening the provision of livelihood goods and services. These impacts are exacerbated by a lack of comprehensive frameworks to regulate sand mining and trade; creating the need to develop micro and macro-frameworks and guidelines for sustainable sand mining. This paper uses a non-systematic literature review approach to build on this gap to develop an understanding of the resource nexus perspectives and trade-offs due to sand mining. The paper proposes a novel framework based on the Ecosystem Service Assessment advanced from the review of the literature to guide risk assessments toward more sustainable sand mining. In order to add evidence, the paper analyses in-depth the state of Kerala - one of India's coastal states that has experienced unprecedented rates of sand mining since the 1990 s especially along the Chavara coast albeit with less research on the intersectionality of mining on the resource nexus. Both the framework and our case study highlight how sand mining stresses local ecosystems and livelihoods thus increasing vulnerability to both human and environmental impacts. The paper brings to the fore seven (7) key steps that local institutions can use to guide sustainable sand mining and build integrated governance systems that promote interaction among natural capitals in a given area and livelihood considerations. The article further documents that the use of coherent guidelines and the framework can help in amalgamating the various actors in a given system that can guide local participation in local resource management and the development of cooperative agreements for the sustainable utilization of resources among coastal communities. This could further help understand the resource nexus from the perspective of the synergies and trade-offs in the BE. • The Blue Economy and Resource Nexus offer new pathways for sustainable livelihoods. • But, the proliferation of sand mining is increasing trade-offs thus livelihood and ecosystem vulnerability. • A lack of a comprehensive sand mining governance framework increases such vulnerability. • The developed novel framework based on Ecosystem Service Assessment can help reverse these externalities and trade-offs. • Our framework integrated new insights on sand mining governance that could be leveraged at all levels [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmentally friendly behaviors of Chinese residents still remain at a low level and need to be further improved to cope with severe environmental problems. Using the 2010 China General Social Survey data, this paper explores whether social capital can be used as a lubricant to effectively promote residents' environmentally friendly behaviors, including private domain, public domain, and payment-oriented environmental behaviors. The results show that social network expansion has a significantly positive effect on all three types of environmentally friendly behaviors, while social trust and social equity are only closely related to payment-oriented environmental behaviors. This paper further introduces environmental cognitive variables as mediating variables to test the mechanism of the influence of social capital on environmentally friendly behaviors. In general, environmental knowledge, environmental concern, and environmental attitudes play important roles in the impact of social networks on residents' pro-environmental behaviors. This paper provides a reference for the government to take measures to encourage residents to participate in environmental protection. • We analyze the relationship between social capital and environmentally friendly behaviors in China. • Social networks have the most significant impact on environmentally friendly behaviors among social capital. • Payment-oriented environmental behaviors are obviously influenced by social trust and social equity. • Environmental cognitive variables moderate the impact of social capital on environmentally friendly behaviors. • Environmental policies should emphasize the potential of stimulating social capital as a new way to protect the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dialogue on solutions to plastic pollution to date has largely focussed on targeting commonly found items or areas where large volumes of litter accumulate in the environment. The need to identify better solutions to reduce plastic pollution at the global scale has been highlighted in recent G7 and G20 discussions. Negotiations are underway for a global, legally-binding Plastics Treaty that countries will hopefully agree on, however, the local implementation of the global agreement will be challenging and complex. Cultural norms and values are likely to influence the adoption of new waste disposal practices and rules, and also impact industry and consumer behaviour and compliance more generally. To date, cultural norms and values have not entered the global solution dialogue. If a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution is to succeed, understanding the potential impact of these cultural dimensions on the potential effectiveness of implementing the agreement is crucial. Building upon the cross-culture research, this paper describes the potential impact of failing to consider cultural aspects in the decision-making process and implementation of the Global Plastics Treaty. As Treaty negotiations are underway, actively considering and addressing the influence of culture will contribute to more inclusive Treaty obligations. This in turn could influence new national plans of action, reporting, compliance and monitoring of plastic pollution by signatory member states. • Local implementation of the Plastics Treaty is going to be challenging and complex. • Cultural values are likely to influence the adoption of new plastic policies. • Cultural norms and values have not entered the global