Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104322
Stefanie Burkhart , Flurina Schneider
Recent calls for transformative change recognize the need to integrate plural ways of knowing. This also entails the need to address existing and emerging issues of justice as part of transformation processes. Besides distributional, procedural and recognition justice, the concept of epistemic justice has gained momentum to identify whose knowledge counts when problems and solutions are determined. Since transdisciplinarity offers ways to integrate diverse ways of knowing, it is considered a participatory and transformative mode of knowledge production. Synthesizing how epistemic justice has been conceptualized and operationalized in transdisciplinarity and conservation contexts so far, this paper introduces a framework for understanding and addressing epistemic justice in transdisciplinary co-production processes. The framework offers entry points for systematically reflecting on how to approach epistemic justice along different dimensions of transdisciplinary co-production processes. This reflection is required to avoid (re-)producing (existing) injustices and address justice in current knowledge production systems as a deep lever of transformations.
{"title":"Whose knowledge counts for transformative change? – Operationalizing epistemic justice for transdisciplinary knowledge co-production","authors":"Stefanie Burkhart , Flurina Schneider","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104322","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104322","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent calls for transformative change recognize the need to integrate plural ways of knowing. This also entails the need to address existing and emerging issues of justice as part of transformation processes. Besides distributional, procedural and recognition justice, the concept of epistemic justice has gained momentum to identify whose knowledge counts when problems and solutions are determined. Since transdisciplinarity offers ways to integrate diverse ways of knowing, it is considered a participatory and transformative mode of knowledge production. Synthesizing how epistemic justice has been conceptualized and operationalized in transdisciplinarity and conservation contexts so far, this paper introduces a framework for understanding and addressing epistemic justice in transdisciplinary co-production processes. The framework offers entry points for systematically reflecting on how to approach epistemic justice along different dimensions of transdisciplinary co-production processes. This reflection is required to avoid (re-)producing (existing) injustices and address justice in current knowledge production systems as a deep lever of transformations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104322"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146023781","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 : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104320
César Carranza-Barona , Unai Villalba-Eguiluz
The article analyses Buen Vivir (BV) in Ecuador as an alternative proposal for socioecological transitions in counterhegemonic terms with respect to development. First, we set out the alternative potential of BV based on four dimensions proposed by Valencia-Hamilton and Ramcilovic-Suominen (2023) and Ramcilovic-Suominen (2023): transcending human/nature dualism; the logics of need satisfaction; autonomy and decentralisation of power; and onto-epistemic diversity. Second, we examine the way the governmentalisation of BV in Ecuador resulted in its co-optation and instrumentalization, thus limiting or neutralising its potential for radical socioecological transition. Finally, we show how the radical transformative capacity of BV is maintained and operates in the concrete experiences of social movements and organisations that have a resistance character. To this end, we present the case of a consumers’ organisation based on the Social and Solidarity Economy: the Sur-Siendo cooperative.
{"title":"Socioecological transitions that transcend hegemony: From co-optation to resistance regarding Buen Vivir in Ecuador","authors":"César Carranza-Barona , Unai Villalba-Eguiluz","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The article analyses <em>Buen Vivir</em> (BV) in Ecuador as an alternative proposal for socioecological transitions in counterhegemonic terms with respect to development. First, we set out the alternative potential of BV based on four dimensions proposed by Valencia-Hamilton and Ramcilovic-Suominen (2023) and Ramcilovic-Suominen (2023): transcending human/nature dualism; the logics of need satisfaction; autonomy and decentralisation of power; and onto-epistemic diversity. Second, we examine the way the governmentalisation of BV in Ecuador resulted in its co-optation and instrumentalization, thus limiting or neutralising its potential for radical socioecological transition. Finally, we show how the radical transformative capacity of BV is maintained and operates in the concrete experiences of social movements and organisations that have a resistance character. To this end, we present the case of a consumers’ organisation based on the Social and Solidarity Economy: the Sur-Siendo cooperative.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104320"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024236","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 : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104323
A.K. Magnan , V.K.E. Duvat , J. Bell , S.D. Donner , J.D. Ford , P.D. Nunn , C. Perry , T. Spencer , C.C.C. Wabnitz , I. White , J. Butler , A. McCarthy , A. Webb
Climate adaptation is what we (will) make of it, that is, either a burden or an opportunity for a brighter and equitable future. Achieving effective adaptation requires shifting from a risk-centric perspective focusing on the threats, to a more inclusive and engaging approach that envisions sustainable futures. This Perspective draws on our decades of research experience to argue that the “habitability” lens can catalyse this shift, and proposes a research framework.
