Seaweeds for carbon dioxide removal (CDR)– Getting the science right

Troell, M., C. Hurd, T. Chopin, B.A. Costa-Pierce, and M.J. Costello. 2024. Seaweeds for carbon dioxide removal (CDR)– Getting the science right. PLOS Climate 3(3): e0000377.

Climate Proofing Cities by Navigating Nature-Based Solutions in a Multi-Scale, Social–Ecological Urban Planning Context: A Case Study of Flood Protection in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden

Egegård, C.H., M. Lindborg, Å, Gren, L. Marcus, M.B. Pont, and J. Colding. 2024. Climate Proofing Cities by Navigating Nature-Based Solutions in a Multi-Scale, Social–Ecological Urban Planning Context: A Case Study of Flood Protection in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden. Land 13(2), 143.

Due to unsustainable land management and climate change, floods have become more frequent and severe over the past few decades and the problem is exacerbated in urban environments. In the context of climate-proofing cities, the importance of nature-based solutions (NBSs), obtaining relevant outcomes in the form of ecosystem services, has been highlighted. Although the role of ecosystem services in building resilience against negative climate change...

Placing Urban Renewal in the Context of the Resilience Adaptive Cycle

Marcus. L. and J. Colding. 2024. Placing Urban Renewal in the Context of the Resilience Adaptive Cycle. Land 13(1), 8.

Resilience thinking provides valuable insights into the dynamics of complex adaptive systems. To achieve resilience in urban systems, it can be fruitful to delve into the intricacies ofresilience processes. This paper theorizes about how the specific characteristics of resilient systems can be integrated into the spatial design of cities. Emphasizing the importance of the built form and spatial systems in maintaining order within urban processes,...

Aquaculture governance: five engagement arenas for sustainability transformation

Partelow, S. et al. 2023. Aquaculture governance: five engagement arenas for sustainability transformation. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 65:101379.

A greater focus on governance is needed to facilitate effective and substantive progress toward sustainability transformations in the aquaculture sector. Concerted governance efforts can help move the sector beyond fragmented technical questions associated with intensification and expansion, social and environmental impacts, and toward system-based approaches that address interconnected sustainability issues. Through a review and expert-elicitation process, we identify five engagement arenas to advance a governance agenda for aquaculture sustainability...

Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability

Søgaard Jørgensen, P., R. E. V. Jansen, D. I. Avila Ortega, L. Wang-Erlandsson, J. F. Donges, H. Österblom, P. Olsson, M. Nyström, S. J. Lade, T. Hahn, C. Folke, G. D. Peterson, and A.-S. Crépin. 2023. Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 379(1893):20220261.

The Anthropocene is characterized by accelerating change and global challenges of increasing complexity. Inspired by what some have called a polycrisis, we explore whether the human trajectory of increasing complexity and influence on the Earth system could become a form of trap for humanity. Based on an adaptation of the evolutionary traps concept to a global human context, we present results from a participatory mapping....

Transforming sustainable aquaculture by applying circularity principles

Chary, K., A-J. van Riel, A. Muscat, A. Wilfart, S. Harchaoui, M. Verdegem, R. Filgueira, M. Troell, P.J.G. Henriksson, I.J.M. de Boer, and G.F. Wiegertjes. 2023. Transforming sustainable aquaculture by applying circularity principles. Reviews in Aquaculture 16(2):656-673.

A circular economy is considered one way to reduce environmental impacts of human activities, by more efficient use of resources and recovery, resulting in less waste and emissions compared to linear take-make-dispose systems. Muscat et al. developed five ecological principles to guide biomass use towards a circular economy. A few studies have demonstrated environmental benefits of applying these principles to land-based food systems, but to...

Response diversity as a sustainability strategy

Walker, B., A.S. Crepin, M. Nyström, J.M. Anderies, E. Andersson, T. Elmqvist, C. Queiroz, S. Barrett, E. Bennett, J.C. Cardenas, S.R. Carpenter, F.S. Chapin III, A. de Zeeuw, J. Fischer, C. Folke, S. Levin, K. Nyborg, S. Polasky, K. Segerson, K. Seto, M. Scheffer, J.F. Shogren, A. Tavoni, J. van den Bergh, E.U. Weber, and J.R. Vincent. 2023. Response diversity as a sustainability strategy. Nature Sustainability 6:621-629.

Financial advisers recommend a diverse portfolio to respond to market fluctuations across sectors. Similarly, nature has evolved a diverse portfolio of species to maintain ecosystem function amid environmental fluctuations. In urban planning, public health, transport and communications, food production, and other domains, however, this feature often seems ignored. As we enter an era of unprecedented turbulence at the planetary level, we argue that ample responses...

Perspectives on aquaculture’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals for improved human and planetary health

Troell, M., B. Costa-Pierce, C. Stead, R.S. Cottrell, C. Brugere, A.K. Farmery, D. Little, Å. Strand, R. Pullin, D. Soto, M. Beveridge, K. Salie, J. Dresdner, P. Moraes-Valenti, J. Blanchard, P. James, R. Yossa, E. Allison, C. Devaney, and U. Barg. 2023. Perspectives on aquaculture's contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals for improved human and planetary health. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 54(2):251-342.

The diverse aquaculture sector makes important contributions toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)/Agenda 2030, and can increasingly do so in the future. Its important role for food security, nutrition, livelihoods, economies, and cultures is not clearly visible in the Agenda 21 declaration. This may partly reflect the state of development of policies for aquaculture compared with its terrestrial counterpart, agriculture, and possibly also because...

Sustaining local commons in the face of uncertain ecological thresholds: Evidence from a framed field experiment with Colombian small-scale fishers

Schill, C. and J.C. Rocha. 2023. Sustaining local commons in the face of uncertain ecological thresholds: Evidence from a framed field experiment with Colombian small-scale fishers. Ecological Economics 207:107695.

Due to climate change abrupt and persistent changes in ecosystems, impacting millions of livelihoods, are likely but hard to predict. How people respond to such uncertain ‘regime shifts’ is poorly understood. Here, we assess the potential for local collective action to avert uncertain, yet catastrophic, regime shifts using behavioural economic experiments with 256 small-scale fishers from the Colombian Caribbean coast. With a framed, dynamic common-pool...

Reshaping a resilient future in response to COVID-19

Rockström, J., A.V. Norström, N. Matthews, R. Biggs, C. Folke, A. Harikishun, S. Huq, N. Krishnan, L. Warszawski, and D. Nel. 2023. Reshaping a resilient future in response to COVID-19. Nature Sustainability 1-11.

Science today defines resilience as the capacity to live and develop with change and uncertainty, which is well beyond just the ability to ‘bounce back’ to the status quo. It involves the capacity to absorb shocks, avoid tipping points, navigate surprise and keep options alive, and the ability to innovate and transform in the face of crises and traps. Five attributes underlie this capacity: diversity,...