solution dialogue. • Addressing the influence of culture will contribute to a more inclusive Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science is growing rapidly with positive outcomes documented for ecological research, conservation, policy, innovation, and increased citizen stewardship. This rapid increase provides an opportunity to reflect on the characteristics of citizen science projects and determine their diverse goals, practices and outcomes. This paper focuses on the perspective of those initiating and leading citizen science projects in the third largest growing citizen science landscape – Australia, discussing the varying goals, outcomes and impacts. Findings from the statistical and thematic analysis of an online questionnaire (for multiple-choice and open-ended questions respectively), demonstrate the Australian citizen science landscape as growing exponentially, dominated by ecological and biodiversity projects, yet mostly local in scope and limited in numbers of participants. Individual and community goals such as education, raising awareness and public engagement, were found to be the focus of most citizen science projects, whilst scientific developments and policy advancement were often considered secondary goals. Projects leaders describe inherent tensions in managing projects and balancing their many goals. For example, public engagement was concurrently considered a benefit of citizen science enabling non-scientists participation in science discourse and research, and a challenge in recruitment, retention and ongoing communication with citizens scientists. The findings underscore the imperative of striking a balance between scientific rigor, policy objectives and societal aims, for advancing the vision of citizen science and maximizing its effectiveness and ecological impact. This relevance extends globally, urging nations from the Global North to the Global South, to consider replicating and adapting these approaches for broader societal benefit. • Australian citizen science is dominated by biodiversity projects with a local scope and limited participant numbers. • Individual and community goals are prioritized, scientific advancements and policy development are secondary objectives. • Tensions observed in managing multiple project objectives, particularly regarding participant recruitment and communication. • Citizen science would benefit from striking a balance between multiple goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic and non-academic societal actors alike are seeking to optimize the ways in which scientific research may contribute to sustainable development, for which a diverse range of research uptake strategies have been developed. Yet, while the literature emphasizes that the appropriateness of research uptake strategies depends on the context in which they are applied, designing appropriate research uptake strategies to fit a specific context remains a challenging decision-making task for many researchers. In this paper, we conceptualize appropriate research uptake strategies to be those that align with the research and societal sustainability contexts in which they are applied and account for the interactions that emerge between these two contexts. With the aim of supporting researchers in designing more appropriate research uptake strategies in a wide range of contexts, we then build on this conceptualization to propose an appropriateness-typology distinguishing between four broad research uptake approaches: the knowledge transfer approach; the commissioned research approach; the direct engagement approach; and the co-production approach. The typology matches each approach to the dynamic research and societal sustainability contexts in which it is most likely to be appropriate, while seeking to accommodate nuanced understandings of how researchers may approach uptake given different contexts and at the same time aiming at parsimony. By explicitly conceptualizing the role of context in research uptake decision-making and taking a first step towards an appropriateness-typology of research uptake, we hope to empower researchers to design more context-appropriate research uptake strategies such as to better contribute to sustainable development. • Before research can impact society, it must be taken up (i.e., considered, used, or applied) by non-academic societal actors • Research uptake by non-academic societal actors is an intricate, dynamic, context-dependent and non-linear process • The appropriateness of research uptake strategies depends on the contexts in which they are applied • Decision tools, like typologies, can support researchers to design more context-appropriate research uptake strategies • We propose a typology matching 4 broad research uptake approaches to dynamic research- and societal sustainability contexts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swidden smallholders are among the most vulnerable groups to climate change. Many efforts have focused on incentivizing their transition to agroforestry, often with limited results. Such transitions, embedded in complex socio-environmental changes, generate uncertainties, often ignored in the science-policy interface. In this paper, we examine dispersed disciplinary developments in decision-making under uncertainty, apply the insights to a case study, and discuss results in the context of prevalent knowledge production assumptions and incentivized livelihood transitions policies. We use interview data from three communities in the Mexican Maya region to create aggregated mental models of smallholders who adopted agroforestry, and those who continue to practice traditional swidden agriculture. The mental models depict perceived causal connections—including uncertain or delayed—between hazards, causes, consequences and