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Projected population growth and climate change paint an increasingly bleak picture for many coastal communities and their already threatened ecosystems. Yet, coastal managers and residents provide expressions of hope. In this short communication we reflect on the findings of a four-year research project examining coastal governance in rapidly growing Australian coastal communities. Practitioners shared their perspectives on current coastal governance approaches and were hopeful that sought-after goals would be achieved. However, hopefulness contrasts with self-reported barriers to change and limited evidence of transformative action. Thus, we ask whether hopefulness is misplaced, and a barrier to change, or whether hope remains a necessary precursor to transformative action. We find it is both: hope can provide a vision for a resilient future and a beacon towards the challenge of creating novel, exciting, and equitable futures. Yet, hope is insufficient unless accompanied by actions for resilient social and ecological communities. Hope without action is baseless and exacerbates vulnerability by limiting proactive responses, squandering valuable time, and further weakening systems. The findings have relevance in responding to global environmental challenges by distinguishing between ‘hope that helps’ versus ‘hope that hinders’ in the governance of complex systems.

Considerable pressure is placed on wind power in Sweden due to the country's goal of generating 100% of its electricity from fossil free resources. The aim was to develop the REWIND methodological framework to support wind power planning, built on spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA). In addition, the purpose was to develop a conflict score as a novel component of this framework, for handling goal conflicts. This framework includes the scoping, design and evaluation stages. It was applied in a case study of Vasternorrland County with extensive involvement of stakeholders throughout the process.The conflict score allows a separate analysis of trade-offs between factors, highlighting potential conflicts across the landscape to increase transparency. Thus, users are allowed to decide on a threshold on how much conflict among factors should be allowed for areas to qualify as planning alternatives. Critical issues that will need further attention concern quality and availability of data, creation of representative spatial indicators for the factors, weighting methods, and uncertainty analysis. The REWIND framework is open-ended and allows for further development to provide planning support that gives more control of factors and conflicts to be acceptable in real-world planning. Capacity building involving stakeholders in the design of planning alternatives are crucial. In Sweden, it can promote a more proactive planning process in the municipalities, supported by the regional actors, leading to a more predictable permitting process for developers. This will be useful for inclusive wind power planning in any country, since it is applicable on different scales.

Climate change and violent conflict present two of the most substantial barriers to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Many of the countries bearing the greatest impacts of a changing climate also grapple with protracted armed conflict. Despite this, we still have limited knowledge about how political and environmental insecurities affect trust in the institutions that are responsible for disaster management, security and conflict resolution. In this paper we explore whether being exposed to violent armed conflict is associated with low levels of political trust, and whether this can be mitigated by state action. Relying on a household survey covering some 2000 rural households in Pakistan, we investigate how state disaster response shaped trust in conflict-affected contexts in the years following the severe flooding of 2010. Our study suggest that negative implications of violence exposure on political trust can be offset by disaster relief efforts by the state, but only in instances when the government is not involved in the violent activities. Our findings contribute to our understanding of the joint impact of conflict and disasters on political trust, and importantly shows that in some instances, government interventions in a different political domain can reduce negative consequences of armed conflict on trust. Understanding the interplay of compound risks in contexts where multiple risks are occurring simultaneously is crucial because without adequate, coordinated government action, it will be impossible to protect the lives, health and livelihoods of affected people in Pakistan and beyond.

Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cHABs) are increasingly becoming an emerging threat to aquatic life, ecotourism, and certain real estate investments. Their spontaneous yet sporadic occurrence has made mitigation measures a cumbersome task; moreover, current trends regarding anthropogenic activities, especially in agriculture and industry portend further undesirable events. Apart from the aesthetic degeneration they create in their respective habitats, they are equally capable of secreting toxins, which altogether present grave environmental and medical consequences. In this paper, we gave an update on factors that influence cHABs, cyanotoxin exposure routes, and environmental public health implications, especially impacts on fish, pets, and livestock. We discussed social economic impacts, risk assessment, and management problems for cHABs and, thereafter, assessed the extant management approaches including prevention, control, and mitigation of the proliferation of cyanobacterial blooms. In light of this, we suggest that more intensified research should be directed to the standardization of procedures for cyanotoxin analysis. Also, the provision of standardized reference material for the quantification of cyanotoxins is vital for routine monitoring as well as the development of strong in situ sensors capable of quantifying and detecting HABs cells and toxins in waterbodies to prevent the adverse impacts of cHABs. Also, more investigations into the natural and environmentally friendly approach to cyanobacteria management and the necessary and appropriate deployment of artificial intelligence are required. Finally, we wish to redirect the focus of public health authorities to protecting drinking water supply sources, agriculture products, and food sources from cyanotoxins contamination as well as to implement proper monitoring and treatment procedures to protect citizens from this potential health threat., Open access funding provided by University of Pretoria. JOU gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the National Research Foundation, South Africa (Grant no:138445).

Due to their exceptional properties and cost effectiveness, polyamides or nylons have emerged as widely used materials, revolutionizing diverse industries, including industrial 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM). Powder-based AM technologies employ tonnes of polyamide microplastics to produce complex components every year. However, the lack of comprehensive toxicity assessment of particulate polyamides and polyamide-associated chemicals, especially in the light of the global microplastics crisis, calls for urgent action. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of polyamide-12 microplastics used in AM, and assessed a number of toxicity endpoints focusing on inflammation, immunometabolism, genotoxicity, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation, endocrine disruption, and cell morphology. Specifically, microplastics examination by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that work flow reuse of material created a fraction of smaller particles with an average size of 1-5 µm, a size range readily available for uptake by human cells. Moreover, chemical analysis by means of gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry detected several polyamide-associated chemicals including starting material, plasticizer, thermal stabilizer/antioxidant, and migrating slip additive. Even if polyamide particles and chemicals did not induce an acute inflammatory response, repeated and prolonged exposure of human primary macrophages disclosed a steady increase in the levels of proinflammatory chemokine Interleukin-8 (IL-8/CXCL-8). Moreover, targeted metabolomics disclosed that polyamide particles modulated the kynurenine pathway and some of its key metabolites. The p53-responsive luciferase reporter gene assay showed that particles per se were able to activate p53, being indicative of a genotoxic stress. Polyamide-associated chemicals triggered moderate activation of AhR and elicited anti-androgenic activity. Finally, a high-throughput and

Aquatic animals and consumers of aquatic animals are exposed to increasingly complex mixtures of known and as-yet-unknown chemicals with dioxin-like toxicities in the water cycle. Effect- and cell-based bioanalysis can cover known and yet unknown dioxin and dioxin-like compounds as well as complex mixtures thereof but need to be standardized and integrated into international guidelines for environmental testing. In an international laboratory testing (ILT) following ISO/CD 24295 as standard procedure for rat cell-based DR CALUX un-spiked and spiked extracts of drinking-, surface-, and wastewater were validated to generate precision data for the development of the full ISO-standard. We found acceptable repeatability and reproducibility ranges below 36 % by DR CALUX bioassay for the tested un-spiked and spiked water of different origins. The presence of 17 PCDD/Fs and 12 dioxin-like PCBs was also confirmed by congener-specific GC-HRMS analysis. We compared the sum of dioxin-like activity levels measured by DR CALUX bioassay (expressed in 2,3,7,8-TCDD Bioanalytical Equivalents, BEQ; ISO 23196, 2022) with the obtained GC-HRMS chemical analysis results converted to toxic equivalents (TEQ; van den Berg et al., 2013).

