Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-23DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104287
Benjamin K. Sovacool , Livia Fritz , Chad M. Baum , Lucilla Losi , Ramit Debnath , Hans Jakob Walnum , Finn Müller-Hansen , Elina Brutschin
Climate interventions such as carbon removal and solar radiation management are now being considered by researchers, policymakers, and the private sector to address climate change. We examine European public perceptions of these interventions through five nationally representative surveys: Austria (N = 1005), Germany (N = 1025), Italy (N = 1002), Norway (N = 1002) and the United Kingdom (N = 1028). We combine this quantitative data with qualitative data from a total of 10 focus groups, with one urban and one rural focus group in each country. We find that public concerns within the five countries can be organized into themes such as climate change attitudes, technology perceptions, and governance. We also offer a comparative assessment of public perceptions organized around the relational themes of familiarity, policy support, aversion to tampering with nature, environmental identity, trust in actors, and experiences of climate change. Stated knowledge and familiarity with carbon removal and solar radiation management influence attitudes towards climate interventions. The great variety of attitudes and preferences confounds attempts to push climate policy or oversight of climate interventions towards applying “one-size-fits-all” policy options. Engaging with these diverse views in the policy process is therefore crucial for equitable deployment and minimizing societal backlash.
{"title":"Social attitudes towards climate interventions: Are European publics uninformed about carbon removal and solar radiation management?","authors":"Benjamin K. Sovacool , Livia Fritz , Chad M. Baum , Lucilla Losi , Ramit Debnath , Hans Jakob Walnum , Finn Müller-Hansen , Elina Brutschin","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate interventions such as carbon removal and solar radiation management are now being considered by researchers, policymakers, and the private sector to address climate change. We examine European public perceptions of these interventions through five nationally representative surveys: Austria (N = 1005), Germany (N = 1025), Italy (N = 1002), Norway (N = 1002) and the United Kingdom (N = 1028). We combine this quantitative data with qualitative data from a total of 10 focus groups, with one urban and one rural focus group in each country. We find that public concerns within the five countries can be organized into themes such as climate change attitudes, technology perceptions, and governance. We also offer a comparative assessment of public perceptions organized around the relational themes of familiarity, policy support, aversion to tampering with nature, environmental identity, trust in actors, and experiences of climate change. Stated knowledge and familiarity with carbon removal and solar radiation management influence attitudes towards climate interventions. The great variety of attitudes and preferences confounds attempts to push climate policy or oversight of climate interventions towards applying “one-size-fits-all” policy options. Engaging with these diverse views in the policy process is therefore crucial for equitable deployment and minimizing societal backlash.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104287"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145620810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104284
Ali Rhouma , Antonella Autino , Fabio Maria Montagnino , Anna Malagó , Davide Dallera , Giovanni Bidoglio , Gill José Maria
This study presents the application of a novel evaluation SDG-Tool to assess the contributions of 25 research and innovation projects funded by the PRIMA Partnership to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Designed for systematic and replicable assessment, the tool overcomes the current lack of suitable Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) tools with this specific aim, by combining a Key Performance Indicators questionnaire with a dual-matrix framework weight, and relevance matrices aligned with SDG targets. It enables the normalization of scores and comparative analysis across five thematic areas, considering the economic, environmental, social, governance, and scientific-technological dimensions. The results reveal strong contributions by 25 studied projects to SDG2, SDG6, SDG9, SDG 12 SDG 13 and SDG15, with scientific-technological performance scoring highest (44.2/100), while governance impacts remain underdeveloped (17.5/100). The integration of evidence from the IPBES Nexus Assessment within the tool allows the exploration of interlinkages across biodiversity, food, water, health, climate, and energy, confirming climate and food systems as central to SDG synergies. The tool enhances transparency, strategic alignment, and orientation towards the UN 2030 Agenda. The proposed interface is user-friendly and the overall flexible structure allows adaptation and fine-tuning of the matrices. These features make the tool suitable for further refinements and reuse across various Research & Innovation programmes. Nevertheless, the study is limited by its reliance on expert-based weighting procedures and its application to a single portfolio of projects; further validation with larger datasets and use cases will be essential to strengthen its robustness and generalizability.
