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KEY MESSAGES • Information alone often fails to motivate change. Manipulation of data has led consumers to doubt scientific results, serving special interests at the expense of public benefit. Information overload implies the need for synthesis to enable better access and impact. • Rationalizations against the need for change include: fatalism, arguing that business is already changing of its own accord, that cheap food is more important than good food, and that the marketplace will adjust for externalities. • These views do not address the long-term systemic consequences of the global corporate model of food systems in a society that derives calories from corn syrup and protein from hamburger resulting in obesity and disease. • Free market, neoliberal policies are incapable of resolving externalities that affect public goods such as ecosystem services. Faith in the infallibility of the market is a shortcoming of mainstream economics. • Path dependency is a key barrier to change in food systems, causing inertia, but may also lock-in positive systemic change. A science of intentional systemic change is arising, grounded in better understanding of human economic behavior as the basis for collective action. • We espouse not one theory but rather a range of actor-relevant theories of change. • Consumer advocacy can bring businesses to assume greater responsibility for the effects of their actions. This theory of change has found expression in the threat of boycotts and reputational risk. • Certification has led to improvement in production practice within market niches but its true success begins when it pressures change in policy and practice throughout supply chains. • Governance of intentional transformation in food systems requires knowledge of political pressure points, and systematic efforts to shape narratives of principal actors, to redirect financial resources and to promote institutional and societal learning and adaptation. • We address the potential of multilateral organizations and agreements, national governments, the financial industry, agribusiness, producers and consumer groups to respond to the need for change. The roles of different actors are interlocking: there is no single point of entry for a theory of change. • The roles of principal actors are drawn along a continuum of change, suggesting specific roles and types of actions to be addressed in evaluation and intervention. Given societal concern, agents for change may persevere within government, agribusiness or civil society organizations; their ability to bring change is dynamic and opportunistic, and driven by strategic alliances. As levers of agrifood system transformation, it is crucial to engage influential governmental actors as change agents. • Actors’ respective ability to adopt the results of TEEBAgriFood studies as a tool to direct change will depend on how well those results are communicated and adopted as narratives by influential actors and as entry points for education and consumer consciousness.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) in tropical countries is an important and contested element of the post-Kyoto climate regime. For policy options which generate controversy between diverse actor groups, such as REDD+, mass media plays an important role in defining and supporting policy possibilities. Analysis of the way in which national media frames issues of climate change and deforestation can offer insights into the nature of the contested domains of the REDD+ policy process. Here, we examine the Brazilian national media discourses surrounding REDD+ because it contributes to setting the tone of policy debates at the federal level. Specifically, we ask the following: (i) How was REDD+ portrayed in the Brazilian national print media and whose opinions and perceptions were represented? and (ii) How have media frames on REDD+ in the national print media changed over time? Our results contribute with new knowledge for understanding the observed progress of REDD+ in Brazil. We identify two main themes that dominate the focus in the national media coverage of REDD+, specifically “politics and policymaking” (representing half the coverage) and “economics and market” (with over a third). Results show that discussions around carbon markets were amongst the most contested and that optimism in relation to REDD+ effectiveness declined over time. The analysis suggests that positions adopted on the national REDD+ strategy were shaped by state and federal collision of interests. We demonstrate an evolution of national concerns from an initial focus on efficiency (e.g. finance and carbon markets) to a recentred focus on equity issues (e.g. implementation of safeguards). We conclude with some thoughts on the implications of these features for REDD+ interventions and implementation in Brazil.

This paper analyzes public discourse on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) as it is portrayed in the media and examines how this influences effective and equitable outcomes of REDD+ in Nepal. It draws on analysis of articles in three national newspapers and interviews with radio and newspaper journalists, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and technical experts. Findings show that REDD+ coverage has been limited in the Nepalese print media and overall reporting on REDD+ has declined over time. The discourse is currently dominated by a small number of experts and development project implementers who portray REDD+ optimistically as an opportunity to benefit from carbon markets, while contributing to sustainable forest management. There was limited representation of the interests and concerns of marginalized groups and local communities in the public debate, thus underplaying the complexities and challenges of REDD+ development and implementation in Nepal. While the absence of debate on potential negative impacts can be explained partly by the dominance of optimistic voices in the media, it was also attributed to journalists’ limited access to independent knowledge and understanding of the issue. The resulting lack of balanced information in the public domain could undermine both the effectiveness of REDD+ implementation and its equitable outcome.