Zooplankton community composition of northern lakes is changing due to the interactive effects of climate change and recovery from acidification, yet limited data are available to assess these changes combined. Here, we built a database using archives of temperature, water chemistry and zooplankton data from 60 Scandinavian lakes that represent broad spatial and temporal gradients in key parameters: temperature, calcium (Ca), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), and pH. Using machine learning techniques, we found that Ca was the most important determinant of the relative abundance of all zooplankton groups studied, while pH was second, and TOC third in importance. Further, we found that Ca is declining in almost all lakes, and we detected a critical Ca threshold in lake water of 1.3 mg L−1, below which the relative abundance of zooplankton shifts toward dominance of Holopedium gibberum and small cladocerans at the expense of Daphnia and copepods. Our findings suggest that low Ca concentrations may shape zooplankton communities, and that current trajectories of Ca decline could promote widespread changes in pelagic food webs as zooplankton are important trophic links from phytoplankton to fish and different zooplankton species play different roles in this context.

Rangelands face threats from climate and land-use change, including inappropriate climate change mitigation initiatives such as tree planting in grassy ecosystems. The marginalization and impoverishment of rangeland communities and their indigenous knowledge systems, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, are additional major challenges. To address these issues, we propose the wilder rangelands integrated framework, co-developed by South African and European scientists from diverse disciplines, as an opportunity to address the climate, livelihood, and biodiversity challenges in the world’s rangelands. More specifically, we present a Theory of Change to guide the design, monitoring, and evaluation of wilder rangelands. Through this, we aim to promote rangeland restoration, where local communities collaborate with regional and international actors to co-create new rangeland use models that simultaneously mitigate the impacts of climate change, restore biodiversity, and improve both ecosystem functioning and livelihoods.

Marine biodiversity consists of a complex network of organisms responsible for keeping the ecosystem's balance. Fungi are an understudied group of organisms despite their recognized importance for ecosystem processes and diversity. How fungi respond to environmental change remains poorly understood, especially in marine benthic habitats. The Baltic Sea is a brackish coastal ecosystem with steep environmental gradients in a relatively limited geographical area and is therefore a particularly good system to investigate the impact of different abiotic factors on benthic fungal diversity. This study used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to analyze the spatial dynamics of benthic fungal diversity in the Baltic Sea and quantify the environmental drivers that shape these dynamics. Based on 59 stations spreading over 1145 km the results showed that benthic fungal communities were dominated by the phylum Chytridiomycota, and the fungal species Alphamyces chaetifer and Operculomyces laminatus from this phylum were the main drivers of the community structure dissimilarities observed between regions. Water depth and salinity were the main predictors of the benthic fungal community composition. The impact of nutrient availability was also significant, possibly related to the known role of Chytridiomycota species such as A. chaetifer and O. laminatus in nutrient cycling. Our results indicate that the benthic fungal diversity of the Baltic Sea is shaped by salinity gradients and nutrient availability and highlights that the current fungal biodiversity is at risk of species shift or decline with predicted changes in salinity due to climate change and intensified eutrophication.

Pharmaceutical compounds often coexist in mixtures rather than as individual entities. However, little is known about their co-adsorption and co-mobility in soil and groundwater. In this study, we investigated the adsorption of a quinolone antibiotic (nalidixic acid, NA) and an anti-inflammatory agent (niflumic acid, NFA) onto two soils from France and Sweden in water-saturated soil columns. Despite its lower hydrophobicity, adsorption of NA is much greater than NFA, which can be ascribed to the presence of both carbonyl and carboxylic groups in NA molecule. The data suggest that adsorption to soil components can mainly take place through hydrogen bonding and surface complexation mechanisms, prevailing over hydrophobic interactions. Accordingly, more sorption of NA and NFA was observed in the Swedish soil because it contains more clay content, and much higher Al and Fe contents than the French soil. Injection of NA/NFA mixture in the column did not modify the breakthrough behavior compared to single systems, although cooperative adsorption was observed under static batch conditions. Ca2+ inhibited NA adsorption by forming a soluble NA-Ca2+ complex but promoted NFA adsorption both in single and binary systems. The mobility in soil columns was well predicted using a new transport model that accounts for both kinetics and binding reactions of NA and NFA to soil constituents. This work will help in accurately predicting the mobility of coexisting pharmaceutical compounds in soils.

The environment and biota are constantly exposed to numerous chemicals through contaminated food, soil, water, and air. These chemicals can be taken up and distributed to reach sensitive tissues where they may cause various effects. Many of these chemicals lack data on their environmental and human health effects. Traditional toxicological tests relying on animal experiments are today being phased out in favor of cell-based and computational methods for early hazard detection and exposure assessment. This thesis focuses on developing computational tools for various stages of chemical risk assessment with a particular focus on bisphenols and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In Paper I, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models covering molecular targets of the thyroid hormone (TH) system were developed and applied to two data sets to prioritize chemicals of concern for detailed toxicological studies. In Papers II and III, experimental and computational approaches were combined to study toxicokinetics and maternal transfer in zebrafish. Our main focus was to study potential mixture effects on administration, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) processes, i.e., to reveal if co-exposed chemicals impact each other’s ADME. Physiologically based kinetic (PBK) mixture models were developed to allow translation of external exposure concentrations into tissue concentrations and modelling plausible mechanisms of chemical interactions in a mixture. Main findings of this thesis are summarized as follows: • Application of QSAR models (Paper I) to two chemical inventories revealed that chemicals found in human blood could induce a large iirange of pathways in the TH system whereas chemicals used in Sweden with predicted high exposure index to consumers showed a lower likelihood to induce TH pathways. • Two zebrafish experiments (Paper II and Paper III) did not reveal statistically significant mixture effects on ADME of chemicals. • In Paper

The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 396 to the mid-Norwegian margin recovered > 1300 m of pristinely preserved, volcanic-ash-rich sediments deposited during the late Paleocene and early Eocene from close to the centre of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Remarkably, many of these cores contain glendonites, pseudomorphs after the purported cold-water mineral ikaite, from sediments dated to the late Paleocene and early Eocene. These time intervals span some of the hottest climates of the Cenozoic, including the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Global deep-ocean temperatures are not thought to have dropped below 10 ∘C at any point during this time, making the occurrence of supposedly cold-water (near-freezing temperature) glendonite pseudomorphs seemingly paradoxical. This study presents a detailed sedimentological, geochemical, and microscopic study of the IODP Exp. 396 glendonites and presents an updated model for the ikaite-to-calcite transformation for these glendonites. Specifically, we show that early diagenesis of basaltic ashes of the NAIP appear to have chemically promoted ikaite growth in the sediments in this region. Together with existing knowledge of late Paleocene and early Eocene glendonites from Svalbard to the north and early Eocene glendonites from Denmark to the south, these new glendonite finds possibly imply episodic, short-duration, and likely localized cooling in the Nordic Seas region, which may have been directly or indirectly linked to the emplacement of the NAIP.

