Current Research in Environmental Sustainability最新文献

{"title":"How does lived experiences contribute to Education for Sustainable Development? Perspectives from Namibia, Africa","authors":"Tiani Wepener","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite Namibian educational policies recognising the importance of lived experiences in education, learners' lived experiences remain largely unexplored. This research addresses this apparent gap in literature by exploring the role of learners' lived experiences in the acquiring of geographical skills, values and attitudes. The self-reported lived experiences of 28 Grade 11 Geography learners from Namibia are spotlighted. The findings reveal that by living in and engaging with a variety of environments, geographical skills such as observation, problem identification and problem solving are practised while emotions and feelings such as empathy and concern are provoked. Valuable insights are gained not only about geographical skills, values and attitudes but also about the role the aforementioned play in sustainable development. The acquisition of geographical skills, values and attitudes can directly and indirectly contribute towards sustainable development at the level of the individual.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100371"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148731329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A data-driven framework for environmental impact assessment of building materials using environmental product declarations","authors":"Wahid Billah,&nbsp;Adel A. Abdou,&nbsp;Ismail M. Budaiwi","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100376","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100376","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Material selection in the early design stage shapes a building's environmental performance, yet comparing products across multiple impact categories is difficult. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) supply comparable life-cycle data for building products, but existing selection methods depend on expert-assigned weights or fixed thresholds that often determine the outcome. This study presents an exploratory, data-driven framework that classifies external wall materials by relative environmental burden. Ten environmental and technical indicators were compiled from 333 verified EPD records for brick (110), concrete block (119) and wood (104), drawn from 23 European countries, published 2022–2026, declared under EN 15804+A2 at cradle-to-gate (A1-A3). The dataset was divided using a stratified 80:20 train-test split based on material category. Indicators were standardized and aggregated into a composite burden index, which was classified into Low, Medium and High levels using a quantile-based approach, with every data-dependent parameter, including class thresholds, estimated from training data only. Logistic regression, support vector machine and random forest models were tuned identically using repeated stratified 5-fold cross-validation and evaluated on unseen test data. All three models achieved 0.940 accuracy, indicating that the outcome follows the labelling rule rather than the algorithm. A classifier using material identity alone reached a macro-F1 of 0.55 against 0.97 for the indicator-based models, confirming that classification captures indicator patterns, not material category. Durability, embodied energy and fossil global warming potential were the most influential indicators. The resulting classes are relative to the reference dataset, offering practitioners and stakeholders a transparent basis for early-stage screening rather than absolute ratings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100376"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149043917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating socioeconomic and equity outcomes in livelihood interventions: Insights from Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in northern Ghana","authors":"Samuel Adeyanju ,&nbsp;Mirjam A.F. Ros-Tonen ,&nbsp;Janette Bulkan ,&nbsp;Bernard N. Baatuuwie ,&nbsp;Terry Sunderland","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100337","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100337","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past 25 years, Ghana's Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) program has expanded to cover 2 million hectares across 600 communities, aiming to achieve its dual objectives of biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. As Ghana's flagship Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiative, it has attracted significant investment from international organizations for livelihood interventions to reduce poverty and incentivize conservation. Yet little is known about how these interventions are implemented or who benefits. Using qualitative methods, this study examines stakeholders' perceptions of the types, socioeconomic impacts, and equity dynamics of livelihood interventions in three CREMAs in northern Ghana. Our findings reveal that interventions that enhance existing livelihoods, such as modern beekeeping, remain the most frequently implemented. Although the socioeconomic impacts of these interventions vary across and within CREMAs, they provide individuals with modest, seasonal income and support community development projects. The gender dimensions of the interventions show that gender-targeted, pro-poor distribution norms have increased women's inclusion and access to cash income but also raise concerns about exclusion and intersectional inequities. By situating our findings within debates on distributional and contextual equity, we offer insights into how pro-poor norms interact with gender and other contextual factors to shape economic and equity outcomes in incentive-based conservation. This article is relevant beyond the case study, as it can inform the design of equitable, context-sensitive, and sustainable livelihood interventions in current and future incentive-based conservation efforts across the tropics and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100337"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147421139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Local livelihood assets and their diversification under different levels of salinity intrusion in coastal Bangladesh: A comparative assessment","authors":"Masudul Alam ,&nbsp;Mokbul Morshed Ahmad ,&nbsp;Takuji W. Tsusaka ,&nbsp;Malay Pramanik","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100341","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100341","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study assesses the condition of livelihood assets in the southern coastal regions of Bangladesh using a comparative approach. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 400 households across Kalapara, Taltali, and Patharghata Upazilas, representing high and moderate salinity areas. Using the livelihood approach, the study assesses the condition of human, physical, natural, financial, and social capital assets based on 33 indicators, with values ranging from 0 to 1, where higher scores indicate stronger asset conditions. The composite values for the assets were highest in Kalapara (0.52), indicating relatively better access to resources, followed by Taltali (0.48) with moderate conditions, and Patharghata (0.41) as the weakest, reflecting practical differences in resilience and adaptive capacity. Significant differences reflect regional variations. The findings highlight the significant strain on livelihoods, particularly in Patharghata, where limited access to resources and persistent salinity intrusion have substantial impacts. The research also explores the state of livelihood diversification using the Simpson's Diversity Index, with values of 0.83, 0.89 and 0.82 in Kalapara, Taltali, and Patharghata, respectively. The shift from agricultural livelihood to alternative sources reflects households' effort to enhance resilience and adaptive capacity amidst environmental challenges. The study recommends government initiatives and interventions in the salinity-prone regions to strengthen adaptive capacity and resilience. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive policies that promote adaptation strategies and income diversification to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, and 15.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100341"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147448652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Engaging the public in groundwater conservation through digital communication: Pathways to inclusive policy","authors":"Abdul Saboor Rahmany ,&nbsp;Troy Allen Berthold ,&nbsp;Kim Dooley ,&nbsp;Emmanuel Chisom Okolo","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100347","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100347","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates the digital communication strategies of Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) in Texas's Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and their role in public engagement and education regarding groundwater availability and conservation. With escalating water demands due to increasing population and climate change, effective public outreach and communication are crucial in enhancing sustainable groundwater resource management. In this study, using qualitative content analysis of GCDs websites, we assessed the dissemination of information and the effectiveness of digital platforms in engaging the public. Our methodology integrates a constructivist approach, analyzing how GCDs communicate their regulatory frameworks and educational programs using digital communication with stakeholders. The analysis revealed variation in content quality, accessibility, and inclusivity. The findings highlight the need for more interactive, user-centered, and language-accessible digital tools to enhance public engagement in conservation of resources and inclusive policy. Building on existing environmental communication literature, this study develops an integrative conceptual framework combining content, accessibility, and interactivity—dimensions often studied separately—to evaluate the inclusiveness of digital communication. The study also presents a transferable conceptual framework for evaluating digital communication strategies in environmental governance. This framework can support systematic assessments across various environmental organizations and sectors globally. Future research should explore how digital outreach influences stakeholder behavior and participation in groundwater governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100347"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147600292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Twenty years of dingo discourse: Examining news media representation of dingo conservation and management in Victoria, Australia","authors":"Lily M. van Eeden ,&nbsp;Lilan He","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conservation and management of charismatic wildlife and pests is surrounded by social conflict. Analysis of news media can be useful for understanding changing discourse on environmental topics including revealing dimensions such as social power dynamics and conflicting narratives between different social groups. We employed discourse analysis to explore news media narratives on conservation and management of dingoes in Victoria, Australia. We included 238 articles from 2005 to 2024, coding them based on sentiment, news outlet type, voices represented, and key topics. Media attention to dingoes has increased since 2020, aligning with policy change and proposals to restore or reintroduce them. General news media outlets were more likely to describe dingoes and their conservation positively, and rural outlets to describe them negatively. Considering voices represented, general news media outlets represented a higher proportion of researchers and dingo advocacy groups, regional outlets more frequently represented local government and Indigenous voices, and rural outlets more frequently represented farming groups. Our findings suggest growing societal interest in dingo conservation issues and reveal differences in how social groups (e.g., urban vs rural) are exposed to narratives around dingoes. Absence of representation of Indigenous voices until 2018 may indicate recent changes in power dynamics on dingo discourse amid broader social change towards increasing Indigenous agency in environmental decision-making. Increasing media interest in dingoes in Victoria was linked with several key moments in dingo discourse, such as proposals to restore them, so understanding media narratives can support informed decision-making that can pre-empt public response to policy or management decisions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100351"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147740090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transformative adaptation pathways: A multi-level framework for navigating systemic climate change responses","authors":"Jingming Yang ,&nbsp;Bishawjit Mallick ,&nbsp;Ajay Bailey","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100353","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100353","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Escalating climate risks have intensified calls for transformative adaptation. Yet a persistent theoretical challenge remains: the lack of an integrated framework that explains how transformation unfolds by linking micro-level behavioral dynamics with macro-level structural change. This paper addresses this gap by developing the Transformative Adaptation Pathways (TAP) framework. TAP integrates three theoretical pillars: Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) for temporality and tipping points; the Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework for structural context; and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) for a micro-foundation of actor behavior. Its core contribution is the conceptualization of cross-scale feedback mechanisms—power-mediated processes of institutional selection