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This document is a summary of a collection of research papers in the fields of astrophysics and geophysics. The papers cover a wide range of topics, including big data, climate change, and remote sensing. They provide datasets and analyses related to landslides, detonation craters, coastal change, and spectroscopy. The research has potential applications in fields such as climate change and astronomy. The papers underwent peer review and are considered valuable contributions to the scientific community. The authors express their gratitude to the contributors and reviewers for their efforts. [Extracted from the article]

Over recent decades, the Arctic has begun facing a range of climate-related challenges, from rising temperatures to melting ice caps and permafrost thaw, with significant implications for ecosystems and human well-being. Addressing the health impacts of these issues requires a comprehensive approach, integrating scientific research, community engagement, and policy interventions. This study conducts a literature review to assess the effects of climate change on human health in northern latitudes and to compile adaptation strategies from the Arctic countries. A literature search was performed between January and April 2024 for papers published after 2000, using the electronic databases Web of Science, Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and eLibrary.RU, with specific questions formulated to direct the search: (i) What are the climate changes? (ii) How does climate change affect human health? (iii) What adaptation measures and policies are required? The key phrases "climate change", "human health", "adaptation practices", and "Arctic" were employed for searching. Ultimately, 56 relevant studies were identified, reviewing health risks such as infectious diseases, mental health issues, and diseases connected with extreme weather events; wildfires and their associated pollution; permafrost degradation; pure water; and food quality. The paper also examines mitigation and adaptation strategies at all levels of governance, emphasizing the need for international cooperation and policy action to combat negative health outcomes, investments in healthcare infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and public health education. Incorporating diverse perspectives, including Indigenous knowledge, Community-Based Adaptation, EcoHealth and One Health approaches, is crucial for effectively addressing the health risks associated with climate change. In conclusion, the paper proposes adaptation strategies to mitigate the health impacts of climate change in the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega ports, defined in this study as those handling over 5 million TEUs annually, are major hubs within the dynamic framework of global trade, influencing both economic and environmental landscapes. This study identifies climate change as the foremost environmental concern for these ports, necessitating urgent and strategic responses. Through comprehensive research, this paper explores the main Climate Change Mitigation (CCM) strategies and evaluates their implementation across mega ports worldwide. Findings indicate widespread adoption of certain strategies, such as setting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and providing on-shore power supply (OPS), while also identifying challenges, particularly in implementing environmentally differentiated port fees. Additionally, this paper outlines key strategies for climate change adaptation (CCA) in ports. The results of this research offer insights into sustainable practices and collaborative efforts to confront climate change challenges effectively. These findings have the potential to significantly improve maritime policy and ship management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive use of energy from fossil fuels, which corresponds to population, industrialisation, and unsustainable economic growth, is the cause of carbon dioxide production and climate change. The Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus is an applicable conceptual framework that helps manage the balance between human development and natural resource constraints, and it becomes a valuable tool to address the challenges of resource depletion and clean energy. This article aims to analyse the relationship between the WEF nexus and clean energy through a statistical analysis and a systematic review of knowledge on energy sustainability. The methodology involves the selection of bibliographic information databases such as Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), a statistical analysis, specifically the Scientometrics applied to the information obtained, and the identification of 179 scientific publications related to the study variables through a screening process called Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The interaction of green energy and sustainability with the WEF nexus has been approached mainly by developed countries such as China (10%), the United States (9.49%), India (7.26%), and Brazil (5.02%). The review of 55 scientific papers identified strategies that balance economic growth and environmental impact, applying clean energy systems (e.g., solar and wind), and the importance of adaptation to the subsystems of the WEF nexus. This study also highlights adaptability to climate change in rural and urban communities. Therefore, it is consistent with the four pillars of sustainable development (Economic: 7 papers, Environmental: 22, Social: 18, and Cultural: 8). This study highlights the following: (a) the importance of the use of renewable energy either in mixed systems and consumption, energy storage, and seeking energy efficiency in systems adapted to diverse environments and (b) the relevance of community participation in the decision-making process for the use of clean energy, such as a strategy for climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a summary of a special issue of the journal "Plants" that focuses on the interaction between sugarcane and environmental stressors. The issue includes 13 papers from six different countries, covering topics such as the analysis of agronomic characters, microbial community analysis, transcriptome analysis, and transgenesis and functional analysis of sugarcane genes. The papers highlight the importance of elite genotype breeding, soil improvement, and molecular breeding techniques in improving sugarcane adaptation to climate change. The authors suggest that future research should integrate multi-omics tools and modern biotechnological tools to develop breeding strategies for elite sugarcane cultivars. [Extracted from the article]

Green regeneration has become one of the most powerful strategies for improving the quality of life in cities, supporting climate change adaptation, and reducing the carbon footprints of cities. While it is the ambition of most green regeneration projects to create benefits for residents and users, reality shows that green regeneration also reinforces existing or even shapes new 'green inequalities'. These can result from green gentrification and displacement, procedural injustices, and exclusion from participation or barriers to the access and use of newly created urban green spaces. Set against this background, the paper uses a conflict analysis perspective to look at the inequalities and injustices that evolve within the context of green regeneration. Applying social conflict theory, it seeks to understand (1) why and how green regeneration may lead to inequality and justice conflicts and (2) how conflict analysis helps to understand the nature and implications of green regeneration conflicts in more depth. As for its empirical foundation, the paper reanalyses empirical evidence that was examined in earlier projects on a residential area in the city of Leipzig, Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) within the agroclimatic domain is pivotal for addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change on agriculture. This paper embarks on a systematic review to dissect the current utilization of ML and DL in agricultural research, with a pronounced emphasis on agroclimatic impacts and adaptation strategies. Our investigation reveals a dominant reliance on conventional ML models and uncovers a critical gap in the documentation of methodologies. This constrains the replicability, scalability, and adaptability of these technologies in agroclimatic research. In response to these challenges, we advocate for a strategic pivot toward Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) frameworks. AutoML not only simplifies and standardizes the model development process but also democratizes ML expertise, thereby catalyzing the advancement in agroclimatic research. The incorporation of AutoML stands to significantly enhance research scalability, adaptability, and overall performance, ushering in a new era of innovation in agricultural practices tailored to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This paper underscores the untapped potential of AutoML in revolutionizing agroclimatic research, propelling forward the development of sustainable and efficient agricultural solutions that are responsive to the evolving climate dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes how drought management may be more sustainable in the