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This paper analyses how 'criticality' is negotiated in the global policy frameworks on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and re-conceptualised in Vietnamese ESD policymaking. Taking the context of Viet Nam, this paper reflects on what constitutes criticality in education in the light of cultural and historical contexts of the education systems. The comparative perspective helps explore whether (1) universal or decontextualised 'criticality' exists or (2) whether 'criticality' is culturally negotiated based on the premise that educational imaginaries of societal formation and transformation are historically and contextually embedded and contingent. In addition, this paper connects the ongoing debate on the critical potential of ESD within the field of environmental education (EE) research to comparative education research by highlighting both what a comparative perspective might offer to EE research and what recent developments in EE research might contribute to comparative education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents Matthew Leach's reply to a detailed critique of his study on wastepaper recycling. Boundaries and scope of the study; Biodiversity and forest management; Carbon cycle; Environmental externalities; Energy issues; Waste paper recovery.

Doing co-design and co-production is challenging, resource intensive, and outcomes do not always translate into action. Evaluations of processes are needed to identify what enables and constrains 'co' efforts. This paper draws on the findings of an evaluation of a co-design process undertaken by Aotearoa New Zealand's Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho (BHNSC) in 2019. The independent evaluation, commissioned by the BHNSC, draws on process observations and 25 semi-structured interviews with BHNSC leaders and process participants. In this paper, we present key insights from the evaluation through the application of co-production quality assessment principles and a knowledge governance conceptual framework. Our analysis identifies the BHNSC's values as a critical factor in its journey to conduct a process that would foster collaboration between mātauranga Māori and Western science knowledge systems and deliver impact-focused biodiversity and biosecurity research. We propose an additional principle for assessing the quality of co-production processes: values-inspired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a preliminary attempt to understand the corporate social responsibility claims and impacts of Aracruz Celulose sa, Brazil's largest pulp and paper manufacturer. Aracruz locates its operations in the vulnerable biodiversity hotspot of the Atlantic Forest, having acquired 800 000 hectares of land in five states of Brazil for the planting of eucalyptus. It owns some of the largest pulp and paper mills in the country. Both its record of land acquisition and its impact on the environment have resulted in considerable social conflict with the indigenous inhabitants, former slave communities and other small farmers in the state of Espírito Santo, and with supportive activist ngos. The company's application of formal corporate social responsibility practices often flies in the face of its social and environmental impacts. This raises questions about the nature of corporate social responsibility and its claims in developing countries like Brazil and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses two interlinked problems in sustainable development and suggests a methodology to resolve them. The first is the reduction of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. The second is the maintenance of biodiversity. Current carbon financing and environmental stewardship mechanisms underwhelm, often diluting intended positive effects. Most existing carbon credits do not have protection after 40 years, placing projects substantially beneath the C02 radiative forcing cycle. This paper presents the 'Balance' approach to sustainable development, including contractual principles ensuring C02 reduction, biodiversity enhancement and financial accountability. We describe two novel measures: a carbon calculator for commercial entities, and a new metric, the Balance Unit, combining biodiversity creation with carbon credits. A case study, spanning over 20 years at the Forest of Marston Vale, is then presented. It finds an increase in tree cover, CO2 sequestration, reduction in agricultural GHG emissions, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter absorption, and annual local economic benefits totalling £UK12.83 million. Expository detail regarding the 'Planting Principles' practised at Marston Vale is also provided. We argue that the Balance methodology, especially the Balance Unit, enables greater measurement reliability and long-term efficacy for maintaining biodiversity and reducing GHG emissions than current carbon financing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the availability of the Diversity in Engineering (DinE) online bibliography, a searchable collection of journal articles and conference papers published 2005-2010, at the website locate at http:// inesweb.org/dine/. The bibliography serves as a resource for people interested in scholarship on diversity in engineering. The website offers several advanced features including search and sort options and links that allow easy searching of entries on Google Scholar.

The aim of this paper is to explain variation in the EU's influence on specific issues negotiated in international environmental forums. Analysing twelve issues in the United Nations Environment Assembly, the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the paper identifies combinations of conditions that explain the EU's level of influence. Through a qualitative comparative analysis, it studies the impact of the EU's ambition, flexibility and isolation on the EU's influence. It finds a high ambition combined with a low isolation as a key explanation of the EU's high influence. For the EU's low level of influence, a variety of causal paths are possible, such as a low ambition combined with a low degree of flexibility. The paper's primary data source are interviews with EU delegates, who were closely involved in the negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species extinctions and ecological degradation are accelerating to an unprecedented degree in human history, emphasizing the imperative need to understand the drivers of ecological degradation for designing effective conservation policies. This paper aims to provide an overview of China's biodiversity landscape over the past three decades since the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992. We begin by reviewing several key challenges to biodiversity conservation, including habitat change, air pollution, and climate change. Next, we summarize China's multifaceted approaches to ecosystem preservation, encompassing laws, regulations, policies, and noteworthy conservation events. Furthermore, the paper explores avenues for future research, shedding light on potential stressors and solutions in the realm of biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how biodiversity is represented at the Life in Crisis Schad Gallery of Biodiversity (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto). Using