{"title":"A habitability lens to boost effective local climate adaptation","authors":"A.K. Magnan , V.K.E. Duvat , J. Bell , S.D. Donner , J.D. Ford , P.D. Nunn , C. Perry , T. Spencer , C.C.C. Wabnitz , I. White , J. Butler , A. McCarthy , A. Webb","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104323","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104323","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate adaptation is what we (will) make of it, that is, either a burden or an opportunity for a brighter and equitable future. Achieving effective adaptation requires shifting from a risk-centric perspective focusing on the threats, to a more inclusive and engaging approach that envisions sustainable futures. This Perspective draws on our decades of research experience to argue that the “habitability” lens can catalyse this shift, and proposes a research framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104323"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024237","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 : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104316
Sonia Ferdous Hoque , Rob Hope , Katrina J. Charles , Mohammad Monirul Alam , Md Nurul Osman , Mohammad Saiful Islam Mazomder
Academic research is under increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible societal, environmental, and economic impact, prompting increased engagement between scientists and practitioners. This paper investigates how such partnerships evolve, how science contributes across different phases of the policy process, and what conditions enable or constrain their effectiveness. It does so through the case of SafePani, a professional rural water service delivery model in Bangladesh. Conceptualised and piloted through UK-based research funding in schools and healthcare facilities, SafePani was later scaled under a six-year, results-based funding contract co-funded by the Government of Bangladesh. The study integrates the multi-level perspective, actor-centred institutionalism, and institutional work to analyse the micro-level activities that actors engaged in to build networks, shape dominant discourses and drive institutional change. Findings show that SafePani’s success stemmed not only from technical innovation but from its strategic adaptability. This included evolving actor configurations from academic-led research to government-led implementation, mobilising financial, intellectual, and political capital, engaging credible boundary actors to build trust, and engaging bureaucratic champions. Crucially, institutional stamina of the government, the model’s low cost and public value, and the funding flexibility enabled actors to overcome institutional inertia. SafePani offers a replicable example of how interdisciplinary science, sustained engagement, and contextual adaptation can drive institutional reform in complex policy environments.
{"title":"Driving impacts through science-practitioner partnership: Professionalising water service delivery in rural Bangladesh","authors":"Sonia Ferdous Hoque , Rob Hope , Katrina J. Charles , Mohammad Monirul Alam , Md Nurul Osman , Mohammad Saiful Islam Mazomder","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104316","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Academic research is under increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible societal, environmental, and economic impact, prompting increased engagement between scientists and practitioners. This paper investigates how such partnerships evolve, how science contributes across different phases of the policy process, and what conditions enable or constrain their effectiveness. It does so through the case of SafePani, a professional rural water service delivery model in Bangladesh. Conceptualised and piloted through UK-based research funding in schools and healthcare facilities, SafePani was later scaled under a six-year, results-based funding contract co-funded by the Government of Bangladesh. The study integrates the multi-level perspective, actor-centred institutionalism, and institutional work to analyse the micro-level activities that actors engaged in to build networks, shape dominant discourses and drive institutional change. Findings show that SafePani’s success stemmed not only from technical innovation but from its strategic adaptability. This included evolving actor configurations from academic-led research to government-led implementation, mobilising financial, intellectual, and political capital, engaging credible boundary actors to build trust, and engaging bureaucratic champions. Crucially, institutional stamina of the government, the model’s low cost and public value, and the funding flexibility enabled actors to overcome institutional inertia. SafePani offers a replicable example of how interdisciplinary science, sustained engagement, and contextual adaptation can drive institutional reform in complex policy environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104316"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974366","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 : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104314
Benjamin K. Sovacool , Jin In
In this Perspective, we argue that ending discrimination against girls and women is vital for climate action and inclusive sustainable development. Grave gender inequality persists across almost every society in the world, embedded in socio-cultural norms, practices, and policies that discriminate against females. These intersect with other demographic attributes such as age, ethnicity, and economic status and interweave deeply with patterns of unsustainability and environmental issues such as fishing, climate change, agriculture and forestry, energy access, and water and sanitation. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in a climate change-related disaster than men or boys, and females represent 80 % of people displaced by extreme weather events. Women and girls contribute to more than half of the agricultural labor force in low to middle income countries, but struggle with poverty given they are not the owners of land which they harvest and cultivate, with 90 % of them prohibited from access to resources and services. In fact, less than 1 percent of women and girls live in countries with high women's empowerment—although it is an indispensable and a catalytic mechanism of achieving sustainability outcomes. We call on energy and climate planners, practitioners, policymakers and scholars to better value and prioritize gender empowerment, particularly girls, compensate them for contributions, count them in their data collection, be accountable to them when implementing reforms, and encourage greater roles for them positions of political and civic leadership.