{"title":"A novel tool for translating Research and Innovation project outputs into measurable contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals","authors":"Ali Rhouma , Antonella Autino , Fabio Maria Montagnino , Anna Malagó , Davide Dallera , Giovanni Bidoglio , Gill José Maria","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents the application of a novel evaluation SDG-Tool to assess the contributions of 25 research and innovation projects funded by the PRIMA Partnership to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Designed for systematic and replicable assessment, the tool overcomes the current lack of suitable Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) tools with this specific aim, by combining a Key Performance Indicators questionnaire with a dual-matrix framework weight, and relevance matrices aligned with SDG targets. It enables the normalization of scores and comparative analysis across five thematic areas, considering the economic, environmental, social, governance, and scientific-technological dimensions. The results reveal strong contributions by 25 studied projects to SDG2, SDG6, SDG9, SDG 12 SDG 13 and SDG15, with scientific-technological performance scoring highest (44.2/100), while governance impacts remain underdeveloped (17.5/100). The integration of evidence from the IPBES Nexus Assessment within the tool allows the exploration of interlinkages across biodiversity, food, water, health, climate, and energy, confirming climate and food systems as central to SDG synergies. The tool enhances transparency, strategic alignment, and orientation towards the UN 2030 Agenda. The proposed interface is user-friendly and the overall flexible structure allows adaptation and fine-tuning of the matrices. These features make the tool suitable for further refinements and reuse across various Research & Innovation programmes. Nevertheless, the study is limited by its reliance on expert-based weighting procedures and its application to a single portfolio of projects; further validation with larger datasets and use cases will be essential to strengthen its robustness and generalizability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104284"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-15DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104249
Kaustubh Kumar , Douglas Jackson-Smith , Jeffrey M. Bielicki
Credibility, legitimacy, and salience (CLS) in co-producing knowledge are considered critical properties of successful participatory modeling (PM) projects. We use a large PM project focused on projecting alternative futures in the FEW nexus of the US Midwest to assess whether the scenarios, models, and projections had high perceived CLS. Assessments of CLS in PM projects in the context of FEW nexuses are relatively uncommon. Specifically, we explore two key questions: (1) Were the PM project outputs perceived as credible, legitimate, and salient? and (2) To what extent do perceptions of CLS between researchers and participant stakeholders align? Findings suggest that our PM process had positive impacts on the CLS of these outputs from the perspective of both groups of participants. However, achieving internal CLS was a necessary but not sufficient condition to ensure the CLS of these boundary objects from the point of view of societal actors external to the project. Without accessible and useful translation of results for external audience, the project outputs may be perceived as low on salience. We also found that participant stakeholders rated CLS higher than researchers. Researchers were more self-critical of model limitations, while participant stakeholders focused on the quality of interactions and responsiveness to suggestions. Future assessments of CLS in PM projects should use measures to capture both internal PM processes, internal perceptions of project outputs, and assessment of project outputs from the perspective of external societal stakeholders and decision-makers.
{"title":"Evaluating credibility, legitimacy, and salience in a participatory modeling project in the food, energy, water nexus","authors":"Kaustubh Kumar , Douglas Jackson-Smith , Jeffrey M. Bielicki","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104249","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Credibility, legitimacy, and salience (CLS) in co-producing knowledge are considered critical properties of successful participatory modeling (PM) projects. We use a large PM project focused on projecting alternative futures in the FEW nexus of the US Midwest to assess whether the scenarios, models, and projections had high perceived CLS. Assessments of CLS in PM projects in the context of FEW nexuses are relatively uncommon. Specifically, we explore two key questions: (1) Were the PM project outputs perceived as credible, legitimate, and salient? and (2) To what extent do perceptions of CLS between researchers and participant stakeholders align? Findings suggest that our PM process had positive impacts on the CLS of these outputs from the perspective of both groups of participants. However, achieving internal CLS was a necessary but not sufficient condition to ensure the CLS of these boundary objects from the point of view of societal actors external to the project. Without accessible and useful translation of results for external audience, the project outputs may be perceived as low on salience. We also found that participant stakeholders rated CLS higher than researchers. Researchers were more self-critical of model limitations, while participant stakeholders focused on the quality of interactions and responsiveness to suggestions. Future assessments of CLS in PM projects should use measures to capture both internal PM processes, internal perceptions of project outputs, and assessment of project outputs from the perspective of external societal stakeholders and decision-makers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104249"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145321644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104227
Friederike Elsner , Christian Herzig , Carola Strassner
Food policy groups (FPGs) are locally grounded approaches that engage with agri-food policy and challenge unsustainable practices. Thereby, FPGs intermediate between actors at the interface of civil society, science, policy and practice. As transition intermediaries, FPGs hold the potential to advance sustainability transitions. Yet, both their policy-related functions and the factors shaping their activities warrant closer investigation. Through the prism of transition intermediary research, we investigate the functions, policy priorities, organizational forms and relationships to government that constitute the policy intermediation of FPGs across three geographical contexts. Based on survey data of FPGs (n = 260) across United States, middle Europe (mainly Germany) and Australia, we conduct a mixed-methods analysis, applying qualitative coding and statistical measures. We find that FPGs primarily intermediate in processes of social innovation, characterized by changing practices and social relations, rather than in the facilitation of technological innovations. We identify nine intermediary functions that remain similar across the three geographical contexts but differ from the functions typically associated with intermediation around technological innovations. FPGs engage in empowerment processes, network-building and work towards achieving collective goals. Due to FPGs’ nature as multi-actor platforms, they are conflict-ridden and arbitrate between distinct agri-food actors. The policy priorities, organizational forms and relationships to government differ across the three geographical contexts and thus seem to be context dependent. A stronger linkage to government does not appear to be associated with the policy priorities an FPG focusses on, suggesting that even FPGs with strong connections to government retain their independence.