theoretical perspectives related to science, technology, society and environment (STSE), and biodiversity in science museums, we conducted a qualitative case study of the exhibit. Data collection included records of the exhibit through photos and videos; field notes; in-depth interviews with two museum professionals; and collection of documents and artifacts. The first analytical stage, based on inductive analysis, revealed that biodiversity is being represented as an 'unknown' topic, a loss and an unfinished narrative. The second analytical stage, deductively supported by the STSE framework, reflected a prominent logical reasoning angle, through which biological perspectives are routinary reflected in the exhibit. Our analyses also revealed hints of environmental ethics, stewardship, socio-ecojustice and value-centered views often associated in the exhibit with worldwide environmental issues and the idea of generic human beings. Our study suggests that the STSE lens can provide a framework to support the work of science museums around topics like biodiversity. It also highlights the importance of bringing local perspectives to the exhibit content, engaging with critical pedagogical strategies and amplifying the concept of sociobiodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological similarity between an intruder and a native species can hinder the detection of the intruder. The undetected non-native species will thus have more time to affect the local ecosystem and spread. This paper describes an instance of unnoticed introduction of a fish species morphologically resembling a native endemic species. We report on the first established population of the Rhodes minnow, Ladigesocypris ghigii (Actinopterygii: Leuciscidae), endemic to Rhodes Island, which has been recently introduced to a river near Athens, mainland Greece. When it was first noticed, in 2017, the species was misidentified due to its morphological similarity to Pelasgus marathonicus, the only native leuciscid of the streams and rivers around Athens, until it was subject to genetic and detailed morphological examination. Genetic analyses based on both mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (recombination activating gene, RAG1) markers unambiguously identified the collected individuals and provided information on the relationships of Ladigesocypris at both the species and generic level. Our investigation supports that L. ghigii was recently established near Athens, and that the population probably originated from Rhodes Island, an eastern Aegean island. In 2021, a high-density thriving mainland population coexisted solely with the native European eel (Anguilla anguilla) along at least 9.7 km of river habitat. It was assessed as being of high invasive risk for the region where it was established by the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) screening tool. We propose a feasibility study be undertaken to investigate the application of measures that may include actions to exterminate or contain the population. Special attention is required since the species is considered vulnerable in its native range, while the translocated population coexists with native biota within a stream ecosystem of outstanding local conservation value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity is widely used to calculate β diversity on abundance data. However, the effect of undersampling on this index has received limited attention and only few studies addressed this topic. The paper aimed to investigate the error introduced by undersampling and its correlation to the similarity of the complete datasets, proposing a possible countermeasure, which is based on the addition of dummy species. To evaluate the performance of this proposed approach, we applied a meta-analytic technique based on repeated and random subsamples of 16 datasets on published biological assemblage data. We estimated the effect of undersampling on the resulting similarities and we compared the results with the adjusted version of the index resulted from the addition of extra species, also called dummy species, to the original abundance dataset. Undersampling generally resulted in poor accuracy and led to underestimates of assemblage similarities. The addition of dummy species resulted in a decrease in the severity of underestimations. To reach an accuracy >80% in similarity, more than 300 individuals needed to be randomly sampled and the under - and over-estimation rates decreased consistently by the addition of dummy species. Additionally, we found that the more similar two assemblages were, the more likely similarities were underestimated and this tendency was more severe at low sample sizes. Our simulation indicated that datasets which contain more than 300 individuals provided reliable estimates of similarities and that the addition of one to three dummy species to the abundance matrices was a good choice to reduce underestimates and increase accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the often-cited challenges in biodiversity conservation is financing. But publications on financing are mostly confined to specific financial mechanisms, regions and actors. Fewer attempts have been made to find overall trends. Through a thematic review of 64 peer-reviewed articles, covering different disciplines and published since 2010, this study found three dominant themes recurring around the topic of biodiversity financing: underfunding, inefficient funding distribution and the pursuit for innovative financial mechanisms. Estimates of the funding gap are much higher than previously calculated and continuously increasing given the acceleration of new threats. Proposals for better targeting of available finances advocate for the use of priority protocols focussed on objectivity and efficiency. However, in practice funding allocation does not seem to follow objective indicators and remains quite inconsistent with conservation needs. This analysis shows that at the core of innovative financial mechanisms are new strategic networks between governments, civil society and businesses. Understanding these new networks is crucial for better capturing the patterns of pooling, mixing and directing financial flows, and the subsequent implications for policy and prioritization criteria. This paper argues that theories focusing on networks and flows could present a useful perspective for future studies on biodiversity financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brocx and Semeniuk's (2019) paper is discussed, particularly in relation to the concept of geodiversity and their proposed sequence of '8Gs'. Their ideas on these topics are at odds with the majority of published papers and Internet sources on geodiversity. We argue that geodiversity as a concept has real value and that (a) the planet's geodiversity occurs at all scales from global downwards, (b) it deserves an absolutely central place in any sequence of 'Gs' since it is the backbone of international and national geoheritage and geoconservation strategies, and the basis for geoheritage assessments, and (c) that as well as underpinning biodiversity, geodiversity is the source of many other geosystem services, including geotourism. Finally, a revised proposal for the relationship between geology, geodiversity, geoheritage, geoconservation