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

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 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