Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104268
Arthur Lauer, Luis Llases, Paola López-Muñoz
The current Global Environmental Scenario landscape lacks transformative socio-ecological world futures that provide pathways of liberation for the ‘bottom billion’. Drawing on decolonial thought, we develop a set of proposals for future scenario development. These proposals include participatory processes with subaltern population groups to facilitate scenario co-creation based on different ways of knowing the world; replacing fixed and ahistoric subjectivities driving global environmental and economic change with the agency of different social groups who might collectively be able to challenge the status quo of the world system; and creating visions and pathways that consistently address the colonial matrix of power by integrating decolonial environmental justice into scenario storylines. The outlined proposals pose significant challenges to conventional participatory and quantitative methods in the field of scenario research but also enable global environmental scenarios to better fulfill their potential of shaping social imaginaries towards emancipatory futures for all human beings.
{"title":"Toward global environmental scenarios for (and by) the ‘bottom billion’?","authors":"Arthur Lauer, Luis Llases, Paola López-Muñoz","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104268","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104268","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current Global Environmental Scenario landscape lacks transformative socio-ecological world futures that provide pathways of liberation for the ‘bottom billion’. Drawing on decolonial thought, we develop a set of proposals for future scenario development. These proposals include participatory processes with subaltern population groups to facilitate scenario co-creation based on different ways of knowing the world; replacing fixed and ahistoric subjectivities driving global environmental and economic change with the agency of different social groups who might collectively be able to challenge the status quo of the world system; and creating visions and pathways that consistently address the colonial matrix of power by integrating decolonial environmental justice into scenario storylines. The outlined proposals pose significant challenges to conventional participatory and quantitative methods in the field of scenario research but also enable global environmental scenarios to better fulfill their potential of shaping social imaginaries towards emancipatory futures for all human beings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104268"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145464373","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: 2025-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104285
Obianuju Patience Ilo , Stephen Sunday Emmanuel , Ademidun Adeola Adesibikan , Odunayo T. Ore , Ajibola A. Bayode , Hamza Badamasi , Saheed O. Sanni , Mulala D. Simatele
The increasing frequency and severity of climate change-related disasters have made it a dominant issue in global public policy debates. In Africa, scholarly climate change research publications have gradually evolved, reflecting growing academic engagement with the continent’s unique climate challenges. This study makes a novel contribution by conducting a bibliometric analysis that not only maps the volume of scholarly output but also explores key trends, geographic distribution, keywords, leading researchers, collaboration networks, and research visibility. Using the VOSviewer visualisation tool, network maps were generated from a dataset of 662 research publications. The findings indicate that scholarly interest in this area gained momentum around 2016 and has continued to grow, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana emerging as leading contributors. However, the analysis also highlights limited collaboration among authors and institutions, which may impede the coherence and impact of climate-related policy and practice. Moreover, the study identifies a disconnect between the production of climate knowledge and its practical application. To address this gap, the paper recommends that climate scientists reassess their approaches to collaboration and strengthen partnerships with media professionals to enhance the dissemination of accurate and actionable climate information.
