Developments in solid waste management (SWM) are challenging in low to middle-income countries. The cooperation among local and international actors can support the introduction of small-scale solutions in order to sustain the implementation of waste recycling systems. The objective of this paper is to present the steps forward in the submission of development projects focused on the execution of circular

To keep the increase in global average temperature below 2 °C the use of renewable energy sources is essential. There are various scenarios for this energy transition depending on the amounts and types of renewable energies implemented. However, the material requirements to build new renewable power systems is rarely considered. It is key to understand the impact that the increasing demand of materials

Implementation of the Grain for Green program (GGP) resulted in great changes in land use and cover in northwest China, and presumably in the region's carbon. However, accurate assessment of the effects of the GGP on carbon storage remains a challenge. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model can map and evaluate natural goods and services that sustain life and quantify

According to the key function of material stock, it constitutes valuable service infrastructure for society; however, it is also a driver for resource use, an object of technological lock-in, and a challenging waste management issue of the future. In this article, the golden rule of material accumulation is defined by confronting the ability of society to process materials–as the benefit of the capital

As a global problem, climate change requires a fast and decisive response from all nations. In order to confront the multi-faceted problem and curb its effects, each country must act boldly within its borders. In fact, addressing climate change requires a multidimensional approach that encompasses working together to mobilize climate finance, develop and implement policies, ensure the engagement of

Deforestation control is one of the major challenges worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyse deforestation under the Forest Law in the Argentine Dry Chaco ecoregion a decade after its enactment and to assess compliance with forest protection standards in this region. For this purpose, we overlapped the provincial land zoning maps with an annual plot level deforestation database and, for some

Input subsidies are a popular redistributive policy measure in many developing countries to support climate change adaptation through yield stabilization and food security in a small-farm context. Nevertheless, the evidence of the effectiveness of the programs is mixed. One main point of critique is that these programs are vulnerable to political interference leading to misuse. In this paper we assess

This study examined smallholder farmers' observation of climate change and variability, its effect on agricultural output, and the livelihood adaptive strategies being used in response to such dynamic changes. A total of 121 smallholder farmers were randomly selected from three vulnerable rural farming communities in northern Ghana through a mixed methodological approach involving household surveys

This paper reviews the emergence and development of “smart energy city” as an academic, normative and applied concept. An examination of the academic literature since the early 2000s reveals the unfolding of spatiotemporal trends relating to this concept. It has been emerging to represent a sector-specified version of its sister concept of smart cities, also popularized in the past decade. However

The study analyzes factors affecting climate change coping strategies and constraints experienced by smallholder farmers under root crop (cassava and yam) farming systems in derived savannah ecological zone of Nigeria. The study used data collected from 400 farmers selected through a multistage random sampling technique from two States, Ebonyi and Enugu States, in the zone. The factors affecting the

The interactions between prevailing gender gaps and climate variability and change (CVC) response strategies can intensify inequalities among farmers. Hence, this study examined implications of CVC response strategies on gender relations among farmers in Southeast Nigeria and ways of mainstreaming gender into the strategies. Specifically, it scrutinized the implications of CVC response strategies on

Discussions on the evolutionary process and mechanism of social-ecological landscape resilience play an important role in maintaining the sustainable provision of landscape services. However, studies on the evolutionary process and mechanism of social-ecological landscapes at the micro-scale have received relatively little attention. The purpose of this research is to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution

The water-climate-agriculture nexus quantifies synergies, trade-offs, advantages and disadvantages that arise between water management, food production, and climate change consequences taking into account the environmental impacts, economic conditions, and population growth. This work evaluates the water-climate-agriculture nexus in the Gharanghu basin, Iran, seeking to achieve sustainable management

In the present study, we evaluate the potential of biomass residues from sustainable forest management for electricity generation in an isolated village in the Amazon rainforest. We compared the following alternatives for electricity generation: thermoelectric diesel plant, biomass gasification and Rankine cycle system and found that biomass fuel systems (gasification and Rankine cycle) may yield up

