Environmental sustainability and scientific publishing: EASE manifesto

Human impacts on the Earth have become so pervasive as to drive global scale changes leading some scientists to propose a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. A name which reflects the huge and sweeping changes human activities have caused to the Earth. Furthermore, these rapidly expanding and accelerating activities threaten to push aspects of the Earth system beyond  the relatively stable and safe space in which the entirety of human history occurred, the Holocene. This safe operating space is characterised by a set of nine planetary boundaries1 within which humanity should be able to continue to develop and thrive for generations to come. These include: climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows and freshwater use. Crossing these boundaries risks generating large-scale, rapid or irreversible environmental changes. Reducing the environmental impact of our activities in order to keep within a safe operating space for humanity and the linked goal of providing a basic social foundation for everyone requires global actions. Every individual, company, institution and organisation, whether large or small, public or private, needs to contribute – ‘think global, act local’. Scientific publishing as a key player in discussing and disseminating research on climate heating and the biodiversity crisis has transformed from print to digital journals and e-books over recent decades but we must do more. The European Association of Science Editors (EASE) is an international community of individuals and associations engaged in science communication and editing. As such, EASE can help and support its members to engage in different ways to achieve and communicate efforts to reduce our environmental footprints for example by becoming carbon neutral (or even carbon negative) irrespective of the type of organisation they work in. Below are some suggestions for how editors can take steps to reduce their environmental footprint in their own particular circumstances and thereby contribute to the overall effort to reduce environmental damages. Not all suggestions will be relevant to everyone and structural or organisational change will have a greater impact than individual actions, but together we can make a difference.

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A digital contract for restoration of the Earth System mediated by a Planetary Boundary Exchange Unit

The Anthropocene Review ◽

10.1177/2053019620987270 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 205301962098727

Author(s):

Orfeu Bertolami ◽

Frederico Francisco

Keyword(s):

Earth System ◽

New Governance ◽

Validation Process ◽

Operational Conditions ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

The Earth ◽

Optimal Functioning ◽

Operating Space ◽

Exchange Unit ◽

Safe Operating

In this paper, we propose a new governance paradigm for managing the Earth System based on a digital contract inspired on blockchain technology. This proposal allows for a radical decentralisation of the procedures of controlling, maintaining and restoring ecosystems by a set of networks willing to engage in improving the operational conditions of local ecosystems so to contribute to an optimal functioning of the Earth System. These procedures are aimed to improve local Planetary Boundary parameters so that they approach the optimal Holocene reference values, the so-called Safe Operating Space, via a reciprocal validation process and an exchange unit that internalises the state of the Earth System.

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New kid on the block: Research of alpine-lake macroinvertebrates in the Tatra Mountains enhanced by DNA barcoding and metabarcoding

ARPHA Conference Abstracts ◽

10.3897/aca.4.e64945 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Ondrej Vargovčík ◽

Zuzana Čiamporová-Zaťovičová ◽

Fedor Čiampor Jr

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Sampling Error ◽

Alpine Lakes ◽

Alpine Lake ◽

Tatra Mountains ◽

Aquatic Communities ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Tatra Mountains