Mediterranean region in order to face climate change. This paper collects information on the extraordinary efforts to manage drought in the region, highlighting how policies and investments in data and monitoring, as well as climate change, have defined the progress of drought management efforts. These crucial efforts may not be sustainable under highly likely short-term changes in climate and society. This paper proposes to include more explicitly lessons from managing common resources and from risk management, to guide the evolution of more sustainable drought management in the Mediterranean region. This research highlights the importance of shifting towards dynamic, proactive, and adaptive drought plans, emphasizing voluntary measures, defining responsibilities, and including future scenarios in the planification. Additionally, this paper proposes the establishment of a Technical Secretariat to centralize information, coordination, and collaboration in drought management efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inland areas have been affected by demographic and economic decline over the past decades. New economic models, which are more focused on a humane quality of life, encourage a revival of these territories as newer, healthier places for living. This paper focuses on minor centers, rethought as energy communities and how these can sustain themselves and become new places of living. The first part of the research critically analyzes current strategies of SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans) in smaller historic urban centers. The second part of the paper starts with the typological, morphological, and technological interscalar analysis of two case studies, testing a repeatable expeditious knowledge collection and an intervention method on them. For urban environments, the hypothesized interventions include the management of energy production from renewable sources that are compatible with the presence and value of urban and built heritage; concerning rural territories, an agro-energy park is proposed. The document aims to provide a repeatable method for planning strategic actions within SECAPs in smaller urban centers with a high historical connotation. The case studies show that energy self-sufficiency can be an opportunity to valorize the urban center while favoring environmental sustainability and local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of the value of ecological products has led to an economic means for reducing carbon emissions in China. Tea is one of the most important cash crops and one of the most popular beverages in the world. Due to the complex the tea industrial chain, it is considered to be an industry with high carbon emissions. Ecological tea products with low-carbon attributes can be considered a linkage of ecology, economy, and society. Based on this, this paper presents research on low-carbon ecological tea (LCT). Herein, we construct the formational logic of low-carbon ecological products, explore the connotations of LCT, and form a conceptual pathway for realizing LCT to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper starts from the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the industrial chain; it establishes three value realization pathways that keep, as a priority, the promotion of ecological industrialization, focus on restoration to improve the ecology of the industrial chain, and innovate technology to expand the industrial chain. The pathways are a set of low-emission production solutions that use techniques to enhance carbon sequestration in soil, reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and help shift to clean energy from low-emission sources in the stages of plantation, processing, and distribution. In the process of realizing LCT, the government plays an important role, and its support and guidance are needed. Based on stakeholder theory, this paper builds an implementation mechanism that focuses on the micro perspective (users, organizations), integrates the mesoscopic perspective (industry), and relies on the macro perspective (government). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas generate more than 70% of the world's climate change emissions, mainly CO2, produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. Climate change is increasing cities' exposure to climate hazards, such as heat waves or floods. Therefore, there is a need to improve risk management with the inclusion of climate resilience in urban policy design. Despite improved urban climate monitoring, there are still relatively few scientific publications on climate change adaptation in urban areas. Adaptation to climate change is not achieved through specific action, but rather through the adoption and continuous implementation of adaptation actions such as housing rehabilitation, green space management and protection measures for vulnerable groups. This variety of actions makes it difficult not only to identify different indicators, but also to use common benchmarks. Considering the role of municipalities in adapting to climate change, it is crucial to identify adaptation indicators that serve as a basis for decision making, as well as evaluation methods that allow the effectiveness of planned and implemented measures in municipalities. It can be used to determine which measures increase the level of adaptation or lead to poor adaptation. Therefore, monitoring indicators makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures, in addition to formulating new ones. This paper includes a literature review of existing index designed to address climate hazards and mitigate their impacts in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ongoing climate change, new threats appear to the operation of water supply systems (WSSs), which are related to the amount of available drinking water resources, its quality, the operation of existing water supply infrastructure and changes in consumer behavior. The paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the state of knowledge on the impact of climate change on the failure of water supply infrastructure. The bibliometric analysis was performed based on the VOSviewer program. The results of the analysis indicate current research trends in this area around the world and allow the identification of strengths and weaknesses. Most research concerns the identification of factors related to the impact of climate on the failure rate of water distribution systems. A popular research topic was also the prediction of water supply network failures, taking into account the impact of climatic factors. The main research gap is determining the impact of climate change on water quality. The acquired knowledge can be used by water companies, policy-makers and other researchers to plan adaptation strategies to climate change, which pose new challenges for the operation of water supply systems. The conducted bibliometric analysis also allowed for identifying research gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel theoretical framework for incorporating climate risks and adaptation investments into infrastructure debt pricing. Utilizing the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the framework extends the conventional modeling of infrastructure project revenues and costs to include climate risk considerations. It proposes three climate-informed revenue and cost formulations: adjustmentment of mean and standard deviation, incorporation of extreme climate events via Pareto and Poisson distributions, and a climate-informed cost model that includes adaptation investment. The paper demonstrates the application of this model in pricing a loan for a Light Rail Transit project in Costa Rica, introducing the concepts of "flood risk premium" and "adaptation curves". This study not only offers a novel lens through which to view infrastructure investment under climate uncertainty but also sets the stage for transformative policy and practice in financial risk assessment, encouraging a shift towards more sustainable and resilient infrastructure development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper addresses the importance of increasing agrobiodiversity to cope with climate change and, at the same time, providing a sufficient amount of healthy food. This is in agreement with the messages from ecology and medicine indicating the advantages of biodiversity in general and agrobiodiversity in particular for the planet and for our health. Plant breeding is considered to be one of the causes of the decline in agrobiodiversity, and therefore, this paper illustrates alternatives to the commonly used approach based on centralized selection. The first alternative is decentralized participatory breeding, which adapts crops to both different agronomic environments and client preferences, representing an "option by context" model of research. The second alternative is evolutionary breeding, which is a more dynamic strategy than participatory plant breeding because it merges the advantages of decentralization with the ability of dynamic mixtures and evolutionary populations to cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and evolve, thus adapting to climate change and to the associated changes in the spectrum of pests. A crop capable of evolving as the environment around it evolves appears to be the most ideal way of responding to climate change and increasing