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 bythe 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

This paper sheds light on the cases of delay, in some cases interruptions and cancellations of criteria, that followed the adoption of ecological fiscal transfers (EFT) by Brazilian states. Using the transaction costs-politics framework to analyze the policy-making process, the central argument is that state legislatives are likely to weight benefits and costs at the formulation stage. At the implementation

Small island developing states such as Kiribati in the Equatorial Pacific are among the most climate vulnerable places on Earth. While there is a considerable body of literature on the scale of the problem, there is very little research on the lived experiences of communities, their concerns and priorities, and how they are coping with environmental and climate hazards. As a result, a top-down approach

Sub-optimal levels of ocean health were determined for four sub-Saharan African Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), based on Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Transboundary Waters Assessment Program (TWAP) assessments. Various ecosystem health and pollution indices that were considered reflect coastal degradation that is ubiquitous in many areas of these LMEs, such as pollution, eutrophication, and widespread

The Bioeconomy has become an increasingly important issue on the agendas of European research, energy and agricultural policies. With the development of a bioeconomy strategy in 2012, a distinct policy field has been established. In this strategy, the EU-Commission defined guiding principles for the bioeconomy in Europe, with major emphasis on research and innovation. In the course of 2017 and 2018

Livelihood challenges from future climate change confront coastal high-island communities in the Pacific; most are currently inadequately prepared. The sustained inability of external funding to bring about appropriate change, especially in rural communities, is well documented. As the situation, forced largely by accelerating sea-level rise, becomes more exigent, so effective and sustainable adaptation

Utilization of saline soil and water resources through saline agriculture systems, such as Haloculture, is necessary to provide the escalating demand for human food. However, despite acceptable research and commercial activities, saline agriculture systems still have not played a major role in expansion of sustainable agriculture in salt-affected regions of under-developed countries. This is mainly

Developed countries, defined in the global climate negotiations as the Annex I countries, have been expected to take the lead in tackling climate change. However, given the severity of climate change, reducing China's emissions is critical. China is a developing country with world's highest emissions and a leader in the renewable sector. Hence, outside expectations for China's climate action have been

Fisheries around Africa have historically suffered from the erroneous perception that there is little to no data on or knowledge about these activities, beyond the sometimes questionable or sparse official reported capture statistics. However, concerted efforts by scientists in and associated with Africa have changed this over the last decades. This includes the decade long efforts of the global Sea

Over the past 100 years, the social system, agricultural production modes, lifestyles, and ecological conditions in Kazakhstan have changed dramatically. Understanding how social institution changes altered the land use patterns and the ecosystem processes in Kazakhstan can provide important knowledge for the sustainable ecological management of semi-arid regions. By summarizing the documented research

Working for enhancing capacities of people who repeatedly face food insecurity shock requires basic understandings about where their resilience lies. The current study is an endeavor made to understand the sources of rural households' resilience to food insecurity taking the case of Boricha woreda (district) of Sidama Zone in Southern Ethiopia. Boricha woreda is one of the few areas in southern Ethiopia

Recognized as a source of clean and renewable energy, small hydropower plays an important role in providing electricity, reducing poverty, optimizing energy structure, and reducing carbon emissions. In this study, taking the countries along the Belt and Road as the study areas, an index system is developed in order to calculate and analyze the small hydropower sustainability of existing small hydropower

Marine capture fisheries in African Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are important from economic, cultural, social, and food provision perspectives. These African fisheries have a long history of high exploitation in the context of data-limited situations. There is a growing, global movement (both in terms of management requirements and scientific efforts) to develop measures of ecosystem overfishing

Changes in land use and ecosystem services influence each other and such changes have consequences for human wellbeing. In this paper, we review the research literature on how different types of ecosystem services are affected by LUC, and the consequences for human well-being. We begin with a review of the different types of ecosystem services. We examine the influence of LUC on provisioning ecosystem

The increasing demand for energy and fast depletion of fossil fuels have led Saudi Arabia to actively participate in developing and using renewable energy technologies. To address these challenges, Saudi Arabia has recently begun developing 150–200-GW solar energy project and allowing homeowners to install and integrate residential solar photovoltaic systems (RSPSs) to the power grid. However, the