responses. Our results show substantial differences in mental models driven by length of explanatory pathways, attribution of hazards and portfolios of responses, suggesting that agroforesters were more prone to proactive behavior and/or more responsive to outside discourses. Agroforestry is effective in reducing some uncertainties in its bundled approach, but new uncertainties for which smallholders have no prior experience arise. Contrastingly, recurrent themes point to lower self-efficacy in swidden smallholders, which may help explain non-adoption. We caution that not recognizing differences in mental models among potential beneficiaries of incentivized interventions may inadvertently exacerbate inequalities, while unaddressed uncertainties may lead to future disadoption. As a scientific tool, mental model mapping can inform the design of adaptation measures by identifying new knowledge and conflicting rationales, and segmenting strategies for potential (non)adopters. • Swidden and agroforestry mental models differ in size, perceived causes, and responses. • Differences in mental models may be due to learning or self-selection. • Adaptation decisions involve various sources of uncertainty with nuanced group-specific patterns. • There is evidence that responses reflect trade-offs in which uncertainty sources are faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public participation in the U.S. environmental impact assessment process is legally required under the National Environmental Policy Act, yet the procedural norms of the process often leave members of the public feeling powerless. While public participation has the appearance of a democratic process, it is imbued with unequal power dynamics and federal agencies maintain decision-making authority. Despite sovereignty and treaty rights, Indigenous communities in the U.S. do not participate in environmental decision-making through a collaborative governance structure. Instead, Indigenous communities interested in project impacts primarily voice their concerns through the public comment process. This paper explores Indigenous participants' impacts on environmental impact decision-making through an illustrative case study structure. The phenomenon is explored in an in-depth analysis of the recent leasing environmental impact statement (EIS) for oil exploration and development in the 1002 Coastal Plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This work uses a qualitative content analysis of the Coastal Plain case study to assess how public comments, particularly comments from Indigenous peoples, impact change in the documents that follow public participation processes. From this analysis, this article aims to illustrate a few key issues with how Indigenous input is considered in public participation processes. Findings indicate that public comments may result in minor changes to assessment documents but, overall, public input has little influence on project outcomes. • Minimal changes made to environmental impact assessments based on public commenter knowledge and concerns. • Indigenous stakeholder input undervalued in public comment periods. • Government agency comments result in the most major changes to final reports. • Deliberative democratic approaches viable to public participation process improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we employed Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess how efficiently a sample of 22 European cities meets the SDG 11.2.1 indicator, which measures the proportion of the population with convenient access to public transport. We examined a range of cities across different sizes and regions. After using bootstrapping methods, we found that the public transport systems in southern European cities arrange their stop networks more efficiently to provide convenient access for inhabitants than those in northern cities. To reach the DEA performance benchmark, the low-efficient systems would need to reorganize their stop network and increase the population's access to public transport by an average of 58%. However, since almost all users of these systems can already walk acceptable distances to stops, these inherent inefficiencies are mainly observed due to unfavorable built environment conditions, which require a relatively extensive network of road and rail public transport stops. We estimated conditional order-m measures to unravel such exogenous influence on public transport performance. After analyzing various built environment factors, we found that cities with increased population density and a higher proportion of urbanized and built-up areas facilitate more convenient access to public transport. Cities that prioritize car-centric designs tend to have less favorable accessibility conditions. Our findings are useful for policymakers in achieving UN SDG 11 in modern cities. Expanding public transport stop networks and rail modes is important in low-density and less urbanized districts. Urban planning that promotes a more pedestrian-focused design can also improve public transport accessibility. • Spatial efficiency DEA models evaluate SDG 11.2.1 progress in 22 European cities. • Public transport is easily accessed but often inefficient, with excessive stops. • Conditional nonparametric analysis explained built environment impact on efficiency. • Denser and more urbanized cities achieve the SDG 11.2.1 goals more easily. • Diverse and less car-related land uses reduce walking distances to public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic development of maritime areas has led to the emergence of new approaches to marine governance in many regions. Unfortunately, the complexity of the natural and socio-economic processes that characterise the marine and coastal ecosystems is generally not sufficiently considered by