Ambio最新文献

Social facets linked to conservation corridors and ecological networks have received relatively limited academic attention. This study explores the perspectives of researchers, NGO representatives, and landowners, as well as the community's ideas of conservation efforts and corridor potential in the Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa. Surveys and interviews were conducted with communities, regional stakeholders, and landowners. The findings revealed that the community participants strongly support corridor implementation. The results indicate that this support is driven by the anticipated socio-economic benefits in the form of jobs. However, the employment opportunities might not align with the resident's expectations. The study identifies several challenges to corridor establishment, including infrastructure and financial constraints. Moreover, the findings revealed a lack of supportive legislation and highlighted concerns over protected area's accessibility. The study contributes to the global academic discourse by emphasizing the importance of community engagement before corridor and network implementation. It also addresses the complex trade-offs inherent in such projects, regardless of location. The methodological approach employed in this research transcends its regional context and offers actionable insights applicable worldwide.

Phytoplankton blooms create harmful toxins, scums, and taste and odor compounds and thus pose a major risk to drinking water safety. Climate and land use change are increasing the frequency and severity of blooms, motivating the development of new approaches for preemptive, rather than reactive, water management. While several real-time phytoplankton forecasts have been developed to date, none are both automated and quantify uncertainty in their predictions, which is critical for manager use. In response to this need, we outline a framework for developing the first automated, real-time lake phytoplankton forecasting system that quantifies uncertainty, thereby enabling managers to adapt operations and mitigate blooms. Implementation of this system calls for new, integrated ecosystem and statistical models; automated cyberinfrastructure; effective decision support tools; and training for forecasters and decision makers. We provide a research agenda for the creation of this system, as well as recommendations for developing real-time phytoplankton forecasts to support management.

Costs and policy-specific beliefs, such as effectiveness and fairness, are central factors for supporting environmental taxes. Less is known about how much each of these factors is limiting support. Across four experiments, I investigate to which extent high costs, ineffectiveness, and unfairness constrain support for environmental taxes. Results consistently demonstrate that perceived unfairness poses a greater barrier to support than extensive costs or ineffectiveness. These findings were robust across three environmental taxes (meat tax, plastic tax, and carbon tax), across three cultures (USA, UK, and India), and were replicated using a representative US sample. Furthermore, delving deeper into the consequences of perceived unfairness, results showed that distributional unfairness was a stronger barrier to support than procedural unfairness. Beyond limiting support, being presented with an unfair tax proposal led participants to perceive the tax as less effective and to express lower trust in policymakers than when receiving a fairer tax proposal.

In the light of observed variability in precipitation patterns, there is a growing need for comprehensive data mining of regularly updated rainfall recording databases. Therefore, an analysis of heavy rainfall and hyetographs was conducted using a 30-year high-resolution dataset from 100 rain gauges across Poland, covering 31 646 rainfall events. Distributions of rainfall depths, durations, and intensities were explored, and maxima were compared to global records. Spatial analysis revealed significant variations in the frequency, depths, and durations of extreme rainfall across different regions. Cluster analysis determined model hyetographs for each station. The likelihood of regions belonging to clusters with three to five model hyetographs was assessed using Indicator Kriging. Findings underscore the importance of using local, characteristics rainfalls in hydrodynamic modelling of drainage systems and future rainfall scenarios. These results provide a foundational step towards understanding and monitoring the impacts of climate change on rainfall characteristics, especially extremes, in future decades.

Many small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) operate in ecologically sensitive areas, where balancing conservation and resource use is challenging. 'Multiple-use' marine protected areas (MPAs) have been implemented to accommodate SSFs (among other uses) within areas designated for conservation, creating opportunities and challenges for SSF governance. We analyzed eleven case studies from LAC to explore: (1) how different MPA institutional designs affect key aspects of SSF governance and (2) the links between these effects and the type of initiative that promoted MPA establishment (origin). Results indicate that the existence of an MPA benefited SSF governance in many ways, with more pronounced positive effects in MPAs with mixed to bottom-up origin supported by well-organized fishing groups. In addition, the presence of supportive MPA authorities that leveraged local capacities and initiatives and adopted flexible and collaborative governance systems made a difference in several cases. Lessons for integrating MPA and SSF governance are drawn.

Longitudinal assessment of climate vulnerability is essential for understanding the complex factors affecting how people experience and respond to climate change. We report on the first longitudinal assessment of climate vulnerability in the Himalayan region, exploring the evolving landscape, perceptions, and experiences of communities of climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation in Kashmir over an 8-year period from 2017 to 2024. We provide the Himalayan Re-study Framework (HRF) to monitor, characterise, and conceptualise climate change in the Himalayas. Utilising mixed methods, we showcase how climate change is affecting social, economic, political, and environmental dimensions, examining how the impacts of climate change and vulnerability evolve over time, shaping and reshaping how climate risks are experienced and responded to by communities. Our analysis reveals a nuanced understanding of vulnerability, highlighting the impact on communities' livelihoods and water security, differential impacts on marginalised communities, and the gendered nature of climate change. We examine how certain sections of the population face marginalisation, discrimination, and racism, and how climate change exacerbates these challenges. Kashmir's vulnerability to climate change extends beyond environmental factors, intertwining with culture, livelihoods, social dynamics, and politics. Climate change continues to compete for attention with immediate political and socio-economic challenges, highlighting the need for integrated approaches to address both environmental and societal issues in Kashmir.