Environmental Development最新文献

{"title":"Assessment and mapping environmental carrying capacity under urbanization stress in Fars Province using fuzzy logic modeling: A comparison between entropy and AHP fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method","authors":"Mehrdad Moradi ,&nbsp;Azar Sheikhzeinoddin ,&nbsp;Mansour Zibaei ,&nbsp;Hamid Reza Pourghasemi","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The synergistic effects of economic growth, development, and a rapidly increasing population have significantly increased the demand for energy and food, leading to greater utilization of resources and environmental consequences. Therefore, policymakers must assess environmental sustainability and its impact on sustainable development. The present study aims to quantify and analyze the environmental carrying capacity of the Fars Province in Iran through the application of a comprehensive fuzzy methodology. The results reveal distinct patterns of environmental and economic capacity across different counties. In Shiraz, the carrying capacity, determined through a combined weighting system, was found to be significantly low, mainly because of the high population pressure and urbanization. Approximately 70 % of the province's land area is characterized by medium to low environmental carrying capacity, particularly in southern and central urban regions. Moreover, a model focusing on the degree of obstacles was applied to examine the relationship between environmental quality and the various factors that influence it. The research outcomes emphasize that the quality of habitats and the level of vegetation coverage are the principal factors that limit the province's carrying capacity, with the frequency of obstacles recorded at over 85 %. This underscores the importance of targeted intervention. Thus, counties in critical conditions should prioritize investments in these aspects to enhance their environmental quality and subsequently move towards developmental efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101321"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144878736","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":"Waste management in Nigeria: Systemic failures, circular economy pathways and sustainable solutions","authors":"Godspower Oke Omokaro ,&nbsp;Ikioukenigha Michael ,&nbsp;Ogheneochuko Shadrack Efeni ,&nbsp;Opelopejesu Israel Adeyanju ,&nbsp;Justice Obomejero","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101363","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101363","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study reviews the systemic failures and opportunities in Nigeria's waste management landscape. Nigeria's solid waste crisis reflects structural deficiencies in governance, infrastructure, and behavior, with cascading effects on public health and ecosystems. Using a scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and reported in line with PRISMA-ScR standards, 84 multidisciplinary studies were synthesized to (i) map institutional and environmental risks, (ii) appraise regional disparities and the role of informal waste pickers, and (iii) evaluate the feasibility of circular economy pathways suited to Nigeria's context. The findings show that fragmented mandates, weak enforcement, and data scarcity entrench open dumping and burning, driving leachate and air-pollution burdens and elevating disease risks, especially in informal settlements. Nonetheless, significant opportunities exist in decentralized organics management, inclusive recycling ecosystems, and targeted waste-to-energy niches. Evidence was translated into a phased governance roadmap that prioritizes a unified national policy with enforceable Extended Producer Responsibility, formal integration of informal workers with safety and finance provisions, city-level digital registries and route optimization, and community-based separation of organics and plastics. While finance, infrastructure gaps, market development, and social acceptance constrain scaling, addressing these challenges can enable a transition from linear disposal to a resilient and circular waste system. Overall, the review concludes that Nigeria's path forward lies in linking governance reform with culturally sensitive, inclusive, and scalable circular economy solutions aligned with SDGs 6, 11, and 12.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101363"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145265569","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":"Sacred groves for enhanced climate mitigation: Towards a framework for managing unintended externalities of environmental systems","authors":"Mohammed H. Ziblila ,&nbsp;James S. Kaba ,&nbsp;Fred A. Yamoah ,&nbsp;Adolf A. Acquaye ,&nbsp;Ishmael Hashmiu","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Arguments based on the ‘land crunch’ phenomenon and its projection to further intensify in the future, thus exacerbating land use demands for food production has prompted calls and at the same time concerns on converting sacred groves (SG) for croplands or plantations. To establish the full benefits of SG beyond its primary intent of providing a religious and cultural heritage-based protected forest, we examined the potential co-benefits of SG. Consequently, the aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), amount of carbon, soil physiochemical properties in three land-use systems were empirically measured. Plantation and Cropland with scattered trees (CLST) were used as controls to the SG. The land use systems examined were from three communities in the Guinea Savanna zone of Ghana. The plot technique was used for the vegetation sampling. From the results, it was established that SG recorded the highest AGB, BGB and carbon stock with 620.6 Mg/ha, 161.4 Mg/ha and 391.0 MgC/ha respectively while the carbon stock for CLST was 341.7 MgC/ha and 124.8 MgC/ha for plantation. Similarly, SG had the highest soil carbon stock (81.5 tC/ha), compared to 66.1 tC/ha for plantation and 44.4 tC/ha for CLST. Finally, the paper then presents a decision-outcome framework, highlighting the dual pathways of intended and unintended environmental externalities for the establishment of SG. The paper demonstrates and suggests that the SG do not just deliver religious-based and socio-cultural-based (intended consequence), but they also generate co-benefits outcomes (unintended benefits) through its provision of eco-system services and helping in enhancing climate change mitigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101351"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145010558","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":"When access to education matters more than income inequality: a structural equation modelling analysis of climate adaptation and mitigation","authors":"Marcelo Furlan ,&nbsp;Walter Leal Filho","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to assess the effects of the educational level of a country on the climate actions (adaptation and mitigation) that it adopts, and measure the extent to which social inequality, educational quality and access to schooling contribute to such actions. To achieve this aim, the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was applied to a sample of 195 countries from 18 indicators related to education, income inequality, adaptation and mitigation that exist in global databases. The main results are a) the level of education has a positive effect on adaptation (.824) and mitigation (.927) actions; b) inclusion of the quadratic term for educational level further underscores its central importance in explaining mitigation action (.460); c) Likewise, the quadratic effect of income inequality emerges only as a propensity to mitigate carbon emissions (−.140); d) in absolute values, the difficulty of accessing education has an indirect effect (−.721) that is greater than that of educational quality (.302). These results indicate that, in addition to the need to guarantee education for all, countries also need to reduce their inequalities. Furthermore, developing countries should prioritize actions to include children and young people in climate change education initiatives, so that the indirect effects of climate change adaptation are realized, while reducing inequality can help to foster carbon emissions mitigation efforts. The policy implications of this paper are twofold. First, the paper highlights that improving access to education is more impactful than reducing income inequality for climate adaptation and mitigation. Second, policymakers should prioritize expanding educational opportunities, particularly in vulnerable regions, to enhance climate resilience and sustainable practices. Investments in education can drive long-term climate action more effectively than income redistribution alone.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101309"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144861002","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 sustainable proposal for the fishing chain: Innovative, sustainable, eco-friendly, and social-economic viable","authors":"Robson Andreazza,&nbsp;Carolina Faccio Demarco,&nbsp;Josiane Pinheiro Farias,&nbsp;Simone Pieniz,&nbsp;Maurizio Silveira Quadro","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The predominant linear model in fisheries supply chains results in substantial resource inefficiencies, environmental degradation, and socioeconomic challenges, particularly in small-scale fishing communities. Despite the increasing recognition of circular economy principles as a sustainable alternative, their application in artisanal fisheries remains underexplored. This study addresses this critical gap by proposing an innovative circular economy framework for the Z-3 Fishing Community in Pelotas, Brazil. Based on over a decade of interdisciplinary research and community engagement, this model integrates the valorization of fish by-products into high-value applications, such as biodiesel, fertilizers, and animal feed. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach that includes participatory observation, unstructured interviews, and bibliographic research, the findings demonstrate that circular strategies can significantly reduce fish waste, enhance resource efficiency, and foster local economic resilience. This research provides empirical evidence supporting the transition from a linear to a circular system, offering a replicable and scalable solution to mitigate environmental impacts while improving the livelihoods of small-scale fishers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101343"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048794","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":"Nona jol, salty waters: A social scientific understanding of soil salinization and climate change in the Sundarbans","authors":"Damayanti Banerjee ,&nbsp;Samhitha Kasibhatta","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101368","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101368","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate scientists have examined the impact of increased soil salinity on farming, freshwater access, crop quality, and aquaculture. Much like coastal communities around the world, this is a pressing issue in the Sundarbans, an active delta region spanning both India and Bangladesh. Home to millions of people, salinization has deeply affected the lives and livelihoods of communities in the Sundarbans and endangered the fragile mangrove ecosystem.</div><div>While researchers in the natural sciences have studied the impact of rising salinization on soil composition and plant health, its effects on the lives and livelihoods of Sundarbans communities are less discussed in the social sciences. Instead, social science research has subsumed these issues within the wider body of climate scholarship thereby reducing its far-reaching effect on coastal communities in the Sundarbans and beyond. Yet, salinization is a critical issue for communities at risk and has led to barriers to food access, lower agricultural productivity, economic uncertainties, loss of homes and cultural identities. This paper aims to synthesize diverse strands of interdisciplinary scholarship about the extent, pattern, and adaptation mechanisms to soil salinization in the Sundarbans. We further argue that social scientific research on salinization will help communities address climate change and propose a few potential research pathways for future studies. [Word Limit: 207]</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101368"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362214","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":"Circular economy and social equity: Addressing the complexities of E-waste management in Accra, Ghana","authors":"Gideon Baffoe ,&nbsp;Harrison Green","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid growth in global e-waste production presents profound social challenges for developing nations like Ghana, where informal recycling practices remain a major economic activity, albeit being detrimental to the environment and human health. This paper examines the potential of Circular Economy (CE) principles, particularly reduction and reuse, in addressing the social challenges associated with e-waste. Drawing on interviews with key informants, including e-waste workers and government officials, as well as insights from Nigeria's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, the paper identifies critical lessons and opportunities for improving Ghana's approach to e-waste. The paper reveals that while CE offers environmental benefits, it often neglects the social inequities