Environmental Science & Policy最新文献

{"title":"Between tradition and transformation: Negotiating land and water resources in Ghana’s Pra River Basin","authors":"Augustine Chiga Awolorinke ,&nbsp;Marcin Pawel Jarzebski ,&nbsp;Alesia Dedaa Ofori ,&nbsp;Martiwi Diah Setiawati","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While numerous studies have highlighted the connection between changes in land use and surface water quality and quantity, there remains a paucity of literature that critically examines how the coexistence of customary and statutory governance systems influences basin-level ecological outcomes in the context of legal pluralism. Using a qualitative case study approach, we examine how overlapping statutory mandates, and the enduring authority of customary actors shape environmental outcomes. Drawing on stakeholder interviews, this study reveals that conflicting governance norms, siloed planning, and tenure insecurity significantly contribute to riparian ecosystem decline. Customary authorities retain legitimacy and close ties to local land practices, yet their exclusion from formal planning processes undermines integrated basin management. Conversely, statutory bodies, although backed by legal authority, often lack local legitimacy and effective enforcement capacity. This study reiterates the urgent need for a harmonization of these governance systems to bridge the divides by integrating customary legitimacy with statutory authority. We propose a framework that illustrates governance interactions that provide a pathway to institutional synergy. This framework provides a lens for addressing surface water governance challenges, particularly in African contexts, where water governance is fraught with legal pluralism. This study contributes to the political ecology literature by demonstrating how harmonized governance can foster more inclusive, adaptive, and resilient water management in sub-Saharan Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104245"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new conceptual model for ecological data communication in the context of spatial planning and policy","authors":"Arron Wilde Tippett ,&nbsp;Christina Carrozzo Hellevik ,&nbsp;Liv Guri Velle ,&nbsp;Dina Margrethe Aspen","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104240","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104240","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global loss of biodiversity and natural capital, driven by land use change, poses a risk for vital ecosystem services, such as air and water filtration, food provisioning, and wellbeing. Ecosystem accounting is a framework for documenting ecosystem extent, condition and the services which they produce. Questions remain about the way in which this new framework can be implemented and utilised in spatial planning. Using Norway as a case study, we perform a requirements analysis of its current spatial planning system, drawing on qualitative data from planning professionals and planning policy documents, to understand the contemporary problems within planning related to the use of ecological data. Ecological data is currently produced to adhere to the knowledge deficit model of decision making, whereby more data and knowledge lead to better decisions. However, our current communicative planning system relies on participation for knowledge gathering, which becomes an issue when the scope, communication method, and timing of communication are barriers to knowledge being used in a decision. We therefore propose a new theoretical model, PRISM, based on the analogy of a prism, as its purpose is to break ecological data up to meet the diverse objectives of, and thus engage with, as many actors as possible. The analogy is derived from the finding that ecological data and knowledge constitutes only one band in the spectrum of considerations and knowledge used in decisions. Framing is proposed as the method to achieve this effect with ecosystem accounting data, thereby activating participation to meet policy and actor objectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104240"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation between 1990 and 2023 - A global meta-analysis","authors":"Mélanie Feurer ,&nbsp;Jelena Markovic ,&nbsp;Michael Starke ,&nbsp;Jerylee Wilkes-Allemann ,&nbsp;Oliver Wolf","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104242","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104242","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Deforestation and forest degradation are continuing at alarming rates globally and are thereby contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequities. Governments have recognized that without halting deforestation, reaching global climate targets and the Sustainable Development Goals will hardly be possible, and have made respective commitments and developed dedicated policies. However, there has been no recent comprehensive analysis on the proximate causes and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. We address this gap through a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation worldwide between 1990 and 2023. We identified 234 relevant articles covering 63 countries, mainly in the tropical biome. Our findings show that deforestation is primarily caused by commercial agriculture including livestock (83 %) and to a lesser extent by wood extraction (52 %) and subsistence farming (50 %). On the other hand, forest degradation is primarily caused by wood extraction (100 %) for subsistence. However, the share of studies with a focus on degradation (n = 23) was very low, revealing that much research is still needed in this field. In most cases, underlying drivers play a key role and consist of a combination of economic, demographic, and political factors. We recommend that deforestation-related policies and commitments account for these driving factors and that they are tackled alongside the direct causes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104242"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Four propositions to narrow the gap between science and policy for climate change adaptation: Insights and evidence from Aotearoa New Zealand","authors":"Angela Halliday ,&nbsp;Joanna Fountain ,&nbsp;Anita Wreford ,&nbsp;Nicholas A. Cradock-Henry","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104239","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104239","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The scale and complexity of global challenges and the growing pressure on researchers to demonstrate ‘impact’, has prompted considerable investigation into the relationship between science, policy and decision-making. This is especially evident in the field of climate change adaptation, which is characterised by policy relevance, deep uncertainty, and diverse stakeholders, contributing to a highly complex policy and planning landscape. This paper seeks to contribute to the science to policy interface literature by presenting results from case study analysis in Aotearoa New Zealand. In-depth, semi-structured interviews (<em>n</em> = 23) with policy practitioners and individuals in related roles and organisations, were used to elicit information about barriers and enablers to research uptake and implementation. Thematic analysis yielded four foundational propositions: Strong relationships enable research to inform policy and decision-making; Interpretations of uncertainty hamper policy-making for adaptation; Competing timeframes and priorities hinder research uptake; and Funding priorities affect research uptake and policy outcomes.