Pharmaceuticals are often entering the environment without being completely decomposed. Once released in the environment they continue to carry on their main function but instead targeting the inhabitants of the aquatic ecosystem. Our interest was drawn towards the bacteria, that are often present in the environment in the form of biofilms. Despite their small size, they are carrying on important functions for the ecosystem. Any disruption in their work can potentially result a disturbance in the whole ecosystem. Thus, knowing the possible effect of the pharmaceuticals on bacterial biofilms can give us more understanding about the mechanisms that lie beneath pharmaceutical pollution. Natural degradation processes like photolysis, hydrolysis, and biodegradation can reduce pollutant concentrations. Bacterial biofilms, common in aquatic ecosystems, play a crucial role in pharmaceutical degradation process. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by biofilms enhance their tolerance to environmental stressors. This study focuses on bacterial biofilms chronically exposed to low levels of pharmaceuticals remaining in the treated waste water released from a STP into the Knivsta River, Sweden. Using the sequencing we mapped the species that inhabited the sampling location. Model biofilm consortia were constructed and characterized using various analysis techniques. Experiments investigated bacterial motility, biofilm formation, and interactions between isolates. The bacterial isolates exhibited diverse motility patterns. Cross- cultivation assays indicated coexistence without negative interactions among isolates. Chemical analysis using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and cryo-XPS revealed differences in macromolecular composition among isolates. The impact of pharmaceuticals, such as Trimethoprim and Diclofenac, on bacterial growth was studied. The findings contribute to understanding the complex interactions between pharmaceuticals and bacterial biofilms, crucial for a

Microbes decomposing leaf litter in aquatic ecosystems are exposed to two major sources of carbon (C), namely, particulate organic C (POC) and dissolved organic C (DOC). The use of DOC relative to POC during litter decomposition likely depends on the availability of DOC, which in turn is regulated by the characteristics of the surrounding landscape, although this extrinsic indirect control of DOC use remains largely unexplored. We have investigated how variations in stream physical and chemical characteristics, distribution of major landscape elements (i.e., forest, mires, and lakes), and riparian vegetation community composition (i.e., relative cover of deciduous vs. coniferous tree species) influence DOC use by leaf-associated microbes (LAM). Specifically, in a boreal stream network of ten first- to third-order streams, we related in-stream characteristics, landscape elements, and riparian vegetation community composition to DOC/POC respiration ratios (i.e., the amount of CO2 produced by LAM respiration of DOC + POC divided by the amount of leaf C mass lost through decomposition). The results showed that DOC/POC respiration ratios were > 1 in most of the study sites, indicating that LAM use a substantial amount of DOC during leaf litter decomposition. This microbial reliance on DOC varied with in-stream DOC and nutrient concentrations, proportional mire and forest cover, and riparian vegetation community composition. In particular, high mire and coniferous cover increased DOC use by LAM. As such, landscape configuration and how it is modified by land use and climate change must be considered in order to understand microbial turnover of terrestrial C in boreal streams.

Marine sediments impacted by urban and industrial pollutants are typically exposed to reducing conditions and represent major reservoirs of toxic mercury species. Mercury methylation mediated by anaerobic microorganisms is favored under such conditions, yet little is known about potential microbial mechanisms for mercury detoxification. We used culture-independent (metagenomics, metabarcoding) and culture-dependent approaches in anoxic marine sediments to identify microbial indicators of mercury pollution and analyze the distribution of genes involved in mercury reduction (merA) and demethylation (merB). While none of the isolates featured merB genes, 52 isolates, predominantly affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria, were merA positive. In contrast, merA genes detected in metagenomes were assigned to different phyla, including Desulfobacterota, Actinomycetota, Gemmatimonadota, Nitrospirota, and Pseudomonadota. This indicates a widespread capacity for mercury reduction in anoxic sediment microbiomes. Notably, merA genes were predominately identified in Desulfobacterota, a phylum previously associated only with mercury methylation. Marker genes involved in the latter process (hgcAB) were also mainly assigned to Desulfobacterota, implying a potential central and multifaceted role of this phylum in the mercury cycle. Network analysis revealed that Desulfobacterota were associated with anaerobic fermenters, methanogens and sulfur-oxidizers, indicating potential interactions between key players of the carbon, sulfur and mercury cycling in anoxic marine sediments.

Current estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) evasion from Arctic lakes are highly uncertain because few studies integrate seasonal variability, specifically evasion during spring ice-melt. We quantified annual CO2 evasion for 14 clear-water Arctic lakes in Northern Sweden through mass balance (ice-melt period) and high-frequency loggers (open-water period). On average, 80% (SD: ± 18) of annual CO2 evasion occurred within 10 d following ice-melt. The contribution of the ice-melt period to annual CO2 evasion was high compared to earlier studies of Arctic lakes (47% ± 32%). Across all lakes, the proportion of ice-melt : annual CO2 evasion was negatively related to the dissolved organic carbon concentration and positively related to the mean depth of the lakes. The results emphasize the need for measurements of CO2 exchange at ice-melt to accurately quantify CO2 evasion from Arctic lakes., Originally included in thesis in manuscript form.

Widespread use of pesticides globally has led to serious concerns about environmental contamination, particularly with regard to aquatic and soil ecosystems. This work involved investigating concentrations of 64 pesticides in surface-water and soil samples collected in four provinces along the Mekong River in Cambodia during the dry and rainy seasons (276 samples in total), and conducting semi-structured interviews with local farmers about pesticide use. Furthermore, an ecological risk assessment of the detected pesticides was performed. In total, 56 pesticides were detected in surface water and 43 in soil, with individual pesticides reaching maximum concentrations of 1300 ng/L in the surface-water samples (tebufenozide) and 1100 ng/g dry weight in the soil samples (bromophos-ethyl). The semi-structured interviews made it quite evident that the instructions that farmers are provided regarding the use of pesticides are rudimentary, and that overuse is common. The perceived effect of pesticides was seen as an end-point, and there was a limited process of optimally matching pesticides to pests and crops. Several pesticides were used regularly on the same crop, and the period between application and harvest varied. Risk analysis showed that bromophos-ethyl, dichlorvos, and iprobenfos presented a very high risk to aquatic organisms in both the dry and rainy seasons, with risk quotient values of 850 for both seasons, and of 67 in the dry season and 78 in the rainy season for bromophos-ethyl, and 49 in the dry season and 16 in the rainy season for dichlorvos. Overall, this work highlights the occurrence of pesticide residues in surface water and soil along the Mekong River in Cambodia, and emphasizes the urgent need for monitoring and improving pesticide practices and regulations in the region.