{"title":"Policy intermediation for agri-food system transition: food policy groups from middle Europe, Australia and United States","authors":"Friederike Elsner , Christian Herzig , Carola Strassner","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104227","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104227","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food policy groups (FPGs) are locally grounded approaches that engage with agri-food policy and challenge unsustainable practices. Thereby, FPGs intermediate between actors at the interface of civil society, science, policy and practice. As transition intermediaries, FPGs hold the potential to advance sustainability transitions. Yet, both their policy-related functions and the factors shaping their activities warrant closer investigation. Through the prism of transition intermediary research, we investigate the functions, policy priorities, organizational forms and relationships to government that constitute the policy intermediation of FPGs across three geographical contexts. Based on survey data of FPGs (n = 260) across United States, middle Europe (mainly Germany) and Australia, we conduct a mixed-methods analysis, applying qualitative coding and statistical measures. We find that FPGs primarily intermediate in processes of social innovation, characterized by changing practices and social relations, rather than in the facilitation of technological innovations. We identify nine intermediary functions that remain similar across the three geographical contexts but differ from the functions typically associated with intermediation around technological innovations. FPGs engage in empowerment processes, network-building and work towards achieving collective goals. Due to FPGs’ nature as multi-actor platforms, they are conflict-ridden and arbitrate between distinct agri-food actors. The policy priorities, organizational forms and relationships to government differ across the three geographical contexts and thus seem to be context dependent. A stronger linkage to government does not appear to be associated with the policy priorities an FPG focusses on, suggesting that even FPGs with strong connections to government retain their independence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104227"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-02DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104232
Haoluan Wang , Hao Chen
Wastewater infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise, particularly in coastal regions. Existing research also highlights disparities in access to wastewater infrastructure across different socio-demographic groups. This study investigates the spatial distribution of two distinct yet complementary types of wastewater infrastructure—septic systems and sanitary sewer pump stations—within the context of natural hazards and social vulnerability in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. By incorporating the National Risk Index that measures physical risks into our analysis, we demonstrate that a disproportionately high number of wastewater infrastructure per capita are located in census tracts with high natural hazard risks, underscoring the challenges of future infrastructure maintenance. Additionally, using the Social Vulnerability Index that measures social needs, we identify a negative correlation between the number of wastewater infrastructure per capita and social vulnerability, revealing evident social inequities in access to critical wastewater treatment services. We also apply spatial regressions, including spatial lag and error models, to show the presence of spatial dependence. Analyzing the availability of wastewater infrastructure through the lens of natural hazards and social vulnerability provides new insights into inequality assessment. Targeted interventions based on both physical risks and social needs are essential for enhancing urban resilience in the face of climate change.