and other 'Gs' is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Mindanao, one of the three major groups of islands in the Philippines, is known for its diverse and unique species. Despite its biological significance, conservation efforts aimed at protecting its wildlife have been inadequate. To address this, a comprehensive biodiversity synthesis was conducted, focussing on the birds and mammals of Mindanao. This analysis was based on published papers from 2000 to 2022, aiming to identify conservation priorities at both species and site levels. This present synthesis of 69 bird and mammal articles accounted for 404 species of birds (83%) and mammals (17%). As expected, the analysis found that endemic species are more vulnerable to extinction than widely distributed species. The study also showed that endemic and threatened species in Mindanao are more dependent on increasing the remaining forest cover. This study highlights the importance of biodiversity data synthesis to aid in conserving unique species in Mindanao and the need to prioritize conservation efforts based on the distribution and vulnerability of species. Increasing local conservation efforts and studies in Mindanao should be prioritized, particularly for understudied species, interactions, and sites. The findings of the current synthesis support the importance of increasing forest reserves and protected areas to circumvent biodiversity loss in Mindanao. Advocating for FAIR data sharing (referring to findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) among institutions can improve the understanding of biodiversity patterns in Mindanao by ensuring easy access, integration, and reusability of data for research and conservation strategies. The approach used in this work could be applied in other taxonomic groups and sites for comparative analysis of priorities. The biodiversity patterns observed in Mindanao potentially apply to the Philippines as a whole, and these gaps need to be further addressed in future work and funding allocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudoscorpions can be found in different microhabitats, one of which is moss. In this paper, we report the first records of pseudoscorpions associated with mosses in Mexico. We found three species: Albiorix edentatus, Paratemnoides nidificator and a new species of the genus Cocinachernes which is described below as C. akalchesis sp. nov. The specimens were collected from moss of the genus Bryum. This new species has globose spermathecae with four tubes: two short and two long, with ocular spots in the carapace; trichobothrium distance between t and st is less than the distance of t from the fingertip, Femur L/B ranges from 2.4 to 2.9, tibia from 1.68 to 1.9, chela is 2.9 (without pedicel), and hand (without pedicel) ranges from 2.53 to 2.88; galea short and slightly robust, without divisions in males; anterior operculum with 36 setae long and acuminated, posterior operculum with 20 acuminated setae. This new species represents the second known species of Cocinacheres from Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long history of theory exists to underpin our understanding of how to engage individuals and communities in more effective environmental conservation and sustainability practices. Yet rarely do we delve deeply into sociocultural theories of learning, which help demonstrate how learning and action are fundamentally intertwined in our interactions, our societies, and the world around us. To our detriment we ignore this compelling, well-grounded, and robust body of empirical and theoretical evidence. As climate change, biodiversity loss, and other pressing social-ecological issues intensify, the key to stemming and solving the greatest challenges of our time requires engaging individuals and communities. In this theoretical paper, we attend to the history and underpinnings of sociocultural theories of learning and their implications for environmental literacy, in particular, collective environmental literacy. We also discuss how such underpinnings are important to understand when pursuing carefully designed, actionable, and effective sustainability solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to mainstream gender in agroecology, using VIDA's coffee systems as a case study. Data were collected through a mixed, participatory approach, combining qualitative (participant observation, interviews, workshops) and quantitative methods (a census of 24 men and 26 women). Results reveal gender differences across environmental, economic, social, and political dimensions. Women prioritize plant diversity, while men focus on coffee varieties and farm conditions. Both sexes emphasize economic and social sustainability, with women advocating for greater access to resources and benefits. VIDA has a gender-parity leadership promoting territorial defense and youth visibility to mitigate outmigration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current sea monitoring equipment's are being used for a variety of purposes around the world. Currently used vehicles have some drawbacks. The first is the high fuel cost. The Vehicle engines cost more fuel as they have to release more power and environment and pollution. As well as not being able to stay under the sea for long days, there will often be a need for vehicles to come to the surface to refuel. The second is the vibrations and noise of these vehicles. The vibrations caused by these can be detrimental to the biodiversity of the ocean. Also, the noise makes it easier for enemies to identify our vehicles. Similarly when these vehicles go under water, water waves form on the surface. With this in mind, radar can detect what a vehicle under the sea looks like. In this paper, an artificial intelligence based microbiological model was proposed to monitor the sea level. With this biological model can greatly reduce fuels. It can get more capacity than normal vehicles. As fuel consumption decreases, so it does environmental pollution and since it operates quietly and without high vibrations, there is no threat to the biodiversity of the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In taxonomy, precision of species collection data is a cornerstone for advancing research and its diverse applications. Despite the widespread recognition of the significance of these data, researchers have frequently neglected some important details in published taxonomic studies. Historically, fungal studies leaned heavily on the morphological delineation of taxa. In contrast, taxonomic methods currently employ a synthesis of a diverse combination of morpho-molecular markers, chemical attributes and both ecological and geographic data. Even with these new methods, mycologists value the data derived from old fungal records as essential guides for current and future studies. Therefore, this underscores the importance of careful documentation of data on habits and habitats in parallel with fungal collection. While collecting specimens of fungi, it is important to record metadata such as sampling location, habitat (host/substrate), season (date or specific season) and physical and morphological information on the specimen itself. These datasets will provide a rich source of information for the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of