State of ecosystems and biodiversity protection are becoming the key interests for modern society due to climate change and negative human impacts (Leese 2018). Environmental changes in freshwaters are indicated also by benthic communities, especially in sensitive ecosystems like alpine lakes (Fjellheim 2009). Moreover, remoteness and isolation of alpine lakes make them a source of biodiversity, which is worth conserving (Hamerlík 2014). A promising tool for efficient large-scale monitoring of aquatic communities is DNA metabarcoding (Leese 2018). In this study, we applied metabarcoding to analyse macrozoobenthos of 12 lakes in the Tatra Mountains, using benthic bulk samples and eDNA filtered from water (Fig. 1). In compliance with recent publications, eDNA amplified with BF3/BR2 primers resulted in high percentage of non-invertebrate reads (Leese 2021). Based on in silico tests with the obtained sequences, we confirm that the recently developed EPTDr2n primer enables minimizing non-target amplification even with eDNA filtered from alpine-lake water (Elbrecht and Leese 2017). This ability is facilitated by 3’ end of the primer and we observed the two important mismatches in non-target sequences from our study (Leese 2021). Thus, our future analyses of eDNA (and bulk-sample fixative) will benefit from the new primer. Concerning bulk samples, a wide range of invertebrate taxa was assigned to the OTUs and they showed good congruence with previous studies using morphological determination (e.g. Krno 2006). Certain differences with (and among) the previous records per lake were observed, which could suggest ecological changes, but at the moment the influence of sampling error cannot be excluded. In eDNA, several taxa were congruent with the previous records, but their amount and read abundance was considerably lower due to non-target amplification. Apart from that, filling gaps in barcoding databases remains one of our priorities, as identification to species or genus level was not yet possible for some invertebrate OTUs. In addition, we subjected the NGS data to denoising and abundance-filtering in order to explore haplotype-level diversity (Andújar 2021). Although more comprehensive conclusions will be possible only after obtaining data from more lakes and years, already the two metabarcoding experiments presented here enabled us to efficiently detect within-species genetic diversity and identify a large variety of taxa, including groups that would otherwise be omitted or very challenging to identify. This underlines the potential of DNA methods to provide valuable ecological and biodiversity data across the tree of life for modern biomonitoring. This study was realized with support from VEGA 2/0030/17 and VEGA 2/0084/21.

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Staying within planetary boundaries as a premise for sustainability: On the responsibility to address counteracting sustainable development goals

Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics ◽

10.5324/eip.v14i1.2863 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 29-44

Author(s):

Heidi Rapp Nilsen

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

The Other ◽

Planetary Boundaries ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Development Goals ◽

Operating Space ◽

Conceptual Paper ◽

Safe Operating

Sustainable development, as explained through the three pillars of environment, society and economy, is a well-known concept and has been used extensively in recent decades. There is finally a growing acknowledgement that environmental sustainability is the prerequisite for achieving the other two pillars of societal and economic sustainability. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to not explicate the negative interactions between the pillars of sustainability, as in the interlinkages between the UN’s sustainable development goals. In this paper, we draw attention to a method for explicating both reinforcing and counteracting goals. This is a conceptual paper but with short, illustrative examples from different levels of the R&D sphere on how this method can be used: one example is at the project level, two are from financiers of R&D projects, and the other is at the UN level. Finally, a longer discussion on relevant ethical guidelines is presented. This paper addresses the responsibility to recognize when and how sustainability goals counteract each other through two key actions. The first action is to identify transgressions of global ecological system boundaries and the resulting serious consequences for trading on environmental sustainability. The second involves bringing to the fore relevant ethical guidelines from the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee. An update of these guidelines is suggested to reflect recent research on the transgression of planetary boundaries and the consequences for a safe operating space for humans on Earth. Keywords: Environmental sustainability, ethical guidelines for research, UN sustainable development goals, counteracting goals

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Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production and On the Agricultural Environment

Nutrition and Food Processing ◽

10.31579/2637-8914/033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 01-03

Author(s):

De Wrachien

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Food Production ◽

Large Scale ◽

Natural World ◽

Agricultural Environment ◽

The Earth ◽

Increase Food Production ◽

The One ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Despite the enormous advances in our ability to manage the natural world, we have reached the 21st century in awesome ignorance of what is likely to unfold in terms of both the climate changes and the human activities that affect the environment and the responses of the Earth to these stimuli. Globally the prospects of increasing the gross cultivated area are limited by the decease of economically attractive sites for large-scale irrigation and drainage projects. Therefore, increase in food production will necessarily rely on a more accurate application of the crop water requirements on the one hand, and modernization and improvement of irrigation and drainage systems on the other hand. These issues have to be analysed in light of the expected impacts of climate change and environmental sustainability. The present Editorial analyses the relevant aspects of these issues in light of the need to increase food production and for sustainable agricultural environment.

