Ambio最新文献

To combat global biodiversity decline, countries must identify priority ecosystems and species, often through National Ecosystem or Biodiversity Assessments (NEAs/NBAs). In developing nations, resource constraints make effective uptake critical. South Africa has conducted three NBAs (2004, 2011, 2018), which have influenced policy and practice, though their impact has never been quantitatively assessed. This study evaluates NBA uptake via citation tracking, an online survey, and an application inventory. Citations revealed strong academic use, while the survey showed relevance in spatial planning, conservation actions, and environmental assessments. The application inventory demonstrated NBA influence beyond biodiversity, extending to areas like water security. Understanding NBA uptake is key to maximising its impact. We distil two decades of experience into lessons to improve future NBA uptake in South Africa and support implementation in other countries.

The UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) provides a framework for integrating information about the environment and the economy, organising information about ecosystems, measuring ecosystem services, and tracking change. We explore how SEEA-EA can incorporate First Nations' conceptualisation of nature and cultural connections to traditional lands. We identify multiple entry avenues, propose key principles and suggest steps to enhance relevance of the SEEA-EA to First Nations, principally: stock accounts should reflect aspects of Country that First Nations deem important; flow accounts should depict services they consider the most significant; and, stocks and flows should be measured using physical, subjective and monetary metrics that they deem appropriate. Respectful partnership with First Nations group(s) whose Country is being accounted for-centred on their priorities and values-would yield multiple benefits. We recommend that these ideas, alongside other possible approaches, be developed and tested with First Nations groups across diverse geographic and cultural contexts.

This study examines Egypt's blue economy, focusing on fisheries and aquaculture, through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis to enhance food security. Egypt holds significant potential with its water resources. Aquaculture became Egypt's leading source of fish production since 2003, surpassing fisheries, and contributing 77.9% of the total fish production in 2022. Aquaculture and fisheries peaked at 16.2% of the country's agricultural net income in 2019. Egypt's fish self-sufficiency stands at 86.1%, which supplies 21.2% of the average animal protein intake. Unsustainable fishing, pollution, and climate change (e.g., risks from sea-level rise) impacting coastal farms present challenges. Opportunities in sustainable technologies, market development, and governance can boost Egypt's fisheries and aquaculture, thereby enhancing food security and ensuring long-term environmental and economic sustainability through effective management. This study underscores the crucial role of these sectors and the necessity for cohesive strategies to realize their full potential for Egypt's future.

This study explores the relationship between self-reported war impacts on personal lives and climate change concerns in Ukraine, challenging the "finite pool of worry" hypothesis. Based on survey data, the research reveals that individuals who perceive their lives as critically affected by the war exhibit heightened climate change concerns, suggesting that severe crises can amplify awareness of interconnected global risks. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of risk perception in societies navigating multiple crises and emphasize the importance of environmental considerations in post-conflict dialogue and reconstruction efforts. The study underscores the complex social dynamics of risk perception, advocating for a shift beyond individual psychological explanations toward a more comprehensive understanding of how societies collectively navigate interconnected threats.

The proposed Brazil-China transcontinental railway, connecting Brazil's Atlantic coast to Peru's Pacific port of Chancay, has re-emerged as a flagship infrastructure project under China's Belt and Road Initiative. Promoted as a pathway to economic growth and regional integration, the project raises major concerns that have yet to be fully addressed in public debate or policy planning. This piece critically examines the railway's potential socioenvironmental, economic, and geopolitical impacts. Drawing on recent evidence from Amazonian infrastructure projects and relatable international experiences, megaprojects, particularly in ecologically sensitive regions like the Amazon, often result in deforestation, threats to Indigenous lands, escalating debt, and governance challenges. While the Brazil-China railway project is framed as a symbol of South-South cooperation with improved connectivity and trade benefits, its implementation risks reinforcing extractive development models and compromising Brazil's national sovereignty. Without strong environmental safeguards, transparent governance, and meaningful consultation with affected communities, the railway could deliver lasting degradation rather than shared prosperity. As Brazil navigates its infrastructure future, this case offers a timely opportunity to reconsider how large-scale development can align with environmental justice, ecological integrity, and long-term national interests.

Cities need new and more integrative solutions to purposefully increase urban nature and foster meaningful human-nature connections within built environments. Although nature-based solutions (NbSs) were advanced to work with nature and benefit human well-being, translating scientific research into implementation plans that reflect anticipatory more-than-human perspectives remains challenging. This perspective article explores the potential for establishing a new interdisciplinary subfield of nature-based design and planning (NbDP) to strengthen the conceptual and methodological foundation necessary for cross-disciplinary evaluation and operationalisation of NbS within policy and practice. We introduce the NbDP matrix, consolidating NbS integration across core dimensions of (i) planning, (ii) design, (iii) implementation, and (iv) mainstreaming. Guiding principles emphasising (i) multiscale, (ii) multiperspective, (iii) multispecies, (iv) multitype NbS, and accounting for (v) synergies and trade-offs are also integrated. While critically reflecting on the subfield's challenges and limitations, the article outlines a roadmap for future NbDP scholarship.

Water knowledge, understanding the current and future availability and needs of water, has been critical in negotiating international water disputes. Drawing from expert interviews, this article examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools influence knowledge production and exchange in water diplomacy. The findings suggest that technical strides from AI technologies can enhance data and information objectivity and social learning, potentially benefiting water negotiations and consensus building. However, without addressing political and human challenges, AI tools can exacerbate the risk of eroding trust and spreading dis- and mis-information about politically sensitive water issues. The malicious use of AI poses a serious risk, as negotiators may face increased pressure from public opinion, potentially undermining cooperative progress and escalating tensions over water.