fungal resources. Understanding fungal distribution patterns and the possible explanations for these patterns is a real challenge for conserving biodiversity, and the lack of data-recording of specimens creates substantial obstacles. Accurate fungarium data are a basic source for understanding fungal distribution and patterns of richness and assessing red-listed and invasive species. This paper explores the importance of additions to fungal data recording, emphasising fungal hosts and geographic locations. We also discuss the significant roles of seemingly insignificant details in fungal data recording to enhance the understanding of researchers about the ecological relationships of fungal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to advance our theoretical understanding of diversifying and homogenizing processes in human societies by exploring the sources of and threats to ethnolinguistic or cultural diversity. Invoking concepts such as ethnogenesis, schismogenesis, and structural transformations, it discusses the parallels as well as the divergences between biological and cultural theory. Models in historical linguistics risk importing unwarranted assumptions about diversification from biological models of speciation. A more pertinent theorization of ethnolinguistic diversity might build on anthropological perspectives such as those of Fredrik Barth, Gregory Bateson, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, all of whom recognized that such diversity reflects interaction rather than isolation. The empirical test of these considerations is the ethnography and history of language use among Indigenous peoples in Amazonia and the Andes. The conclusion is that premodern expansions of language families, in tolerating local cultural autonomy, multilingualism, and diglossia, did not threaten ethnolinguistic identities as has modern globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convergent environmental crises have triggered scholarly attention towards the question of how great powers understand and engage with the environment, given their role as systemic actors within the international order. Environmental great powers – those that can employ both positive and negative powers to advance or block environmental cooperation – are typically limited to those who have the capability to influence environmental issues, and the responsibility to do so legitimately. Using a constructivist lens, this paper extends this analysis to the role of middle powers, who can influence environmental issues through their support for international cooperation, backed by their actions. We focus on Australia, an oft-cited middle power known for supporting the international rules-based order. By examining Australia's record on two current, interlinked environmental crises, climate change and biodiversity, we show that although it provides legal support for environmental cooperation, it also engages in, and conceals, significant political obstruction to meeting its obligations. Given the need for all states to address the surpassing of safe limits of planetary boundaries, and for its contribution to the destruction of systems upon which humanity depends, we argue that Australia might be deemed an ecocidal middle power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the available vertebrate record from the Lesser Sunda Islands to explore the effect the Last Glacial Maximum had on human subsistence strategies. By focusing on vertebrate assemblages from Laili and Matja Kuru 2 in Timor Leste, Tron Bon Lei in Alor Island, and Here Sorot Entapa in Kisar, this paper investigates biodiversity and resource availability in these nearby islands through the application of standardising indices and statistical testing. Results indicate that vertebrate biodiversity remained fairly stable through and after the Last Glacial Maximum, suggesting that in terms of available mammals, birds and reptiles, this period did not led to severe resource depletion. Hence, potential variations in human subsistence practices or occupation dynamics might not be due to changes in vertebrate diversity. As such, this analysis contributes to investigating anatomically modern humans' subsistence adaptation in the Lesser Sunda Islands pre- and post-Last Glacial Maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Special Issue, we interrogate and evaluate the concept of institutional work in the domain of environmental governance, by bringing together diverse papers spanning a range of substantive and theoretical approaches. The papers apply the concept of institutional work across fields of regional development, water governance, climate change adaptation, and urban planning, and disciplines of planning, sociology, political science, geography, and anthropology. As a whole, the Special Issue contributes to a growing body of literature exploring the role of agency in processes of institutional change. This has implications for environmental governance scholarship, which emphasises the role of institutions across all scales from local to global and to understanding transformations in governance systems within which institutional change plays a central role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines four conceptions of 'ecocide' that relate to descriptions of environmental harm, criminalisation of these harms and inclusion of ecocentric considerations. It then positions advocacy pertaining to ecocide laws in the context of a political economy that both creates and fails to respond to the problems and consequences of ecocide. As part of this, the paper briefly reviews key challenges to the protection of the environment and human rights, as well as the importance of social transformation in furthering social and ecological justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity education, as part of a broader environmental education is an important topic, not only for politicians, journalists but also teachers. In the educational context, it is now recognized that students have to be taught biodiversity, its conservation and how to use it in a durable. In this paper, we are interested in assessing how biodiversity, as part of environmental education, is understood and presented in compulsory education textbooks in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. We performed a lexicographic analysis on IRaMuTeQ on the programs of natural science and of humanities and social sciences on all levels of education in compulsory education in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Results show that biodiversity is at the heart of the program. Moreover, the program promotes a scientific approach but also emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinarity by including terms from geography, history, etc.: the environment is widely mentioned, and the impact of human behavior is addressed, notably regarding resource and energy consumption. This analysis shows that the program adopts a holistic vision of the concept of the living, integrating scientific as well as environmental aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protection and mitigation of biodiversity are essential within land-use planning; highlighted by the increased importance of nature during the global pandemic and the fight against climate change. Currently, the character of both the land and decision-makers can influence the weight biodiversity is ascribed within planning processes. Through analysis of semi-structured interviews, with various actors within the Northamptonshire planning system, this research explored the opportunities and challenges around promoting biodiversity across brownfield sites; the motivations for conservation by different planning actors; and what this means for the future of urban habitats on previously developed land. This research found that brownfield sites continue to be undervalued for their biodiversity potential, predominantly due to the downplaying of ecological expertise in decision-making. With England's proposed planning reforms, this paper argues that tensions between brownfield redevelopment and biodiversity conservation stand to be further exacerbated as the government intends to "scythe through red tape" (Johnson 2020b). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the creation of several iconic protected areas (PAs) over the past decades, the charismatic megafauna of Ethiopia has continued to decline. Here, we identify the factors that are driving spatial and biological changes in PAs. The findings show that some iconic PAs were downsized while others remained unchanged, but almost all PAs significantly lost their ability to support iconic species, putting the survival of large mammals at risk. Human population growth, limited livelihoods, a lack of political commitment, insufficient funding, and climate change are all underlying threats to national PAs. The unrestricted use of natural resources, habitat degradation, the rapid spread of invasive species, illegal wildlife trade, disease, pollution, human-wildlife conflict, and roadkill are proximate factors that significantly impact upon PAs. As a result, it is of critical importance to change the management paradigm of the existing but largely degraded PA system. The authors, therefore, recommend that rather than focussing only on expanding protected and conserved areas ('quantity'), management efficiency ('quality') should instead be prioritized to halt the dramatic loss of large mammals in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion paper of the Biodiversity Position Statement by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), which has been created to provoke input and discussion from members into the Biodiversity Position Statement. It relies on the submission of the PIA June 2009 on the National Biodiversity Strategy draft. In the October 2008 submission to the Inquiry into the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 operation, PIA states that development of cities can be a threat to ecological communities and endangered species in Australia and that the role played by planning in the management of urban development is critical. It says that biodiversity underpins the well-being of people and the challenge is to search and have a better relation with the land.

Markets have become an important form of governance in the neoliberal era. The ideology of markets as the most efficient form of organising economic activity has led to the expansion of their usage, both in terms of what is governed by the market, but also in terms of the spaces in which the practices of a given market apply. However, there have been important challenges to market expansion, particularly on political and ethical grounds. This paper analyses how the socio-technical practices of market expansion can be affected by political contestation and individual moral judgements. This is analysed in the context of two markets for biodiversity offsets, in the United States and England. In both cases, regulators attempted to devise and standardise calculative mechanisms and socio-technical practices that promoted the use and expansion of the market. However, these socio-technical market practices have struggled to cross and negotiate uneven political and social spaces, being subject to moral judgements and political contestation. The paper demonstrates how the socio-technical practices of market expansion are affected by social entanglements, highlighting how this creates limits to the expansion of the market as a form of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to evaluate the impacts of oil palm-cattle integration systems on food security and environmental sustainability. We reviewed more than 100 papers and selected those that reported the advantages of these systems. Oil palm-cattle integration has been implemented in some Southeast Asian countries, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, but it is not widely adopted by oil palm plantations. These systems are mainly driven by policies to enhance food security and reduce environmental impacts. Oil palm-cattle integration can contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals, such as (SDG 1 and 2) no poverty and zero hunger, because it allows for more and diverse food production on the same land, and it increases the income per hectare by up to 15% due to higher oil palm yield (up to 4 t FFB/ha) and lower weed control costs (up to 60%) with rotational grazing. It can also support (SDG 6, 12, 13) responsible production and consumption, clean water and sanitation, and climate action, because it can decrease herbicide use, enhance biodiversity (understory and beneficial species), and improve soil quality. Moreover, it can mitigate the risk of indirect land use change associated with deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What would impact assessment (IA) look like from the perspective of Nature? This paper intends to provoke a conversation about including Nature in the IA process. It is an intentional provocation to challenge the businessasusual approach driven by proponents. Using reflexivity and embedding images in the text, along with literature review from within IA and wider interdisciplinary thinking, the means for the environment to participate are explored. The paper argues for allowing Nature a voice by including the environment as a stakeholder in a more relational approach to IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4th Industrial Revolution technologies that blur the lines across physical, digital and biological domains have entered seed systems. The digitalisation of seeds' DNA is generating the unstoppable growth of big data on digital sequence information (DSI). The paper analyses the legal vacuum for DSI, which aggravates the dematerialisation and fragmentation of seed, rendering it easier to control under legal, technological, social and logistical enclosures. Open-source seed is explored as a governance mechanism across physical and digital spheres. DSI emerges as a critical juncture for seed movements, revealing how the construction of seed and food sovereignty is a digital and technological affair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of eco-sanctuaries has been an important response to the biodiversity crisis in New Zealand. They combine intensive predator control and biodiversity conservation, with a particular focus on endangered endemic wildlife within the local ecosystems. Tourism has been harnessed to fund conservation efforts, raising important questions about the experiences of visitors to eco-sanctuaries. This paper explores international visitors' perceptions and experiences of ecological