{"title":"A bibliometric review of research on climate change in Africa","authors":"Obianuju Patience Ilo , Stephen Sunday Emmanuel , Ademidun Adeola Adesibikan , Odunayo T. Ore , Ajibola A. Bayode , Hamza Badamasi , Saheed O. Sanni , Mulala D. Simatele","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104285","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104285","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing frequency and severity of climate change-related disasters have made it a dominant issue in global public policy debates. In Africa, scholarly climate change research publications have gradually evolved, reflecting growing academic engagement with the continent’s unique climate challenges. This study makes a novel contribution by conducting a bibliometric analysis that not only maps the volume of scholarly output but also explores key trends, geographic distribution, keywords, leading researchers, collaboration networks, and research visibility. Using the VOSviewer visualisation tool, network maps were generated from a dataset of 662 research publications. The findings indicate that scholarly interest in this area gained momentum around 2016 and has continued to grow, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana emerging as leading contributors. However, the analysis also highlights limited collaboration among authors and institutions, which may impede the coherence and impact of climate-related policy and practice. Moreover, the study identifies a disconnect between the production of climate knowledge and its practical application. To address this gap, the paper recommends that climate scientists reassess their approaches to collaboration and strengthen partnerships with media professionals to enhance the dissemination of accurate and actionable climate information.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104285"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577164","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: 2025-11-14DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104275
Olasunkanmi Dosunmu , Rob Whiting , Avtar Matharu , Nigel Watson , Andrew J. Sweetman
As we approach a century since their discovery, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become integral in various applications, from medical devices and electronics to home and personal care products, due to their unique properties. However, PFAS are now recognised for their persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and mobility (PBTM), posing significant risks to human health, and the environment. Regulating complex chemicals has historically been challenging, which is exemplified with the case of PFAS and the regrettable substitutions of one PFAS with another. As a response to changing regulations, the chemical industry has introduced a plethora of replacement substances, often with shorter chains, which are still persistent and mobile. We highlight the inadequacies in regulatory responses to global spread of PFAS, revealing an unintentional role that the approach to chemical management can create in regrettable substitution. To improve chemical regulation, we propose evaluating substances prior to issuance of registration numbers, comprehensive evaluation of policy impacts, such as the universal PFAS restriction, the need to harmonise the fragmented regulatory frameworks and encourage integration and communication both nationally and globally.
{"title":"The unintentional role of chemical regulation in regrettable substitution: The case of PFAS","authors":"Olasunkanmi Dosunmu , Rob Whiting , Avtar Matharu , Nigel Watson , Andrew J. Sweetman","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As we approach a century since their discovery, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become integral in various applications, from medical devices and electronics to home and personal care products, due to their unique properties. However, PFAS are now recognised for their persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and mobility (PBTM), posing significant risks to human health, and the environment. Regulating complex chemicals has historically been challenging, which is exemplified with the case of PFAS and the regrettable substitutions of one PFAS with another. As a response to changing regulations, the chemical industry has introduced a plethora of replacement substances, often with shorter chains, which are still persistent and mobile. We highlight the inadequacies in regulatory responses to global spread of PFAS, revealing an unintentional role that the approach to chemical management can create in regrettable substitution. To improve chemical regulation, we propose evaluating substances prior to issuance of registration numbers, comprehensive evaluation of policy impacts, such as the universal PFAS restriction, the need to harmonise the fragmented regulatory frameworks and encourage integration and communication both nationally and globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104275"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145526802","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: 2025-10-29DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104264
Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, Clint J. Hansen
Sand is one of the most extracted natural resources globally, yet its environmental, cultural, and governance impacts remain underexplored. In Australia, increasing sand extraction for construction and manufacturing, driven by urban expansion and infrastructure development, is exerting profound pressures on Indigenous lands, waterways, and sacred landscapes. As First Peoples with connections across both Victoria and Queensland, we argue that these extractive activities are often carried out without adequate consultation, cultural assessment, or consent, perpetuating settler-colonial dispossession, reflecting gaps in legal frameworks that fail to recognise sand as a protected resource under Native Title or Indigenous land rights regimes.
We introduce the concept of sand sovereignty as a rights-based policy framework that addresses the environmental degradation, cultural dispossession, and governance failures associated with sand extraction. Through a review of emerging sustainable alternatives — including biochar-infused fines, recycled concrete aggregates, and carbon-sequestering materials — we highlight opportunities to close material loops and reduce environmental impacts. However, we argue that technical substitution alone is insufficient. A transformation in governance, centred on Indigenous custodianship, culturally safe consent processes, and benefit-sharing mechanisms, is essential for sustainable and just material transitions. Sand sovereignty provides a scalable model for reconfiguring infrastructure development in ways that simultaneously heal Country, protect ecosystem services, and uphold Indigenous rights.