This paper investigates climate policy integration and coherence in land use policies in Brazil. Unlike other policy analyses a key aim is to assess "internal policy coherence" in the climate change domain, or the extent to which positive and negative interactions between mitigation and adaptation are taken into account in policy formulation. The paper is based on a systematic content analysis of major federal level climate change and land use policies. The results indicate a stronger focus on climate change mitigation compared to adaptation in all land uses. Integrated approaches that consider mutually supportive mitigation and adaptation actions are called for in key climate change policies, but so far such linkages remain largely unexplored in sectoral policies. While some progress in this regard occurred in the agricultural sector, this has not translated into actual policy actions that are of use to small-scale producers. In the forest domain the focus remains almost exclusively on climate change mitigation. Three main recommendations are drawn. First, more knowledge about locally specific climate change impacts, resilience, capacity and measures for climate change adaptation is needed in order to increase the opportunities to pursue mutually beneficial approaches to climate change mitigation, adaptation and development , in particular in the forestry sector. Second, policy makers need to address more explicitly potential trade-offs between mitigation and adaptation in both policy formulation and implementation. Third, policy action on how to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes and avoid trade-offs between mitigation and adaptation needs to be operationalised into concrete policy objectives within sectoral policies and into practices that apply not just to agriculture and livestock systems, but to forested landscapes as well.

Most of the climate policy integration literature focuses on mainstreaming mitigation OR adaptation into sectoral policies. Such approaches, however, tend to ignore possible interactions between climate change adaptation and mitigation, which are particularly important in the land use sector. This paper investigates climate policy integration and coherence in the forest and agricultural sector s in Indonesia. It assesses the extent to which climate change policies display internal 'climate change policy coherence'between climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives, and 'external policy coherence' between climate change and non - climate change objectives of land use policies. The results indicate a shift since 2014 from a predominantly vertical to a more fragmented form of horizontal policy integration. In sufficient political action, resources and knowledge on vulnerability and adaptation options in forestry and agriculture and limited attention to reconcile mitigation and development objectives in land use sector are the main obstacles to internal and external policy integration. A present, for the most part climate change efforts still need to translate into revised sectoral policies. In a fragmented and predominantly horizontal policy architecture the willingness of sectoral ministries to recognize the importance of climate change objectives and of synergies between mitigation and adaptation will be crucial to moved toward a more effective climate policy integration.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) has emerged as an important carbon governance mechanism. However, forest governance is weak in most REDD+ countries, which undermines efforts to establish REDD+. This study analyses the factors that enable national REDD+ processes in the context of weak governance using a two-step ‘qualitative comparative analysis’ (QCA) of 12 REDD+ countries. Assuming that actor-related factors can be effective only if certain institutional preconditions are met, six factors were divided into two categories that were analysed separately: institutional setting (pressure from forest-resource shortage; forest legislation, policy, and governance; already initiated policy change) and the policy arena (national ownership; transformational coalitions; inclusiveness of the policy process). The factors were analysed to determine their role in efforts to establish comprehensive REDD+ policies that target transformational change. The results reveal path dependencies and institutional stickiness in all the study countries. Only countries already undertaking institutional change have been able to establish REDD+ policies in a relatively short period – but only in the presence of either high pressure from forest-resource shortages or key features of effective forest legislation, policy, and governance. Furthermore, where an enabling institutional setting is in place, the policy arena conditions of national ownership and transformational coalitions are crucial.Policy relevance Although the aim of REDD+ is to provide performance-based payments for emissions reductions, the outcomes in terms of actual emission reductions or co-benefits are not yet observable. Most REDD+ countries are still at the design and implementation stage for policies and measures. Indicators and criteria to measure progress in this phase are required to identify which factors enable or hinder countries' performance in delivering necessary policy change to provide targeted financial incentives to support countries' efforts. This study analyses the factors that shape national REDD+ processes in the context of weak governance using a two-step QCA of 12 REDD+ countries. The results show a set of enabling conditions and characteristics of the policy process under which REDD+ policies can be established. These findings may help guide other countries seeking to formulate REDD+ policies that are likely to deliver efficient, effective, and equitable outcomes.