the existing governance mechanisms. This explains that the inclusion of land-sea interactions (LSIs) in marine and coastal governance remains particularly weak and somewhat inadequate to address the current challenges, especially in Europe. The literature review showed that the mechanisms currently in place for this purpose are highly fragmented, even though legislation has been introduced at the EU level. Focusing on the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), four types of obstacles to the integration of LSIs into marine and coastal governance have been identified. They are classified as issue-related, institutional, process-related and knowledge-related. To overcome these challenges, three recommendations have been developed in this paper: 1) the effective implementation of EU marine and coastal legislation's fundamental principles related to an integrated approach; 2) the development of new governance mechanisms to enhance policy coordination and 3) the development of collaborative governance processes. The policy recommendations for LSI integration in marine and coastal governance formulated have not been tested through specific case studies. Therefore, the next step would be to create innovative governance mechanisms for a selection of cases. • EU challenges: issue-related, institutional, process-related and knowledge-related. • Land-sea integration in EU marine/coastal governance progresses. • EU can inspire other regions on the first steps of land-sea integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration of keystone species, such as large herbivores, is crucial in repairing natural process in ecosystems and responding to the global biodiversity loss. These efforts however face many ecological, social and political challenges. In the context of the on-going update of the IUCN European Bison Action Plan this paper examines conservation discourses that are crucial for understanding challenges and opportunities in bison reintroduction and species restoration in general. The European bison was almost exterminated before many organizations' efforts to save it in the 20th century. Although the history of bison has been a conservation success story, currently there is an urgent need for innovative solutions to accommodate its growing population on the densely populated continent. There are numerous points of disagreements among bison conservationists, such as the degree of human intervention, ethical consideration regarding hunting, the uses of various types of knowledge in decision-making, and finding conflict-free spaces for bison in contemporary European landscapes. This study systematically explores the various perspectives of experts from 18 countries regarding the priorities for European bison conservation. To this end, we applied Q-method online survey targeting scientists and wildlife managers. We identified three perspectives on the bison conservation: 'participatory conservation of an iconic species', 'stewardship and control of vulnerable bison', and 'hands-off approach for restoring bison ecology'. The identified discourses show how bison conservation is evolving from traditional conservation narratives based on distinction between intrinsic and instrumental values towards innovative ideas inspired by rewilding narratives. However, the dilemmas of human-bison coexistence remain. • Need for innovative solutions to accommodate growing population of European bison on densely populated continent. • Existence of three distinct perspectives among international experts on European bison conservation. • Influence of rewilding on the debates in updating European bison Action Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to safe drinking water remains a significant challenge for many Indigenous communities in Canada, particularly for remote communities. This stems from historic colonial practices of water governance that have relied on Western worldviews and excluded Indigenous Peoples. Using an Indigenist research framework and a Community-Based Participatory Research design, we, as Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborative research team wanted to learn from remote Indigenous communities, including Star Blanket Cree First Nation and the Cumberland House Village at the Treaty 4 and 5 territories (known as Saskatchewan) that have not been adequately represented in water governance. Following this, we used storytelling and deep listening to engage seven Elders and knowledge-keepers from the two communities. The findings show Indigenous People have spiritual and historical worldviews and practices surrounding water and its governance. Promoting Indigenous worldviews in water governance is critical to enhancing access to safe drinking water within the two communities. Therefore, reviving and reconnecting Indigenous drinking water governance promotes community healing and water protection. Insights from this paper propose a meaningful bridge between Western and Indigenous perspectives and the capacity to govern water through deep and complex practices and meanings of water governance. • Remote Indigenous communities lack access to safe drinking water. • Understanding the spirituality of water is key to Indigenous water governance. • Reclaiming Indigenous water stories is key to water reconciliation. • Collaborative water governance enhances access to safe drinking water. • Collaborative water governance promotes sovereignty and self-governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only has the frequency and severity of flooding increased under climate change, but which communities are at-risk and how those risks are distributed within communities has changed too. This realisation points to an important interplay between exposure (risk) and social vulnerability. Who is vulnerable? Answering this