embedded in informal sectors. We argue that an equitable CE transition in Ghana requires integrating social protections, alternative livelihoods, international cooperation, and environmental reforms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101380"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145693350","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":"Reclaiming monetary governance: how French convertible local currencies embed strong sustainability through participatory institutions","authors":"Nicolas Laurence","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101332","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101332","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article examines whether French convertible local currencies (CLCs) can operationalise strong sustainability. Drawing on a national survey (53 associations, 431 professionals, 786 users) and a case study of the Eusko, multivariate analysis shows that participatory governance—not territorial scope—is the key organisational predictor of ecological selectivity, including supplier screening and environmental charter adoption. Qualitative evidence clarifies that mixed commissions and collective reserve allocation embed sufficiency criteria in daily practice. However, mandatory one-to-one euro convertibility constrain aggregate impact by linking local money supply to national liquidity cycles and limiting public-sector use. The findings indicate that CLCs can foster sufficiency-oriented innovation where subsidiarity is matched by deliberative capacity, but broader systemic influence depends on regulatory reforms to expand fiscal subsidiarity and green refinancing options. The study contributes empirical evidence to debates on monetary plurality and sustainable provisioning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101332"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907061","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 economic choices affect livelihoods in Madagascar's park-adjacent communities and what it means for conservation and development","authors":"Cortni Borgerson ,&nbsp;Katherine J. Kling ,&nbsp;Amie Wuchter ,&nbsp;Elison Pascal ,&nbsp;Ellie M. Paschalis ,&nbsp;Be Noel Razafindrapaoly ,&nbsp;Timothy M. Eppley","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101357","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101357","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While conservation livelihood programs aim to reduce both poverty and unsustainable land-based economies, interventions often remain dependent on land availability. However, land is a limited resource, especially for those living near the world's protected areas. Therefore, to plan effective conservation and livelihood programs, it is important to understand how livelihood decisions are made under land limitations and their effects on human welfare and natural resource use. We interviewed 892 people living within 3 km of Madagascar's Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve to examine: (1) how income is earned while navigating land limitations and easy access to both forests and markets; (2) the correlations between different income-earning strategies, land and natural resource use, and human wellbeing; and (3) the barriers and opportunities for livelihood interventions within this connected rural system. We found that families relied on diverse income-earning strategies best characterized by salaried labor and entrepreneurship and the sale of dual-subsistence and cash crops. Families with insufficient land relied heavily on salaried labor and entrepreneurship. However, this was not a choice of preferred market- over land-based income opportunities, but instead an insufficient fallback strategy that increased poverty and natural resource extraction. Entrepreneurship appears to be constrained by insufficient access to both capital goods (incl. infrastructure) and human capital (incl. education), limiting opportunities for skilled labor. Until entrepreneurship and skilled labor opportunities in park-adjacent Madagascar are improved, families will continue to face strong incentives to clear forests for agriculture and rely on the natural resources within them. Culturally-aware livelihoods interventions which support non-land-based production are urgently needed to secure a sustainable future for Madagascar's people and forests alike.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101357"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145121263","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":"Gender dimension of climate-induced migration and access to ecosystem services in the Tatale/Sanguli District of the Northern Region of Ghana","authors":"Fauzia Abdulai ,&nbsp;Abdul-Fatahi Abdulai ,&nbsp;Khushnood Anwar ,&nbsp;Ahmed Abdullah","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101349","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101349","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate-induced migration is an escalating global phenomenon with profound socio-economic and environmental implications. The intersection of gender dynamics and climate-induced migration presents unique challenges and opportunities that warrant further comprehensive investigation due to limited understanding of current issues facing specific localities and communities. Available literature is very vast, however, fails to explain definitive areal challenges and issues particularly dealing with unique gender inequalities. Migration also fuels competition for access to ecosystem services in border districts in the West-African Sub-region, where population is increasing due to migration against climate change effects. Using a mixed-methods approach and a survey of 250 respondents and 20 interview participants, in the Tatale/Sanguli District of the Northern Region of Ghana, this study finds that, prominently, access to ecosystem services in the local district largely depends on gender and migration status, and women migrants are more disadvantaged than any other groups. Women migrants only enjoy cultural services at par with their men colleagues and disproportionately higher than indigenous men, nonetheless, still less than their indigenous women counterparts in the district. The significance of the study is to offer a better understanding on migration due to climate change to highlight and direct interventions for access to resources and promote gender equity. This research therefore contributes to climate-migration studies by highlighting gender-specific impacts to inform policy and foster inclusive, resilient communities in climate-vulnerable regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"57 ","pages":"Article 101349"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060375","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}