{"title":"Harness gender empowerment to achieve climate justice, sustainability, and equity","authors":"Benjamin K. Sovacool , Jin In","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104314","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104314","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this Perspective, we argue that ending discrimination against girls and women is vital for climate action and inclusive sustainable development. Grave gender inequality persists across almost every society in the world, embedded in socio-cultural norms, practices, and policies that discriminate against females. These intersect with other demographic attributes such as age, ethnicity, and economic status and interweave deeply with patterns of unsustainability and environmental issues such as fishing, climate change, agriculture and forestry, energy access, and water and sanitation. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die in a climate change-related disaster than men or boys, and females represent 80 % of people displaced by extreme weather events. Women and girls contribute to more than half of the agricultural labor force in low to middle income countries, but struggle with poverty given they are not the owners of land which they harvest and cultivate, with 90 % of them prohibited from access to resources and services. In fact, less than 1 percent of women and girls live in countries with high women's empowerment—although it is an indispensable and a catalytic mechanism of achieving sustainability outcomes. We call on energy and climate planners, practitioners, policymakers and scholars to better value and prioritize gender empowerment, particularly girls, compensate them for contributions, count them in their data collection, be accountable to them when implementing reforms, and encourage greater roles for them positions of political and civic leadership.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104314"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974367","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 : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104311
Marie Merlo , Cathal Buckley , Thia Hennessy , James A. O’Mahony
Meeting the world’s growing population’s protein demand, while minimising the environmental impact of food production, is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Livestock production systems are facing challenges regarding their environmental impact, while cropping systems are seen as more environmentally friendly protein sources. This dichotomy is observed in environmental policies. While the contribution of protein production to climate change must be reduced, the nutritional impact for a growing world population and the economic impact for farmers must be considered in policy developments. Protein security is defined as the number of individuals having their protein requirements met daily. This paper evaluates the net contribution, i.e., considering human edible inputs and outputs involved in the production process, of animal- and plant-based products, to protein output and security for the Republic of Ireland. The effects of environmental policies on this contribution are also analysed. Milk and arable production contribute more to net protein security than beef or sheep meat production. Overall, the Irish protein sector can meet the protein requirements of ca. 20 million people annually, 35 million people if digestibility is considered. While both Scenarios investigated would lead to a reduction in GHG emissions, a Business-as-Usual Scenario would lead to a decrease in gross margin but to an increase in protein output and security. A Climate Policy Scenario would lead to an increase in net protein output, but net digestible protein output would decrease due to beef protein being substituted for plant-based protein sources with a lower digestibility.
{"title":"Associating climate change mitigation with protein security: The case of Ireland","authors":"Marie Merlo , Cathal Buckley , Thia Hennessy , James A. O’Mahony","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Meeting the world’s growing population’s protein demand, while minimising the environmental impact of food production, is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Livestock production systems are facing challenges regarding their environmental impact, while cropping systems are seen as more environmentally friendly protein sources. This dichotomy is observed in environmental policies. While the contribution of protein production to climate change must be reduced, the nutritional impact for a growing world population and the economic impact for farmers must be considered in policy developments. Protein security is defined as the number of individuals having their protein requirements met daily. This paper evaluates the net contribution, i.e., considering human edible inputs and outputs involved in the production process, of animal- and plant-based products, to protein output and security for the Republic of Ireland. The effects of environmental policies on this contribution are also analysed. Milk and arable production contribute more to net protein security than beef or sheep meat production. Overall, the Irish protein sector can meet the protein requirements of ca. 20 million people annually, 35 million people if digestibility is considered. While both Scenarios investigated would lead to a reduction in GHG emissions, a Business-as-Usual Scenario would lead to a decrease in gross margin but to an increase in protein output and security. A Climate Policy Scenario would lead to an increase in net protein output, but net digestible protein output would decrease due to beef protein being substituted for plant-based protein sources with a lower digestibility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104311"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974365","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 : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104312
J. Serra , J. Marinheiro , C.S.C. Marques-dos-Santos , M. Graversgaard , M. Quemada , L. Lassaletta , G.H. Ros , F. Giannini-Kurina , W. de Vries , E. Aguilera , H.J.M. van Grinsven , K. Hayashi , J. Mogollon , A. Sanz-Cobeña , T. Dalgaard , K. Butterbach-Bahl
Excessive and inefficient nitrogen (N) use in agriculture poses pervasive environmental threats for Water quality, Air quality, Greenhouse gas emissions, Ecosystems and biodiversity, and Soil (WAGES). However, it is unclear whether the global distribution of research corresponds to the severity of these threats. Here we provide a global assessment linking research outputs across WAGES with cropland N surplus, a proxy for the severity of N threats. We show that N surplus correlates well with the number of publications addressing WAGES threats, although marked regional disparities exist. Higher income countries distribute research more evenly across threats associated with high fertiliser inputs, while lower income countries prioritise soil research, particularly soil fertility. Publications from lower income countries account for only 8 % of the total and focus largely on food security rather than on N pollution. Since these countries are responsible for half of global N losses, they represent important “low hanging fruits” where targeted research can simultaneously improve food security and reduce N pollution. Our study highlights the need to strengthen research capacity, support locally led priorities, and better align research investments with the severity of N threats to advance toward more equitable and effective N management.