In the context of global change, the impacts and pressures attributed to human activities have become the main obstacles that restrict the sustainable development of ecological environments at the regional scale. Assessments of the relationship between humans and the environment have become common in current environmental research. The Liupan mountainous region of Ningxia is characterized by its remote

Urban sprawl and population growth have altered the landscape in the U.S in recent decades. Protected areas and development are compatible lenses, yet stakeholders’ involvement in decision-making is often missing from environmental governance. Knowing how managers and stakeholders work together is also necessary to capture the meanings and feelings that local communities and various groups might have

In the backdrop of climate change and overexploitation of resources, ecologically sensitive regions like Sundarban deserve special attention. This study investigates the current situation of Sundarban, both in terms of physical and sociocultural aspects. The study traverses through the harsh conditions of the region and the societal preparedness to face them. In order to save Sundarban, there is a

Vine cultivation on slopes causes serious erosion with significant losses of nutrients, organic matter and water, followed by an overall loss of soil biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES). Cover crops (CC) in inter-rows can reduce these effects, but are often renounced by winegrowers due to economic causes. Soil erosion rates obtained from field data and simulations with ORUSCAL (Orchard RUSle CALibration)

The Brazilian forests account for a large part of the world's flora and fauna diversity. Nevertheless, these important ecosystems are being supplanted to anthropic uses seeking for socioeconomic development with no actual improvement in the life of Brazilians. Therefore, in this study, we have evaluated the relation between the deforestation and the socioeconomic development in Brazil, from 2000 to

Seasonal Climate Forecasting (SCF) in South Africa has a history spanning several decades. During this period a number of SCF systems have been developed for the prediction of seasonal-to-interannual variability of rainfall and surface temperatures. Areas of highest predictability, albeit relatively modest, have also been identified. The north-eastern parts of South Africa that includes the Limpopo

Iranian northern cities neighboring the Caspian Sea are dealing with several environmental and public health issues. One of them being high volume of waste generated in the region and the waste management system is based on conventional routines such as open dumping. This research proposes modifying the current waste management process based on active participation of citizens and considering the local

Animal husbandry on the Mongolian Plateau is a dynamic human–natural system characterized by complex relationships with the grassland ecosystem. Sustainable use of the plateau's grassland depends on the ability of herders and decision makers to adjust the grazing pattern to adapt to extreme climate events and socioeconomic conditions. Unfortunately, the system's responses and adaptation to these changes

National parks have been used over the years as a model for preserving and conserving plants and animals. Governments also use parks as a tool for rural poverty elimination. Although national parks have been located in the living and working environments of local residents, the surrounding communities are typically not allowed to gain substantial benefits. This can lead to unsustainable practices including

Conflicts in protected areas often result from contestations around benefit-sharing arrangements. Integrating biodiversity conservation and livelihood goals in protected areas can be aided by quantitative assessments of the contribution of surrounding land-use options and trade-offs between conservation and use. Using household surveys, this study examines the contribution of livestock income (cash

Understanding land users’ livelihoods and their strategies is essential in order to adapt prevention and adaptation policies and to ensure sustainable land management (SLM) planning. Considering the global call for SLM, and due to a lack of studies on land degradation (LD) in Tunisia, we aimed to explore the livelihoods of farmers, their livelihoods strategies and perceptions about LD and land management

The increasing demand for farm animal products leads to higher pressure on the effective treatment of animal waste. Based on practice from other countries, biogas systems offer several significant advantages in terms of energy, environmental and economic development. Therefore, this paper investigates the potential development of small-scale biogas systems and their suitability in rural parts of northern

In an increasingly meta-coupled world, the balance of interregional environmental development is becoming increasingly important, and an ecological cooperation community is emerging. Mapping the flow of an ecosystem service (ES) can aid in understanding the spatiotemporal transport paths from generation to use, thereby facilitating a visualization of the interregional relationship on environmental

Vulnerability assessment is an important step in developing adaptation strategies. For biogeographically vital and extremely heterogeneous regions like Himalaya, assessing vulnerability as an inherent characteristic becomes crucial. The present study assesses the inherent vulnerability (IV) for farming communities of Himachal Pradesh as a function of sensitivity and adaptive capacity using social and

There is an emerging consensus among academics and resource managers that successful resource management systems must be developed locally and account for a diverse range of political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. In this research we evaluate and categorize the fishers' perspectives on the environmental, economic, social, and legal impacts of transitioning from