question is far from straightforward as different vulnerability indicators identify different groups across different scales. This paper addresses this issue. Using the empirical case of England, the spatial distribution of flood risk at different administrative scales is analysed in relation to the Environment Agency (EA) allocation of flood funding between 2015 and 2021. We find that Upper-tier Local Authority Districts with higher levels of both flood risk and social vulnerability received more funding in the period considered. Yet, that is not the scale at which flood scheme funding decisions are made. Flood schemes are decided at the local level, but funding data for smaller administrative scales is not available. Different understandings of vulnerability, the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), and issues around data transparency and availability in flood risk management, need to be urgently addressed. • This study critically analyses four indexes for quantifying flood vulnerability in England. • We find that vulnerability is interpreted differently depending on the indicators and spatial scales used. • The EA cannot fully monitor the relationship between vulnerability and funding without making LSOA data available. • Where LSOA data is unavailable, vulnerability indexes that are consistent across different areal units are more 'useful'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest evidence suggests that multi-hazards and their interrelationships (e.g., triggering, compound, and consecutive hazards) are becoming more frequent across Europe, underlying a need for resilience building by moving from single-hazard-focused to multi-hazard risk assessment and management. Although significant advancements were made in our understanding of these events, mainstream practice is still focused on risks due to single hazards (e.g., flooding, earthquakes, droughts), with a limited understanding of the stakeholder needs on the ground. To overcome this limitation, this paper sets out to understand the challenges for moving towards multi-hazard risk management through the perspective of European stakeholders. Based on five workshops across different European pilots (Danube Region, Veneto Region, Scandinavia, North Sea, and Canary Islands) and an expert workshop, we identify five prime challenges: i) governance, ii) knowledge of multi-hazards and multi-risks, iii) existing approaches to disaster risk management, iv) translation of science to policy and practice, and v) lack of data. These challenges are inherently linked and cannot be tackled in isolation with path dependency posing a significant hurdle in transitioning from single- to multi-hazard risk management. Going forward, we identify promising approaches for overcoming some of the challenges, including emerging approaches for multi-hazard characterisation, a common understanding of terminology, and a comprehensive framework for guiding multi-hazard risk assessment and management. We argue for a need to think beyond natural hazards and include other threats in creating a comprehensive overview of multi-hazard risks, as well as promoting thinking of multi-hazard risk reduction in the context of larger development goals. • We identify 5 core challenges for multi-hazard risk assessment and management in Europe. • Governance and knowledge of multi-hazard risk pose the greatest challenges. • Challenges in practices, science-to-policy, and data limit multi-hazard risk management. • We identify ways forward to ease the shift to multi-hazard risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision Support Indicators (DSIs) are metrics designed to inform local and regional stakeholders about the characteristics of a predicted (or ongoing) event to facilitate decision-making. In this paper, the DSI concept was developed to clarify the different aims of different kinds of indicators by naming them, and a framework was developed to describe and support the usage of such DSIs. The framework includes three kinds of DSI: hydroclimatic DSIs which are easy to calculate but hard to understand by non-experts; impact-based DSIs which are often difficult to calculate but easy to understand by non-experts; and event-based DSIs , which compare a current or projected state to a locally well-known historical event, where hydroclimatic and impact-based DSIs are currently mainly used. Tables and figures were developed to support the DSI development in collaboration with stakeholders. To develop and test the framework, seven case studies, representing different hydrological pressures on three continents (South America, Asia, and Europe), were carried out. The case studies span several temporal and spatial scales (hours-decades; 70–6,000 km2) as well as hydrological pressures (pluvial and riverine floods, drought, and water scarcity), representing different climate zones. Based on stakeholder workshops, DSIs were developed for these cases, which are used as examples of the conceptual framework. The adaptability of the DSI framework to this wide range of cases shows that the framework and related concepts are useful in many contexts. • Decision Support Indicators (DSI) inform stakeholders of future hydrological hazards. • Based on local knowledge about past events, event-based DSIs are highly informative. • A novel framework for indicator development has been developed. • The framework has been tested in seven case studies on three continents. • The framework can be seen as a decision-support tool, facilitating indicator development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green spaces – including parks, trees, and other vegetated areas – are inequitably distributed in cities worldwide, as underserved groups, such as low-income and people of color, have significantly lower provisions of