Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-02-21DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101445
Neelam Singh , Prasanta Moharaj , Dibakar Sahoo
{"title":"Exploring gender dynamics of social vulnerability for sustainable resilience in a changing climate in Asia: A systematic literature review","authors":"Neelam Singh , Prasanta Moharaj , Dibakar Sahoo","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change functions as a critical threat multiplier in Asia, intensifying pre-existing social vulnerabilities and disproportionately impacting women through deeply embedded gendered norms and socio-economic structures. To synthesize the evolving knowledge on this nexus, this systematic review analyzes literature sourced from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The selection process, guided by the PRISMA protocol, yielded 42 peer-reviewed studies for a comprehensive qualitative meta-synthesis. This review addresses significant gaps in the existing scholarship, which often remains empirically fragmented and theoretically siloed, by integrating vulnerability and resilience frameworks to explore gendered disparities in exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The findings elucidate how systemic inequities such as constrained access to resources, political representation, and decision-making authority amplify climate risks for women. Counter to a narrative of pure vulnerability, the analysis also foregrounds women's agency, documenting effective, gender-responsive adaptation strategies, from community-led ecosystem-based initiatives to enhanced political participation. The study concludes that transformative rather than merely integrative policy approaches are imperative. These must actively redress power imbalances, reform discriminatory institutional structures, and prioritize equitable resource governance to build sustainable and inclusive resilience. This synthesis provides a critical evidence base to inform the systematic mainstreaming of gender-responsive adaptation into climate governance frameworks across the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101445"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147421011","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101410
Suman Dutta , Sumanta Das , Subrata Gorain , Santanu Kundu , Mahadev Bera , Malini Roy Choudhury , Subrata Bag , Dhananjay Paswan Das
{"title":"Unraveling anthropogenic and climate stressors in the Sundarbans and their ripple effects on livelihoods and ecosystems, and adaptation strategies for a sustainable future – A systematic review","authors":"Suman Dutta , Sumanta Das , Subrata Gorain , Santanu Kundu , Mahadev Bera , Malini Roy Choudhury , Subrata Bag , Dhananjay Paswan Das","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Sundarbans, the largest continuous mangrove forest on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is under growing threat from human activity and climate change. Over the last two decades, the region has faced rising sea levels, increasing salinity, biodiversity loss, more frequent cyclones, deforestation, and poorly planned development. These issues are affecting the ecosystem and also making life harder for local communities. Although researchers have studied the area extensively, there is still a lack of a unified analysis that brings together research trends and key knowledge areas. This study aims to fill that gap by offering a systematic review followed by a bibliometric analysis of studies from 2000 to 2024. It explores how human and climate-related pressures interact and affect both the environment and people living in the Sundarbans, while also looking for ways to support long-term sustainability. Here, we followed PRISMA guidelines and used tools like VOSviewer, Bibliometrix (based on R), and content analysis to review peer-reviewed articles (n = 269), screened out from the Web of Science database. Findings indicate a growing body of work, but one that is often fragmented. Common themes included climate change, degradation of ecosystem services, vulnerability to disasters, human migration, and policy approaches. Interestingly, studies that cross disciplines or focus on community-based solutions are still relatively rare, even though they are essential for sustainable outcomes. The study, further, points to the need for stronger, more connected governance, cooperation across borders, and better use of traditional local knowledge to improve adaptability. It also stresses the importance of inclusive, grassroots planning and smart policies that protect biodiversity while also promoting fairness and equity. Overall, this paper offers an improved understanding of the complex environmental and socio-economic challenges in the Sundarbans by bringing together two decades of research. The insights can help guide local conservation efforts, as well as global conversations on climate justice, delta sustainability, and resilience in vulnerable ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101410"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791210","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101430
Md Enamul Huq , David López-Carr , Nor Kalsum Mohd Isa , Hanifah Mahat , Mohd Hairy Ibrahim , Nasir Nayan , Mohamad Ihsan Muhamad Ismail , J. Jumadi , Md Kamrul Hossain , Md Nazirul Islam Sarker , Xijun Wu , Md Shouquat Hossain , Asma Abdulaziz AbalKhail , Fahad Almutlaq