that link macro, <em>meso</em>, and micro levels. It elucidates how these mechanisms, which generate either transformative or regressive feedback, are conditioned by power dynamics, steering the system toward a TAP (addressing the root causes of vulnerability) or trapping it in a Non-TAP (lock-in/maladaptation). Positioned as a conceptual–diagnostic framework, TAP offers practical value by enabling scholars and practitioners to trace pathway evolution, diagnose lock-ins, and identify leverage points for intervention, thereby supporting more resilient and equitable adaptation trajectories. As a concrete output, the paper advances six testable propositions, charting a research agenda for operationalizing the framework's core mechanisms and diagnosing pathway divergence across diverse social-ecological contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100353"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147797960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) applied to La Palma (Canary Islands): A cross-island comparison of metabolic patterns and governance implications","authors":"Serafin Corral","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Islands are bounded yet metabolically open socio-ecological systems whose viability is increasingly stressed by tourism pressure, climate variability, and high external dependence for energy and food. This paper applies the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) framework to characterise resource flows in La Palma (Canary Islands), analysing the integration of energy, water, land, and economic dimensions across twelve economic sectors. Using official statistical data for the period 2020–2023, we quantify metabolic patterns for La Palma and compare them with indicators tabulated from previously published MuSIASEM or MuSIASEM-related studies of three contrasting island systems: tourism-intensive Lanzarote, Biosphere Reserve Menorca, and conservation-oriented Isabela in the Galápagos. The comparison uses indicators reported in those published studies rather than a fully harmonised recalculation.</div><div>Results reveal dramatic sectoral concentration patterns. Land use is dominated by agriculture (151.69 km², 85.1% of utilised land and 21.4% of total island area), whilst commerce and hospitality together absorb about 31% of paid-work time. Energy consumption is led by residential use (44.7%) and commerce (35.7%), with the compact commerce-hospitality service front concentrating the highest energy densities. Water metabolism shows extreme agricultural concentration (86.3% of total, 68 million m³/year), which concentrates the island's exposure to hydrological variability in a single sector. Economic analysis reveals education and health generating 35.1% of reconciled gross value added, followed by the combined commerce-transport-hospitality branch (22.4%), which official statistics publish as a single aggregate and which we therefore do not disaggregate. Metabolic-rate analysis identifies commerce and ICT services as the most energy-intensive sectors on a per-hour-of-human-activity basis (19.1 and 20.4 MJ·h⁻¹ respectively; equivalently 5.30 and 5.67 kWh·h⁻¹), with metabolic rates computed against annual sectoral paid-work hours.</div><div>La Palma's own metabolic accounting is built from primary statistical sources, whereas the indicators for Lanzarote, Menorca and Isabela are tabulated from published studies rather than recomputed; the comparison is therefore explicitly non-harmonised and supports illustrative associations, not causal inference. Findings illustrate, rather than demonstrate in general terms, the usefulness of MuSIASEM for integrated sustainability assessment in geographically bounded but metabolically open island systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100380"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148994946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “Twenty years of dingo discourse: Examining news media representation of dingo conservation and management in Victoria, Australia”. [Current Research in Environmental Sustainability 11(2026): 100351].","authors":"Lily M. van Eeden ,&nbsp;Lilan He","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100362","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100362"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148415626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A meta-analysis of soil organic carbon dynamics under climate-smart agricultural systems in the Amazonian region","authors":"Chukwudi Nwaogu ,&nbsp;Modupeola A.O. Chukwudi ,&nbsp;Bridget E. Diagi ,&nbsp;Chinonye V. Ekweogu ,&nbsp;Khosravi Vahid ,&nbsp;Samuel K. Ahado ,&nbsp;Onyedikachi J. Okeke ,&nbsp;Gordon T. Amangabara ,&nbsp;Lucy Izunobi ,&nbsp;Imuwahen P. Aigbedion ,&nbsp;John Okwudili Ugwu ,&nbsp;Deborah O. Diagi ,&nbsp;Mary U. Okoro ,&nbsp;Martin C. Iwuji ,&nbsp;Christopher C. Ejiogu ,&nbsp;Budiman Minasny ,&nbsp;Mauricio Roberto Cherubin ,&nbsp;Patrick S.U. Eneche","doi":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100336","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crsust.2026.100336","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) systems have been promoted as a nature-based solution to ameliorate carbon losses from cropland by increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. The scale to which CSA systems [i.e., integrated cropping (iC), integrated crop-livestock (iCL) and integrated crop-livestock-forest (iCLF)] can contribute to reversing SOC losses and promote C-storage is limited in knowledge. We used a meta-analysis to give a regional-level appraisal of SOC stock changes in relation to the adoption of CSA systems in Rondônia State, Brazil. The CSA systems (iC, iCL, and iCLF) accumulated SOC at mean rates of 0.37, 0.52, and 0.76 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively, which showed that iCLF had the highest SOC change rate, study span notwithstanding. On average, the rate of SOC (Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) change for short-term studies (&lt; 11 years), 11–20 years, and above 20 years were 0.47, 0.93, and 0.55, respectively. Climate, altitude, and soil depth also have significant effects on the rates of SOC stock change. Oxisols and Ultisols promoted C sequestration, while Alfisols and other soil groups did not. The results from our meta-analysis established that CSA under the prevailing soil and environmental conditions can encourage more adoption of CSA by farmers, promote SOC accumulation, and consequently mitigate greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, while guaranteeing food security. The study might support Brazil's Low-Carbon Agriculture Plan and help the country in achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions commitments on climate change mitigation through agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34472,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Environmental Sustainability","volume":"11 ","pages":"Article 100336"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147421246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}