Ambio最新文献

Religious actors have great potential for influencing transformation processes toward environmentally sustainable societies. Influencing peoples' worldviews, values, and group norms, they can promote (or block) pro-environmental attitudes, lifestyles, and political decision-making. Yet, current scholarship is ambivalent about religion's contribution to environmental sustainability. This perspective article outlines various roles religious actors can assume in sustainability transitions. We suggest a systematization of four roles-(1) pioneering, (2) path-following, (3) passive observing, and (4) prohibiting change-and portray five conditions that influence and catalyze these roles-(a) theological commitment, (b) internal support, (c) resources, (d) social and political influence, and (e) wider societal conditions. Generating this conceptual clarity is crucial as it allows researchers and policy actors to recognize the diversity of religious expressions with respect to sustainability action, and grasp the conditions under which religious actors are best equipped to address sustainability challenges.

Boreal headwater streams are vital for forest biodiversity and larger water bodies but face challenges from forest management. Understanding forest owner's views is key for effective water management. Our research surveys family forest owners to explore: (1) their perception of stream value, (2) factors driving their willingness to protect streams, and (3) if motivations for forest ownership vary by residence. Most owners are motivated by recreation. Those living far from their forests prioritize landscape, heritage, and biodiversity more than nearby residents. While owners recognize the importance of biodiversity and water protection, this does not always influence their management choices. Owners who are familiar with the link between forest management and stream health are more willing to protect streams from logging impacts. These findings highlight the need for better advice and policies for forest owners on managing water quality and biodiversity.

This paper presents the Livelihoods-Based Risk Profiling Framework (LRPF) to support rural livelihoods adaptation in Western Province, Solomon Islands. Our framework addresses narrow disciplinary perspectives to provide a more comprehensive understanding of risks to rural livelihoods. We expand previous climate-focused frameworks by incorporating non-climatic hazards and key socio-economic factors that influence vulnerability. We employed a participatory mixed-methods approach using focus group workshops and household surveys to assess risk across three rural communities. The data were analysed to produce decision support tools including livelihood risk profiles, vulnerability index tables, and risk interaction diagrams. These tools identified priority adaptation initiatives targeting key risk drivers, demonstrating the LRPF's capacity to support communities in addressing complex risks and aiding external stakeholders to better align their interventions with local realities. By adopting a holistic perspective, the LRPF can enhance the robustness of adaptation planning, leading to more effective and sustainable adaptation outcomes for rural livelihoods.

Climate neutrality requires urban infrastructure overhauls, particularly in rainwater management and green space expansion. Urban planning often conflicts with hydrological engineering, straining budgets and limiting green spaces. This review analyzed urban forestry, greenery, and ecohydrological policies in housing and buildings using bibliometric network analysis from Scopus and Web of Science. Key terms such as "urban climate" and "adaptive management" were linked, highlighting challenges in climate change implementation. Vegetation-based rainwater management projects improved resident safety and reduced sewage discharge through soil retention and evapotranspiration. Strategic greenery (green roofs, gardens, parks) enhances water capture and storage. Findings showed that integrating blue-green infrastructure mitigates conflicts between gray infrastructure and hydrological engineering, reducing construction pressures and preserving urban parks. New stormwater management technologies should align with urban ecosystems and housing priorities. Effective ecohydrological policies require careful local planning and appropriate tools to balance sustainability and urban development.

Mountain ranges are complex socio-ecological systems recognised as the "undervalued ecological backbone" of Europe as they provided essential ecosystem services and goods. However, we lack a deep understanding on their vulnerability to both environmental and social drivers. We carried out a stakeholder-based study assessing the vulnerability of 23 land-use systems supporting a wide range of value chains in European mountain regions. In total, 513 stakeholders participated in the evaluation of vulnerability, providing estimates for importance, exposure and sensitivity to the drivers and an assessment of 160 adaptation mechanisms. Vulnerability was calculated per region, factoring the impact of each driver and the potential reduction by adaptation mechanisms. The analysis highlighted the dominance of climate-related drivers, followed by demographic changes. Most of the adaptation mechanisms demonstrated strong social and environmental feasibility but moderate economic feasibility. Many mechanisms have shown limited implementation but offer valuable insights to reduce vulnerability in European mountain regions.