{"title":"Sand Sovereignty and environmental justice: Indigenous governance, sustainable aggregates, and the transformation of land use in Australia","authors":"Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, Clint J. Hansen","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sand is one of the most extracted natural resources globally, yet its environmental, cultural, and governance impacts remain underexplored. In Australia, increasing sand extraction for construction and manufacturing, driven by urban expansion and infrastructure development, is exerting profound pressures on Indigenous lands, waterways, and sacred landscapes. As First Peoples with connections across both Victoria and Queensland, we argue that these extractive activities are often carried out without adequate consultation, cultural assessment, or consent, perpetuating settler-colonial dispossession, reflecting gaps in legal frameworks that fail to recognise sand as a protected resource under Native Title or Indigenous land rights regimes.</div><div>We introduce the concept of sand sovereignty as a rights-based policy framework that addresses the environmental degradation, cultural dispossession, and governance failures associated with sand extraction. Through a review of emerging sustainable alternatives — including biochar-infused fines, recycled concrete aggregates, and carbon-sequestering materials — we highlight opportunities to close material loops and reduce environmental impacts. However, we argue that technical substitution alone is insufficient. A transformation in governance, centred on Indigenous custodianship, culturally safe consent processes, and benefit-sharing mechanisms, is essential for sustainable and just material transitions. Sand sovereignty provides a scalable model for reconfiguring infrastructure development in ways that simultaneously heal Country, protect ecosystem services, and uphold Indigenous rights.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104264"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414715","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: 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104261
Delia Paul, Benjamin S. Thompson, Megan Farrelly
Adaptive governance scholarship applies the concept of multiple-loop learning to analyse the depth of learning necessary for society to adequately address environmental challenges. However, multiple-loop learning is rarely used to explain negative or mixed governance outcomes. We do so here, by developing a framework that matches concepts of single-loop, double-loop, and triple-loop learning against three types of ‘governance actions’ by civil society actors. This framework is applied to evaluate civil society action on water insecurity in Malaysia, focussing on the depth and quality of learning involved. Our study, in an emerging economy, shows the presence and engagement of civil society actors in the governance of water security does not always guarantee opportunities for learning. Deeper levels of learning are likely to take place when: activities are planned with learning as an explicit objective; learning activities can be repeated and adapted; and civil society actors are embedded long-term in the communities and environments that they seek to assist. We highlight the social practice of ‘mudball throwing’ as an example of single-loop learning – investigating why it retains popularity despite mixed evidence of its effectiveness. We argue that mudball throwing is: a politically ‘safe’ activity that does not challenge existing institutions; a technically ‘simple’ activity seldom accompanied by scientific experimentation; and a logistically ‘easy’ activity that avoids the management complexity of working directly with local communities. Ultimately, learning in water resource governance will be inadequate in places where information sharing and data transparency on river health and sources of pollution are low.
{"title":"Expanding theories of learning for adaptive governance: Civil society action on water security and environmental pollution","authors":"Delia Paul, Benjamin S. Thompson, Megan Farrelly","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adaptive governance scholarship applies the concept of multiple-loop learning to analyse the depth of learning necessary for society to adequately address environmental challenges. However, multiple-loop learning is rarely used to explain negative or mixed governance outcomes. We do so here, by developing a framework that matches concepts of single-loop, double-loop, and triple-loop learning against three types of ‘governance actions’ by civil society actors. This framework is applied to evaluate civil society action on water insecurity in Malaysia, focussing on the depth and quality of learning involved. Our study, in an emerging economy, shows the presence and engagement of civil society actors in the governance of water security does not always guarantee opportunities for learning. Deeper levels of learning are likely to take place when: activities are planned with learning as an explicit objective; learning activities can be repeated and adapted; and civil society actors are embedded long-term in the communities and environments that they seek to assist. We highlight the social practice of ‘mudball throwing’ as an example of single-loop learning – investigating why it retains popularity despite mixed evidence of its effectiveness. We argue that mudball throwing is: a politically ‘safe’ activity that does not challenge existing institutions; a technically ‘simple’ activity seldom accompanied by scientific experimentation; and a logistically ‘easy’ activity that avoids the management complexity of working directly with local communities. Ultimately, learning in water resource governance will be inadequate in places where information sharing and data transparency on river health and sources of pollution are low.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104261"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414717","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: 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104267