{"title":"When it rains, it pours: Wastewater infrastructure in the face of natural hazards and social vulnerability","authors":"Haoluan Wang , Hao Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104232","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104232","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wastewater infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise, particularly in coastal regions. Existing research also highlights disparities in access to wastewater infrastructure across different socio-demographic groups. This study investigates the spatial distribution of two distinct yet complementary types of wastewater infrastructure—septic systems and sanitary sewer pump stations—within the context of natural hazards and social vulnerability in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. By incorporating the National Risk Index that measures physical risks into our analysis, we demonstrate that a disproportionately high number of wastewater infrastructure per capita are located in census tracts with high natural hazard risks, underscoring the challenges of future infrastructure maintenance. Additionally, using the Social Vulnerability Index that measures social needs, we identify a negative correlation between the number of wastewater infrastructure per capita and social vulnerability, revealing evident social inequities in access to critical wastewater treatment services. We also apply spatial regressions, including spatial lag and error models, to show the presence of spatial dependence. Analyzing the availability of wastewater infrastructure through the lens of natural hazards and social vulnerability provides new insights into inequality assessment. Targeted interventions based on both physical risks and social needs are essential for enhancing urban resilience in the face of climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104232"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-22DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104258
Mandy A. Van Den Ende, Heleen L.P. Mees, Peter P.J. Driessen, Dries L.T. Hegger
The ongoing accumulation of environmental problems worldwide has increasingly raised scholarly calls for beyond technological environmental governance. Although such alternative, more transformative approaches have been proposed in the literature, their imaginability in practice has lagged behind, especially in the presence of a technological path dependency. This research seeks to address the so-called “crisis of the imagination” by exploring transformative futures for environmental governance and examining practitioners’ perceptions of the feasibility of these futures. We conducted this research in the context of the Dutch Western peatlands, an area where the accumulation of environmental land use problems has increased the need for governance with more potential effect than the technological approaches applied to date. The findings demonstrate an “imagination gap” with regard to transformative governance futures: practitioners generally perceived governance approaches focused on economic governance reform as feasible, while overlooking those that address the underlying sociocultural, institutional, and political structures perpetuating unsustainable land use. We attribute the imagination gap to the difficulty of challenging deep core beliefs such as widespread neoliberal, individualist, and anthropocentric logics. The paper concludes by empirically challenging the perception that certain transformative governance futures are beyond imagination. It underscores the vital role of education and research in reshaping the deep core beliefs that underlie unsustainability. In the policy sphere, policy entrepreneurs can begin to address the “crisis of the imagination” by reframing (un)sustainability in terms of widely shared societal values and advocating for a more inclusive representation of deep core beliefs within policymaking.
{"title":"Beyond imagination? Examining practitioners’ perceptions of the feasibility of transformative governance futures for sustainable land use in the Dutch peatlands","authors":"Mandy A. Van Den Ende, Heleen L.P. Mees, Peter P.J. Driessen, Dries L.T. Hegger","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ongoing accumulation of environmental problems worldwide has increasingly raised scholarly calls for beyond technological environmental governance. Although such alternative, more transformative approaches have been proposed in the literature, their imaginability in practice has lagged behind, especially in the presence of a technological path dependency. This research seeks to address the so-called “crisis of the imagination” by exploring transformative futures for environmental governance and examining practitioners’ perceptions of the feasibility of these futures. We conducted this research in the context of the Dutch Western peatlands, an area where the accumulation of environmental land use problems has increased the need for governance with more potential effect than the technological approaches applied to date. The findings demonstrate an “imagination gap” with regard to transformative governance futures: practitioners generally perceived governance approaches focused on economic governance reform as feasible, while overlooking those that address the underlying sociocultural, institutional, and political structures perpetuating unsustainable land use. We attribute the imagination gap to the difficulty of challenging deep core beliefs such as widespread neoliberal, individualist, and anthropocentric logics. The paper concludes by empirically challenging the perception that certain transformative governance futures are beyond imagination. It underscores the vital role of education and research in reshaping the deep core beliefs that underlie unsustainability. In the policy sphere, policy entrepreneurs can begin to address the “crisis of the imagination” by reframing (un)sustainability in terms of widely shared societal values and advocating for a more inclusive representation of deep core beliefs within policymaking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104258"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145358820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-26DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104229
Lena Partzsch
Environmental crisis narratives are used to justify the exercise of power, including against democratic state authority. In the cases of Danone in Volvic, France, and Tesla in Grünheide, Germany, activists are challenging the official state approval of multinationals’ exploitation of local resources amid declining water levels. This article compares the narratives that activists use in their campaigns regarding power and democracy. There are differences in the perception of the state and its potential. The Volvic water crisis in France is attributed to the state’s lethargy. In contrast, the Grünheide protest in eastern Germany is about more fundamental asymmetries. Activists reject the power of a global investor at the expense of the local institutions. This protest is about more than just protecting local water sources.