Human impacts on Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, litosphere and biosphere are so significant as to naming a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Lakes and their biota are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Among aquatic organisms, microbial eukaryotes play fundamental roles associated with lake ecosystem functioning, food webs, nutrient cycling, and pollutant degradation. However, the response of lake microbial eukaryotic community during the Anthropocene to changes in environmental conditions remain poorly understood. Here, we applied a 18S metabarcoding approach to sedimentary DNA to reconstruct the temporal dynamics of microbial eukaryotic community over the past 160 years. We investigated the influence of environmental conditions and of biotic interactions on the microbial eukaryotes in Sihailongwan Maar Lake, one of the candidate sites of Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for demarcation of the Anthropocene. Microbial eukaryotes were dominated by dinoflagellates, chlorophytes, ciliates, pirsoniales, rotifers, ochrophytes, apicomplexans and cercozoans that were divided into four functional groups that are photoautotrophs, mixotrophs, consumers and parasites. The predominance of phototrophs and their strong associations with organisms from other trophic levels, confirmed their crucial roles in nutrient cycling, energy flows and ecosystem services in freshwater ecosystems. Abrupt changes in the 1950s in microbial eukaryotic diversity and composition were consistent with changes observed in the pollutants emissions i.e., heavy metals, combustion indices (spheroidal carbonaceous particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, Soot F14C), radioactivity indicators (239,240Pu, 129I/127I), nutrients (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus), and temperature. Statistical analysis revealed that anthropogenic drivers controlled the temporal dynamic of microbial eukaryotic community. Our findings provide additional biostratigraphy evidence

Phytostabilization of metal-contaminated soils can be enabled or improved by biochar application. However, biochar-aided effects vary on biochar types, and little attention has been paid to plant management (time and cutting) to enhance phytostabilization efficiency in synergy with biochar. Therefore, biochars derived from pig manure (PM), Japanese knotweed (JK), and a mixture of both (P1J1) were applied to Pb and As mining soil with ryegrass cultivation to assess the biochar-induced effects on plant growth, dissolved organic matter (DOM), As and Pb mobility, and bioaccumulation within a phytostabilization strategy. Additional treatments involving the combined biochar (P1J1) and ryegrass were conducted to explore the influence of sequential cutting and growing time on facilitating phytostabilization efficacy. Biochar applications promoted plant growth, progressively increasing over time, but were not enhanced by cutting. Short and long-wavelength humic-like DOM substances identified in the soil pore water after biochar application varied depending on the biochar types used, providing evidence for the correlation among DOM changes, biochar origin, and metal immobilization. Biochar-treated soils exhibited reduced Pb availability and enhanced As mobility, with P1J1 stabilizing Pb significantly similar to PM while causing less As mobilization as JK did. The mobilized As did not result in increased plant As uptake; instead, all biochar-added plants showed a significant decrease in As and Pb concentrations compared to those without biochar. Soil available As decreased while available Pb increased with time, and cutting did not influence soil As behavior but did reduce soil Pb release. Nevertheless, plant As and Pb concentrations decreased over time, whereas those in multiple-cut plants were generally higher than those without cuts. Biochar, especially P1J1, along with growth time, holds promise in promoting plant biomass, reducing plant Pb and As concentrations, and minim

Public participation is crucial for policy-making and can contribute to strengthening democracies and decision-making. Public participation can help to address sustainability challenges and plays a key role in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the SDGs are policy concepts, there has been limited research conducted on how the public perceives the SDGs. Public participation in scientific research has been carried out through citizen science (CS). This paper analyzes the public's perception of the SDGs through CS and how the public can participate in their implementation. The paper uses the OSDG community platform, a citizen science platform with >2000 participants, to analyze public perception of the SDGs. A set of 40,062 excerpts of text (v2023-01-01), a topic modeling and agreement scores by using CorTexT Manager software, was analyzed. The results show that some SDGs, e.g. health (SDG3) or life below water (SDG14), have higher levels of agreement from the public, whilst for other SDGs the public disagree on their perception, (e.g. zero hunger). The paper shows that issues affecting citizens' daily lives (e.g. in People related goals) tend to have a higher level of agreement among volunteers, while economic issues and directives have greater discrepancies. The results provide an overview of the differences in public perception on the SDGs and their implementation. The misperceptions regarding the SDGs should be reduced to achieve a better implementation, improve public participation, and help policy-making processes.

Due to unsustainable land management and climate change, floods have become more frequent and severe over the past few decades and the problem is exacerbated in urban environments. In the context of climate-proofing cities, the importance of nature-based solutions (NBSs), obtaining relevant outcomes in the form of ecosystem services, has been highlighted. Although the role of ecosystem services in building resilience against negative climate change effects is widely recognized and there is an identified need to better integrate ecosystem services into urban planning and design, this has proven difficult to operationalize. A critical limitation is that modeling is a time-consuming and costly exercise. The purpose is to roughly estimate the ecosystem service of water run-off mitigation through simplified, cost-effective, and user-friendly modelling at three nested biophysical scales, under four climate change scenarios. Using the Swedish city of Gothenburg as an example, we propose an approach for navigating NBS-oriented flooding adaptation strategies, by quantifying the ecosystem service of water run-off mitigation at three nested biophysical scales, under four climate change scenarios, hence, proposing an approach for how to navigate nature-based solutions in a multi-scale, social–ecological urban planning context against present and future flooding events. Our findings validate the effectiveness of employing an ecosystem service approach to better comprehend the significant climate change issue of flooding through user-friendly and cost-efficient modeling.

Given the anticipated global population of approximately 10 billion by 2050, the task of ensuring adequate sustenance for all within the constraints of Earth's limited resources presents a significant challenge. The production of food and beverages demands considerable energy investment, as well as other essential resources such as water and nutrients. In addition to this, food production is associated with different kinds of environmental impact, such as global warming, eutrophication, acidification, and biodiversity loss. This thesis analyzes energy and environmental factors in food and beverage production systems, focusing on tomatoes, whisky, and beer production. It aims to identify energy and environmental hotspots in these systems while also exploring the potential benefits of selected waste management practices, such as anaerobic digestion, for improving system circularity and environmental performance. The thesis uses several methods for energy and environmental systems analysis, including life cycle assessment and material flow analysis, as well as energy system simulation and optimization. A key finding is the role of local resources, such as renewable energy and access to waste treatment facilities, in determining the environmental impact. Additionally, electricity use and production methods significantly influenced the environmental impact of the studied systems. The importance of transportation varied across the systems, due to differences in transport requirements of both inputs and outputs. Furthermore, this study evaluates various alternatives for increased circularity, particularly through waste treatment and improved resource efficiency. The results contribute to increased understanding of environmental performance across several production systems, offering insights for decision-makers aiming to enhance environmental sustainability of food and beverage production., Med tanke på den förväntade globala befolkningen på ungefär 10 miljarder människor år 2050 är det en stor utmaning att säkerställa tillräcklig matförsörjning inom jordens begränsade resurser. Mat- och dryckesproduktion kräver betydande energimängder, samt andra väsentliga resurser som vatten och näringsämnen, och är förknippad med miljöpåverkan som global uppvärmning, övergödning, försurning och förlust av biologisk mångfald. Denna avhandling presenterar en analys av energi- och miljöfaktorer i system för produktion av mat och dryck, med fokus på produktion av tomater, whisky och öl. Den syftar till att identifiera energi- och miljöproblem i dessa system, samt utforska potentiella fördelar med utvalda avfallshanteringstekniker, såsom rötning, för att förbättra systemens cirkularitet och miljöprestanda. Avhandlingen använder flera olika metoder för energi- och miljösystemanalys, inklusive livscykelanalys, materialflödesanalys, samt simulering och optimering av energisystem. En viktig upptäckt som visade sig för alla system är rollen som lokala resurser, såsom förnybar energi och tillgång till avfallshantering, spelar för produkternas miljöpåverkan. Även mängderna och produktionsmetoderna för elektricitet hade en avsevärd påverkan på miljöpåverkan för de studerade systemen. Transporternas betydelse varierade mellan systemen, på grund av olika transportbehov för insatsvaror, produkter och avfall. Denna studie utvärderar också flera alternativ där förbättrad cirkularitet ökade systemets miljömässiga hållbarhet, främst genom avfallsbehandling och förbättrad resursanvändning. Vidare visade denna studie på potentialen för ökad cirkularitet, särskilt genom avfallsbehandling och förbättrad resursanvändning. Resultaten bidrar till ökad förståelse för miljöprestanda för flera produktionssystem och ger insikter för beslutsfattare som syftar till att förbättra miljömässig hållbarhet vid produktion av mat och dryck.