Francesco Tonnarelli , Luca Mora
This study examines data mobility and fitness-for-use within decentralized data ecosystems in crisis contexts, using Somalia as a case study. Data practices are increasingly central to managing natural disasters, conflicts and the consequences of climate change, spanning short-term emergencies to long-term development and global sustainability. However, they face substantial challenges due to the dynamic and fragmented nature of data generation and storage, necessitating robust mechanisms for data sharing and reuse. The discussion has largely centered on the unspecified reuse of data globally, highlighting a significant gap in understanding the situatedness and contextuality of data for effective reuse and repurpose. By analyzing how data are processed, disseminated, and reused in various contexts across Somalia, we find that data's fitness-for-use is not an inherent quality but a dynamic status achieved through deliberate coordination and negotiation among actors. We identify a fundamental tension between vertical data aggregation, which sacrifices local detail for global comparability, and horizontal sharing, which is context-rich but prone to creating fragmentation. A strategy for decentralized but coordinated crisis data may lie not in greater standardization, but in fostering flexible interoperability frameworks and supporting the communities of practice in translating data across diverse institutional and methodological divides.
{"title":"Data in crisis: Mobility and fitness-for-Use in decentralized ecosystems","authors":"Francesco Tonnarelli , Luca Mora","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines data mobility and fitness-for-use within decentralized data ecosystems in crisis contexts, using Somalia as a case study. Data practices are increasingly central to managing natural disasters, conflicts and the consequences of climate change, spanning short-term emergencies to long-term development and global sustainability. However, they face substantial challenges due to the dynamic and fragmented nature of data generation and storage, necessitating robust mechanisms for data sharing and reuse. The discussion has largely centered on the unspecified reuse of data globally, highlighting a significant gap in understanding the situatedness and contextuality of data for effective reuse and repurpose. By analyzing how data are processed, disseminated, and reused in various contexts across Somalia, we find that data's fitness-for-use is not an inherent quality but a dynamic status achieved through deliberate coordination and negotiation among actors. We identify a fundamental tension between vertical data aggregation, which sacrifices local detail for global comparability, and horizontal sharing, which is context-rich but prone to creating fragmentation. A strategy for decentralized but coordinated crisis data may lie not in greater standardization, but in fostering flexible interoperability frameworks and supporting the communities of practice in translating data across diverse institutional and methodological divides.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104267"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414720","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: 2025-10-29DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104265
Seied Mehdy Hashemy Shahdany , Dorsa Rahparast
A spatial risk assessment and management framework is proposed to diagnose surface water delivery failures in irrigation districts facing severe inflow shortages. The methodology focuses on assessing the vulnerability of the conventional and upgraded manual-based Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Risk probabilities were quantified using historical diversion inflow records through frequency-based classification, producing seven distinct inflow shortfall scenarios. Hydraulic and operation simulation model were developed to assess system vulnerability and consequences. An integrated consequence index, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), combines adequacy, dependability, and efficiency for easy comparison. The Mahyar-Jarghuyeh Irrigation District in central Iran, comprising 659 farmer cooperatives and approximately 11,200 farmers, served as the case study. Comparative analysis revealed that under the most severe inflow shortfall, over 80 % of the district exhibited extreme vulnerability, and worse consequences in more than 90 % of the area, indicating widespread system failure. However, implementation of an upgraded manual-based SOP yielded resilience improvements, reducing extreme consequence zones by 22–34 % and delaying full system service disruption until inflow dropped below 60 %, compared to 50 % under the original SOP. The resulting spatial risk maps clearly identify high priority intervention zones, offering actionable insights for operational upgrading and drought preparedness. This framework, by integrating operational modeling, performance indices, and spatial assessment, provides a scalable and transferable decision support tool for advancing climate resilient water governance in irrigation sectors.