{"title":"Evaluation of global research on agricultural nitrogen pollution between 1990 and 2023: Challenges for more efficacy and equity","authors":"J. Serra , J. Marinheiro , C.S.C. Marques-dos-Santos , M. Graversgaard , M. Quemada , L. Lassaletta , G.H. Ros , F. Giannini-Kurina , W. de Vries , E. Aguilera , H.J.M. van Grinsven , K. Hayashi , J. Mogollon , A. Sanz-Cobeña , T. Dalgaard , K. Butterbach-Bahl","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Excessive and inefficient nitrogen (N) use in agriculture poses pervasive environmental threats for Water quality, Air quality, Greenhouse gas emissions, Ecosystems and biodiversity, and Soil (WAGES). However, it is unclear whether the global distribution of research corresponds to the severity of these threats. Here we provide a global assessment linking research outputs across WAGES with cropland N surplus, a proxy for the severity of N threats. We show that N surplus correlates well with the number of publications addressing WAGES threats, although marked regional disparities exist. Higher income countries distribute research more evenly across threats associated with high fertiliser inputs, while lower income countries prioritise soil research, particularly soil fertility. Publications from lower income countries account for only 8 % of the total and focus largely on food security rather than on N pollution. Since these countries are responsible for half of global N losses, they represent important “low hanging fruits” where targeted research can simultaneously improve food security and reduce N pollution. Our study highlights the need to strengthen research capacity, support locally led priorities, and better align research investments with the severity of N threats to advance toward more equitable and effective N management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104312"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974364","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 : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104307
Mijo Luke , Risper Ajwang’ Ondiek , Fides Izdori , Gitima Das , Sumit Vij
With climate change and political uncertainties, policies worldwide have undergone several reforms, promising transformation for improving water access and usage. However, unsustainable and unequal outcomes persist in several countries. The article investigates the gap between the rhetoric and reality of transformation within the existing water-related policies in two South Asian and two East African countries. We unravel the key elements of transformation within the water sector by employing an analytical framework of policy characteristics, scalability, power-sensitive-inclusivity, reflexivity, institutional flexibility, and temporality (SPIRIT). Our study analysed the presence of these characteristics in the existing water-related policies in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Tanzania. A total of 65 policy documents were analysed from India (n = 26), Bangladesh (n = 19), Kenya (n = 12), and Tanzania (n = 8). Our findings show that the policies from India and Bangladesh follow a techno-managerial approach to transformation and have short-term vision with a national focus. The policies have limited focus on power sensitivity and do not include marginalised actors such as fisherfolk and small boat traders. The East African policies advocate change at multiple scales (local, and transnational), value the participation of marginalised groups in the policy-making process, and encourage collaboration across various sectors and stakeholders to address emerging issues, but lack temporality. We conclude that water sector policies in these countries are not transformative despite years of reform and promises made. Therefore, there is a need for politicisation and pluralisation of the transformation process to design pathways.