restoration at New Zealand eco-sanctuaries. Theoretically framed by the field of environmental philosophy, we present an analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with international visitors to eco-sanctuaries. Our findings identified competing interests among humans, endemic wildlife, invasive animals and the wider biological community tied to visitor perceptions of ecological restoration. These perceptions are largely found to be shaped by the interplay between environmental ethics and relevant awareness/knowledge of international visitors. The research contributes to emerging trans-disciplinary discourses that address tourism and environmental philosophy by offering an environmental ethics-awareness/knowledge framework to elucidate different visitor mindsets, with implications drawn for their distinct and nuanced experiences at the eco-sanctuaries. It also sheds light on the demand side of nature-based tourism by interrogating the perceived intrinsic value of the natural world and the potential of aesthetic value in conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently approved Spanish Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy obliges each autonomous community to identify and evaluate its own GI. This paper identifies and assesses the GI in the Community of Madrid at regional scale. This entailed, firstly, the identification of GI Principal Areas (GIPAS). This was followed by a spatial assessment of GI on the basis of three indicators: the Contribution to Ecosystem Services, the Combined Biodiversity Index and the Accessibility Index. After that, the correlations between GI assessment values and socioeconomic indicators were explored. The highest GI assessment values were located around the Sistema Central mountain range, and the lowest were in the Metropolitan Area and Henares Corridor. Finally, significant negative correlations were observed between the GI assessment values, population density and gross per capita income. The results of this study could provide useful support for the planning and decision-making required for the spatial definition of GI in the autonomous Community of Madrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic resources are the building blocks for aquaculture breeding programs, biotechnology and conservation. The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol are international frameworks for access and benefit sharing (ABS) concerning: (a) the collection and use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge; and (b) sharing the benefits of their use with the provider. ABS laws in African countries increasingly apply to resources and knowledge used throughout the production chain for aquaculture, including genes and gene sequences. This paper reviews ABS legislation and peer-reviewed publications in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia (leading aquaculture countries with ABS laws) to identify key knowledge gaps for ABS and aquaculture. Using a systematic quantitative literature review method and a qualitative analysis, the main findings are that despite established ABS laws in many of the reviewed countries, there are no analyses on the positive or negative effects of these laws for the conservation, sustainable use of genetic resources, digital sequence information and traditional knowledge relevant to aquaculture and the equitable sharing of benefits from their use. These knowledge gaps may significantly undermine the sharing of resources and knowledge necessary for ecologically sustainable aquaculture development in Africa, which is crucial to food security and livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents nine new records of brittle stars for the Indian waters, collected between 49 and 957 m depths in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Of these, Ophiolepis cardioplax and Ophiopsammus aequalis are being reported for the first time from the Indian Ocean, while Astrothorax waitei, Amphiophiura insolita, Ophialcaea tuberculosa and Ophioplocus declinans are new records for the northern Indian Ocean. Three other species – Amphiura (Amphiura) dejectoides, Amphiura (Amphiura) uncinata and Ophiopeza spinosa are recorded from nearby areas but are being reported for the first time from the Indian waters. Indophioderma ganapatii, described from Agatti Island, Lakshadweep is synonymized with Ophiopeza spinosa. The nine species described in this paper include several that have not been adequately described in literature or have rarely been documented at all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plot-based monitoring has yielded much information on the taxonomic diversity and carbon (C) storage in tropical lowland forests of the Amazon basin. This has resulted in an improved understanding of the relationship between lowland forest biomass dynamics and global change drivers, such as climate change and atmospheric CO2 concentration. Much less attention has been paid to the mountain ecosystems of South America that comprise montane forests and alpine vegetation (páramo, puna, high Andean grasslands, wetlands, and alpine heath). This vegetation complex provides a variety of ecosystem services and forms a natural laboratory along various physiographic, geological and evolutionary history/biogeography, and land use history gradients. Here, we review existing empirical understanding and model-based approaches to quantify the contribution of mountain ecosystems to ecosystem service provision in the rapidly changing socioecological setting of the South American mountains. The objective of this paper is to outline a broad road map for the implementation of mountain vegetation into dynamic global vegetation models (DGVM) for use in Earth System Models (ESM), based on our current understanding of their structure and function and of their responsiveness to global change drivers. We also identify treeline processes, critical in mountain ecosystems, as key missing elements in DGVMs/ESMs, and thus explore in addition a treeline model. Stocktaking of the availability of empirical data was undertaken from eight research sites along the Andes and in south-eastern Brazil. Out of eight sites, two (one each in Venezuela and Brazil) had some climate, ecological and ecophysiological data potentially suitable to parametrise a DGVM. Tree biomass data were available for six sites. A preliminary assessment of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) DGVM was made to identify gaps in available data and their impacts on model parametrisation and calibration. Additionally, the potential climate-determined elevation of the treeline was modelled to check the DGVM for its ability to identify the transition between the montane forest and alpine vegetation. Outcomes of the evaluation of the JULES land surface model identified the following key processes in montane forests: temperature-related decrease in net primary production, respiration, and allocation to above-ground biomass and increase in soil C stocks with elevation. There was a variable agreement between simulated biomass and those derived from field measurements via allometric equations. We identified major gaps between data availability and the needs for process-based modelling of South American mountain vegetation and its dynamics in DGVMs. To bridge this gap, we propose a transdisciplinary