Ambio最新文献

The convergent extinction crisis-characterized by the simultaneous loss of biological and cultural diversity-poses a critical threat to the resilience of socio-ecological systems. To address this challenge, we adopted an approach that integrates the multiple evidence base (MEB) and co-design methodologies. This study was conducted in the Matlatzinca community of San Francisco Oxtotilpan, State of Mexico, an area experiencing both language loss and a decline in local knowledge of amphibians and reptiles. This collaborative process enabled us to co-produce knowledge and co-create tangible solutions that foster biocultural valuation and conservation. Through this process, we co-designed an educational video to raise community awareness and encourage local conservation action. Our findings demonstrate that integrating MEB and co-design not only enriches herpetofaunal knowledge but also provides effective, community-centered strategies for revitalizing Indigenous knowledge and conserving biocultural diversity.

This paper examines the concept of balance within Indigenous knowledge systems and its role in weed management and ecological restoration. Aboriginal cultural knowledge holders and weed managers view balance as reciprocal with spiritual, ecological, and social dimensions, offering a holistic framework for caring for Country. This challenges colonial weed management approaches that often disregard the roles of plants and soil. The study examines how Indigenous knowledge reframes weed management to enhance ecological balance. Using qualitative Indigenous methods, such as yarning and observing Country, the research highlights the ecological roles of weeds like scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium) and lantana (Lantana camara), which affect soil health and biodiversity in south-east Australia. Findings reveal that weeds, reframed as "opportunity plants," indicate environmental imbalances and act as potential balancing agents. This work underscores the value of weaving Indigenous cultural knowledge with western science to nurture collaborative, ecologically sound weed management.

Most freshwater mussels (FM) in Europe have dramatically declined and are now facing extinction due to human disturbances. Given the recent EU initiatives to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems, public awareness should be considered in the implementation of possible management measures. With this aim, a total of 1102 interviews exploring FM knowledge and use were carried out in four European regions. Results evidenced differences linked to socio-economic metrics-e.g., human density, GDP, residency, and sex-though using FM is independent of being aware of threats they face. Low awareness of FM threats makes Southeastern Europe the most challenging region for conservation, while in Southwestern Europe, poor knowledge about their existence may hinder engagement. To address these challenges, targeted educational campaigns and engagement initiatives should be developed to increase awareness in both regions.

In the expanding urban landscape, a major challenge is to ensure the resilience of plant communities developed in stressful conditions, with limited soil resources and exposed to high disturbance regimes. In this essay, we explore how temperate urban ecosystems - mostly dominated by ectomycorrhizal (EM) plants - may contribute addressing this challenge. We postulate that urban soils provide highly efficient contexts to understand the ecology of EM plant communities under a wide range of disturbance regimes and fragmentation levels. We then propose the development of biota-based soil restoration processes and Technosols conception technics. As part of a broader reflection on ecological-engineered strategies for future urban ecosystems, we finally consider (1) the capacity of EM plants to cultivate their own biota, and (2) the ability of these fungi to support plant growth and survival. We conclude that urban soils are offering a common ground for interdisciplinary collaboration involving researchers, landscapers, and citizens.

This socio-legal paper examines how the duty under Article 3.7. of the Aarhus Convention to promote principles of environmental democracy in international environmental forums is being interpreted and operationalised in practice. A systematic content analysis of the parties' 2021 and 2025 national implementation reports identifies uneven reporting and predominantly ad hoc approaches, focussing mainly on nationally based measures to facilitate the participation of states' own publics, rather than collaborative initiatives to influence the design of participatory processes and outcomes of international institutions themselves. These findings point to a need for stronger institutional coordination, tailored forum-specific guidance, and more systematic monitoring and accountability mechanisms in order to strengthen Article 3.7's operationalisation. More broadly, the paper also contributes to wider debates on the prospects of environmental democracy at scale, illustrating how the Aarhus Convention both exposes and tests the limits of efforts to democratise international and global environmental governance.

As the scale of climate change impacts become apparent, organisations globally are seeking to adapt. They face dual imperatives of transformation-going beyond business-as-usual to embrace disruptive changes to their decision-making processes-and mainstreaming-enacting adaptation initiatives with minimal change to existing capabilities and structures. In practice, these important imperatives can conflict, leading to the emergence of multiple tensions in developing and implementing adaptation initiatives, potentially paralysing action or leading to one imperative dominating. We call this the Transformation-Mainstreaming Conundrum (TMC) and suggest that both imperatives can (and must be) pursued simultaneously in practice. This perspective identifies recognisable tensions that can arise when seeking to address both imperatives and suggest steps towards responding to the underlying issues these tensions reveal. The TMC needs to be recognised, and approaches to navigating its tensions must be addressed explicitly in both scholarship and practice, to re-energise the urgency of scaling up adaptation efforts.

Issue-attention cycles (IACs) follow the predictable rise and fall of media and public attention to topics through five defined stages. Using content analysis and critical discourse analysis, we analyzed 35 newspaper texts (2021-2024) about the Rice's whale, a newly discovered and Critically Endangered species exclusive to the Gulf of Mexico. We investigated whether this discovery was enough to advance an IAC and found that, while Rice's whale science, conservation, and policy has the elements of a topic likely to undergo an IAC, it remains in the first stage of the IAC with limited media attention and a focus on regional stakeholders and policy debates. Comparing this case to the North Atlantic right whale IAC (2010-2024), we offer insights for scientists, professionals, and advocates to prepare for potential future media attention and conservation conflict. Our findings highlight the importance of strategic communication and media analysis to conservation.