{"title":"Emerging insights into low impact development (LID) strategy for urban flood resilience under climate change","authors":"Md Enamul Huq , David López-Carr , Nor Kalsum Mohd Isa , Hanifah Mahat , Mohd Hairy Ibrahim , Nasir Nayan , Mohamad Ihsan Muhamad Ismail , J. Jumadi , Md Kamrul Hossain , Md Nazirul Islam Sarker , Xijun Wu , Md Shouquat Hossain , Asma Abdulaziz AbalKhail , Fahad Almutlaq","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101430","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently, urban floods have become more frequent and severe worldwide. It is exacerbated by rapid urbanization, extreme rainfall variations, and inadequate drainage systems. This trend poses significant threats to life, property, and ecosystems. Therefore, it requires widespread adoption of low impact development (LID) strategies. However, this systematic review examines the efficacy, challenges, and prospects of LID approaches in mitigating urban flood hazards intensified by climate change. It synthesizes findings from 96 peer-reviewed studies, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The analysis reveals that LID strategies reduce flood peaks with environmental benefits and sustainable urban development. Quantitative analysis shows LID techniques minimize peak runoff with an average of 42 % (range: 15–75 %) and runoff volume by 34 % (range: 10–75 %) across diverse climatic regions. It demonstrates the efficiency of LID for reducing flood frequency, peaks, and runoff. This review identifies critical knowledge gaps necessitating further LID adaptation and effectiveness research. The implications of the present study emphasize the urgent need for integrated urban planning incorporating LID as a fundamental component of climate resilience strategies. Policymakers and urban designers are inspired to prioritize LID in infrastructure development to enhance flood mitigation efforts and promote sustainable urban environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101430"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146022986","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-25DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101418
Tarek Ben Noamene
{"title":"Stuck between strategy and practice: Why ESG fails to take root in tunisian firms","authors":"Tarek Ben Noamene","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101418","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In many emerging economies, ESG commitments remain largely symbolic, signaling alignment with global sustainability norms without transforming organizational practices. This study examines how this dynamic unfolds in Tunisia, where voluntary ESG reporting guidelines introduced in 2021 created early regulatory momentum but lacked effective enforcement. Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews and internal documents from six publicly listed firms across diverse sectors, the study explores how mid-level ESG implementers navigate ambiguous mandates and weak organizational infrastructures.</div><div>An integrated framework combining implementation theory, institutional decoupling, and role conflict theory is used to explain how symbolic board-level commitments (macro) produce organizational fragmentation (meso) and role ambiguity (micro) sustaining a cycle of symbolic adoption.</div><div>Four mechanisms are identified: symbolic board compliance, unclear ESG roles, fragmented interdepartmental coordination, and leadership ambivalence reinforced by cultural resistance. Sectoral differences reveal that banks exhibit more sophisticated reporting but remain largely symbolic in practice, while manufacturing and retail firms engage minimally.</div><div>The study highlights policy levers—such as stronger enforcement, targeted ESG literacy initiatives, and empowered mid-level actors—that can shift ESG from reputational signaling to operational integration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101418"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145840833","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":"Unraveling the climate induced drought impacts on crop pattern distribution using explainable machine learning algorithms","authors":"Rhyme Rubayet Rudra , Fazla Rabbi , Niamat Ullah Ibne Hossain , Showmitra Kumar Sarkar","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101397","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101397","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to evaluate the spatiotemporal impacts of climate-induced drought on crop production across the USA from 2003 to 2023, with a focus on understanding how different climatic factors influence agricultural yield in drought-prone regions. This study exclusively considered climatic factors, including precipitation, temperature, and drought severity, with no anthropogenic influences. To understand the different aspects of drought, four drought indices were selected: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for short-term precipitation anomalies; Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) for temperature-adjusted drought; Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) for atmospheric demand; and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for long-term drought conditions. These indices were quantified using Google Earth Engine, providing a consistent and large-scale geospatial dataset. Factors such as surface temperature and precipitation distributions were also investigated. Investigating surface temperature and precipitation helps explain their direct role in driving drought variability and crop yield changes, thereby strengthening the study's objective of assessing climate-induced impacts on agriculture. The results revealed an increase in drought-prone and wet-attributed areas along with expanded croplands (corn, cotton, soybeans, wheat, and rye) during study period. Surface temperatures have increased across the southwestern regions, while precipitation rates have increased across the eastern regions. Further, using Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) algorithms, the climate-induced drought impacts on crop yield were investigated more in consideration of the magnitudes of factors, which suggests that the impacts of drought and climatic factors varied in different years, while precipitation had the highest impact on crop fields in almost every phase. Furthermore, spatiotemporal trend analysis and classification of precipitation regimes were conducted using Google Earth Engine to detect shifting patterns over