network, composed of members of the theoretical/modelling and empirical scientific communities, to study the natural dynamics of mountain ecosystems and their responses to global change drivers locally, regionally and at the continental scale, within a social-ecological system framework. The work presented here forms the basis for the design of data collection from field measurements and instrumental monitoring stations to parametrise and verify DGVMs. The network is designed to collaborate with and complement existing long-term research initiatives in the region and will adopt existing standard field protocols. Complementary protocols will ensure compatibility between field data collection and data needed for process-based and empirical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landscape surrounding protected areas (PAs) plays a big role in supporting the achievement of conservation goals. This paper examines demographic dynamics in the vicinity of Akagera National Park (ANP) both in time and space, considers its implication on land-use/land-cover (LULC) change of one of its neighboring districts, and involves the existing environmental planning policies to anticipate the fate of the ANP. Data retrieved from Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA) and from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) were reinforced with field observation and Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements taken within Gatsibo district where the study was conducted and injected into a Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping and analysis. Findings revealed that in the next 50 years, the increasing human settlement and associated social-economic needs will erase any remnant wildlife hotspots in the 'Unrestricted zone' of the district and reclaim intrusion in its 'Restricted zone' of which ANP is part. This raises imminent fear of growing cases of encroachment of human activities into illegal and high-risk zones and a possible second de-gazettement of the park. The reversal of this trend requires the implementation of the local LULC plan and the promotion of the ecological lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roughly 18,000 species are described annually as new to science, while estimated extinction rates are comparable to or even exceeding these new discoveries. Considering the estimates of up to 15 million extant eukaryotic species on Earth, of which only about 2 million have been described so far, there has been a recent 'boom' of new potential approaches to more quickly discover and describe the millions of unknown species. This deficit is particularly noted in hyperdiverse taxa, as the current rate of species discovery is considered too slow. Recently, a 'minimalist' alpha taxonomic approach was proposed, relying solely on DNA barcoding and a habitus photograph, in a claimed effort to expedite the naming of new species to combat the so-called taxonomic impediment. In this paper, we point to limitations of minimalist taxonomy, present arguments in favour of the integrative approach, and finally explore a number of potential solutions to combat the taxonomic impediment in hyperdiverse taxa without sacrificing utility and quality for apparent speed and quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small islands are of special interest for sustainable development because of their unique characteristics and vulnerabilities. They are ecologically fragile, have limited resources, are susceptible to natural disasters and climate change. This study reviews the literature on island ecosystems, their contribution in the delivery of five key Island Ecosystem Services (IES) and acting pressures and trade-offs associated with IES management. From a set of 1630 potential relevant papers, 273 were selected for analysis. Most of the selected papers focused on cultural IES, in the form of recreation, eco-tourism and gene pool protection. However, provisioning and regulating IES were also well represented in the literature. Most of the studies discussed different management strategies and pressures arising from human use of IES. A small subset investigated the links between island biodiversity and IES, and the contribution of IES to human well-being. This review highlights knowledge gaps in the literature and identifies the need to develop approaches for IES assessments that are informed by local knowledge and which make use of empirical and spatial data for management that maximises the potential of island ecosystems to deliver IES whilst reducing trade-offs. EDITED BY Berta Martín-López [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Block allocation problem (BAP) is the key part of container terminal management. To make full use of the limited yard resources and to reduce the turnaround and transportation time, this paper focuses on the objectives of BAP offering multiple work ways, avoiding loading or collecting containers at the same time, and minimising the total distance between the berths and the blocks. The solution of BAP is similar to the model that individuals choose proper islands to live in the unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography (UNTBB). The difficulty lies on that the UNTBB model is a complicated stochastic process. A novel algorithm based on the modified UNTBB model is proposed. Based on this modified UNTBB model, this paper proposed a grouping strategy to reduce the solution set. To guarantee the consecutive container groups not to put in the same block and to assure a consecutive and parallel loading process, a strategy that kills any one of the species existing prey relationship is put forward. Moreover, a greedy strategy is constructed to select an island to accelerate the ecological balance among islands. All these strategies are included into UNTBB to make ecological selection more instructive and faster. The optimal solution in the modified UNTBB model is the optimisation result of the BAP. The experiments show that the novel algorithm proposed in this paper achieves a better performance than the other conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unsustainable palm oil production is having a devastating impact on biodiversity in producing countries in Southeast Asia. Certification schemes for sustainable palm oil have the potential to reduce these impacts. The ubiquity of palm oil in processed foods found in supermarkets is a challenge that requires intervention at the policy level and with consumers through increasing public knowledge of the problem and awareness of sustainable alternatives. Zoos are increasingly demonstrating their role in increasing awareness of multifaceted conservation issues across a range of audiences. This paper describes the evaluation of a repeat-engagement outreach programme on palm oil delivered to 7–11 year old children in UK schools by zoo educators. We conducted a mixed-method study using before-after control-treatment surveys to examine the relationship between programme participation and participants' knowledge of palm oil, sustainability, and awareness of sustainable alternatives. The analysis indicated improvements in participants' understanding of palm oil as a conservation issue, and knowledge of how and where to identify sustainable palm oil in consumer products. The analysis also indicated a