{"title":"Assessing and managing risks to strengthen the resilience of surface water delivery systems under drought in irrigation districts","authors":"Seied Mehdy Hashemy Shahdany , Dorsa Rahparast","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A spatial risk assessment and management framework is proposed to diagnose surface water delivery failures in irrigation districts facing severe inflow shortages. The methodology focuses on assessing the vulnerability of the conventional and upgraded manual-based Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Risk probabilities were quantified using historical diversion inflow records through frequency-based classification, producing seven distinct inflow shortfall scenarios. Hydraulic and operation simulation model were developed to assess system vulnerability and consequences. An integrated consequence index, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), combines adequacy, dependability, and efficiency for easy comparison. The Mahyar-Jarghuyeh Irrigation District in central Iran, comprising 659 farmer cooperatives and approximately 11,200 farmers, served as the case study. Comparative analysis revealed that under the most severe inflow shortfall, over 80 % of the district exhibited extreme vulnerability, and worse consequences in more than 90 % of the area, indicating widespread system failure. However, implementation of an upgraded manual-based SOP yielded resilience improvements, reducing extreme consequence zones by 22–34 % and delaying full system service disruption until inflow dropped below 60 %, compared to 50 % under the original SOP. The resulting spatial risk maps clearly identify high priority intervention zones, offering actionable insights for operational upgrading and drought preparedness. This framework, by integrating operational modeling, performance indices, and spatial assessment, provides a scalable and transferable decision support tool for advancing climate resilient water governance in irrigation sectors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104265"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414721","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: 2025-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104269
Haley Parzonko , Roberta Sonnino , Lada Timotijevic
Stakeholder participation has been signalled as a fundamental goal for achieving more inclusive and procedurally just forms of food system governance within a landscape characterized by ‘democratic deficits’. However, a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes procedurally just spaces and processes in participatory food system governance remains limited. To begin to address this gap, we present results from a comprehensive review of the literature, which identifies three key underlying themes framing debates on the procedural justice dimension of participation in food system governance. The first dimension—participants— addresses the stakeholders included in participation and their roles, interests and applied recruitment and selection processes. The second dimension—structural design—captures three key organizational processes that structure participation, including the design of deliberation spaces, decision-making frameworks and agenda-setting processes. The third dimension—discourses—addresses the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of participation, encompassing framing, outputs and purposes of participation. Based on these findings, we propose an integrated framework that offers an innovative lens for examining procedural justice concerns within participatory contexts. Moving beyond simplistic inclusive/exclusive categorizations, the framework provides analytical tools to identify which specific mechanisms, practices and norms advance or undermine procedural justice in stakeholder participation. In doing so, this research offers a unique contribution to scholarly debates on more equitable and inclusive food system governance mechanisms. It also raises the need for greater scrutiny towards the micro-politics occurring in the everyday practices of participatory food system governance.
{"title":"Procedural justice in participatory food system governance: An integrated framework","authors":"Haley Parzonko , Roberta Sonnino , Lada Timotijevic","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stakeholder participation has been signalled as a fundamental goal for achieving more inclusive and procedurally just forms of food system governance within a landscape characterized by ‘democratic deficits’. However, a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes procedurally just spaces and processes in participatory food system governance remains limited. To begin to address this gap, we present results from a comprehensive review of the literature, which identifies three key underlying themes framing debates on the procedural justice dimension of participation in food system governance. The first dimension—<em>participants</em>— addresses the <em>stakeholders included in participation</em> and their <em>roles</em>, <em>interests</em> and applied <em>recruitment and selection processes</em>. The second dimension—<em>structural design</em>—captures three key organizational processes that structure participation, including the <em>design of deliberation spaces</em>, <em>decision-making frameworks</em> and <em>agenda-setting processes</em>. The third dimension—<em>discourses</em>—addresses the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of participation, encompassing <em>framing</em>, <em>outputs</em> and <em>purposes of participation.</em> Based on these findings, we propose an integrated framework that offers an innovative lens for examining procedural justice concerns within participatory contexts. Moving beyond simplistic inclusive/exclusive categorizations, the framework provides analytical tools to identify which specific mechanisms, practices and norms advance or undermine procedural justice in stakeholder participation. In doing so, this research offers a unique contribution to scholarly debates on more equitable and inclusive food system governance mechanisms. It also raises the need for greater scrutiny towards the micro-politics occurring in the everyday practices of participatory food system governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104269"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145464374","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: 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104263
Nusrat Molla , Ruchika Jaiswal , Jonathan Herman
Broad transformations in natural resource governance are needed to address environmental change and inequities. Current human-water systems models fall short in their ability to explore such transformations by overlooking changes to infrastructure and institutions and how they impact power dynamics and vulnerability among water users. Here, we introduce a complex systems approach to examine the viability of different transformation narratives for California’s San Joaquin Valley, and their implications for the power and vulnerability of different groups. Using interviews and focus groups with growers, advocacy groups, and rural residents, we develop and model governance scenarios based on these narratives. While most scenarios maintain or exacerbate existing disparities, we find a path towards equitable water governance involving a shift towards greater state oversight and community engagement in governance, and smaller-scale agriculture with more direct benefits to rural communities.