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Envisioning Predator Free Miramar

10.26686/wgtn.16669249 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Shanika Tuinder

Keyword(s):

Landscape Architecture ◽

Large Scale ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Ecological Resilience ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Social Infrastructure ◽

Biodiversity Crisis ◽

Predator Management ◽

Starting Point

Rapid urbanisation and population growth has led to the fragmentation of vital ecosystems, disconnecting communities from the natural environment, and escalating the worldwide biodiversity crisis that we are currently experiencing. In 2015, New Zealand responded to its biodiversity crisis with the most significant large-scale conservation strategy the nation has seen. The Predator Free 2050 initiative aims to facilitate environmental changes for its indigenous flora and fauna to thrive again. New Zealand’s conservation approach has typically focused on predator management through off-shore islands and in fenced eco-sanctuaries. However, in order to achieve this nationwide predator-free status, conservation efforts must be extended into the urban realm. The success of this will rely heavily on the engagement of the public. This presents an opportunity to potentiate new knowledge around the links between community engagement and conservation in order to generate socio- ecological relations in urban environments. From a case study approach, this research will explore how landscape architecture can respond to the issues of biodiversity loss, land scarcity, and urban disconnect from nature by strengthening the relationship between social infrastructure and ecological health in an urban environment. Miramar Peninsula (Wellington) has seen strong community efforts to become the first predator free suburb in the country. Its size and defensibility make it a logical starting point to begin predator management across Wellington city. Watts Peninsula is a prominent cultural and historical landmark located on the northern tip of Miramar Peninsula. Despite its rich heritage, the area receives low levels of public use and is overrun by exotic species. Recently, government funding was allocated to provide recreational, safety and cultural benefits through the establishment of a reserve at Watts Peninsula. This presents an opportunity to address the future upgrade of the reserve by following the principles of Predator Free 2050 initiative, linking conservation with socio-ecological resilience. Watts reserve has been approached as a case study for developing design-led research. The research is oriented towards facilitating the ecological transformation of the area at the same time that social inclusiveness is embraced. In order to generate tangible changes, a range of small, strategic and feasible spatial interventions have been explored. The applied research methodology showcases the capacity of universities to develop civic engagement by linking national debates with local needs. The final aim of the research is to reflect how landscape architecture can catalyse the urban conservation movement to improve the habitability and sociability of our cities.

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Sustainable Use of the Environment, Planetary Boundaries and Market Power

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020949 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 949

Author(s):

Edward B. Barbier ◽

Joanne C. Burgess

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Market Power ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Planetary Boundaries ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Resource Rents ◽

Dominant Firms ◽

Operating Space ◽

Safe Operating

Many of the environment and natural resources that constitute key “safe operating spaces”, as designated by planetary boundaries, are being exploited by a handful of large firms with considerable market share. In this paper, we discuss how the environment and natural resources that occur within a safe operating space can be treated as an exploitable finite stock. We use an optimal depletion model to show how the extraction of these exhaustible assets can be managed optimally, and allow for adjustment in price paths due to technological innovation and environmental externalities. Given the growing market concentration and monopoly power in the key economic sectors that exploit the environment and resources that constitute many safe operating spaces, we then explore how monopoly conditions can alter the extraction and price path of the environmental assets over time compared to that under competitive market conditions. We show that the monopoly may be compatible with more sustainable use, by extending the life of the exploitable, depletable stock, at the expense of firms capturing excessive resource rents from exploitation. This tradeoff means that any policies implemented to tax the excessive monopoly rents need to be designed without compromising the sustainable use of the environment. The tax revenue raised can be channeled into protecting or regenerating natural assets that are essential for global environmental sustainability. If investment in regeneration efforts is sufficiently substantial, or if the wider social and environmental values associated with the exhaustible assets are taken into account, then the safe operating space may be conserved indefinitely. Such policy challenges will become increasingly important as dominant firms exert market power over the planet’s remaining environment and resources that constitute key “safe operating spaces”, as designated by planetary boundaries.