</div><div>Collectively, these propositions highlight the need to strengthen collaboration between researchers and policymakers by building trust, fostering mutual understanding, and establishing feedback loops between individuals in their respective domains, supported by knowledge translators. The findings have international relevance and utility and can inform the design and evaluation of mission-led science that addresses the complex challenge of climate change adaptation, with an emphasis on enhancing transparency and trust between policymakers and researchers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104239"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving cross-cultural knowledge exchange for collaborative forest stewardship","authors":"Rachel H. Swanwick ,&nbsp;Rachel E. Schattman ,&nbsp;Anthony W. D’Amato ,&nbsp;Tyler Everett ,&nbsp;Darren J. Ranco ,&nbsp;Adam J. Daigneault","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104241","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104241","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Collaborative governance arrangements help maximize adaptive potential in the face of rapidly changing environmental conditions affecting forest systems to achieve cross-boundary stewardship goals. In part, the success of these cooperative efforts stems from their ability to enable exchange or “bridging” across knowledge systems (e.g., Western scientific, local, and Indigenous). Bridging knowledge systems can generate new insights, overcome power imbalances, and contribute to a sustainable future. There is a growing recognition of the benefits of including Indigenous knowledge and community perspectives in environmental collaborations. Yet, there is a need for more context-specific insights to enable equitable collaborative governance and knowledge exchange with Indigenous Nations. To explore this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 forest stewards associated with state agencies (n = 12) and Tribal Nations (n = 10) in present-day Maine (U.S.A). We argue that while different knowledge systems are highly valued and respected by forest stewards, barriers including Western and Indigenous paradigmatic incongruities, inflexible institutional arrangements, and socio-political tensions limit cooperation. We recommend recognizing the inherent adaptability and sovereignty of Indigenous Nations, encouraging cross-cultural engagement at the outset of project planning, and establishing new institutions that embrace ‘two-way’ knowledge exchange. An awareness of these dynamics has the capacity to transform governance systems and improve forest stewardship outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104241"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental assessment and regulatory oversight of genetically engineered crops in the United States","authors":"Nick Loschin ,&nbsp;Jennifer Kuzma ,&nbsp;Rodolphe Barrangou ,&nbsp;Khara Grieger","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104237","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104237","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biotechnology advancements are rapidly shaping the future of food and agriculture with genetic engineering tools utilizing both classical transgenic methods and cutting-edge genome editing techniques such as CRISPR. These advancements have expanded the development of crops with novel traits, with a wide range of applications. At the same time, the regulatory system and assessment processes have struggled to keep pace with these rapid innovations and techniques. Notably, this can be an issue when investigating the potential environmental impacts in the development and production of these crops due to the complexity and temporal nature of potential risks. This study explores how environmental assessments for genetically engineered crops have been and are currently being conducted in the United States. This was done by outlining the regulatory framework and environmental assessment processes across federal agencies and then examining five case studies that reflect both incumbent and rising genetic engineering techniques. The robustness of the environmental assessment was evaluated for each case based on the submitted information and the depth of analysis conducted. Conclusions from this study gleaned three major recommendations: (1) the need for governance systems keeping pace with novel innovations, (2) an overall strengthening of environmental oversight for genetically engineered crops, and (3) the need for transparency throughout the assessment processes. This research aims to foster improved environmental assessment and governance practices for novel applications of genetic engineering in food and agriculture systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104237"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How does transport infrastructure development impact rural livelihoods in the Global South? A systematic review of the English language academic literature","authors":"Zhiqiang Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104231","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104231","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An ongoing boom of large-scale infrastructure development in the Global South is transforming rural livelihoods with implications for rural people and landscapes. This systematic review uses the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) as a conceptual framework to analyse the impacts of infrastructure development on rural livelihoods. The analysis covers articles published between 2018 and mid-2025. The review categorises and analyses the effects of infrastructure development on the five main livelihood capital types from the SLF. Findings suggest that infrastructure development positively impacts human, physical and financial capital assets by transforming agricultural production and access to natural resources. Additionally, the review finds less research focused specifically on the relationship between infrastructure development and social capital. This review recommends that infrastructure development explicitly integrate considerations of natural capital to safeguard future livelihoods and emphasises the need for further research on how infrastructure intersects with social capital and sustainable rural transformation. The findings of this research may be useful for policy formation and implementation related to infrastructure projects and the livelihood implications in the Global South.