smaller improvement in participants' understanding of sustainability. We discuss these findings in the context of zoo-led conservation education, and its potential role in Target-16 of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silvopastoral systems have complex impacts on a diverse range of outcomes, making it essential to design these systems using an integrative approach to maximise positive impacts to farms. This paper comprises firstly a systematic review of global silvopastoral processes, and secondly stakeholder-driven synthesis of key opportunities and challenges for future silvopastoralism situated in the context of New Zealand. The systematic review demonstrated that although under-researched, livestock interactions can have overriding influences on the system, and that the traditional functional traits that are typically deemed important for selection (N2-fixing trees v non N2-fixing trees, evergreen v deciduous) do not show consistent positive impacts on the agroecological environment. From the New Zealand silvopastoral participatory case study, including the stakeholder workshop, we synthesised 5 key principles that should be considered in future system designs. These were: (1) silvopastoral systems are complex and require holistic management; (2) the views, values and experiences of local people are deeply connected to silvopastoral system design; (3) spatial heterogeneity in environmental and social conditions requires locally specific decisions; (4) understanding of ecological processes must underpin all management decisions; and (5) the complexity and spatial heterogeneity present in silvopastoral systems requires high-resolution data and tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining a broad diversity of plants is key for a sustainable future. For instance, providing a variety of flowering plants in urban and agricultural landscapes mitigates the current decline of pollinators and biodiversity in general. Therefore, educating about the diversity of flowering plants has high current relevance for biology and environmental education. Unfortunately, students have little knowledge about plant diversity and find botanical topics often uninteresting. Therefore, this paper presents and discusses an engaging teaching approach, where students engage in a role-play with 3D-printed flower models to learn how the morphology of plants affects different insect pollinator groups. To gain insights into students’ experiences with the flower models, guided interviews were conducted one week after this role-play. The interview results show that the students were not only motivated to engage in the role-play, but also gained content knowledge on how the diversity of flowers affects insect pollinators. Hence, the approach highlights how 3D printing can contribute to design teaching approaches that engage students in hands-on activities in order to foster their understanding of flower diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services arising from the restoration of natural capital are now increasingly recognised as environmental opportunities and monetised, with international climate negotiations focussing on the need for investment into natural capital, and the finance sector pledging to invest. The finance sector has called for decision-grade, asset level data about nature projects in order to facilitate their reporting to investors. This paper offers a case study of novel digital data collection methods used to establish a baseline of faunal biodiversity in a Scottish nature-restoration project on the Bunloit estate which has secured private natural capital investment. Digital camera traps, acoustic sensors with eDNA samples and apps were used to create digital maps to ensure annual survey replication, and citizen scientist engagement. The results were classified by both professional ecologists and citizen scientists. We discuss how the digital data gathered through traps, apps and maps in the case study can be qualified as decision-grade data, according to the Taskforce for Nature-based Financial Disclosure's specification. We conclude that decision-grade biodiversity data may be produced by practitioners, with limited resources, and make recommendations for data collection and governance methods to ensure nature restoration projects generate decision-grade data for ecosystem services markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species diversity assessments are an important step to evaluate the conservation status of a community, both in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. These assessments are pivotal if related to both, the constant increase of human pressure on ecosystems and the anthropogenic climate change occurring nowadays. Sharks and rays are globally threatened, and the situation is particularly alarming in the Mediterranean Sea where more than 50% of species are listed at risk of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In this paper, we revise and discuss the chondrichthyan species richness of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Through an accurate review of published taxonomic studies, historical data on species occurrence, analyses of scientific survey data and biodiversity databases and other scientific papers, we produced a revised list of species whose presence in the Mediterranean Sea is confirmed or highly probable and discussed on current taxonomic and occurrence disputes on the species that are instead rarer or claimed to be locally extinct. We listed a total of 88 species, representing 30 families and 48 genera that are currently present in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This number includes 48 shark species, 38 batoids, and 2 chimaeras. The review represents a reference for future conservation assessments of cartilaginous fish in the region and a guide for decision-makers when promoting the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resource within an ecosystem-based framework. This paper can help to set a baseline of the Mediterranean species and thus resolve some uncertainties regarding their conservation status, explaining the reasons for their prolonged absence in the reports. Indeed, failure to record over time may not be due to grubbing up, but because after careful review this species was not really part of the Mediterranean fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper characterizes the value of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience by formalizing a stochastic dynamic bioeconomic model of pollinator diversity under climate changes, with an application to oil rapeseed production in the Stockholm region of Sweden. It studies the optimal provision of semi-natural habitat for two different pollinator bee species: bumble bees and solitary wild bees. It is found that, despite being less effective, solitary bees hold considerable resilience value due to the differences in how the two species respond to temperature shocks. The paper also discusses the role of spatial aspects, in particular the reduced pollination effectiveness due to spatially uneven allocation of semi-natural habitats. It is found that spatial unevenness leads to an increase in the habitat provision, with an attendant reduction in the resilience value of solitary bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]