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The 2004 tsunami and coastal subsidence resulted in 97% mangrove loss in the Nicobar Islands (India), leading to major social-ecological change. We assessed how the Nicobar mangrove social-ecological system (SES) responded to the 2004 event using the adaptive cycle (AC) framework. We describe the changes across AC phases (collapse-Ω, reorganisation-α, growth-r, and conservation-K) concerning various capital types (natural, built, human, social), connectedness and resilience. The subsidence and tsunami triggered a rapid collapse (Ω) in the mangrove SES, particularly depleting natural and built capitals. Despite declines in social and human capital, some knowledge and skills were retained within Nicobari communities. We suggest that locally managed interventions involving mangrove restoration are critical to escape the poverty trap caused by resource insufficiency hindering growth. The AC model helps visualise and describe temporal changes, preparing for recovery challenges. This approach is relevant to SESs beyond Nicobar, offering insights for sites confronting similar social-ecological dynamics and challenges.

The emergence of nature-based solutions (NbS) in science, policy, and practice signals a paradigmatic shift in urban climate change adaptation, yet empirical investigations into its impact on adaptation definitions and progress tracking remain scarce. Addressing this gap, we conducted thematic analysis on semi-structured interviews (n = 15) with practitioners responsible for implementing and evaluating urban NbS in different countries. We provide a nuanced understanding of urban adaptation goals within urban NbS according to the insights from these practitioners, extending beyond hazard mitigation and towards cultivating and strengthening relationships between humans and nature. Tracking adaptation progress towards such relational adaptation goals requires acknowledging knowledge pluralism and the diversity of human-nature relations. We propose an alternative definition of adaptation supported by our data that aims to foster a more holistic approach to urban climate adaptation that accounts for the potential benefits of urban NbS across interconnected climate, biodiversity, and social goals.

With climate change causing more extreme weather events globally, climate scientists have argued that societies have three options: mitigation, adaptation or suffering. In recent years, devastating wildfires have caused significant suffering, yet the extent of this suffering has not been defined. To encapsulate this suffering, we determined impacts and effects of extreme wildfires through two systematic literature reviews. Six common themes of wildfire suffering emerged: environmental, social, physical, mental, cultural and resource suffering. These themes varied in scale: from local to regional; from individuals to communities; and from ecosystems to landscapes. We then applied these themes in the Las Maquinas (Chile) and Fort McMurray (Canada) wildfires. This highlighted several adaptation strategies that can reduce suffering, however our exploration indicates these strategies must address social and ecological factors. This analysis concludes that suffering from wildfires is diverse and widespread, and that significant engagement with adaptation strategies is needed if this is going to decrease.

Trees offer multiple benefits, including impacts on physical and mental health. In this interdisciplinary study, we explored the relationships humans develop with specific favourite trees based on our survey data (n = 158) collected in the Netherlands. Here, we examined action possibilities (affordances) provided by trees, including immaterial actions, such as memorisation or the enjoyment of beauty. We implemented the affordance theory with mixed-method analysis. We identified three distinct types of human-arboreal relationships offering a different variety of action possibilities: nostalgic relationships, nurturing relationships, and empowering relationships. We assume that when humans form relationships with trees, the essence of trees is not their characteristics, but the possibilities for action. We recommend that urban green spaces would support interactions between humans and trees. By strengthening our connectedness with nature, it is possible to promote both human well-being and to strengthen environmentally responsible values and behaviours.

Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) is increasingly used along with scientific knowledge (SK) to understand climate change. The multi evidence base (MEB) offers ways of combining knowledge systems together. Nonetheless, there is little guidance on how to use MEB approaches in research. Our aim is to systematically evaluate empirical cases using MEB approaches in Arctic climate change research; and explore ILK inclusion in research stages. The mapping followed the ROSES protocol, which provides a checklist of details to be included in the review. The literature search identified 1483 records referring to MEB approaches. We identified seven papers applying the cross-fertilization and nine applying the coproduction approach to combine ILK with SK. The theory of change framework was used to evaluate participation, revealing a distinct difference between the approaches in participant involvement in the research stages. Regardless of MEB approach, the output and outcome of the cases were less clear.

Three months before the planned implementation of the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free products, the European Commission proposed to postpone the implementation by twelve months. The announcement raised the temperature in the debate on this regulation. We put forward suggestions, based on scientific knowledge as well as current EUDR research and implementation projects, on how the 12-month phasing-in period could be used wisely to promote sustainability transitions in deforestation-risk value chains.

The Inca and their immediate predecessors provide an exceptional model of how to create high-altitude functional environments that sustainably feed people with a diversity of crops, whilst mitigating erosion, protecting forestry and maintaining soil fertility without the need for large-scale burning. A comparison is provided here of landscape practices and impacts prior to and after the Inca, derived from a unique 4200-year sedimentary record recovered from Laguna Marcacocha, a small, environmentally sensitive lake located at the heart of the Inca Empire. By examining ten selected proxies of environmental change, a rare window is opened on the past, helping to reveal how resilient watershed management and sustainable, climate-smart agriculture were achieved. We contend that, in the face of modern environmental uncertainty, a second climate-smart agricultural revolution is necessary, but one that accounts for the significant social capital of highland communities whilst still leaning heavily on native crops, trees and livestock.

Rising sea levels under a changing climate will cause permanent inundation, flooding, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion. An emerging adaptation response is planned relocation, a directed process of relocating people, assets, and infrastructure to safer locations. Climate-related planned relocation is an unfolding process, yet no longitudinal studies have examined outcomes over time. Vunidogoloa, a low-lying coastal village in Fiji, relocated to higher land in 2014. This paper considers the dynamic outcomes of relocation, based on qualitative data collected between 2015 and 2023. It examines: residents' changing experience of climate and environmental risk; governance and decision-making processes over time; improved access to many resources and services along with incomplete infrastructure; opportunities and threats to health; and changing social organization and place-based values. The paper foregrounds change over time and provides in-depth examination of dynamic planned relocation experiences and (mal)adaptation outcomes in Vunidogoloa, Fiji.