{"title":"A threat to democracy? Water protests in France and Germany","authors":"Lena Partzsch","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104229","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104229","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Environmental crisis narratives are used to justify the exercise of power, including against democratic state authority. In the cases of Danone in Volvic, France, and Tesla in Grünheide, Germany, activists are challenging the official state approval of multinationals’ exploitation of local resources amid declining water levels. This article compares the narratives that activists use in their campaigns regarding power and democracy. There are differences in the perception of the state and its potential. The Volvic water crisis in France is attributed to the state’s lethargy. In contrast, the Grünheide protest in eastern Germany is about more fundamental asymmetries. Activists reject the power of a global investor at the expense of the local institutions. This protest is about more than just protecting local water sources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104229"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104220
Prabin Bhusal , Rajan Parajuli , Erin Sills , Conghe Song , Gregory E. Frey
Nepal’s community forestry (CF) program, a globally recognized model of participatory forest management, relies on voluntary local leaders to guide forest management and governance decisions. Sustaining voluntary leadership has become increasingly challenging because of outmigration, declining forest dependence, and growing urban influence on rural livelihoods. In this study, we explore the values and motivations of existing leaders of community forest user groups (CFUGs), which underpin the leadership characteristics in sustaining these local institutions. We surveyed 144 leaders of 49 CFUGs in Nepal’s mid-hills and used their responses as indicators of leadership values, derived from the “Motivation to Lead” and related theoretical frameworks. Using exploratory factor analysis and a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, we identify three motivation factors and examine their associations with leaders’ individual and CF characteristics. The results suggest that, out of the 16 indicators, eight explain core values and motives clustered into three latent motivation factors, indicating three axes of leadership motivation in Nepal’s CF program: environmental stewardship, altruism, and power and influence. Leaders were likely to be motivated by either environmental stewardship or altruism. However, leaders motivated by either altruism or environmental stewardship were also motivated by the power and influence. Furthermore, individual leadership characteristics such as leadership position and duration, and CF characteristics such as forest type, support from non-governmental organizations, fire incidences, and leadership experience in local governments, are associated with leadership motivation factors. These findings inform understanding of voluntary leadership drivers in CFUGs, for strengthening and sustaining community-based forest management in Nepal.
{"title":"What motivates local leaders of community forests in Nepal? An examination of leaders’ expressed values and experiences","authors":"Prabin Bhusal , Rajan Parajuli , Erin Sills , Conghe Song , Gregory E. Frey","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nepal’s community forestry (CF) program, a globally recognized model of participatory forest management, relies on voluntary local leaders to guide forest management and governance decisions. Sustaining voluntary leadership has become increasingly challenging because of outmigration, declining forest dependence, and growing urban influence on rural livelihoods. In this study, we explore the values and motivations of existing leaders of community forest user groups (CFUGs), which underpin the leadership characteristics in sustaining these local institutions. We surveyed 144 leaders of 49 CFUGs in Nepal’s mid-hills and used their responses as indicators of leadership values, derived from the “Motivation to Lead” and related theoretical frameworks. Using exploratory factor analysis and a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, we identify three motivation factors and examine their associations with leaders’ individual and CF characteristics. The results suggest that, out of the 16 indicators, eight explain core values and motives clustered into three latent motivation factors, indicating three axes of leadership motivation in Nepal’s CF program: environmental stewardship, altruism, and power and influence. Leaders were likely to be motivated by either environmental stewardship or altruism. However, leaders motivated by either altruism or environmental stewardship were also motivated by the power and influence. Furthermore, individual leadership characteristics such as leadership position and duration, and CF characteristics such as forest type, support from non-governmental organizations, fire incidences, and leadership experience in local governments, are associated with leadership motivation factors. These findings inform understanding of voluntary leadership drivers in CFUGs, for strengthening and sustaining community-based forest management in Nepal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104220"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145156791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104240
Arron Wilde Tippett , Christina Carrozzo Hellevik , Liv Guri Velle , Dina Margrethe Aspen
The global loss of biodiversity and natural capital, driven by land use change, poses a risk for vital ecosystem services, such as air and water filtration, food provisioning, and wellbeing. Ecosystem accounting is a framework for documenting ecosystem extent, condition and the services which they produce. Questions remain about the way in which this new framework can be implemented and utilised in spatial planning. Using Norway as a case study, we perform a requirements analysis of its current spatial planning system, drawing on qualitative data from planning professionals and planning policy documents, to understand the contemporary problems within planning related to the use of ecological data. Ecological data is currently produced to adhere to the knowledge deficit model of decision making, whereby more data and knowledge lead to better decisions. However, our current communicative planning system relies on participation for knowledge gathering, which becomes an issue when the scope, communication method, and timing of communication are barriers to knowledge being used in a decision. We therefore propose a new theoretical model, PRISM, based on the analogy of a prism, as its purpose is to break ecological data up to meet the diverse objectives of, and thus engage with, as many actors as possible. The analogy is derived from the finding that ecological data and knowledge constitutes only one band in the spectrum of considerations and knowledge used in decisions. Framing is proposed as the method to achieve this effect with ecosystem accounting data, thereby activating participation to meet policy and actor objectives.