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104231"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Key challenges in forest restoration and adaptation in Spain: Expert-based solutions for a resilient future","authors":"Maitane Erdozain ,&nbsp;Aitor Àvila Callau ,&nbsp;Victoria Madrid ,&nbsp;Iciar Alberdi ,&nbsp;Isabel Cañellas ,&nbsp;Rafael M. Navarro-Cerrillo ,&nbsp;Guillermo Palacios-Rodríguez ,&nbsp;Jordi Palau ,&nbsp;Laura Ros ,&nbsp;Sergio de-Miguel","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104238","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104238","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing momentum for ecological restoration presents a critical opportunity to tackle environmental crises, especially in the context of climate change adaptation. With the newly adopted European Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) requiring Member States to develop national restoration plans, Spain stands as a paradigmatic case due to its long history of restoration efforts and its location in the Mediterranean, a recognized climate change hotspot. Understanding the barriers and opportunities involved is essential to ensure effective implementation. Drawing on the knowledge of over 60 national experts and applying the Delphi method, we (1) ranked 45 key political, social, economic, technical and environmental challenges limiting climate-adaptive forest restoration in Spain; (2) analyzed how demographic and professional factors influenced perceptions of these challenges; and (3) co-developed strategic recommendations to overcome them. Experts identified economic and political barriers such as short-term budgets, undervaluation of ecosystem services, perverse incentives, political short-termism, bureaucracy and policy fragmentation as the most limiting, ranking approximately 1.5 points higher than the most significant technical or environmental challenges. Perceptions significantly varied by gender, age and geographic location. Key solutions include the creation of independent restoration agencies with stable funding, legal and policy reforms, financial incentives for landowners (valuation of ecosystem services) and stronger private sector involvement. Our findings highlight the need for an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that aligns governance, financing and stakeholder participation. These insights offer a valuable foundation for informing Spain’s National Restoration Plan and contribute to broader European efforts to ensure the long-term success of restoration initiatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104238"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Users’ awareness and expectations from the climate change adaptation digital twin","authors":"Marta Terrado ,&nbsp;Eulàlia Baulenas ,&nbsp;Gerrit Versteeg ,&nbsp;Dragana Bojovic ,&nbsp;Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104236","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104236","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Several digital twins of the climate (climate DTs) have emerged around the world, primarily developed by private companies as well as large scientific and governmental organisations. Despite being in early development stages, they operationalise the on-demand production of climate information for adaptation. Although climate DTs will certainly be catalysts for unprecedented scientific and technological innovation, considering human aspects is indispensable to achieve societal uptake. Through participatory activities including an online survey, interviews and participant observation, we assess the perspectives of some potential users of the digital twins, in particular adaptation researchers and practitioners who use or could use climate information for adaptation. Results show that participants in our research are familiar with the digital twin concept but generally poorly informed about the DTs for climate adaptation. Participants’ expectations from the climate DTs include the simulation of different climate change adaptation options at scales where impacts are felt, the possibility to run on-demand model simulations and the benefits provided by higher model resolution, whereas the lack of guidance on how to use the information from the DTs and deal with uncertainties are the main challenges. Although moving towards the democratisation of climate DTs will empower users, it requires a clear roadmap for aspects related to governance, early communication, stakeholder engagement and dissemination of the DT results. Here we provide recommendations to bring the DTs closer to different target groups, making its outcomes more accessible and transparent for all.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104236"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accessibility analysis and optimization strategies of green spaces for enhancing climate resilience: Equity-oriented insights from megacities","authors":"Yaping Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianjun Zhang ,&nbsp;Xuelian Shi ,&nbsp;Yixin Dai","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104234","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104234","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the rapid growth of urban populations, disparities in green space allocation have become more evident. As critical components of green space, parks play a vital role in mitigating climate risks and supporting residents’ physical and mental well-being. However, in rapidly expanding megacities, spatial and social inequities in park accessibility hinder green space from fully delivering its climate adaptation functions. This paper develops a framework for social equity in access to urban parks in megacities, providing a practical tool to guide equitable and climate-resilient urban green space planning. Using residential buildings as the unit of analysis, park equity among different population groups was assessed based on the three transportation modes of walking, cycling and public transportation. The results showed that 1) The park coverage is 70.82 %, with a Gini coefficient of 0.3547, indicating inadequate coverage and localized disparities; 2) Significant variations in equity exist across the three transportation modes. As residents’ mobility options improve (from walking to public transportation), their activity range expands, increasing park access opportunities; 3) The Gini Coefficient reveals pronounced inequities among vulnerable groups, with the elderly experiencing greater disparities in resource allocation, especially in urban centers where they are concentrated. 4) Areas with dense populations and limited park accessibility show higher land surface temperatures (LSTs), reflecting reduced heat resilience and limited capacity to alleviate the heat island effect. This demonstrates that equitable access to urban parks plays a key role in strengthening local climate resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 104234"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}