scholarly journals Global critical natural assets

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer ◽  
Rachel A Neugarten ◽  
Richard P Sharp ◽  
Pamela M Collins ◽  
Stephen Polasky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Optimization ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Optimization ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Global Land

AbstractSustaining the organisms, ecosystems, and processes that underpin human well-being is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Here we analyze 12 of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) for food, water, and climate security. Using spatial optimization, we identify critical natural assets, the most important ecosystems for providing NCP, comprising 39% of total global land area and 24% of national territorial waters. Many of these NCP are overlooked by international agreements focused on conserving species or mitigating climate change, yet our analysis shows that explicitly prioritizing critical natural assets jointly advances development, climate, and conservation goals. Developing policy and investment strategies that protect critical natural assets is essential for securing Earth’s life support systems.One Sentence SummaryGlobal optimization shows 39% of land and 24% of ocean area contains 90% of current levels of provision for 12 of nature’s contributions to people.

scholarly journals Mapping the planet’s critical natural assets for people

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer ◽  
Rachel Neugarten ◽  
Richard Sharp ◽  
Pamela Collins ◽  
Stephen Polasky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Optimization ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Global Land

Abstract Sustaining the organisms, ecosystems, and processes that underpin human well-being is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Here we analyze 14 of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) for food, water, and climate security. Using spatial optimization, we identify critical natural assets, the most important ecosystems for providing NCP, comprising 30% (for local benefits) to 44% (for local and global benefits) of total global land area and 24% of national territorial waters. Many of these NCP are left out of international agreements focused on conserving species or mitigating climate change, yet our analysis shows that explicitly prioritizing critical natural assets jointly advances development, climate, and conservation goals. Crafting policy and investment strategies that protect critical natural assets is essential for sustaining human well-being and securing Earth’s life support systems.

scholarly journals Sustainable Development Goals and Investment Strategies: The Profitability of Using Five-Factor Fama-French Alphas

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1842 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Miralles-Quirós ◽  
María Mar Miralles-Quirós ◽  
José Manuel Nogueira
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Responsible Investment ◽  
Development Goals

This study focuses on assets related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are the most recent aspect of the Socially Responsible Investment framework and have caught the attention of investors due to their investment opportunities as well as the global challenges that can be achieved. The profitability of developing an investment strategy is shown based on the value of the alphas obtained from the estimation of the Fama-French five-factor model when compared to an equally weighted portfolio, even when transaction costs are taken into consideration. In addition, it is proven that investors should focus their investments on two main SDGs: Good health and well-being (Goal 3) and Industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9).

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development as Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: A Literature Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Lou E. Neri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Keywords Education

The World Health Organization (2003) stated that there is growing evidence that changes in the global climate will have profound effects on the well-being of citizens in countries throughout the world. The “business as usual” frame of mind in dealing with this phenomenon is no longer feasible. Rather, there is a great need for a “sense of urgency” to empower and actively involve every individual to adapt and to mitigate the worsening of climate change. A great number of studies show that the leadership of the educational system in developed countries for more than 2 decades has been successful in promoting environmental sustainability. Some of these studies are reviewed and documented in this paper so that vulnerable countries may learn and benchmark from their experiences. Keywords - Education, sustainable development, climate change

Sustainability Science and Climate Change Communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridie McGreavy ◽  
David Hart
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events