{"title":"Modeling narratives of water governance transformation","authors":"Nusrat Molla , Ruchika Jaiswal , Jonathan Herman","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Broad transformations in natural resource governance are needed to address environmental change and inequities. Current human-water systems models fall short in their ability to explore such transformations by overlooking changes to infrastructure and institutions and how they impact power dynamics and vulnerability among water users. Here, we introduce a complex systems approach to examine the viability of different transformation narratives for California’s San Joaquin Valley, and their implications for the power and vulnerability of different groups. Using interviews and focus groups with growers, advocacy groups, and rural residents, we develop and model governance scenarios based on these narratives. While most scenarios maintain or exacerbate existing disparities, we find a path towards equitable water governance involving a shift towards greater state oversight and community engagement in governance, and smaller-scale agriculture with more direct benefits to rural communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104263"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414718","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}
The planning of nature-based solutions (NBS) has typically heavily relied on technology and ecological expertise. However, critics have shown the importance of considering social dynamics, especially a justice lens. To date, such analyses have largely failed to engage with or incorporate insights from decolonial work, particularly concerning the legacies of coloniality persistent through planning institutions, knowledges, and practices. The research question that guides this paper is: What does it mean to decolonise the planning of NBS? In this literature review, we analyse how the topic of decoloniality is treated with regard to the planning of nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity, and we bring these insights into NBS practice. We synthesise the literature around questions regarding narratives of nature, the treatment of situatedness, and imagining ways out of coloniality in the planning of NBS. Our review argues that a decolonial approach to the planning of NBS is needed to address the root causes of climate change and shift our ways of relating to human and non-human others to enable a transformative approach to the planning, design, and implementation of NBS.
{"title":"Towards a decolonial planning praxis for nature-based solutions: bridging inclusive planning of NBS in cities with decolonial thinking through a systematic literature review","authors":"Janneke Den Dekker-Arlain , Niki Frantzeskaki , Katinka Wijsman , Fernanda Rojas-Marchini","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The planning of nature-based solutions (NBS) has typically heavily relied on technology and ecological expertise. However, critics have shown the importance of considering social dynamics, especially a justice lens. To date, such analyses have largely failed to engage with or incorporate insights from decolonial work, particularly concerning the legacies of coloniality persistent through planning institutions, knowledges, and practices. The research question that guides this paper is: What does it mean to decolonise the planning of NBS? In this literature review, we analyse how the topic of decoloniality is treated with regard to the planning of nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity, and we bring these insights into NBS practice. We synthesise the literature around questions regarding narratives of nature, the treatment of situatedness, and imagining ways out of coloniality in the planning of NBS. Our review argues that a decolonial approach to the planning of NBS is needed to address the root causes of climate change and shift our ways of relating to human and non-human others to enable a transformative approach to the planning, design, and implementation of NBS.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 104260"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145414722","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}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号