Utilization of renewable energies such as biofuels is rapidly progressing in many countries for environmental protection reasons. The surge of global energy demand and environmental concerns has led to greater desire to replace fossil fuels with clean and renewable fuels. One of the best substitutes to the gasoline is bioethanol. The main advantage of bioethanol is the environmentally-friendly nature

Brazil has the largest commercial beef cattle stock on Earth, and most of the cattle produced in the country is bred and finished on pastures. The cattle ranching sector represents a significant source of the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agricultural intensification has been highlighted as one of the main strategies in reaching global food security and reducing deforestation. The Sudden

Humankind is currently faced with several environmental challenges. While attempting to tackle these issues, we have realised the relevance of elements specific to environmental governance processes. The aim of this study is to identify the approach of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to environmental governance and the elements that comprise this concept from the organization's point

Land degradation is an important environmental problem facing the world. “Land Degradation Neutrality” is one of the core indicators in the 15th goal of the “United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” for 2030. Mongolia is an important country for global land degradation. The increasingly serious land degradation has caused a direct impact on the ecosystem of the entire Mongolian plateau. We analyzed

The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is the subject of much research focusing on different aspects, a wide range of issues, and development of a variety of models and tools. This study takes a different approach by developing a holistic framework that concentrates on the spatial elements of continuity and change associated with WEF transition on national, regional, and international scale. The study also

Degradation is a key issue facing the world, and the situation is particularly severe in China's vulnerable ecosystems, where sandy desertification, soil erosions by water and wind, and karst desertification are serious problems. China's 13th five-year development plan (2016–2020) prioritized the establishment of an ecological civilization to improve the country's ecological security. In this paper

Studying the causes of human–wildlife conflicts is important for reducing these conflicts. Human–wildlife conflicts can be divided into wild carnivore- and wild herbivore-related conflicts. Compared with carnivore-related conflicts, herbivore-related conflicts such as domestic livestock–wild herbivore conflicts (LHCs) have not been adequately studied, and there is scarce information on LHC intensity

Soil erosion control practices have been extensively conducted in the Chinese Loess Plateau, which is one of the most severe soil erosion regions in the world. Nevertheless, a comprehensive overview of the effectiveness of these erosion control practices in this region is lacking. Thus, this systematic review examined the use of erosion control practices in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The key question

The deterioration of the global ecological environment has accelerated the degradation of grassland resources, which directly affects the production of livestock resources and the lives of residents in countries or regions that treat products of livestock resources as the main food source. In Kazakhstan, one of the countries facing a serious grass-livestock conflict, maintaining its residents' demand

Concerns regarding water scarcity, food security, and land/soil degradation are increasing, and these issues are far from being independent of bioenergy production. The competing need for land and water resources in food and bioenergy production have been at the forefront of policy debates. In this study, we examined policy debates related to land, food and water use in sugarcane ethanol production

Energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste in Mauritius is considered as a solution to enhance the country's energy security and tackle imminent waste management issues. This study applies an Analytical Hierarchy Process model for identifying the best waste to energy technology, which can be set up in Mauritius while taking into consideration technical as well as sustainability indicators. Incineration

More water yield and less soil erosion are crucial to the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau and Yellow River basin. Different land use policies and climate change scenarios may have great implications on water yield and soil erosion. In this paper, four land development scenarios and two climate change scenarios are designed and applied to the Shaanxi-Gansu Loess Plateau. The InVEST model

The study investigates the evidence and impact of climate variability and climate change on the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The mixed methods research design was used as the strategy of inquiry, and both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were employed. Results show that the climate is changing, as indicated by significant trends in annual average temperatures (P = 0.000;

Large-scale land exploitation to jumpstart backward economies is often accompanied by massive environmental impacts. The broad concepts of productivity-oriented ‘bio-economy’ and conservation-oriented ‘eco-economy’ were proposed to transform exploitative land-based economies. Taking cases in Borneo as core examples, this paper explores 10 transformative strategies for sustainability: boosting upstream

This paper outlines good practices and serves as a guide to promote Social Learning in the elaboration and implementation processes of public policies for climate change adaptation at a local level. It is based on a multiple-case study covering 18 experiences from the United Kingdom and Brazil, an analysis of existing research about the contributions of Social Learning to socioenvironmental governance