agricultural biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the main contents, methods, and results of the European project EDUSCAPE (Erasmus+) developed by a team of international researchers from four countries, just over a year and a half after its launch with a focus on SAAD/UNICAM contributions. Into the scientific-disciplinary frame of environmental education and climate adaptation, EDUSCAPE aims to integrate the polysemic, transversal, and multidisciplinary concept of landscape and its decline, as a promoter of new forms of knowledge in response to emerging dynamics, within the educational offer of school programs (6–15 years). This paper presents the general structure of the project, the methodology experimented (PBL educational approach), and the qualitative and quantitative intermediate results obtained so far (literature review, curriculum analysis, and needs analysis). To integrate landscape into school curricula and renew them, EDUSCAPE is preparing Didactic Units (DUs) as the final result of the project to provide theoretical foundations and practical solutions supporting teaching which will be tested in the schools of the partnership network. In general, this paper explores the possibility to disseminate the pedagogical and social role of the landscape through a new way of teaching based on a deeper exploration of the theme that can stimulate critical thinking in current and future generations regarding the global/local challenges of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early warning systems (EWS) facilitate societies' preparedness and effective response capabilities to climate risks. Climate risks embody hazards, exposure, and vulnerability associated with a particular geographical area. Building an effective EWS requires consideration of the factors above to help people with coping mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to propose an approach that can enhance EWSs and ensure an effective climate risk resilience development. The paper focuses on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and highlights the issues with EWS, identifying weaknesses and characteristics of EWS to help in climate risk adaptation strategies. The SADC region was chosen as the context because it is a climate variability and change hotspot with many vulnerable populations residing in rural communities. Trending themes on building climate risk resilience were uncovered through scientific mapping and network analysis of published articles from 2008 to 2022. This paper contributes to on-going research on building climate risks resilience through early warning systems to identify hidden trends and emerging technologies from articles in order to enhance the operationalization and design of EWS. This review provides insight into technological interventions for assessing climate risks to build preparedness and resilience. From the review analysis, it is determined that there exists a plethora of evidence to support the argument that involving communities in the co-designing of EWS would improve risk knowledge, anticipation, and preparedness. Additionally, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies provide effective tools to address existing EWS' weaknesses, such as lack of real-time data collection and automation. However, 4IR technology is still at a nascent stage in EWS applications in Africa. Furthermore, policy across societies, institutions, and technology industries ought to be coordinated and integrated to develop a strategy toward implementing climate resilient-based EWS to facilitate the operations of disaster risk managers. The Social, Institutional, and Technology model can potentially increase communities' resilience; therefore, it is recommended to develop EWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing need for proactive planning for natural hazards in a changing climate. Computational modeling of climate hazards provides an opportunity to inform planning, particularly in areas approaching ecosystem state changes, such as Interior Alaska, where future hazards are expected to differ significantly from historical events in frequency and severity. This paper considers improved modeling approaches from a physical process perspective and contextualizes the results within the complexities and limitations of hazard planning efforts and management concerns. Therefore, the aim is not only to improve the understanding of potential climate impacts on streamflow within this region but also to further explore the steps needed to evaluate local-scale hazards from global drivers and the potential challenges that may be present. This study used dynamically downscaled climate forcing data from ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets and projected climate scenarios from two General Circulation Models under a single Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP 8.5) to simulate an observational gage-calibrated WRF-Hydro model to assess shifts in streamflow and flooding potential in three Interior Alaska rivers over a historical period (2008–2017) and two future periods (2038–2047 and 2068–2077). Outputs were assessed for seasonality, streamflow, extreme events, and the comparison between existing flood control infrastructure in the region. The results indicate that streamflow in this region is likely to experience increases in seasonal length and baseflow, while the potential for extreme events and variable short-term streamflow behavior is likely to see greater uncertainty, based on the divergence between the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research has raised concerns about how a warming planet will interact with natural cyclical climatic variations, and the implications for the resilience and vulnerability of coastal communities. As the anticipated effects of climate change will continue to intensify, it is necessary to understand the response and adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Coastal communities in Ecuador have evolved in an environment of such cyclical climatic variations referred to as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Niña. These climatic events are frequently characterized by extreme variations in precipitation, violent storms, and coastal flooding during El Niño and lowered sea water temperatures and drought during La Niña. This paper draws on survey data and long-term ethnographic research in Ecuadorian coastal communities to explore how fishers understand the impacts of ENSO and implications for their livelihood decisions and resilience to climate variability. The results suggest that fishers along the coast of Ecuador understand and respond differentially to the impacts of ENSO depending on social, cultural, environmental, and geographical factors. These differential levels of response suggest that livelihood diversification may uphold social resilience, which has implications for how coastal communities may adapt to the increasingly harsh weather conditions predicted by many climate models. Our findings further suggest that the impacts of El Niño are more salient than the impacts of La Niña; these findings have significant implications for fisheries management and science communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water use behaviour and efficiency are essential topics regarding water scarcity. Water is a life-sustaining resource used for various activities within the three primary sectors: agricultural, industrial, and domestic. Increasing competition among these sectors could affect the availability and sustainability of water use. The higher demand for agricultural-related commodities emphasizes the efficient and productive use of water. Still, to achieve this, the behaviour of consumers regarding water use needs to be changed. This systematic review paper aims to highlight the factors affecting water use behaviour and efficiency for agricultural production in South Africa. It further aims to determine how agricultural producers change their behaviour to improve their water use efficiency. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria were used as a reporting framework and guidelines to identify the articles included in the review. The review only included articles focussing on agricultural water use behaviour and efficiency and articles written in English and excluded articles from web pages, blogs, magazines, etc. The databases used for the review were Google Scholar and Web of Science. The articles were reviewed by the five authors to avoid the risk of bias, along with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final review included 30 peer-reviewed articles. A word frequency table was developed using the NVivo 14 software to conduct a thematic analysis for the review. The main factors which played a role in the water use behaviour and efficiency of farmers were (i) climate and adaptation strategies, (ii) policy and water pricing, and (iii) agricultural production and management. Each category elaborated on how water use could be improved and the different measures adopted to incorporate sustainable farm water use. This could be a guideline for farmers, stakeholders, and policymakers to improve and enhance water use behaviour and efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly South Africa. This could ultimately assist in efficiently using the water while enhancing sustainability within the agricultural sector and attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) six, which is to increase water use efficiency. The limitation of this study was that it was only narrowed down to the geographical context of South Africa. This review was funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa (Project Number: C20222023-00798). This review was not registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A six-year study investigates the challenges of balancing stakeholders' interests when implementing climate adaptation regulations and makes a case for analytical tools that can improve the acceptance and adoption of local planning initiatives. In this study, the challenges of adopting European Union and Norwegian national climate adaptation regulations at a local level are examined through the analysis of the 'Fredlybekken Water Management Proposal' case study. This study includes an overview of the proposed climate adaptation project 'Fredlybekken', a site analysis, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews with the project's stakeholders. Reflexive thematic analysis is employed to establish themes of the project and categorically describe the feedback and objections of residents. The findings of the study set forth recommendations to improve the implementation processes of stormwater management infrastructure and other urban climatic adaptation initiatives. These findings are aimed at public policy makers and municipal administrations. The general conclusions within this paper are also relevant for egalitarian countries with similar societal challenges attempting to implement climate policy at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging the use of conservation tillage technology is a highly effective approach to safeguarding soil health, improving the environment, and promoting sustainable agricultural development. With the mounting concerns surrounding climate change, developing conservation tillage methods that facilitate sustainable agricultural growth has become an imperative both in China and around the world. While it is widely recognized that adapting to climate change is crucial in agriculture, there is limited research on evaluating the risks, discovering resilience, measuring farmers' perceptions on climate change, and exploring how tillage technology can be adjusted in the context of small-scale farming in China to foster sustainable development. Using research data from smallholder farmers in the Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces of China, this paper aims to explore the impact of climate change perceptions on farmers' adoption of conservation tillage technologies based on an ordered Probit model. We found that farmers tend to refrain from embracing conservation tillage technology due to the presence of unclear and conflicting perceptions regarding climate change. Focus on short-term profitability and inadequate preparation hinder them from prioritizing adaptation. We recognized several measures that could help farmers adapt and thrive within the agricultural sector. Furthermore, we have validated the need for self-system moderation in promoting farmers' adoption of conservation tillage technology. By utilizing such tools and resources, farmers can comprehend the gravity of climate change's impact on agricultural productivity and, more importantly, channel their efforts towards fortifying resilience to extreme weather conditions and long-term climate risks, thus fortifying agricultural sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, especially in the form of temperature increase and sea acidification, poses a serious challenge to the sustainability of aquaculture and shellfish farming. In this context, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of marine origin have attracted attention due to their ability to improve water quality, stimulate the growth and immunity of organisms, and reduce the impact of stress caused by environmental changes. Through a review of relevant research, this paper summarizes previous knowledge on this group of bacteria, their application as protective probiotic cultures in mollusks, and also highlights their potential in reducing the negative impacts of climate change during shellfish farming. Furthermore, opportunities for further research and implementation of LAB as a sustainable and effective solution for adapting mariculture to changing climate conditions were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. federal government manages many domestic and global operations, including environmental disasters. With the need to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, legislative and executive branches have spurred research efforts as the impacts of the Anthropocene accelerate around the country. The Army Corps of Engineers' overlapping interest in security and providing technological answers to mitigate weather disasters has led to recent research and development, including facilitating the federal mandate to convert military fleets to electric vehicles by 2027 while also building a hydrogen fuel cell emergency operations vehicle. The emergency vehicle, H2Rescue, has recently been tested in the field, and further refinements in the technology are leading towards a transition out of development and into production. However, the engineered solution must also attend to the social dimensions of disaster relief. This paper examines past environmental disasters in one location, the Navajo Nation, to describe how the vehicle could provide a combination of technological and societal future research possibilities for environmental anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dryland farming is at the center of increasing pressure to produce more food for the growing population in an environment that is highly variable and with high expectations for the standard of their production systems. While there is mounting pressure for increased productivity, the responsibility to protect the environment and diminish the agricultural sector's carbon footprint is receiving growing emphasis. Achieving these two goals calls for a consolidated effort to ensure that the scientific community and service providers partner with farmers to create a sustainable food production system that does not harm the environment. In this paper, we studied the nature of the services present in the market and identified ways that could be used to improve the climate services available to the agricultural sector. Important factors that could increase the usability of climate services include coproduction, context-specific information, innovation, demand-driven services, timeliness of services, highly applicable information, provision of services in the correct format, services that increase user experience, specificity of services to a locale, and services that are easily accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the inception of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) within the UNFCCC in 1992, national CCA plans began to emerge around 2008. However, identifying successful cases of adaptation remains challenging. This is because CCA policies often stop at planning, with selective reporting of relevant projects. Recognizing that planning is not the same as actual delivery, substantial gaps persist in connecting these plans to concrete actions, hindering successful adaptation. This paper explores this implementation deficit through the examination of three different governance modes (hierarchies, markets, and networks). Drawing on a policy review (desk study), a qualitative online survey, and semi-structured interviews with professionals engaged in local CCA policies, we identified enablers of effective adaptation policy progress by comparing the Edinburgh and Glasgow city regions. Despite their close spatial and relational proximity, these two city regions have distinct administrative geographies, political leadership, and adaptation-related networks, which identify unique local contexts sufficient to drive different CCA progress. We noted more CCA progress when specific resources included coordinators (dedicated staff) and fiscal supplements, along with regional networks connecting local communities and strengthening partnerships while sharing common values such as reputational opportunities in the Glasgow city region. These findings shed light on effective adaptation governance modes that require not only a deep understanding of place-based contexts but also the presence or nurturing of broader and reinforced networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable land management (SLM) practices are important for tackling agricultural land degradation. This study investigates the association between farmers' time preferences and their adoption of SLM practices (agroforestry, terracing, and land fallow practices) with intertemporal benefits, and further documents the moderating role of land tenure security in this relationship. The analysis in the paper is based on data from a survey of 480 farmers in south-east Nigeria, complemented by semi-structured interviews. Farmers' time preferences were elicited using both a survey and experiments with hypothetical payouts. Land tenure was conceptualised as a composite concept to suit the legally pluralistic context of the study area. This study found that many of the sampled farmers have high discount rates. The result further shows that farmers' time preferences are negatively associated with their adoption of agroforestry and land fallow practices. Moreover, the result shows that both legal and de facto tenure security encourage the adoption of SLM practices. Other factors influencing the adoption of SLM practices include gender, household size, education, credit constraints, marital status, risk attitude, farming experience, and farm characteristics (e.g., erosion problems and steepness of slope). Furthermore, this study found that the security-enhancing effect of land tenure security (de facto) can alleviate the negative influence of time preferences on farmers' adoption of SLM practices. The findings suggest that farmers with higher discount rates, who have secure tenure rights to land, are more likely to adopt SLM practices, compared to similar farmers without tenure security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges, and it is also an obstacle to the fundamental achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of small-scale farmers' participation in social capital networks to enhance adoption of climate change adaptation strategies. Multistage and purposive sampling were used to carry out the study. A cross-sectional research design was used to carry out the study and structured questionnaires were used as a data collection tool. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Binary Logit model, and the Ordered Logit model. The findings of the study show that gender, household size, age, marital status, education, and employment status affect a farmer's participation in social capital networks. The results also show that household size, employment status, and income level affect the extent of participation in social networks. As the paper is the first to look at the determinants of the participation of farmers in social capital networks in Eastern Cape, the results are of paramount importance to policy formulators in order to formulate policies that will encourage farmers to join localized farmer-based social capital networks to adopt climate change adaption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of climate change adaptation, the future matters. River futures influence the way adaptation projects are implemented in rivers. In this paper, we challenge the ways in which dominant paradigms and expert claims monopolise the truth concerning policies and designs of river futures, thereby sidelining and delegitimising alternative river futures. So far, limited work has been performed on the power of river futures in the context of climate change adaptation. We conceptualised the power of river futures through river imaginaries, i.e., collectively performed and publicly envisioned reproductions of riverine socionatures mobilised through truth claims of social life and order. Using the Border Meuse project as a case study, a climate change adaptation project in a stretch of the river Meuse in the south of the Netherlands, and a proclaimed success story of climate adaptation in Dutch water management, we elucidated how three river imaginaries (a modern river imaginary, a market-driven imaginary, and an eco-centric river imaginary) merged into an eco-modern river imaginary. Importantly, not only did the river futures merge, but their aligned truth regimes also merged. Thus, we argue that George Orwell's famous quote, "who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past" can be extended to "who controls the future, controls how we see and act in the present, and how we rediscover the past". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development Goal 13 echoes the fact that all countries must make urgent and stringent efforts to mitigate against and adapt to climate change and its associated impacts. Climate financing is one of the key mechanisms used to enable countries to remain resilient to the hastening effects of climate change. In this paper, we empirically assess the effect of institutional governance indicators on the amount of climate finance received by 21 nations for which progress towards the internationally agreed-upon target of reducing global warming to 1.5 °C is tracked. We use the fixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimators, drawing on the Climate Action Tracker panel data from 2002 to 2020. Empirical results reveal that perceived political stability significantly enhanced climate finance inflows among countries that strongly increased their NDC targets, while perceived deterioration in corruption control negatively impacted the amount of climate finance received by the same group of countries. Therefore, governments should reduce corruption tendencies while striving to avoid practices and alliances that lead to any form of violence, including terrorism and civil war. Low developing countries (LDCs) in particular need to improve the standard of public services provided to the populace while maintaining a respectable level of autonomy from political influences. Above all, as countries work towards strengthening institutional governance, there is an urgent need for developed economies to assist developing economies in overcoming debt stress since the likelihood of future resilience and prosperity is being undermined by the debt crisis, with developing countries spending almost five times as much annually on repayment of debt as they allocate to climate adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adaptation is a critical response to the challenges posed by climate change and is important for building resilience. Progress in adaptation efforts has been made globally, nationally, and locally through international agreements, national plans, and community-based initiatives. However, significant gaps exist in knowledge, capacity, and finance. The Adaptation Gap Report 2023, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), examines the status of climate change adaptation efforts globally. The report highlights the widening adaptation finance gap and the deepening climate crisis. We analyse the key themes of the report and incorporate an analysis of the wider literature and insights from COP28 to substantiate key points and identify gaps where more work is needed to develop an understanding of climate change adaptation. This paper focuses on the underfinanced and underprepared state of global climate change adaptation efforts, the widening adaptation finance gap, slow progress in adaptation, gender equality and social inclusion issues, and challenges in addressing loss and damage. We provide a way forward for climate change adaptation and offer recommendations for future actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation elaborates on the level of game theory application for the applied and theoretical analyses of climate change and development studies. This editorial shows that the common good character of global climate alongside the increasing internalization of environmental externalities through national regulations and international environmental treaties jointly result in the increasing congruence between the context of climate change problems and the game theoretical method. Furthermore, the adoption of the Paris Accord by the overwhelming majority of developing countries as well as the disproportionate vulnerability of the Global South have led to an increasing shift in focus with regard to international development cooperation, from poverty alleviation and economic growth to green growth and circular economy solutions, within developing countries. The underutilization of game theory in the context of development studies is not satisfactory. This paper underlines the importance of implementing an impetus to researchers for scholarly discussions and applications of game theory in a discourse on the following topics: 1. economic growth; 2. climate change mitigation and adaptation; and 3. a broader socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in China is experiencing a serious ecological water scarcity problem in the context of climate warming and drying. There is an urgent need for practical adaptation measures to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change and provide a scientific basis for urban water supply planning, water resource management, and policy formulation. Urban ecological water can maintain the structure and function of urban ecosystems, both as an environmental element and as a resource. Current research lacks quantitative analysis of the impact of regional meteorological factors on ecological water use at the small and medium scales. Based on the meteorological data and statistical data of water resources in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, this paper analyzed the trend of climate change and established an ecological climatic water model using gray correlation analysis, polynomial simulation, and singular spectrum analysis to predict the ecological water consumption. And, we assessed the climatic sensitivity of ecological water use and estimated the future ecological climatic water use in the BTH region based on four climate scenarios' data. The results showed that the average multi-year temperature was 13.2 °C with a clear upward trend from 1991 to 2020 in the BTH region. The multi-year average precipitation was 517.1 mm, with a clear shift in the period of abundance and desiccation. Ecological climatic water modeling showed that a 1 °C increase in temperature will increase ecological