Direct experience, scientific reports, and international media coverage make clear that the breadth, severity, and multiple consequences from climate change are far-reaching and increasing. Like many places globally, the northeastern United States is already experiencing climate change, including one of the world’s highest rates of ocean warming, reduced durations of winter ice cover on lakes, a marked increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events, and climate-mediated ecological disruptions of invasive species. Given current and projected changes in ecosystems, communities, and economies, it is essential to find ways to anticipate and reduce vulnerabilities to change and, at the same time, promote sustainable economic development and human well-being.The emerging field of sustainability science offers a promising conceptual and analytic framework for accelerating progress towards sustainable development. Sustainability science aims to be use-inspired and to connect basic and applied knowledge with solutions for societal benefit. This approach draws from diverse disciplines, theories, and methods organized around the broad goal of maintaining and improving life support systems, ecosystem health, and human well-being. Partners in New England have been using sustainability science as a framework for stakeholder-engaged, interdisciplinary research that has generated use-inspired knowledge and multiple solutions for more than a decade. Sustainability science has helped produce a landscape-scale approach to wetland conservation; emergency response plans for invasive species that threaten livelihoods and cultures; decision support tools for improved water quality management and public health for beach use and shellfish consumption; and the development of robust partnership networks across disciplines and institutions. Understanding and reducing vulnerability to climate change is a central motivating factor in this portfolio of projects because linking knowledge about social-ecological systems with effective policy action requires a holistic view that addresses complex intersecting stressors.One common theme in these varied efforts is the way that communication fundamentally shapes collaborative research and social, technical, and policy outcomes from sustainability science. Communication as a discipline has, for more than two thousand years, sought to understand how environments and symbols shape human life, forms of social organization, and collective decision making. The result is a body of scholarship and practical techniques that are diverse and well adapted to meet the complexity of contemporary sustainability challenges. The complexity of the issues that sustainability science aspires to solve requires diversity and flexibility to be able to adapt approaches to the specific needs of a situation. Long-term, cross-scale, and multi-institutional sustainability science collaborations show that communication research and practice can help build communities and networks, and advance technical and policy solutions to confront the challenges of climate change and promote sustainability now and in future.

scholarly journals Climate Change Adaptation through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Southern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvester Mpandeli ◽  
Dhesigen Naidoo ◽  
Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi ◽  
Charles Nhemachena ◽  
Luxon Nhamo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Trade Offs

Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances and retard sustainable development. Regional and international literature on climate change adaptation opportunities and challenges applicable to southern Africa from a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective was reviewed. Specifically, this review highlights climate change impacts on water, energy, and food resources in southern Africa, while exploring mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The review further recommends strategies to develop cross-sectoral sustainable measures aimed at building resilient communities. Regional WEF nexus related institutions and legal frameworks were also reviewed to relate the WEF nexus to policy. Southern Africa is witnessing an increased frequency and intensity in climate change-associated extreme weather events, causing water, food, and energy insecurity. A projected reduction of 20% in annual rainfall by 2080 in southern Africa will only increase the regional socio-economic challenges. This is exacerbating regional resource scarcities and vulnerabilities. It will also have direct and indirect impacts on nutrition, human well-being, and health. Reduced agricultural production, lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and clean, sustainable energy are the major areas of concern. The region is already experiencing an upsurge of vector borne diseases (malaria and dengue fever), and water and food-borne diseases (cholera and diarrhoea). What is clear is that climate change impacts are cross-sectoral and multidimensional, and therefore require cross-sectoral mitigation and adaptation approaches. In this regard, a well-coordinated and integrated WEF nexus approach offers opportunities to build resilient systems, harmonise interventions, and mitigate trade-offs and hence improve sustainability. This would be achieved through greater resource mobilisation and coordination, policy convergence across sectors, and targeting nexus points in the landscape. The WEF nexus approach has potential to increase the resilience of marginalised communities in southern Africa by contributing towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 13).

A national ‘safe and just operating space’ for all in India: Past, Present and Futurea

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajishnu Roy ◽  
Kousik Pramanick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
National Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Operating Space ◽  
Per Capita

AbstractWith 1.3 billion populaces on the commencement of the 21st century, India is currently impending towards upholding a subtle equilibrium between persisting social development and well-being without depleting existing biophysical resources at the national level or surpassing global average per capita obtainability. In this paper, we have structured a top-down per capita framework to explore national ‘safe and just operating space’ (NSJOS) to apprehend not only past fluctuations that bring about the present conditions but also the plausible future consequences, with India as a case study. Coalescing 27 indicators, all pertaining to Sustainable Development Goals (except – SDG 17), accompanied by their corresponding environmental boundaries or preferred social thresholds, present study probes into both biophysical (for environmental stress) and social development (for social deficit) attributes of India. This analysis shows India has already crossed three of seven dimensions of biophysical boundaries (freshwater, nitrogen and phosphorus use). Also, at the existing rate, India is going to cross the remainder of the boundaries within 2045-2050 (climate change, arable land use, ecological and material footprint). Of 20 indicators used for social development, only five have already or will meet corresponding desired thresholds of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015. Using tendencies of past variations, the results indicate that if lowest per capita consumption can be attained and uphold, even with projected population growth, total consumption of four biophysical resources (climate change, nitrogen use, ecological and material footprint) can be slashed from today’s level in 2050. Adaptations in national policy are indispensable if India wants to accomplish sufficiency in biophysical resources whilst bestowing social equity in access and exploitation of those resources towards the continuance of social developments in forthcoming times.