Resilience thinking provides valuable insights into the dynamics of complex adaptive systems. To achieve resilience in urban systems, it can be fruitful to delve into the intricacies of resilience processes. This paper theorizes about how the specific characteristics of resilient systems can be integrated into the spatial design of cities. Emphasizing the importance of the built form and spatial systems in maintaining order within urban processes, we focus on how adaptive renewal cycles can be applied to various systems and dimensions where urban change, adaptation, and renewal occur. The paper identifies key resilient system characteristics applicable to urban spatial form and contextualizes urban renewal within the adaptive renewal cycle—a framework originally developed to capture temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics. We integrate insights within ‘space syntax theory’, theorizing about how cities renew themselves over space and time. We discuss instances of ‘compressed resilience’ and the challenges posed by the ‘tyranny of small decisions’ in urban planning and development. In conclusion, we identify future research directions in the theory of spatial morphology and resilient urban systems, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of the interplay between urban processes, urban form, resilience, and adaptive renewal., J. Gustaf Richert Foundation (SWECO)

Denna skrift riktar sig till bostadsbolag som vill påbörja arbetet med klimatanpassning av sitt befintliga bestånd. Många bostadsbolag äger och förvaltar stora fastighetsbestånd, därför är det av stor vikt för bolagen att förstå vilka fastigheter som är mest utsatta för olika typer av klimatrisker. När befintliga fastigheter ska anpassas finns ofta utmaningar kopplat till rådighet, ansvar, och lagstiftning, som påverkar vilka åtgärder som är möjliga och lämpliga att vidta. Denna skrift beskriver en möjlig arbetsgång för ett bostadsbolag som är i startgroparna av sitt klimatanpassningsarbete och ger konkreta tips på underlag som behövs och analyser som kan genomföras. Vägledningen har tagits fram som en del av det Vinnovafinansierade forskningsprojektet SODA och baseras på erfarenheter från en fallstudie Uppsalahem., dagvattenhantering kvartersmark. Denna skrift har tagits fram inom VINNOVA-projektet Samverkan för en hållbar hantering av dagvatten på kvartersmark (2021–01603). Arbetet har utförts med stöd från Vinnova.

A large part of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide have been absorbed by the oceans. However, many Swedish coastal areas are currently affected by eutrophication, making them a source of greenhouse gases, mainly in the form of methane. Reducing eutrophication is crucial for limiting methane emissions and thus mitigating climate change.

This chapter departs from the dual objective of reusing waste while at the same time mitigating pollution; it focuses on the opportunities and challenges of managing this trade-off through voluntary agreements between various actors. The chapter aims to investigate and discuss the emergence, outcomes, and future challenges of the Swedish voluntary certification scheme REVAQ. This scheme includes efforts among wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to build trust for the application of sewage sludge on agricultural land and thus reuse the nutrients contained in it, not least by reducing the presence of metals and organic substances. Our findings suggest that the establishment of REVAQ was, in many ways, a natural response of the incumbent actors to an uncertain regulatory situation. The preventive environmental work pursued because of the certification scheme has been successful, thus resulting in decreased flows of hazardous substances to soil. However, REVAQ faces challenges, largely due to previously unattended trace elements, e.g., microplastics and pharmaceutical residues. These will make it difficult for actors to convince the key stakeholders about the future quality of the sewage sludge. There is also currently a prioritization of system optimization over system change, i.e., a bias towards incremental improvements in the existing system instead of seeking to innovate beyond this system. REVAQ likely contributes to this path dependence and technological lock-in., License full text: CC BY-NC;ISBN for host publication: 9781003327615

In recent decades, collaboration has become a common policy instrument in public administration, both internationally and in Sweden. Inspired by scholarly literature on collaborative governance, the aim of this study is to analyze the crucial role of public administration in the design and implementation of collaborative governance. Drawing on several years of research on Swedish forest policy and governance, our work is based on extensive empirical material, including 88 semi-structured interviews, observations, written comments from open public consultations and actors, enacted policy documents, open public hearings and a survey. Our results confirm that factors related to process design strongly affect the outputs and outcomes of collaboration in public administration. We assert that public officials should meticulously design and adapt the collaborative process during its initiation and progress, according to the policy problem and actors' incentives and motivations to participate. However, despite good intentions by public officials, the overarching priorities and contextual factors governing the policy area must be set by elected decision makers at an early stage to establish democratic accountability and high levels of policy legitimacy and acceptance. A major implication for public administration is that the increasing use of collaborative governance may be highly inefficient if it is difficult for participants to draft shared objectives and provide intended outputs because of low levels of trust, and different interpretations of knowledge and norms. Finally, in contentious policy areas, such as forest policy, political priorities must sometimes be set by elected decision makers rather than through collaborative processes.

Ornamental plants rich in pollen and nectar are often marketed as “pollinator-friendly” by flower retailers. However, even though the plants are attractive from a foraging perspective, i.e pollen and nectar rich, bees and other pollinating insects could be at risk from exposure of pesticide residues on the plants or from pesticide used during production. Pesticides used in ornamental plant production could lead to environmental emissions both during cultivation, at retailer displays and when planted in gardens by the consumers. This study aims to investigate what pesticides that are used in the production of perennial ornamental plants sold in Sweden and if the residues could pose a risk for wild pollinators. We analyze an array of 536 pesticides in whole flowers, leaves, roots and soil of 54 individual (46 had flowers) perennial plants specifically marketed as “bee friendly”. In addition, seeds from 65 seed bags were analyzed for the same pesticides. Our result show for the first time the distribution of pesticide residues between flowers, leaves, roots and soils of ornamental plants. We also show that all ornamental plants analyzed contained at least one pesticide, and that some samples contained up to 19 different substances.