such resources. Motivated by the health benefits of green spaces, advocates and policymakers in several countries have sought to ameliorate these systemic inequities by implementing green space equity initiatives. Many such initiatives are individual projects (e.g., a new park in an underserved neighborhood), but new policies have also been implemented to advance green space equity. To date, limited research has examined which policies have been implemented, what it takes to adopt and implement them, and whether they have effectively advanced green space equity. Based on a scoping literature review and a workshop with an interdisciplinary group of researchers, we developed a research agenda on green space equity policy. Our research agenda includes research questions grouped into four interrelated themes: policy impact and evaluation, power building and policy change, green gentrification, and health equity and climate change. The contributions of this paper are twofold: We synthesize current knowledge on green space equity policy and present a research agenda whose findings can inform policy work on green space equity. • Limited research has examined policies to advance green space equity. • We developed a research agenda on green space equity policy based on a scoping review and a workshop. • In the review, we identified research on green space equity policies, processes to adopt them, and their effectiveness. • Agenda themes include policy evaluation, power building, green gentrification, and health equity and climate change. • Research on green space equity policy speaks to global challenges such as health inequities and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the process of policy framing and narrative construction in the context of energy exclusion. Through qualitative analysis of case studies of collective, systematic, and recurrent electricity disconnections at the neighbourhood level in Spain, the study identifies two policy framings, the 'criminalisation' and the 'degradation' framing, in the process of building the phenomenon of energy exclusion as a policy problem. Highlighting the central role of problem construction in policy development, the research shows how this stage shapes the whole policy trajectory, not only determining the character of the problem but also how to solve it. The research uses textual material collected through in-depth qualitative interviews, news and press, and policy documents to critically analyse the framing process and narrative construction. The results show how conflicting interpretations of a policy situation can lead to different policy messages and the influence of structural elements, such as the dominant electricity model, in reinforcing these interpretations. • Unpacks energy exclusion through policy framing and narrative analysis. • Identifies key factors and policy frames in energy exclusion cases. • Demonstrates how problem construction shapes policy trajectories. • Analyses diverse relevant actors' perspectives on systematic disconnections. • Links conflicting scenario interpretations to varied policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence shows that current policies are unable to catalyse the necessary transformation towards a more just and sustainable food system. Scholars argue that food policy integration – policies that unite numerous food-related actions – is required to overcome dominant siloed and fragmented approaches and to tackle environmental and economic crises. However, what is being integrated and how such integrations contribute to food system transformation remain unexplored. This paper aims to disentangle frames and approaches to food policy integration through a critical analysis of literature on integrated policies and food system transformation. Complemented by a systematic literature review for "food system" and "polic* integrat*", overlapping approaches and gaps between these literatures are revealed over the last twenty years. We use the prisms of processes ("how" food policy integration is being practiced), placement ("where" crossovers between sectors in governance institutions and where synergies between objectives can be created) and things ("what" specific aspects of the food system and related sectors exist within integrated policies and leverage points to trigger transformative dynamics) to explore how policy integration and food system transformation intersect within current debates. Our findings reveal cross-cutting themes and distinct theoretical frameworks but also identify substantial gaps, where frames of food policy integration often remain within their disciplinary silos, are ambiguous or ill-defined. We conclude that to achieve policy integration as a tool for food system transformation, a new research and policy agenda is needed that builds on diverse knowledges, critical policy approaches and the integration of food with other sectors. • Policy integration remains ill-defined in what needs to be integrated to achieve change. • The where of integration reveals a trend from national to place-based approaches. • Cross-disciplinary approaches have not been achieved in theory or in practice. • The analysis demonstrates that framing across disciplines and in practice matters. • A systemic framework to transformation highlights potential links for integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the growing interest in naturalizing schoolgrounds this paper explores the governance configurations that enable, produce and sustain their multiple benefits. We scrutinize the existing literature analysing the norms, actors, and processes through which green school grounds are conceptualized, designed, implemented, and sustained. We find that good schoolyard governance is exhibited by: i) the actual use that children make of the