water use by 0.73 × 108 m3~1.09 × 108 m3 in the BTH region; for a 100 mm increase in precipitation, ecological water use will decrease by 0.49 × 108 m3~0.88 × 108 m3; under the four climate scenarios of SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5, SSP3–7.0, and SSP5–8.5, the regional ecological climatic water use will be 5.14 × 108 m3, 6.64 × 108 m3, 7.82 × 108 m3, and 9.06 × 108 m3 in 2035, respectively; and in 2050, the ecological climatic water use will be 8.16 × 108 m3, 9.75 × 108 m3, 10.71 × 108 m3, and 12.41 × 108 m3, respectively. The methodology and results of this study will support the quantification of climate change impacts on ecological water use in the BTH region and serve as a theoretical basis for future research on ecological water use adaptation to climate change. This study can provide a basis for the development of the overall planning of urban ecological water supply, and at the same time, it can lay a foundation for the study of measures to adapt to climate change by ecological water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon risk, a type of climate risk, is expected to have a crucial impact, especially on high-carbon-emitting, "polluting" firms as opposed to less carbon-intensive, "clean" ones. With a rising number of actions and policies being continuously proposed to mitigate these concerns and an increasing number of investors demanding more climate adaptation initiatives, this transition risk will certainly need to be incorporated into a firm's credit risk assessment. In this paper, we explore the impact of the carbon risk factor, constructed as the daily median difference in default protection between polluting and clean European firms, on firm creditworthiness using quantile regressions on the tail distribution of credit default swap spreads for different maturities between 2020 and 2023. In particular, the recent European interest rate hikes lead to unexpected conclusions about when the carbon risk factor affects firm creditworthiness and how rapidly the net-zero economy transition must occur. Contrary to the previous literature, we find that investors are expecting the transition to occur in the medium-to-long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change–built environment nexus is complex and intertwined. Recognizing the rising air temperatures and solar radiations owing to climate-induced global warming, it is critical to manage the increased building energy and cooling loads in the Middle East Gulf states' hot desert climates (Bwh). One of the top climate priorities is to promote climate resilience by reducing risks and enhancing adaptation options. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature to document building energy performances in and the associated adaptation measures of the Middle East Gulf states, regarding the implications of climate change. It is accomplished by answering the following questions: 'How well do we understand the effects of climate change on building energy use in hot urban deserts?' and 'What are the most appropriate adaptation strategies to reduce energy use in hot urban deserts?'. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis protocols (PRISMA), 17 studies on the influence of present and future weather scenarios on building performance are examined, considering variations in typology, methods, and input variables. Finally, the paper identifies the preferred methods and input variables for modelling building energy performance under predicted climatic changes. Passive design considerations are considered highly effective in mitigating and adapting to climate change implications. Thermal insulation and efficient window glazing are identified as the best-performing strategies, while the use of solar Photovoltaic (PV) is considered efficient in meeting the primary energy demands. The study's findings can assist planners and designers in projecting future climatic influences on the energy usage of existing buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comprehensive study explores the influence of aerosols and clouds on solar radiation in the urban environments of nine of Greece's largest cities over the decade from 2014 to 2023. Utilizing a combination of Earth Observation data, radiative transfer models, and geographic information systems, the research undertook digital surface modeling and photovoltaic simulations. The study meticulously calculated the optimal rooftop areas for photovoltaic installation in these cities, contributing significantly to their energy adequacy and achieving a balance between daily electricity production and demand. Moreover, the research provides an in-depth analysis of energy and economic losses, while also highlighting the environmental benefits. These include a reduction in pollutant emissions and a decrease in the carbon footprint, aligning with the global shift towards local energy security and the transformation of urban areas into green, smart cities. The innovative methodology of this study, which leverages open access data, sets a strong foundation for future research in this field. It opens up possibilities for similar studies and has the potential to contribute to the creation of an updated, comprehensive solar potential map for continental Greece. This could be instrumental in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, thereby promoting sustainable urban development and environmental preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has had a widespread and profound impact on global temperature and precipitation patterns, especially in semi-arid areas. Plant δ13C and iWUE indicate the trade-off between carbon uptake and water loss, which is pivotal for understanding plant responses to climate change. Information about the long-term responses of the physiological and ecological processes of different tree species to climate change is also required. To investigate the impact of different forest stand structures and site conditions on long-term growth and physiological processes of coniferous and broad-leaved trees in the mountainous area of Beijing, we analyzed the tree-ring δ13C variation of four tree species (Platycladus orientalis, Pinus tabuliformis, Quercus variabilis, Robinia pseudoacacia) sampled from 64 plots with varying site and stand conditions. We found that the tree-ring δ13C of the four tree species varied from each other and was mainly affected by density and slope aspect, followed by slope and age. Both tree-ring δ13C and iWUE of the four tree species showed increasing trends over time, mechanistically linked to long-term changes in global CO2 concentration. This indicates the four native tree species have adapted well to climate change, and the risk of decline is relatively low. The increased iWUE translated into different growth patterns which varied with tree species, site, and stand condition. Different tree species have varying sensitivities to environmental factors. The iWUE of coniferous tree species is more sensitive to climate change than that of broad-leaved tree species, especially to temperature (T), the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droughts can affect forest ecosystems and lead to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and desertification. Not all regions of Mexico are affected in the same way, as some areas are naturally more prone to drought due to their geographical location. Therefore, the objective of this work was to carry out a spatio-temporal analysis of the occurrence of droughts (severe and extreme) in Mexican forest systems, covering the period 2000–2021, and to study the area covered by these events in Mexican forest systems. This analysis was divided into three stages: the classification of land use and vegetation, spatial mapping and the classification of drought intensity, and an analysis of drought frequency and probability in forest systems. The results show that more than 46% of Mexico's forest area experienced severe and extreme droughts during the 21-year period studied. Broadleaved forests were most affected by severe and extreme droughts, with a frequency of 6 years. The increasing frequency of droughts poses a major challenge to the resilience of forest ecosystems in Mexico, highlighting the need to implement climate change adaptation and forest management measures to protect the country's biodiversity and natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective forest management strategies to adapt to climate change are essential. Water use efficiency (WUE), which integrates biomass production and water consumption, is a key indicator of forest adaptation. This study evaluated the WUE of Gmelina arborea plantations in the tropical dry forest and identified the main influencing factors, with implications for silviculture and management. Data on total biomass (TB) and total volume (V) were obtained from permanent sample plots in the upper and lower Magdalena River basin in Colombia. WUE was calculated as m3 of V (WUEV) or kg of TB (WUETB) per m3 of evapotranspired water. Significant regional differences were found, with higher WUE in the Caribbean plains (WUETB = 1 kg m−3 and WUEV = 0.0018 m3 m−3) compared to the inter-Andean valleys (WUETB = 0.77 kg m−3 and WUEV = 0.013 m3 m−3). Stand variables had the greatest influence on WUE, showing positive associations with site productivity and stand density measures. Soil variables such as texture, available