This article examines the development of marine tenure in the Maullín River, Chile. It starts with the emergence of artisanal red algae (Gracilaria chilensis) gathering and the changes resulting from the governmental ad hoc allocation of small-scale aquaculture concessions. We aim to track this transition, its drivers, effects on the work organization, gender relations, market relations and the sustainability/equity challenges currently confronting the community. We use a feminist political ecology approach to direct our multi-method data collection strategy and to analyse the empirical material. The State by enabling local tenure for the development of marine aquaculture concessions played an influential role in Maullín community attaining de facto territorial tenure. This led to the establishment of residential aquaculture communities while facilitating the integration of women in aquaculture activities. We see both steps as positive economic and social development opportunities in Maullín. While marine tenure has provided livelihood chances, low prices caused by the producers’ disadvantaged market position and the lack of supportive alliance building pose ongoing problems. We conclude that these factors are serious challenges to the sustainability of aquacultural livelihoods at Maullín River. While the case depicts aspects of women’s empowerment such as their engagement in developing potential post-production innovation ideas, entrepreneurial abilities to conduct market transactions as well as their better competence in literacy, math and financial expertise, there is still a long way to reach gender equality in the male-dominated aquacultural sector. © 2024, The Author(s)., Funders: (1) MEC:entry of women in small-scale fshing in Chile: cooperation or confict;granted to the second author MA by Conicyt in 2017. (2) FIPA 2017–10: determinationof ecosystem factors that favour the increase ofRhizocloniumspp. anddevelopment of a monitoring and control program for this pest speciesin the Region Los Lagos Project granted to the second author MA bythe Agency Fondo de Investigación Pesquera y Acuicultura in 2019;and (3) CHIC ANID FB210018 Cape Horn International Centre (associate researcher MA).

Worldwide, marine conflicts are growing in frequency and intensity due to increasing global demands for resources (Blue Growth) and climate change. This article introduces a collection in Maritime Studies on marine conflicts and pathways to sustainability in an era of Blue Growth and climate change. We posit that while conflict can be problematic, it can also play a positive role in bringing about societal change, by highlighting unsustainable and unjust practices and be a trigger for sustainability transformation. However, left unattended, festering marine conflict can hinder just and equitable sustainability transformation. We present two distinct, yet arguably complementary, lenses through which researchers working with sustainability engage with marine conflicts. First, a social-ecological systems approach engages in conflicts by examining the interdependencies between human and ecological systems and related governance arrangements, promoting collaborative learning and action, and exploring adaptive governance strategies that seek sustainability conflict resolution. Second, a political ecology approach addresses conflicts by examining power dynamics and resource (mal)distributions, arguing for fair governance, and emphasizing the need to address historical and current injustices that are at the root of conflicts. Next, we present insights on diverse sustainability transformational pathways, including the importance of searching for common ground and the need for the reconfiguration of power relations as key steps to understand and inform sustainability conflict research. We conclude by indicating that more sustainability research in marine conflict settings is needed and by forwarding intersectionality as a promising approach to productively reframe and disrupt the debilitating effects of deep-rooted marine sustainability conflicts., This work was performed as part of Belmont Forum’s CollaborativeResearch Action (CRA) on Ocean Sustainability with funding support from the following Belmont Forum members: Swedish ResearchCouncil for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning(Formas), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research[BMBF] and the Research Council of Norway. The authors are partof the CRA on Ocean Sustainability projects, OCEANSPACT and NOCRISES.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are championed for providing co-benefits to cities and residents, yet their environmental justice impacts are increasingly debated. In this paper, we explore whether and how hybrid governance approaches, such as Mosaic Governance, may contribute to just transformations and sustainable cities through fostering long-term collaborations between local governments, local communities, and grassroots initiatives. Based on case studies in three major European cities, we propose and then exemplify six possible pathways to increase environmental justice: greening the neighborhood, diversifying values and practices, empowering people, bridging across communities, linking to institutions, and scaling of inclusive discourses and practices. Despite the diversity of environmental justice outcomes across cases, our results consistently show that Mosaic Governance particularly contributes to recognition justice through diversifying NBS practices in alignment with community values and aspirations. The results demonstrate the importance of a wider framing of justice in the development of NBS, sensitive to social, cultural, economic and political inequities as well understanding potential pathways to enhance not only environmental justice, but also social justice at large. Especially in marginalised communities, Mosaic Governance holds much potential to advance social justice by enabling empowering, bridging, and linking pathways across diverse communities and NBS practices., NATURVATION (grant agreement 730243) was funded under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.

Sub-Saharan Africa is confronted with the urgent challenge of ensuring food security in the face of changing demographics, climate change and water vulnerability, which can lead to potential crop failure. Despite the high advocacy for technological solutions, such as irrigation, rainfed agricultural systems, which account for more than 90% of the region's food production, often remain overlooked. This raises the question of which water sources can be sustainably utilized to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. This thesis investigates the significant role of "green water" in addressing these challenges in agricultural production and ecosystem health in the sub-Saharan African region. Application of models reveal the pronounced role of green water in African forest systems, regional ecosystems, and food production systems in studying these societal sustainability questions,. The study projects a decrease in precipitation recycling with increasing severity of climate change. The results suggests that regions with lower water efficiency per yield production can significantly increase agricultural yield by tapping into green water sources as improving rainwater management systems, even as land-sourced precipitation is projected to decline more than oceanic sources. The thesis argues for adoption of a green water-centric approach to be opted in strategic plans at both local and global levels. Moreover, by capitalizing on green water resources, less developed nations such as sub-Saharan Africa can fulfill their Sustainable Development Goals without the need for significant technological investments and the associated environmental risks.

Man-made chemicals benefit our living standards, but exposure to the (most) harmful ones can lead to negative, irreversible effects on human health and the environment. The risk management of harmful chemicals aims to protect human health and the environment from unacceptable risks. Decisions made on management measures are often based on data generated by the chemicals’ producers and/or importers. However, risk management measures have been criticised for not fulfilling their expected purpose, and risk assessors and decision-makers can have different ways of assessing hazards and risks, and hence, can have diverging opinions on the most suitable risk management measures for harmful chemicals. The overall objective of this thesis was to contribute to a better understanding of how information about harmful chemicals put on the EU market are, or could be, used to improve the overall protection of the environment and human health. Two main questions were asked: First, what data are used for the decision-making on chemical risk management under EU regulations? And second, how could available data be used differently through the use of new approaches to improve risk management? The questions were addressed by exploring three risk management procedures in the EU. These were the restriction and authorisation procedures under the REACH Regulation (EC No 1907/2006), as well as the environmental management under the Plant Protection Products Regulation (EC No 1107/2009). First, an analysis of key studies used to restrict substances under the REACH Regulation showed that non-standard studies contribute to risk management decisions, and that the REACH database may not provide sufficient information for adequate hazard identification and risk management (Paper I). Second, data generated in the course of the REACH authorisation procedure should, in theory, provide sufficient and relevant data to implement the essential use concept, a new approach to risk management presented in