This study identifies adaptation needs and proposes adaptation options to manage the impact of future climate change in the Australian uranium industry. The study is focussed on two mines - the Ranger and Olympic Dam sites, which represent in excess of 73% of the Australian uranium production. The study employed part of a previous vulnerability assessment from each of the mines' supply chain participants

Tourism is one of the major economic factors contributing to growth and jobs worldwide. The number of international travellers has increased more than 50-fold in the past 70 years. However, the contribution of tourism to (municipal) waste generation is also large and is increasing, accompanied by an increase in some environmental and socio-economic impacts. An average value of 1.67 kg waste is now

Siem Reap River plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the Angkor Temple Complex and the livelihoods of the people in the basin. Land use and land cover (LULC) have changed considerably over the last few decades, as well as climatic regime, and these, in turn, have an influence on streamflow. The objective of this study was to assess the potential impacts of future LULC and climate change

Achieving water security for humans and ecosystems is a pervasive challenge globally. Extensive areas of the Americas are at significant risk of water insecurity, resulting from global-change processes coupled with regional and local impacts. Drought, flooding, and water quality challenges pose significant threats, while at the same time, rapid urban expansion, competing water demands, river modifications

China has experienced economic boom over the last four decades, along with high greenhouse gas emissions because of the extensive application of fossil fuels, especially coal. To mitigate global warming, China, as one of the fastest developing economies, made decisions of peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. These decisions are particularly challenging for China to keep

Land-use systems are among the leading sources of anthropogenic GHG into the atmosphere; driving global warming, climate change, and associated extreme weather events. To estimate GHGs from the land-use systems, we measured fluxes (positive/negative emissions per unit of time) of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) from the cropping and adjacent non-cropping systems in Wakiso

Transdisciplinarity (TD) is now recognized as one of several core approaches to sustainability science. Efforts over the last decade have led to the conceptualization of transdisciplinary endeavors and the definition of practices that define the fundamental ambition and aspiration of TD. Nevertheless, while the principles defining transdisciplinary research are increasingly clear, the practice and

Reactive nitrogen has both positive and negative effects on environment and human health. The use of nitrogen fertilization enabled raising crops and livestock to feed an increasing world population, but at the same time resulted in a succession of unwanted impacts occurring through air, soil, and water, with detrimental consequences for all mankind. Nitrogen pollution is one of Latin America's most

Metrics of the spatiotemporal variability of the physical and biological properties of Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are critical indices of the trends and changes in these coastal systems. Given that the world's oceans, including coastal systems, are undergoing substantial changes as reported by a range of global assessments, the variability of these changes in space and time is important to understand

Twenty years (1993–2012) of satellite altimetry dataset, through maps of absolute dynamic topography and their derived geostrophic velocities, as well as monthly climatological maps of windstress and windstress-curl have been used to assess the oceanic variability in the western Indian Ocean region (WIO). We have performed a comparative study between the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ACLME)

Coastal fishing communities who depend on marine resources for food and livelihood are particularly vulnerable to the risks and impacts associated with climate variability and change. Countries in the BCLME region have responded to international calls to develop national climate change policies, adaptation strategies and plans to respond to these threats. These high-level documents recognize the need

Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) captures continue to increase. They are now reaching 3.5. million tonnes compared to 2.5 million tonnes 20 years ago. While demersal resources reached a plateau by the end of the 1990s, small pelagic resources continue to increase due to the quality of the up-welling in recent years and now represent 80% of the total catches. Distant water fleets have considerably

The first diamonds from the sea floor were recovered in shallow waters off the Namibian coast some 110 years ago. However, it took 50 more years, before some systematic sea floor diamond mining with purpose-built barges occurred in Namibian waters in the early 1960s. This was followed by a period of detailed exploration and mining tool development, which saw Namibia emerge as the leading nation in