water, and calcium content, along with a drier climate, were crucial for achieving higher WUE. The study underscores the importance of comprehensive site selection and effective silvicultural practices to maximize WUE and productivity, especially in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts will continue to worsen with rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, underscoring the growing necessity to foresee and comprehend the impact of climate change risks on economic activity. Using quarterly firm-level data of 209 firms from the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the period Q1 2018–Q2 2022, this study estimates the impact of firms' exposure to climate-related risks on their financial performance. The results indicate a notable adverse effect of climate change exposure on firms' rate of return, with a lag of around two years. Firms located in more climate-vulnerable coastal areas and high-income provinces experience relatively greater negative impacts on their financial returns. Our findings have important policy implications for firms aiming to maximize their returns through enhanced climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores which women participate in community-based adaptation (CBA) from an intersectional perspective. This study followed in-depth interviews (IDIs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) methods for data collection in Latachapli, Bangladesh. It explores women from different ethnic and religious identities participating in community-based adaptation (CBA) activities. The diversity among women leads to varying levels of participation. Three main areas—sense of insecurity, support from family members, and women's literacy—and the NGO's administrative bias have been seen to influence different levels of women's participation in CBA. All these findings suggest that women's intersectional challenges when participating in activities must be considered. The problem with the NGOs that implement the CBA activities is that they focus on marginalized communities (Rakhine) and women in general without taking into consideration the cultural, religious, and historical barriers that these different women face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we investigate whether England's 152 local flood risk management strategies (LFRMSs) satisfy minimal legislative criteria and address the growing surface water flood (SWF) risk caused by climate change. A systematic audit was used to assess the alignment of the LFRMSs with national climate change legislation and other relevant national strategies. An objective method to identify inclusion of a range of factors that good strategies should include was applied. LFRMSs are mostly meeting their minimum statutory requirements. However, there is a widespread issue across most LFRMSs regarding inadequate consideration of increasing SWF risk from climate changes, which highlights the need for enhanced LFRMSs by improved planning and climate change adaptation plans. There is some evidence of good practice within the LFRMS portfolio, which is discussed in the context of the ongoing LFRMS update process. Beyond England, there are implications for developing FRM processes at a local level that can be objectively assessed against national requirements. Communities in England face inadequately managed SWF risk in the future because of the range in plan quality across the LFRMSs. This research contributes to the ongoing examination of the full suite of 152 LFRMSs and, therefore, builds towards a complete assessment of the SWF management approach in England. This will help inform local climate change adaptation strategies that cater to the escalating threat of SWF due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-smart agriculture is one of the most important actions for agricultural climate change adaptation, especially in Togo, a sub-Saharan African country with a fragile ecology and where agriculture is profoundly impacted by climate change. Using a multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) and a multinomial endogenous treatment effect (METE) approach, we conducted empirical research to identify the factors influencing the adoption decisions of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) and their impact on household food security among smallholder farmers in Togo. The findings of this study revealed that the adoption of CSAPs by farmers is influenced by a range of factors, such as age, marital status, the household head's gender, engagement in off-farm activities, level of education, farm size, agroecological zone, regional location, land ownership, distance between homestead and farm, access to credit, the presence of agricultural associations and cooperatives, and access to extension agents. On the one hand, the MESR analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the number of adopted CSAPs and households' food consumption score. Similarly, greater adoption of CSAPs resulted in a significant reduction in the food insecurity experience scale. On the other hand, the METE model portrayed an increase in acceptable food consumption when households adopted up to three CSAPs. Likewise, it significantly alleviated severe food insecurity. Further results based on the propensity score matching technique showed that the adoption of a crop rotation system, utilization of improved varieties of seeds, plant protection products, inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and irrigation improved adopters' food consumption scores while reducing their level of food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A historically large percentage of the world's population has moved to urban areas in the past few decades, causing various negative effects for the environment, such as air, noise, water, and light pollution; land degradation; and biodiversity loss. Under the current climate crisis, cities are anticipated to play an essential part in adaptation strategies to extreme atmospheric events. This study aims at developing indicators at an urban scale that can highlight adaptation progress by investigating relevant data (especially in situ) and statistics at a pan-European level in support of the EU's strategy for adapting to the impacts of climate change. The proposed indicator, Urban Biodiversity Indicator for Trees (UBI4T), which can be derived from city tree inventories, assesses one essential component of urban biodiversity by computing the proportion of native, alien, invasive, and toxic tree species spatially across a city. According to our findings (applying the UBI4T for Amsterdam and exploring its policy potential for Barcelona), the UBI4T can offer crucial information for decision and policy makers, as well as stakeholders of a city, with the aim of conducting dedicated and effective strategic initiatives to restore, improve, and protect nature in the urban environment, thus contributing to adaptation and resilience to extreme atmospheric events in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local government managers play a critical role in sustainability and climate adaptation planning, and in relation to land-use policy, but little is known about how managers' hazard risk concerns influence the implementation of resilience policy or how this relationship may vary across different landscapes and types of hazards. Linking managers' disaster concerns to their planning choices is particularly relevant to resilience planning for adaptation to climate change, since greenhouse gas emissions are global but the harms produced by climate change are local. Moreover, climate adaptation planning encompasses risks from multiple hazards. For a sample of cities in the state of Florida, USA, we report the findings of empirical analysis of the relationships between local government managers' hazard-specific climate-related disaster concerns and their resilience-planning priorities for four types of hazards: river flooding, sea-level rise, storm surge and hurricane/tornado winds. Drawing on data from a survey of local disaster managers and policy data on the implementation of adaptation-planning actions, the link between managers' concerns and plan implementation is identified and compared across communities and across types of hazards. The pooled logit regression results reveal that the differences observed among these hazards persist even after controlling for objective risks and relevant community characteristics. We discuss the nature of the differences across four hazards and explore the implications of the findings for the literature on land use and climate adaptation and for the education of local government managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green space is needed in urban areas to increase resilience to climate change and other shocks, as well as for human health and wellbeing. Urban green space (UGS) is increasingly considered as green infrastructure and highly complementary to engineered urban infrastructure, such as water and transport networks. The needs for resilient, sustainable and equitable future wellbeing require strategic planning, designing and upgrading of UGS, especially in areas where it has been underprovided. We explore the implications of these needs for urban development through a detailed review of cited UGS analyses conducted on the larger cities in Aotearoa New Zealand (AoNZ). There are important differences in UGS availability (i.e., quantity), accessibility and quality within and between cities. Some of these differences stem from ad hoc patterns of development, as well as topography. They contribute to apparently growing inequities in the availability and accessibility of UGS. Broader health and wellbeing considerations, encompassing Indigenous and community values, should be at the heart of UGS design and decisionmaking. Most of AoNZ's cities aim (at least to some extent) at densification and decarbonisation to accommodate a growing population without costly sprawl; however, to date, sprawl continues. Our findings indicate a clear need for the design and provision of high-quality, well-integrated UGS within and servicing areas of denser housing, which are typically areas in cities with a demonstrable UGS deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate solutions related to mitigation and adaptation vary across the United States and India, given their unique current socio-political–technological abilities and their histories. Here, we discuss results from online face-to-face interviews undertaken with 33 U.S.