The planetary boundaries framework is an effort to define a safe operating space for humanity. Its rationale is that sustainable development needs to be achieved in ways that safeguard the stability of the Earth system on which human prosperity relies. However, very few studies explicitly examine the interactions of the Earth system processes that underlie individual boundaries. My overarching research question is: how can continued anthropogenic climate change affect the geospatially resolvable land and water planetary boundaries, and what are the implications for human livelihood? For most of my analysis, I use the LPJmL dynamic global vegetation model because it contains suitable process representations that provide a dynamic and adaptive Earth system perspective for my investigation of key planetary boundary interactions of the climate, land, water and ecosystem nexus. Paper I emphasizes the importance of green water dynamics (that is terrestrial precipitation, evapotranspiration and plant-available soil moisture) for ecosystem resilience and human well-being. The underlying analysis suggests that the current status of the proposed planetary boundary for green water is already transgressed. Paper II reveals long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of planetary boundary interactions as breaching the climate change boundary critically affects the world’s major forest biomes. Notably, the most extreme climate change scenarios led to the emergence of a southern boreal dieback in the simulations. Tropical forests further show a shift from evergreen to deciduous rainforest, an important process which is not captured by the definition of the land-system change boundary. Maintaining climate change at the planetary boundary co-stabilizes the land-system change boundary. Paper III extends the biophysical understanding of planetary boundary interactions by discussing their impact on human livelihood and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Future climate change ca

The generation of solid waste, more specifically municipal solid waste (MSW), has been considered one of the major global environmental problems since urbanization started. Among Scandinavian states, Denmark and Norway have placed in the top positions (1 and 2 respectively) for high MSW production. Sweden has a steady plan for MSW management/treatments by practising material recycle, biological treatment and energy recovery. The aim of this review is to compare municipal waste generation between Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. A systematic literature review was performed by screening academic and public articles to assess factors for better MSW management based on technological solutions. Key results include the importance of new tariffs and legislations, producer responsibilities for electronic products, municipality involvement, distribution of responsibilities, and infrastructure developments for better MSW management in Sweden. The application of modern technologies have also been considered for MSW management in Sweden. Societal participation (willingness, awareness and concern) in Sweden also plays a significant role in MSW management. A better packaging system, application of interactive visualization (gamification) in waste sorting, public awareness, and infrastructure development could significantly improve the waste sorting process and conversion of waste management from a linear economy towards a circular economy.

To reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, humanity should improve its capacity to achieve well-being and development while reducing its environmental impact. This calls for increased efficiency in the process of transforming natural resources into well-being. We present here a novel indicator called Ecological Efficiency and developed to capture this important aspect of the human-environment relation. We found large differences in efficiency among world countries. We then analyzed the relation between our indicator and several country-level variables encompassing different human dimensions, such as economic, political, and demographic. Results highlighted that demography affects Ecological Efficiency more than other factors.

Educating the Next Generation of Professionals in the Agri-food and Forestry System (NEXTFOOD)

To combat climate change, societal pressure to develop fossil-free hydroelectricity is growing. There is a great need, however, for environmental assessment tools that can predict the effects of streamflow regulation on biodiversity in hydropower-regulated rivers. Ecological modelling lets practitioners: 1) set broad bounds on population-level responses of key species and 2) identify knowledge gaps and prioritize research needs. Individual-based models (IBMs) are powerful tools for assessing relative benefits of alternative management actions, and therefore help to develop more sustainable hydropower solutions. We applied the inSALMO 7.3-SD IBM for populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Atlantic salmon (S. salar) in the lower Gullspång River, Sweden. We simulated the effects of various minimum hydropeaking flow releases (from 9 to 21 m3/s) on outmigration production. We found that the number of age-1 outmigrants of both species decreased with increasing minimum flow release of the hydropeaking scenarios. The number of age-2 trout outmigrants did not change considerably with increasing the minimum release, but decreased sharply at the highest flow. The most age-2 salmon outmigrants were produced by flow scenarios with minimum releases of 15 and 18 m3/s. The model predicts, therefore, varying species- and life stage-specific effects of flow regulation. Moreover, increased flow caused juveniles to stay in the river longer and outmigrate at larger size, which exposes them to simulated predation longer but could increase post-outmigration survival. By providing insights into mechanisms driving population dynamics, IBMs can help promote the sustainability of high-conservation-value fish species.

Given the rapid response of insects to environmental changes, their most prominent threats may change quickly as well. For effective insect species conservation it is therefore necessary to discriminate between former and current drivers of decline and to focus conservation efforts on the latter. We investigated how various environmental pressures, including former drivers of decline, have affected populations of the regionally endangered damselfly Coenagrion hastulatum and how their relevance has evolved over time. In our analysis, we compared water quality, vegetation properties and population trends across three distinct time spans: 1921–2000, 2001–2015 and 2016–2021. We included all known reproduction sites in the Netherlands, both current and historical, and also considered adjacent sites that were never inhabited. Ponds suitable for the species were characterised by mesotrophic conditions and high coverage of emergent and floating vegetation. Never inhabited ponds differed from inhabited ponds in being either more acidic or more eutrophic. Ponds where C. hastulatum disappeared between 2001 and 2015 had less of the mentioned vegetation structures and higher concentrations of various minerals. Ponds where the species disappeared after 2015 experienced severe droughts during 2018–2020. Most primary threats to C. hastulatum have shifted over time. In the past, changes in human use of ponds and increased sulphur and nitrogen deposition posed prominent threats. Presently, severe droughts, alongside nitrogen deposition have become the dominant concerns. Consequently, restoration of groundwater systems and rewetting measures are now first conservation priorities. Implications for insect conservation: Our study highlights how threats to insect populations can rapidly evolve. Consequently, conservation strategies need regular evaluation and adjustment.

Global resource extraction raises concerns about environmental pressures and the security of mineral supply. Strategies to address these concerns depend on robust information on natural resource endowments, and on suitable methods to monitor and model their changes over time. However, current mineral resources and reserves reporting and accounting workflows are poorly suited for addressing mineral depletion or answering questions about the long-term sustainable supply. Our integrative review finds that the lack of a robust theoretical concept and framework for mass-balance (MB)-consistent geological stock accounting hinders systematic industry-government data integration, resource governance, and strategy development. We evaluate the existing literature on geological stock accounting, identify shortcomings of current monitoring of mine production, and outline a conceptual framework for MB-consistent system integration based on material flow analysis (MFA). Our synthesis shows that recent developments in Earth observation, geoinformation management, and sustainability reporting act as catalysts that make MB-consistent geological stock accounting increasingly feasible. We propose first steps for its implementation and anticipate that our perspective as “resource realists” will facilitate the integration of geological and anthropogenic material systems, help secure future mineral supply, and support the global sustainability transition., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-01-16 (hanlid);Funder: Norwegian University of Science and Technology;Full text license: CC BY

Toxic metals that are released into aquatic environments from natural and anthropogenic sources are absorbed by aquatic organisms and may threaten the health of both aquatic organisms and humans. Despite this, there have been limited studies on the metal concentrations in fish and humans in Central Asia. This study summarizes the presence of the toxic metals arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in aquatic bodies, fish, and seafood products and conducts a risk assessment. While certain areas show a notable increase in fish and seafood consumption, the overall intake in Central Asia remains below recommended levels. However, in regions with high fish consumption, there is a potential for elevated exposure to toxic metals, especially Hg. The risk of exposure to toxic metals in fish and seafood in Central Asia emerges as a significant concern. Comprehensive monitoring, regulation, and remediation efforts are imperative to ensure the safety of water sources and food consumption in the region. Public awareness campaigns and the establishment of dietary guidelines play a crucial role in minimizing the health risks associated with consumption.