the past two decades. The impact of precipitation on crop yield has intensified over time, particularly in regions with declining rainfall. It also shows how the precipitation impact changed from high precipitation to low precipitation over the last 20 years using geospatial analysis. The study also characterized drought events based on their frequency, duration, intensity, and spatial extent across different U.S. regions. Findings revealed an increase in the occurrence and severity of moderate to extreme droughts, especially in the western and central parts of the country. Overall study demonstrates the significant impacts of climate-induced drought on crop production as well as food security across the USA, highlighting the need for targeted water management and adaptive agriculture practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101397"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737766","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101413
Weeberb J. Requia, Hosana Gomes da Silva, Danilo Guimarães Dantas
{"title":"Evaluating public policy effectiveness in reducing wildfires in Brazil","authors":"Weeberb J. Requia, Hosana Gomes da Silva, Danilo Guimarães Dantas","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wildfires in Brazil have intensified over the past two decades, posing escalating threats to biodiversity, public health, and climate stability. In response, the Brazilian government has enacted several public policy interventions aimed at curbing wildfire incidence. This study evaluates the causal impact of two major federal interventions—the PPCerrado Plan (2010) and the Forest Code reform (Law No 12.651/2012)—on national wildfire activity between 2003 and 2017. Using Bayesian structural time-series models, we estimated counterfactual wildfire trends in the absence of policy interventions and compared these to observed records, adjusting for key climatic variables and temporal confounders. Results reveal that both policies produced statistically significant reductions in wildfire activity, particularly during peak fire months such as August. The PPCerrado Plan was associated with an average monthly reduction of 5120 wildfires (−54.2 %) during effective periods, while the Forest Code yielded an average reduction of 28,880 wildfires per month (−73.1 %) across selected months. However, these effects were temporally limited and not consistently sustained across all post-intervention years. Our findings suggest that while policy frameworks can mitigate wildfire risks, their long-term success is contingent on effective implementation, cross-scale coordination, and alignment with local socioeconomic realities. We conclude that integrating legal enforcement with economic incentives, institutional capacity-building, and culturally adaptive fire management is essential to achieving durable reductions in wildfire activity in Brazil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101413"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737764","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-23DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101425
Marco Aurélio Mendes Elias , José Alexandre Diniz-Filho , Natália Mundim Tôrres , Renato Alves Moreira , Giselle Bastos Alves , Anah Teresa de Almeida Jácomo , Leandro Silveira
{"title":"Beyond the green: Socioeconomic and climatic pressures on native vegetation in the Araguaia biodiversity corridor","authors":"Marco Aurélio Mendes Elias , José Alexandre Diniz-Filho , Natália Mundim Tôrres , Renato Alves Moreira , Giselle Bastos Alves , Anah Teresa de Almeida Jácomo , Leandro Silveira","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101425","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101425","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines how climatic and socioeconomic variables influence native vegetation across 108 municipalities along the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor (ABC), a strategic region in Brazil that connects Amazonian and Cerrado biomes. The corridor was defined as a 40-km-wide buffer along the Tocantins and Araguaia Rivers (20 km each side), based on ecological connectivity principles and supported by federal bill PL 909/2024. We characterized municipalities using land use, climate, and socioeconomic indicators, then modeled native vegetation with a spatial error model to account for spatial dependence. A Socioenvironmental Pressure Index (SPI) was derived to flag municipalities with less or more vegetation than expected after accounting for covariates. Current SPI was also compared with long-term changes (1985–2024) in some predictors. On average, municipalities retained 47 % native vegetation, with variation across the corridor. Land use was the strongest determinant of native vegetation, with larger shares of soybean and pasture associated with less vegetation cover. Higher gross domestic product and population density also correlate with lower vegetation cover. Protected area had a modest positive effect, and climatic predictors had no effect. The SPI flagged five pressure hotspots and two resilience hotspots, and was weakly dependent of long-term change, indicating that it captures deviations from socioeconomic and environmental baselines. Combining spatial econometrics with a residual-based pressure index yields decision-ready evidence at the municipal scale. These results indicate where restoration, regularization, and enforcement should be focused and support place-based policies and federal bill PL 909/2024 to formalize the ABC and align conservation with development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101425"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976614","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-11-27DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101396
Reza Aein , Abbas Seifi , Vahid Zahedi Rad , S. Jamshid Mousavi