National Strategy and Policy Options Maria Brockhaus Arild Angelsen ... depend on existing institutions and legal structures, current political and economic processes, the distribution of power and wealth, and the REDD+ actions appropriate to ...

This discussion paper provides a review of how different forms of land tenure reform relate to decentralization and local governance, in theory and practice. It will guide readers who are familiar with decentralization and local governance approaches to understand the main issues and challenges posed by land tenure reforms to achieve pro-poor impact. Because land tenure reform assigns control over resources that are critical for both identity and livelihood, it will be contentious. It is, therefore, important to distinguish among four different types of land tenure reform and critically assess the political economy context and the type of decentralization as well as national-local governance relationships in which land tenure reform will be implemented. It is equally important to understand the implications of various land tenure reform types for democratic governance and social inclusion / cohesion.

Metadata only record The system-wide program for collective action and property rights (CARPRi) sponsored an International Conference on Policy and Institutional Options for the Management of Rangelands in Dry Areas, May 7-11, 2001 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The conference focused on institutional aspects of rangeland management and brought together policy makers and researchers from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia to discuss sustainable rangeland production strategies and livelihood of pastoral communities in dry areas. Available in SANREM office, FS

Evidence of the impact arising from environmental research is increasingly demanded. Exchanges between science providers and actors that use scientific knowledge to address environmental problems are recognized as a key component of the mechanisms through which impact occurs. Yet, the role of interactions between science and policy actors in delivering and shaping research impact is not well established. We aim to better understand how transfer of science in a science-policy network generates impact. Our approach relies on an exploratory social network analysis (SNA), applied to a network of organisations working on land and water management in a catchment in the UK. We analyse flows of scientific information across these organisations and how those contribute to impact, which we conceptualized as change in organisations at three levels: increased awareness, operational change and strategic change. We find that organisations occupying central positions in the network facilitate the transfer of science and influence the level of change achieved. We also find that the effectiveness of the flows of information and impact delivery depends on boundary organisations, in particular public regulatory bodies, that connect agents with others. Moreover, intended change reported by science providers does not often transform directly into change as reported by the receivers of the information. We conclude that both exchanges between researchers and research users and the role of boundary organisations are key to impact delivery and making change possible. This is valuable for understanding where improvements to information flows between organisations might enhance impact.

Background and purpose: Tumefactive multiple sclerosis (TuMS) (i.e., MS onset presenting with tumefactive demyelinating lesions [TDLs]) is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We performed a multicentre retrospective study to describe the clinical characteristics and the prognostic factors of TuMS. Methods: One hundred two TuMS patients were included in this retrospective study. Demographic, clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), laboratory data and treatment choices were collected. Results: TuMS was found to affect women more than men (female:male: 2.4), with a young adulthood onset (median age: 29.5years, range: 11–68 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 38 years). At onset, 52% of TuMS patients presented with the involvement of more than one functional system and 24.5% of them with multiple TDLs. TDLs most frequently presented with an infiltrative MRI pattern (38.7%). Cerebrospinal fluid immunoglobulin G oligoclonal bands were often demonstrated (76.6%). In 25.3% of the cases, more than one acute-phase treatment was administered, and almost one-half of the patients (46.6%) were treated with high-efficacy treatments. After a median follow-up of 2.3years (range: 0.1–10.7 years, IQR: 3.4 years), the median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 1.5 (range: 0–7, IQR: 2). Independent risk factors for reaching an EDSS score ≥3 were a higher age at onset (odds ratio [OR]: 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.14, p&nbsp