Planned retreat is an increasingly common climate adaptation approach. Whilst effective at reducing exposure to unacceptable risks, it is subject to significant resistance. In response, research has focussed on risk, governance and justice, but there has been less attention on spatial perspectives, including how spaces are reconfigured and the resultant land-seascape legacies. We identify 161 cases of planned retreat and develop a typology to analyse land use change in origin sites worldwide. In many cases, we find land transfer from private to public ownership, and restoration of land and environmental relations, to a complete failure to consider spatial legacies. The research stresses the importance of moving beyond planned retreat as risk management to consider longer-term spatial relations. Consequently, we argue, the definition and practice of 'planned retreat' must include early planning for the values, uses and reconfigurations of origin sites, extending the bounds of reimagination beyond 'retreat' and beyond the site.

Seagrasses have been entwined with human culture for millennia, constituting a natural resource that has supported humanity throughout this history. Understanding the societal value of seagrass fosters appreciation of these ecosystems, encouraging conservation and restoration actions to counteract historic and predicted losses. This study overviews the plethora of seagrass use in human history, ranging from spiritual and ceremonial roles, direct and indirect food resources, medicines and raw materials, dating back more than 180 000 years. While many past uses have been abandoned in modern societies, others have persisted or are being rediscovered, and new applications are emerging. As these uses of seagrasses depend on harvesting, we also underscore the need for sustainable practices to (re)generate positive interactions between seagrasses and society. Our review contributes to revalue seagrass societal ecosystem services, highlighting ancient and more recent human and seagrass relationships to incentivize conservation and restoration actions.

Storm Gudrun represents one of the most significant meteorological events in recent Swedish history, causing widespread forest destruction in southern Sweden. Now, 20 years after the storm, it is time to reflect on its impact on the forest sciences. We highlight key research themes that emerged in response to the storm, emphasising the critical role of research and monitoring infrastructure in facilitating the generation of valuable insights. We identified 18 articles focusing on storm Gudrun within forest-related research fields, which were, in turn, cited by over 600 subsequent studies. A citing network analysis resulted in eight research clusters, including, wind dynamics, carbon dynamics due to disturbances, spruce bark beetle responses, and storm damage in Sweden and Europe. Our review of primary literature underscores their dependence on established environmental monitoring and research infrastructure to provide essential background data. Maintaining these infrastructures is central to the advancement of forest-related sciences.

Understanding changes in riverscapes and their influencing factors is crucial for effective biological conservation. Although the impact of dams on riverscape changes has been investigated, comparative research is limited. This study first conducted a comparative analysis of riverscape configuration patterns from different perspectives using the Landscape Fragmentation Index of Configuration among three major global dammed rivers: the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, and the Jirau and Santo Antônio dams in the Amazon Basin. Subsequently, through the Analysis of Similarity of various indices, we identified a significant trend toward resemblance in the configurations across the three dammed rivers. Further, we found that this resemblance progressed in a trend similar to that of riverscape composition, with built-up and water land-use type being the primary factor explaining the similarity across these regions. These findings provide valuable insights for localized management measures in dam-affected areas.

Ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs are central to informed decision-making, often requiring the prioritization of some ES over others. This comprehensive review synthesizes insights from over 3000 studies, identifying global patterns and research gaps across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. We highlight significant biases, including a predominant focus on terrestrial ecosystems and provisioning and habitat services, while cultural ES remain critically underrepresented. Regulating ES exhibit notable gaps in marine and freshwater contexts. Research is concentrated in Europe, Asia, and North America, whereas Africa exhibits a more balanced ES approach but remains underrepresented. A key insight is the limited integration of multiple ES categories, with most studies focusing on individual or paired services. Our dataset identifies underrepresented regions and emphasizes the need for region-specific approaches, particularly in marine and freshwater ecosystems. We advocate for interdisciplinary research, methodological transparency, and decision-support frameworks to bridge research gaps and foster equitable ES management.