The African coastline is bordered by highly valuable marine ecosystems, but the environmental degradation due to anthropogenic pressure alter the benefits that they render to people. Our paper aims at assessing the value of ecosystem services provided by mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and kelp forests present in the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of Africa. After the mapping of coastal marine

In 2006, ministers of 16 countries bordering the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) formed an Interim Guinea Current Commission (IGCC). Actions are now underway to establish a permanent Guinea Current Commission (GCC) to oversee the sustainable development of the goods and services of the GCLME. The movement towards establishment of the GCC is provided with financial support from the Global

African scientists were introduced to the ecosystem-based approach through professional interaction with scientists from NOAA's East Coast Fisheries Science Centers. In the mid-1990s, scientists from six African countries successfully implemented an ecosystem-based assessment and management project in the Gulf of Guinea that was expanded into a full scale 16 country ecosystem-based project encompassing

The achievements of the Benguela Current Convention (BCC) in the implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM) for the sustainable development of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) are highlighted. Ecosystem-based natural science and social science assessments are providing a solid foundation for the management of goods and services in the BCLME through the implementation of the

In this commentary, I reflect on the achievements of the African Union in providing the vision and strategic leadership for the promotion of sustainable development within the African LMEs through the adoption of legal frameworks and relevant instruments as well as institutions.

Climate change threatens global sustainability, especially in rural communities of developing countries. In Pakistan, severe impacts of climate change have become evident in the recent past. Large-scale floods in the Indus river system have caused massive damages in the past decade. Also, frequent droughts and heatwaves are among other consequences of the changing climate in the country. Understanding

The Uruguay River Basin (URB) that extends along Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay has been the hub of increasing pressures caused by the expansion of industrial agriculture, forestry and infrastructure projects in hydroenergy and transportation. There are growing concerns that the fragmented institutional framework is inadequate to address the growing challenges. Interdisciplinary research networks can

In a move toward the integration of social and ecological goals in land management, landscape approaches are now a part of mainstream conservation and development policy discourses worldwide. Policies for integrated landscape management in Mesoamerica have long promoted biological corridors as a way to enhance biodiversity conservation and habitat connectivity while improving livelihoods in the surrounding

Following the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations in 2015, several countries, institutions, and people have been involved in the design of policies and implementation of practices relating to environmental, social, and human development. The structure of internal relationships that underlie official documents that detail the seventeen sustainable development goals can have

We investigate how Amazonian smallholders' land use systems coevolve with household-level demographic factors associated with changing livelihood strategies over the different stages of frontier development. Few micro-level studies have investigated this association, particularly due to the paucity of longitudinal data on cohorts of farm colonist households and plots. Cohort analysis is the only way

This study assessed the value of forest resources to rural households in forest-fringe communities in the Northern Region of Ghana. It also identified the factors that influence the amount of compensation (in terms of money) households were willing to accept to forego or limit the use of forest resources. We collected data from rural households in fringe communities to the Mole National Park and the

This research aims to identify the factors measuring sustainable development in agriculture, its antecedents, barriers and consequences. To do so, first a literature review and qualitative research (involving 23 interviews) led to developing a questionnaire, which was then validated. Next, quantitative research involved collecting data from 220 family farmers in Brazil, and exploratory factor analysis

Access to useful climate information is critical for adaptation needs of African smallholder farmers, yet empirical studies documenting the socioeconomic, environmental and household predictors of access to and willingness to pay for climate information services from a gendered perspective have been limited to date. This paper addresses this research need by identifying the predictors of access to

For around 40 years, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been developing cooperative frameworks that aim at enhancing security and economic cooperation as well as establishing joint action on common threats such as environmental degradation of the Gulf waters. Population and economic growth, alongside global issues such as climate change, have increased the pressure on vulnerable ecosystems