naturalized areas, and by its repercussion on their physical and mental well-being, social integration, sense of place, and socio-environmental awareness; ii) the ways outdoor environments intersect with school curriculums; iii) by the availability of public support and funding lines with flexible, anticipatory and adaptive features; and crucially iv) by the ways that architects and gardeners engage with the concepts of ecology, creative play and outdoor education in the acts of schoolyard (re)making. We also find that at times focus on program effectiveness (efficiency, goals) infringes upon justice and inclusion. The way participative processes are interpreted, and eventually inform schoolyard designs and uses is one of the challenges to consider in this respect. Greening schoolyards also requires participation processes that are accessible and inclusive for adults and children from a variety of socio-cultural, ethnic and economic contexts. In a nutshell, naturalizing schoolyards needs to go beyond the search for narrow technical solutions for climate adaptation or pedagogical innovation, being a process of school (re)making. The governance framework suggested here is apt for analysing a range of urban green interventions • Good schoolyard governance is exhibited by the actual use that children make of the naturalized areas. • Successful schoolyard greening rests on its intersection with existing curriculums. • Designers need to engage with landscape ecology, participation and creative play. • Equity and justice need to be considered in design, implementation, and use. • Flexible and adaptive public funding is key for steadfast schoolyard naturalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important initiative of climate action, REDD+ has been increasingly discussed in global policy arena. But delay in wider scale yet full-fledged implementation and its poor performance have raised suspects and pushed REDD+ toward in a long line of "conservation fad". In this paper, we have discussed the following ten questions to REDD+: (1) Does REDD+ address major causes of deforestation? (2) Does REDD+ contribute to global emissions reduction? (3) Does REDD+ recognize the inherent capacity of local people to manage their forests? (4) Does REDD+ respect the rights of indigenous people and local communities? (5) Does REDD+ justify the local governance and countries' sovereignty? (6) Does REDD+ ensure the transparency in program design and architecture? (7) Does REDD+ give credits to the carbon sequestering communities? (8) Does REDD+ supply sufficient reasons to justify the current carbon price? (9) Does REDD+ achieve climate goals through the voluntary carbon markets? and (10) Does REDD+ ensure sustainability of the ongoing projects? While discussing the questions, we have referred to global environmental issues of deforestation, emissions, transparency, decentralized governance, indigenous and local communities, voluntary carbon market, price effect, and other various contemporary sustainability issues. We argue that REDD+ could be a low-hanging fruit and act as a complimentary action to achieve its climate goal if it can address the issues raised under those ten questions. • We have raised and discussed ten important issues for REDD+ to be successful • REDD+ is popularly discussed yet highly debated conservation initiative • Forest centric activities would be inadequate for achieve climate goals through REDD+ • Voluntary carbon market is a challenge for successful REDD+ institutions • REDD+ should secure resource ownership and management authorship of locals [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing climate change causes multiple direct and indirect impacts on ecological systems and human societies remarkably increasing diverse vulnerabilities and threatening human security, health and societal stability. Climate policies on national level have so far failed to systematically address structural causes of vulnerability which, if left unresolved, can hinder effective adaptation outcomes and adaptive abilities in society. In this paper, we examined how equity (fairness) has been addressed and operationalised through the justice dimensions both in the EU and Finnish national policies to explore key justice concerns from the viewpoint of just transition. We found that social justice is highlighted in the policies especially in terms of economic impacts and welfare gaps exacerbated by climate change impacts. Adaptive capacity is thus essentially intertwined in the ability of institutions to recognise and enforce processes that ensure the distribution of goods and resources in way that is responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable. • Key justice dimensions in environment, health and climate policies. • Identifying justice related concerns from the viewpoint of adaptation. • Recognition of institutional vulnerability to enable adaptive capacity. • EU and national policies highlight social justice as key element for fair transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use change is a major driver of environmental degradation, necessitating appropriate planning to navigate trade-offs between societal objectives and ecological impacts. Sound planning is limited in some regions by data scarcity and incomplete scientific knowledge on local dynamics shaping development of land. In this paper, we present a novel expert-based participatory approach that uses Bayesian networks to determine land use suitability and potential conflicts for emerging land uses. This method encompasses a workshop phase for building suitability models for different sectors, data assembly and preparation, spatialization of networks, and iterative validation with experts. Mapped suitabilities for all land uses were used to assess potential