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Contagious Transformations? Inter-City Spreading of Sustainability Innovations.

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8976 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Niklas H. Kitzmann ◽

Jonathan F. Donges ◽

Xuemei Bai ◽

Steven Lade ◽

Pawel Romanczuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Surrogate Data ◽

Economic Transformation ◽

Transport Systems ◽

Earth System ◽

Human Beings ◽

Sustainability Transformation ◽

The Earth ◽

Sustainability Policy

In the Anthropocene, socio-economic systems are an integral and highly interconnected part of Earth System. The internal dynamics of these systems will decide whether the Earth can remain in, or return to, a resilient state that resembles the Holocene. Understanding these dynamics thus represents an important aspect of Earth System Science.To prevent the irreversible crossing of Planetary Boundaries, a rapid, global societal shift towards decarbonization and sustainability is imperative. Incremental political measures have thus far proven to be insufficient to adequately address this necessity. Social Contagion and Tipping Processes related to sustainable behavior and innovations represent some of the few promising mechanisms by which the societal and economic transformation may be achieved in the remaining window of opportunity.Such contagion processes are not limited to individual human beings; in their high political responsiveness and cultural radiance, cities may also be viewed as promising agents in the sustainability transformation. Responsible for a dis-proportionally large part of greenhouse gas emissions, and simultaneously one of the main drivers of sustainable policy innovation and implementation, cities may play a unique role in the global sustainability transformation. Learning from each other to reduce, prepare for and react to the coming environmental changes, they can be conceptualized as nodes in a globe-spanning network. Investigating such a learning network model may yield insights into the social tipping dynamics that are so urgently needed to control the human impacts on the Earth System.The study presented here aims to identify whether network-based contagion effects are dominant in sustainability policy adoption by cities. An attempt is made to approximate the inter-city innovation spreading network using the global air traffic network, political and trade relations, and other city-to-city connections. These networks are extracted from empirical data, and their prediction power is compared. We analyze the spreading of several municipal policies and innovations related to sustainability transformations as contagion processes on these inter-city networks. Surrogate data methods and a dose-response-contagion approach are used to identify network-spreading-correlations. We then investigate the nature of the spreading process by attempting to reproduce it using statistical models. Examples for investigated spreading innovations are the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit public transport systems, and membership in a sustainability organization.

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Depletion of forest cover and encroachment in Gonbina Reserved Forest in Goalpara district of Assam

Space and Culture India ◽

10.20896/saci.v4i1.187 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 40

Author(s):

Dhananjoy Medhi ◽

Bimal Kumar Kar

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

Large Scale ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Field Survey ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Earth Surface ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Shorea Robusta ◽

The Earth

Forests constitute the largest ecosystem and habitat of valuable species of plants and animals on the earth surface. The increasing size of population combined with increasing diversity of human activities is continuously degrading the forest areas of the earth’s surface causing great threat to it in respect of shrinkage of coverage, loss of biodiversity and disturbance in the ecological balance. The intense depletion of forest cover in various parts has also brought about large-scale environmental changes including disappearance of many valuable floral and faunal species. In the said context, the district of Goalpara, located in the western part of Assam, was dominantly covered with dense Sal (Shorea Robusta) forest, widely distributed in both the lowland and hills of the district. However, during last few decades the dense Sal forests of the district have experienced massive depletion because of excessive exploitations and encroachments transforming many patches of forestland treeless and now being used for other purposes. Even the reserved forests are also under acute degradation and encroachment. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the nature and dimension of forest cover change alongside massive encroachments and associated implications in Gonbina Reserved Forest of Goalpara district, Assam during 1977-2010, with the help of Survey of India toposheet, satellite imagery, field survey and Geographical Information System.

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