Maintaining and restoring freshwater ecosystem services in the face of local and global change requires adaptive research that effectively engages stakeholders. However, there is a lack of understanding and consensus in the research community regarding where, when, and which stakeholders should be engaged and what kind of researcher should do the engaging (e.g., physical, ecological, or social scientists)

This paper outlines potential opportunities for Africa's Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) development driven by blue economy from key strategic sectors including: Coastal and Marine Tourism; Climate Resilience; Environment; Blue Carbon and Ecosystem Services and Infrastructure. The sectoral approach is key to economic development in Africa with potential for income generation, employment creation and

South America is experiencing profound land use and land cover changes. Their consequences on the Ecosystem Services (ES) supply and human well-being need to be diagnosed and monitored in order to support informed decisions both in management and territorial planning. The ES concept provides a key framework to evaluate human impacts on nature. The use of spatially explicit indicators able to characterize

The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) in the south-east Atlantic covers the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ's) of Angola and Namibia and partly of South Africa. Increasing demands, user-user and user-environment conflicts occur throughout the area. The three countries, which are parties to the Benguela Current Convention (BCC), have begun to implement Marine Spatial

Addressing wicked problems challenging water security requires participation from multiple stakeholders, often with conflicting visions, complicating the attainment of water-security goals and heightening the need for integrative and effective science-policy interfaces. Sustained multi-stakeholder dialogues within science-policy networks can improve adaptive governance and water system resilience.

Fisheries resources of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) are critically important to the socio-economic well-being of the people of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Their high degree of environmental vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem by increasing its resilience to the impacts of anthropogenic and natural forcing. Conflicting objectives in

Developing relevant decision-support tools for policymakers to support large-scale implementation of climate-smart agriculture in the Global South is challenging given the great diversity in biophysical, socio-technical, and organizational conditions. This article describes a pilot exercise inspired by the recommendation domain literature that aimed at mapping, beyond “classical” biophysical and socio-technical

The commentary discusses the emerging UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2021–2030, LMEs activities supported through the GEF/UNDP IW:LEARN and LME:LEARN project hub hosted by the IOC of UNESCO, and perspectives of integrated ocean management based on interdisciplinary science and involvement of leading international research programmes.

African sustainable energy and marine mineral resources have the potential for significant contributions to African economic development goals through job creation and contributions to the Gross Domestic Product of the countries bordering the seven African Large Marine Ecosystems – Canary Current, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Somali Coastal Current, Agulhas Current, Benguela Current and the Guinea Current

Throughout the world, biodiversity and nature's contributions to people are under threat, with clear changes evident. Biodiversity and ecosystem services have particular value in Africa– yet they are negatively impacted by a range of drivers, including land use and climate change. In this communication, we show evidence of changing biodiversity and ecosystem services in Africa, as well as the current

The Mediterranean Large Marine Ecosystem (Med-LME) is a heterogeneous system that, despite its oligotrophic nature, has high diversity of marine species and high rate of endemism, making it one of the world hotspots for marine biodiversity. The basin is also among the most impacted Large Marine Ecosystems in the world due to the combined multiple stressors, such as fishing pressure, habitat loss and

This study examines the direct and indirect impacts of climate change to the tourism sector on the islands of New Providence and adjacent Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The assessment was carried out by conducting a geospatial analysis of tourism establishments at risk using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We combined the geospatial analysis with publicly available databases to assess the integrated

The large marine ecosystems (LMEs) and the combined exclusive maritime zone of Africa (CEMZA) have in common that they are instruments making it possible to overcome the division of the African Maritime Domain into almost 40 national maritime domains. After identifying the eight LMEs around Africa and exploring the CEMZA concept within the context of the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy,

Climate change is posing emerging threats to people and the environment, particularly in arid regions. However, some groups are more vulnerable than others, depending on their levels of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, which are determined by climatic and non-climatic factors. In water-scarce environments, water policies become key non-climatic factors that affect vulnerability yet enable