competition for land across sectors and to quantify alignment of the expert-modeled outcomes with established land use policy. Applied to Curaçao, a data-poor environment in the Caribbean facing high land use competition, the method enabled the construction and parameterization of 5 Bayesian networks driven by 35 spatial input datasets generated through various methods from participatory mapping to social media analysis. Overlap in suitable locations for conservation and tourism development along segments of the coastline and roadsides of the western island highlight potential conflict stemming from coincidence of desirable natural amenities and ecologically sensitive areas. Results yield key insights that can drive discussion and inform policymakers and spatial planners as they navigate tradeoffs and seek optimal use of limited land resources. Process-based suitability predictions and knowledge of underlying drivers can also enable exploratory analysis into possible future scenarios of change. • Participatory systems modeling with Bayesian networks to evaluate land suitability. • Suitability overlap across sectors highlights instances and intensity of conflict. • 5 land uses modeled by experts using 35 datasets in a data-scarce context (Curaçao). • Identified conflict sites between tourism, urban, agriculture, and conservation use. • Policy-makers can reduce trade-offs and identify sites of management priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to mitigate negative impacts of climate change, climate adaptation policy and practice increasingly engages with nuanced and differentiated impacts of climate change. Existing adaptation approaches and research informing them largely focus on outcomes of climactic events, but lack consideration of power structures shaping these phenomena and experiences of them. From a feminist peace perspective, I posit that tackling intersectional violences of climate change necessitates greater engagement with underlying knowledge. This paper explores how ways of knowing climate change impact ways of living with it: analyzing the ground on which climate action interventions stand and the paths on which they set us. I theorize 'climate transformation' as processual shifts in ways of knowing a problem and solution toward norms of a feminist peace. Theory is developed abductively, based on original fieldwork in Puerto Rico and drawing on conflict transformation theory and elaborating knowledge production through feminist ethics of care. The model developed here enables analyzing orientations of current situations and change processes in relation to desirable futures. I find that actors involved in peace work and climate action in Puerto Rico foster transformation based on: caring in current relations and experience; caring through change processes affectively and reciprocally; and caring for a vision of the future through prefigurative and historicized imagination. The framework advances academic study and policy development on transformative climate action for tackling historic and intersectional violences to influence and enact particular visions of peace. • Peace necessitates engaging with underlying knowledge of climate change. • The climate transformation model theorizes knowledge via feminist ethics of care. • Puerto Ricans foster transformation by caring in current relations and experience. • They care through change processes affectively and reciprocally; • Futures envisioned are cared for with prefigurative and historicized imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All modelled global mitigation pathways assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC AR6) project rapid deployment of land-based mitigation measures for staying within the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C or 2 °C. However, there is sparse literature on the burden-sharing and equity implications of the IPCC-assessed global mitigation pathways. This is a severe lacuna given the influential role of the IPCC assessments in shaping political deliberations about possible futures and in informing the sectoral guidance and strategy documents of multilateral climate funds and organisations. This paper addresses this gap by evaluating the distributional implications of IPCC AR6 global mitigation pathways for land-based mitigation, specifically focusing on the Global North and South and socio-economic and political implications for food security. Our findings reveal that the modelled pathways disproportionately distribute the burden of land-based mitigation onto the Global South with an adverse impact on food security, raising questions about the normative choices embedded in cost-optimizing Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). Furthermore, we examine existing scenarios and policy recommendations for addressing food security concerns in stringent climate change mitigation pathways and find them both to be inequitable with attendant feasibility concerns. Our analysis underscores the need for equity-based scenarios in IPCC assessments and calls for transparency in communicating regional distributional assumptions and results of the global mitigation pathways. • IPCC AR6 global mitigation pathways emphasise the rapid deployment of land-based measures to meet 1.5°C or 2°C targets. • Analysis of mitigation pathways reveals a disproportionate burden on the Global South, affecting food security. • Modelled pathways raise questions about normative choices in cost-optimizing Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). • Alternative scenarios and policy recommendations for food security in 1.5°C or 2°C pathways are also inequitable. • Need for equity-based scenarios and transparently communicating regional distributional assumptions and implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]