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Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-15DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104244
Charles L. Sanou, Léonard D. Akoba
Globally, and particularly in West Africa, transhumant pastoralism sustains livelihoods through shifting equilibrium among herders, livestock, and seasonal resources. As climate change intensifies, this balance faces mounting stress, yet remains under-documented. This study examines climate trends and farmers’ perceptions in Burkina Faso’s Kompienga Province. We combined CHIRPS and ERA5-Land data with surveys of 271 farmers (55 % livestock-oriented; 45 % crop-oriented). Data preprocessing and extraction used Google Earth Engine; analyses included monthly matrix plots, annual time series, and decadal Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of climate indices in R. The PCA was also applied to farmer perception data. Results show significant shifts in monthly temperature and rainfall during 2011–2024 relative to the 1981–2010 climatology. Rainfall intensity increased, especially in August in recent years. Temperature warmed markedly from March to June, with most post-2010 observations exceeding reference means. Climate extremes indicate coherent warming across cold, hot, and wet indices suggesting that any apparent rain resumption is rapidly counterbalanced by heat stress driven by accelerated warming. Farmers report major impacts on pastoral systems: pasture scarcity, disrupted transhumance corridors, and altered mobility patterns. About twenty-three fodder species are perceived as disappeared from grazing lands. Perceptions diverge by livelihood: crop-oriented households emphasize water access, earlier departures, and longer stays in host zones; livestock-oriented households stress route changes and destination shifts. While host countries’ pastures support herd production, pastoralists face excessive taxation, reprisals, and conflicts during transhumance. These findings highlight the need for policy interventions to harmonize transhumance schedules and ease the pressures on crop- and livestock-oriented communities.
{"title":"Climate change-induced threats to transhumance pastoral system in Burkina Faso, West Africa","authors":"Charles L. Sanou, Léonard D. Akoba","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Globally, and particularly in West Africa, transhumant pastoralism sustains livelihoods through shifting equilibrium among herders, livestock, and seasonal resources. As climate change intensifies, this balance faces mounting stress, yet remains under-documented. This study examines climate trends and farmers’ perceptions in Burkina Faso’s Kompienga Province. We combined CHIRPS and ERA5-Land data with surveys of 271 farmers (55 % livestock-oriented; 45 % crop-oriented). Data preprocessing and extraction used Google Earth Engine; analyses included monthly matrix plots, annual time series, and decadal Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of climate indices in R. The PCA was also applied to farmer perception data. Results show significant shifts in monthly temperature and rainfall during 2011–2024 relative to the 1981–2010 climatology. Rainfall intensity increased, especially in August in recent years. Temperature warmed markedly from March to June, with most post-2010 observations exceeding reference means. Climate extremes indicate coherent warming across cold, hot, and wet indices suggesting that any apparent rain resumption is rapidly counterbalanced by heat stress driven by accelerated warming. Farmers report major impacts on pastoral systems: pasture scarcity, disrupted transhumance corridors, and altered mobility patterns. About twenty-three fodder species are perceived as disappeared from grazing lands. Perceptions diverge by livelihood: crop-oriented households emphasize water access, earlier departures, and longer stays in host zones; livestock-oriented households stress route changes and destination shifts. While host countries’ pastures support herd production, pastoralists face excessive taxation, reprisals, and conflicts during transhumance. These findings highlight the need for policy interventions to harmonize transhumance schedules and ease the pressures on crop- and livestock-oriented communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104244"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145321647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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