{"title":"A system dynamics model for agricultural water management in Shapour River basin using sustainable irrigation policy design under water scarcity and salinity","authors":"Reza Aein , Abbas Seifi , Vahid Zahedi Rad , S. Jamshid Mousavi","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable agriculture depends on effective water management in arid and semi-arid regions facing water scarcity and salinity challenges. This study develops a multi-scale system dynamics model to evaluate the interactions between irrigation policy scenarios and regional economic balances across the Shapour River Basin, comparing infrastructure-oriented, demand management, and hybrid scenarios. The model simulates salinity accumulation and soil-water dynamics at the district level, while capturing basin-wide crop yields, agricultural economics, and water use. Computational results reveal that while demand management alone (scenario 4) outperforms the first three irrigation technology-focused scenarios (scenarios 1–3) with 10 % more enhancements in net economic profit and water economic value and reflects rebound effect of these infrastructure-only policies, the hybrid scenario (scenario 5) that combines both demand management and technology improvement proves most effective, delivering the highest economic returns with 77 % improvements and achieving significant reductions in water use up to 56 % compared to the status quo. These findings showcase the diminishing effectiveness of infrastructure-focused approaches while highlighting the superior performance of the integrated strategies. This demonstrates that the combination of demand management, irrigation technology, and regional economic equity leads to sustainable outcomes. They offer not only actionable guidance for policymakers in the study region, but also a valuable contribution to the global discourse on moving beyond infrastructure-centric approaches in arid and semi-arid agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101396"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737768","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}
Environmental DevelopmentPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101429
Scott Victor Valentine
{"title":"If you build it, will they come? Economic revitalization in Kamikatsu, Japan","authors":"Scott Victor Valentine","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2026.101429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study focuses the development of a zero waste center as the flagship project of an initiative to boost sustainable development and in-bound tourism in Kamikatsu, Japan. Undertaking a system-wide impact analysis that was grounded in stakeholder interviews and an assessment of economic data pertaining to the zero waste center and other cascading developments, the case study concludes that the project shows signs of delivering initial modest returns while serving as a promotional beacon for further sustainable development initiatives in the township. However, returns are not promising enough to ensure sustainable revitalization of the town. This will require a more rigorous inflow of economic activity primarily through attracting entrepreneurial investment. Consequently, the paper extends the analysis by introducing a framework to: i) entice entrepreneur interest, ii) encourage business start-ups, iii) boost demand for local products and services, iv) support teething pains associated with the start-up phase, v) enhance business capacity development through workshops and networking events; and vi) develop infrastructure to smooth the settling in process for entrepreneurs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101429"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146022987","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":"Community responses to land degradation: Insights from land restoration bright-spot communities in the Ethiopian Highlands","authors":"Tewodros G. Asresehegn , Vivian Valencia , Steffen Schulz , Gebremedhin Woldewahid , Girma Gebrehawariat , Rogier P.O. Schulte","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101422","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101422","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land degradation is a pervasive global challenge that undermines ecosystem functions and human well-being, yet evidence remains limited regarding how local communities interpret its drivers, respond to it, and define restoration outcomes. This study assesses these perspectives across twelve community watersheds participating in Ethiopia's national Sustainable Land Management Program—six high-performing “land restoration bright-spots” and six low-performing sites—through semi-structured interviews with 123 key informants and twelve facilitated group discussions. Applying the Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), we assessed how communities interpret degradation drivers and impacts and compared their restoration choices and intended outcomes. The analysis revealed significant differences (P < 0.001): bright-spot communities primarily attributed degradation to socioeconomic and institutional factors, whereas low-performing groups emphasized biophysical causes. Their restoration approaches and desired outcomes also varied: five of the six bright-spots prioritized vegetation regeneration, and all intended to pursue farming-system transformation as their intended outcome, while low-performing communities showed inconsistent priorities and largely aimed to revert to pre-degradation conditions as their outcome. The findings highlight that communities with stronger environmental stewardship orientations are better positioned to adapt to persistent biophysical constraints by addressing human-induced drivers and adopting innovative restoration practices, enabling more transformative and sustainable landscape restoration outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"58 ","pages":"Article 101422"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884435","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}