The successful management of recreational fisheries must balance ecological, and social goals; select from and implement a range of management tools; operate under often complex governance structures; and contend with diverse human stakeholders’ expectations, desires, and actual behaviour in response to management activities. This complexity also means that there are many knowledge and research gaps regarding the information needed to meet the requirements of specific fisheries. This thesis explores Swedish recreational fisheries as social-ecological systems to help close these gaps, and improve their future management. The sea trout (Salmo trutta) fishery around the island of Gotland provides context for investigating the human and ecological dimensions of catch-and-release (C&R), and stock level connections between angler expectations, catches, and spawning returns. This case study first identifies key motivations to retain or release sea trout of legal size, and factors anglers think are important for successful C&R. Then determines which angler-related, fish-related, or environmental factors impact stress levels and injuries for sea trout. Further, it identifies the potential for small changes in anglers harvest preferences to significantly impact mortality rates for an important segment of the spawning population. Taken together these outcomes identify knowledge and behavioural gaps that influence the successful application of C&R in this fishery, and that could affect the achievement of fishery management goals. Several opportunities to improve the transfer of information between stakeholder groups in Swedish recreational fisheries are illuminated through an assessment of how best practices for C&R are communicated to anglers, and an evaluation of potential biases generated when collecting data through angler surveys. Communication from freshwater fishery managers to fishing license buyers is deficient in the quality and quantity of information

Vägkorsningar har ofta visat sig vara hotspots för höga luftföroreningshalter på grund av ökad acceleration och inbromsning i samband med korsningen samt på grund av den ökade trafiken där flera vägar möts. Det finns få luftkvalitetsmätningar utförda i korsningar eftersom dessa miljöer är svårtolkade och sällan representativa. Mer kunskap behövs om korsningars påverkan på luftföroreningar exempelvis för att kunna utforma korsningar för att minska exponeringen för gående och cyklister. En möjlighet vore att införa ett korsningstillägg i emissions- eller luftkvalitetsmodeller för att kunna ta hänsyn till detta. För att öka kunskapen kring partikelhalter i korsningar har två mätkampanjer utförts i anslutning till korsningen Hornsgatan–Ringvägen i Stockholm. Under den första mätkampanjen mättes partikelhalter på två punkter: i korsningen och cirka 90 meter in på länken. Resultaten visade att det i genomsnitt var högre halter på länken än i korsningen och att halternas inbördes variation till största delen var beroende av vinden. Under den andra mätkampanjen mättes partikelhalter med 12 mikrosensorer placerade längs med Hornsgatan för att undersöka hur halterna varierade på olika avstånd från korsningen. Inga tydliga skillnader mellan halterna på olika avstånd från korsningen kunde dock ses, vilket kan tyda på att mikrosensorerna inte kunde registrera de trafikinducerade partiklarna med önskvärd noggrannhet. Högre halter kunde dock ibland registreras på den södra sidan av vägen, där fordonen bromsar inför korsningen och det är svagt nedåtlut, vilket kan tyda på att halterna påverkas av en ökad mängd bromspartiklar eller på grund av något vindmönster., Intersections are often considered hotspots of air pollution due to the increased acceleration and braking and due to the increased traffic where two ore several roads cross. There are few air quality measurements in intersections because these environments are complicated and seldom representative. More knowledge on how intersections affect air pollution is needed, for example to understand the optimal design to decrease the exposure to air pollution for pedestrians or cyclists. There is also a possibility to introduce add an extra “intersection-constant” in emission or air quality models to take the possible increase into account. To improve the knowledge on particle concentrations in intersections, two measurement campaigns have been performed in the intersection between Hornsgatan and Ringvägen in Stockholm. During the first measurement campaign, particle concentration was measured in two locations: in the intersection and in a street canyon at around 90 m distance from it. The results showed that the average concentration was higher in the street canyon than in the intersection and that the main cause of the concentration differences was explained by the wind. During the second campaign, the particle concentration was measured with 12 micro-sensors placed along the street canyon to investigate how the concentration varied with distance from the intersection. However, no clear differences between sensors at different distances was observed. This could be due to a lack of sensitivity in the sensors to traffic-related particles. Nevertheless, some differences could be seen between the two sides of the street canyon, often with higher values on the south side where the vehicles were reducing their speed to enter the intersection and where there is a slight downwards slope. The increase could be due to an increased amount of brake wear emissions or due to some wind pattern, Korsningar och deras påverkan på partikelemissioner/Traffic intersections and their effect on particle emissions

Speed-limiting geofencing has been suggested as a mean to improve both traffic safety and to reduce emissions from road transport. However, there is limited knowledge of the effect of geo-fencing on air quality and noise. In this project we have performed a combined measurement and modelling study to evaluate the effects of geofencing on traffic performance, traffic safety (described elsewhere), exhaust and noise emissions.

Porous pavements are used because of their ability to remove water from the road surface, thus reducing the risk of aquaplaning, as well as reducing road traffic noise from the road/tyre interaction. Previous studies (e.g. Norman et al. 2017) have shown that porous pavements also can have positive effects on air quality. This study aims to investigate this effect and its causes further.

Understanding residents’ perceptions of green-blue infrastructure (GBI) is critical to ensure continued access to its associated benefits in growing and densifying urban landscapes. Physical availability and accessibility of green spaces alone do not directly translate to actual appreciation and use. Residents’ sense of place can determine if benefits from GBI are realized and how landscape changes may be perceived. In this study, set in sub-urban Stockholm, Sweden, we applied a mixed-methods approach combining mental mapping with follow-up interviews to investigate how such methodology can improve our understanding of residents’ perception of the recreational use of GBI. For the mental mapping exercise, participants drew, freehand, a map of appreciated neighborhood places for recreational purposes. Our results clearly show that mental mapping provides relevant information on individual and collective perceptions of recreational GBI, linkages between green-blue and gray infrastructure elements, and recreational hot-spots of importance to the local inhabitants. The unguided approach to welding local knowledge with spatial expressions makes the method well suited to contribute to a better understanding of plural senses of place with regards to the recreational use of GBI in rapidly urbanizing landscapes and an enhanced capacity to recognise locally appreciated recreational spaces in planning and practical management., QC 20240524

QC 20240130