{"title":"Is there water sector transformation evident in policies? Experiences from Asia and Africa","authors":"Mijo Luke , Risper Ajwang’ Ondiek , Fides Izdori , Gitima Das , Sumit Vij","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With climate change and political uncertainties, policies worldwide have undergone several reforms, promising transformation for improving water access and usage. However, unsustainable and unequal outcomes persist in several countries. The article investigates the gap between the rhetoric and reality of transformation within the existing water-related policies in two South Asian and two East African countries. We unravel the key elements of transformation within the water sector by employing an analytical framework of policy characteristics, <em>scalability, power-sensitive-inclusivity, reflexivity, institutional flexibility, and temporality</em> (SPIRIT). Our study analysed the presence of these characteristics in the existing water-related policies in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Tanzania. A total of 65 policy documents were analysed from India (n = 26), Bangladesh (n = 19), Kenya (n = 12), and Tanzania (n = 8). Our findings show that the policies from India and Bangladesh follow a techno-managerial approach to transformation and have short-term vision with a national focus. The policies have limited focus on power sensitivity and do not include marginalised actors such as fisherfolk and small boat traders. The East African policies advocate change at multiple scales (local, and transnational), value the participation of marginalised groups in the policy-making process, and encourage collaboration across various sectors and stakeholders to address emerging issues, but lack temporality. We conclude that water sector policies in these countries are not transformative despite years of reform and promises made. Therefore, there is a need for politicisation and pluralisation of the transformation process to design pathways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104307"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974362","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 : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104309
Nicholas A. Cradock-Henry , Nicholas Kirk , Paula Blackett , Justin Connolly
Changing productive land use can be a transformational adaptation strategy to reduce climate risk and enable new opportunities for farmers and growers. Such decisions, however, are complicated by uncertainty, long lead times, and substantial capital investment. These individual and collective choices are shaped by interactions between values, rules, and knowledge (VRK), which together define the decision-making contexts that enable or constrain land-use transformation. We apply the VRK framework in case studies of two agricultural regions in Aotearoa New Zealand using participatory workshops and systems-thinking tools, including timelines and causal loop diagramming. The analysis reveals that land-use decisions are strongly shaped by values (such as place attachment and occupational identity) and knowledge, which is often oriented toward optimising existing production systems rather than exploring alternatives. In contrast, governance and policy rules play a more indirect role, primarily by reinforcing or constraining experimentation. By making visible feedbacks, path dependencies, and leverage points within decision contexts, the study shows how systems approaches can support more effective alignment between regulatory settings, incentives, and farmers’ values and aspirations, thereby enabling climate-resilient land-use transitions.
{"title":"Values, rules, and knowledge: Understanding and enabling land use change decisions as adaptation to climate change","authors":"Nicholas A. Cradock-Henry , Nicholas Kirk , Paula Blackett , Justin Connolly","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Changing productive land use can be a transformational adaptation strategy to reduce climate risk and enable new opportunities for farmers and growers. Such decisions, however, are complicated by uncertainty, long lead times, and substantial capital investment. These individual and collective choices are shaped by interactions between values, rules, and knowledge (VRK), which together define the decision-making contexts that enable or constrain land-use transformation. We apply the VRK framework in case studies of two agricultural regions in Aotearoa New Zealand using participatory workshops and systems-thinking tools, including timelines and causal loop diagramming. The analysis reveals that land-use decisions are strongly shaped by values (such as place attachment and occupational identity) and knowledge, which is often oriented toward optimising existing production systems rather than exploring alternatives. In contrast, governance and policy rules play a more indirect role, primarily by reinforcing or constraining experimentation. By making visible feedbacks, path dependencies, and leverage points within decision contexts, the study shows how systems approaches can support more effective alignment between regulatory settings, incentives, and farmers’ values and aspirations, thereby enabling climate-resilient land-use transitions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 104309"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974363","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 : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104305
Francis Arthur-Holmes, Diego A. Vazquez-Brust
This paper examines the dynamics of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) within the context of circular economy (CE) practices in Africa, with a focus on informal gold mining in Ghana. Utilising a case study approach and thematic analysis of qualitative data collected through 50 interviews and field/participant observations spanning from 2019 to 2023, the research uncovers diverse CE practices within the ASM sector and their impacts on rural communities and the natural environment. Based on our findings, CE practices in ASM include sorting waste rocks, recycling tailings, and reprocessing tailings. Applying the paradox knot framework for our study, the findings reveal a “Tailings paradox”, wherein the recycling of mine waste from ASM operations presents intertwined socio-economic opportunities and environmental and health challenges. We thus developed a Tailings Paradox Framework to explain how the “Tailing paradox” can be addressed through a dialectical process of paradox reduction—made up of a regulative system involving regulations, laws and policies, norms, collaborative governance structures, community-led monitoring, adoption of mercury-free technologies, and hybrid governance models —in a bid to formalise informal CE practices associated with mine tailings from ASM operations. Critical discussions from our framework reveal that interventions aimed at addressing environmental and health impacts may inadvertently limit access to economic and social benefits for the most disadvantaged individuals in rural communities. The findings underscore the importance of integrating CE principles into ASM operations to mitigate environmental degradation and promote sustainable development, while also emphasising the need for paradox-oriented collaborative governance approaches.
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