-based climate experts and 30 India-based climate experts. Using qualitative grounded theory, we explore open-ended responses to questions related to mitigation and adaptation and find the following: (1) there is broad agreement among experts in both countries on the main mitigation solutions focused on the decarbonization of energy systems, but (2) there are a diversity of views between experts on what to prioritize and how to achieve it. Similarly, there is substantial agreement that adaptation solutions are needed to address agriculture, water management, and infrastructure, but there is a wide variety of perspectives on other priorities and how best to proceed. Experts across both countries generally perceived mitigation as needing national policies to succeed, while adaptation is perceived as more local and challenging given the larger number of stakeholders involved in planning and implementation. Our findings indicate that experts agree on the goals of decarbonization, but there was no consensus on how best to accomplish implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) is closely linked to the sustainable management of water resources and sanitation worldwide. SDG 6.4, in particular, aims to significantly improve water-use efficiency across all sectors by 2030. It is important to acknowledge the significant role that behavioural aspects of water users in an agricultural context play in contributing to water-use efficiency. This systematic review aims to provide an up-to-date synthesis of the current knowledge of water-use behaviours in agriculture to stay on track in achieving SDG 6. This systematic literature review investigates the factors influencing water-use behaviour among agricultural water users globally. Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method, we retrieved a total of 867 records, of which 47 matched the eligibility criteria. The 47 relevant studies were primarily conducted in the United States and China with key themes including sustainable agricultural practices, technology adoption for productivity, climate change adaptation, and modelling and uncertainty in water conservation. Additionally, the review identified six distinct water-use behaviours investigated from 2020 to 2024, which were each driven by its unique set of factors. Overall, the findings from the systematic review indicate that there has been a geographical gap in research efforts over the past five years, and it is important for water-use behaviour-related research to be extended to other countries that are water-stressed. Furthermore, the researchers recommend that future studies should develop comprehensive behavioural models and adopt holistic approaches to better understand and promote sustainable water-use behaviours in agriculture. These efforts are vital for achieving sustainable water management and broader SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, water utilities have relied on tried-and-true practices in the design and operation of their infrastructure, tapping new resources and expanding networks as needed. However, as the effects of climate change and/or urbanization increasingly impact both water supply and demand, utilities need new, holistic planning and management approaches. Integrated planning approaches must account for changing policies, technological progress, and unique, setting-specific operating conditions. Based on this notion, an international web seminar with faculty, researchers, and students from nine universities across five continents was conducted. In the 3-month seminar, participants were split into groups and tasked with developing future-proof, sustainable water management solutions for fictitious settings with unique resource availability, climate change predictions, demographic, and socioeconomic constraints. The goal of the seminar was to combine participants' unique perspectives to tackle challenges in developing future water infrastructure, while forming lasting relationships. Water management concepts became more daring or "out-of-the-box" as the seminar progressed. Most groups opted for a holistic approach, optimizing existing infrastructure, integrating decentralized water management, furthering digitization, and fostering the adoption of innovative policy and planning strategies. To gauge their impact on the evolution of ideas, group dynamics and communication were observed throughout the seminar. As a result, the findings serve not only as a compendium of ideas and concepts for holistic design in the water sector, but also facilitate international collaboration, improve communication in cross-cultural teams or guide the development of training programs in water management for researchers, professional engineers, or water utilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the impacts of the land use/cover (LULC) and climate changes on the runoff and sediment flows in the Megech watershed. The Geospatial Water Erosion Prediction Project (GeoWEPP) was used to assess LULC and climate changes' impact on runoff, soil loss, and sediment yield. The QGIS 2.16.3 plugin module for land use change evaluation (MOLUSCE) tool with the cellular automata artificial neural network (CA-ANN) was used for LULC prediction based on historical data and exploratory maps. Two commonly used representative concentration pathways (RCPs)—4.5 and 8.5—were used for climate projection in the 2030s, 2050s, and 2070s. The LULC prediction analysis showed an expansion of cropland and settlement areas, with the reduction in the forest and rangelands. The climate projections indicated an increase in maximum temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, particularly with increased wet months and reduced dry periods. The average annual soil loss and sediment yield rates were estimated to increase under both the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, with a more noticeable increase under RCP8.5. By integrating DEM, soil, land use, and climate data, we evaluated runoff, soil loss, and sediment yield changes on only land use/cover, only climate, and the combined impacts in the watershed. The results revealed that, under all combined scenarios, the sediment yield in the Megech Reservoir was projected to substantially increase by 23.28–41.01%, showing a potential loss of reservoir capacity. This study recommends strong climate adaptation and mitigation measures to alleviate the impact on land and water resources. It is possible to lessen the combined impacts of climate and LULC change through implementing best-management practices and adaptation strategies for the identified scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme weather events have led to widespread yield losses and significant global economic damage in recent decades. African agriculture is particularly vulnerable due to its harsh environments and limited adaptation capacity. This systematic review analyzes 96 articles from Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar, focusing on biophysical studies related to maize in Africa and worldwide. We investigated the observed and projected extreme weather events in Africa, their impacts on maize production, and the approaches used to assess these effects. Our analysis reveals that drought, heatwaves, and floods are major threats to African maize production, impacting yields, suitable cultivation areas, and farmers' livelihoods. While studies have employed various methods, including field experiments, statistical models, and process-based modeling, African research is often limited by data gaps and technological constraints. We identify three main gaps: (i) lack of reliable long-term experimental and empirical data, (ii) limited access to advanced climate change adaptation technologies, and (iii) insufficient knowledge about specific extreme weather patterns and their interactions with management regimes. This review highlights the urgent need for targeted research in Africa to improve understanding of extreme weather impacts and formulate effective adaptation strategies. We advocate for focused research on data collection, technology transfer, and integration of local knowledge with new technologies to bolster maize resilience and food security in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]