Cultural Dynamics for Sustainability: How Can Humanity Craft Cultures of Sustainability?

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 538-544
Author(s):  
Yoshihisa Kashima
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Institutional Responses ◽  
Nature Connectedness

Humanity faces twin problems of adaptation—natural environmental challenges of climate change and global humanitarian challenges of ensuring well-being for all—that pose a dilemma for sustainable development. One way forward is to develop cultures of sustainability that highlight and reward the ideas and practices that will help us transition to a sustainable lifestyle. Although institutional responses are necessary and multidisciplinary approaches are required, individual citizens can also participate in cultural dynamics—the process of cultural formation, maintenance, and transformation—to craft cultures of sustainability, and psychological science can point to potential mechanisms for effecting this cultural change. Informed by the niche-construction perspective, I suggest that the critical ingredients of cultures of sustainability include (a) conceptions of human–nature connectedness, (b) conceptions of human–artifact relation, (c) interpersonal conversations about sustainability norms within social networks, and (d) visions of an achievable utopia for a sustainable future. Further research and action are called for.

scholarly journals Local Community Perceptions on Landscape Change, Ecosystem Services, Climate Change, and Livelihoods in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Musakwa ◽  
Ephraim Mpofu ◽  
Nesisa Analisa Nyathi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
National Park ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Large Herbivores

Understanding humanity’s relationship with nature is crucial for the well-being and sustainable development of mankind in the face of global environmental change. Communities depend on landscapes for survival and landscapes determine if sustainable development is to be achieved. The links between landscapes, ecosystem services, livelihoods, and climate change are often complex, misunderstood, and barely studied in rural areas of Africa, where communities live side-by-side with conservation areas. Our study surveyed the perception of the nexus of landscape change, climate change, ecosystem services, and livelihoods in Gonarezhou, a national park in southeastern Zimbabwe. We also used Landsat satellite imagery to map the landscape change over 20 years to validate and to correlate with the survey data. The survey results indicated that people relied on rainfed agriculture as a means of livelihood, but droughts as a result of climate change force communities to engage in other means of livelihoods such as small-scale poaching of small game such as impala and harvesting of natural resources such as edible shrubs. Crops and livestock as provisional ecosystem services have been negatively affected by climate change and landscape change. Landsat data confirmed that there was a negative transformation of the landscape as a result of agriculture, growth in settlements, and large herbivores. However, there was also a positive landscape transformation resulting from the conservation efforts by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust (GCT). Cultural services about education and awareness of the environment and provisional services such as wild fruits are booming. Challenges such as soil erosion, human–wildlife conflict, and minimal community benefits from conservation efforts hindered sustainable development in the study area. While changes in landscape, climate, livelihoods, and ecosystem services happened at a local scale, the underlying drivers such as politics and the economy were also identified as drivers of landscape change.

scholarly journals A Comparative Analysis Of Initiatives And Adaptation Measures To Climate Change Undertaken In Poland And Western Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Dorota Michalak
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Adaptation Measures

Climate change is one of the greatest contemporary threats to our planet's environmental, social and economic well-being, accompanied by major changes in life support systems on Earth, where the far-reaching effects will be felt in the coming decades. The Earth's climate is warming rapidly due to emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The Stern Report predicts that in the long term, climate change could cut global gross domestic product (GDP) by 5 to 20% or more each year if it is not brought under control by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this paper is to compare the degree of influence of climate change on the economies of Western Europe and comparing national strategies for adaptation to climate change in selected countries of Western Europe and Poland. The analysis of the main initiatives for adaptation to climate change in selected countries of Western Europe and Poland relate to key issues mentioned in the strategic documents of the European Commission. In the United Kingdom the main emphasis is on the reduction of greenhouse gases as a form of preventive action, rather than adaptation to climate change. All strategies recognize the importance of raising public awareness about the negative effects of climate change and the importance of preparing adaptation measures, and stress the need to support the critical and most sensitive sectors of the European economy – forestry, agriculture and fisheries. The Polish strategy of adaptation to climate change does not deviate from the strategy of these countries of Western Europe, but it must be emphasized that this is only a document listing recommendations on the scope of operations of adaptation to climate change. Its realization is a separate issue.

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