Sustainability Science

https://link.springer.com/journal/11625

List of Papers (Total 694)

Operationalizing the Nature Futures Framework for ecological infrastructure

Scenarios are useful for considering development pathways under different future conditions. To manage a functioning ecological infrastructure (EI) as a network of natural and semi-natural habitats that can promote biodiversity and provide nature’s contributions to people (NCPs), one needs to understand future biophysical and socio-economic influences on its development. However...

Towards epistemic diversity in sustainability transitions: an exploration of hybrid socio-technical systems

A wealth of scholarly work has contributed to make visible and describe the place of indigenous peoples and knowledge in sustainability transitions. We follow suit, exploring if, and how, indigenous peoples and knowledges take part in the construction of hybrid socio-technical systems, i.e. socio-technical systems where heterogeneous knowledges already coexist and give rise to...

Industrial and infrastructural conditions for production and export of green hydrogen and synthetic fuels in the MENA region: insights from Jordan, Morocco, and Oman

Green hydrogen and synthetic fuels are increasingly recognized as a key strategic element for the progress of the global energy transition. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with its large wind and solar potential, is well positioned to generate renewable energy at low cost for the production of green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, and is therefore considered as a...

Longitudinal analysis of home food production and food sharing behavior in Japan: multiple benefits of local food systems and the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Home food production and sharing (home consumption) make up a local community-based food system that has become a custom closely tied to people’s daily life and culture across Japan. In this study, nationwide questionnaire surveys were conducted in 2015 and 2021 to investigate the status and trends of non-commercial home food consumption in Japan. We were also able to evaluate...

Non-monetary narratives motivate businesses to engage with climate change

The dominant narrative to motivate business actors to take climate actions emphasizes opportunities to increase monetary gains, linking sustainability to the financial goals of these organizations. The prevalence of monetary motivations in sustainability communication among businesses, consultancies, academics and international organizations has made this narrative a truism in...

Changes in perception and the effects of personal attributes in decision-making as imaginary future generations: evidence from participatory environmental planning

We conducted a Future Design deliberation workshop on the theme of the “3rd Environmental Master Plan” of Suita City, Osaka Prefecture over four sessions in 2019, with the participation of both city residents and officials of the city government. To condition the deliberations of participants, we adopted the method of Imaginary Future Generations (IFGs) and analyzed its impact on...

Potential side effects of climate change mitigation on poverty and countermeasures

Many countries have set ambitious long-term emissions reduction targets for reaching the goal in alignment with the Paris Agreement. However, large-scale emission reduction efforts may influence poverty by various economic channels. Here, we show the extent to which climate change mitigation, excluding climate change impacts, has the potential to increase poverty, and have...

Expert and non-expert at the same time: knowledge integration processes and dynamics in interdisciplinary teamwork

Contemporary sustainability issues require the integration of diverse knowledge to study and address them holistically. How interdisciplinary knowledge integration arises in teamwork is, however, poorly understood. For instance, studies often focus on either individual or team processes, rather than studying their interplay and thereby contributing to understanding knowledge...

Creative destruction in academia: a time to reimagine practices in alignment with sustainability values

Academia has experienced acceleration and expansion in parallel with the Great Acceleration, which has shaped the Anthropocene. Among other pressures, the expectation to be internationally mobile conflicts with many values held by sustainability scholars and results in disillusionment. The changes in the academic system can be seen through the framework of the adaptive cycle...

New paths for modelling freshwater nature futures

Freshwater ecosystems are exceptionally rich in biodiversity and provide essential benefits to people. Yet they are disproportionately threatened compared to terrestrial and marine systems and remain underrepresented in the scenarios and models used for global environmental assessments. The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) has recently been proposed to advance the contribution of...

Opening the human spirit to sustainability transformation: the potential for individual human–nature resonance and integrative rituals

Urgent calls by the younger generation and the scientific community to approach sustainability only seem to scratch the surface of individuals’ awareness while ecological destruction moves forward. In this regard, current dominant mindsets claiming a human–nature separation appear to hamper change by not granting nature dignity and her own voice. Therefore, the scientific...

IMAGINE sustainability: integrated inner-outer transformation in research, education and practice

There has been a recent proliferation of research and practice on the interior dimensions of sustainability, such as values, beliefs, worldviews and inner capacities. This nascent field of inner transformation is dynamic and emerging, with varied terminology, a breadth of applications, and intense debate about possible contributions as well as limitations and shortcomings. In...

Disparities in the impacts of co-management on fishers’ livelihoods

Natural resources are widely managed through collaborative governance arrangements (e.g., co-management) which often result in the uneven distribution of costs and benefits among fishers. Discrepancies in how a fisher is impacted by co-management relative to other fishers or others in the community (i.e., disparity) can negatively affect fishers’ wellbeing, their support for...

Beyond global versus local: illuminating a cosmolocal framework for convivial technology development

A reconceptualisation of technology, as a vital component of modern society cutting across all its other aspects, is required to achieve social and environmental sustainability. This paper presents a convivial technology development framework using the concept of “cosmolocal” production. The latter captures the dynamic of dispersed technology initiatives, which exhibit...

Perceived impacts of the Fridays for Future climate movement on environmental concern and behaviour in Switzerland

Calling for increased action on climate change, Fridays for Future (FFF) quickly gained momentum around the world and became highly visible through strikes and protests in more than 150 countries. Considering its scale and magnitude, questions about the impact of this newly emerging climate movement arise. This article is based on a survey investigating the perception of Swiss...

The role of emotions in human–nature connectedness within Mediterranean landscapes in Spain

Landscapes can lead to different emotions towards nature that in turn shape people’s environmental behavior and decision processes. This study explores the role of emotions that Mediterranean landscapes foster in people and to what extent these emotions are associated with human–nature connectedness (HNC). We conducted 176 face-to-face surveys to explore HNC and the diversity of...

‘Being’ and ‘doing’: interconnections between researcher identity and conceptualizations of sustainability research

Sustainability research is characterized by a plurality of interests, actors, and research traditions. Sustainability is a widely used concept across multiple disciplines and often a cross-cutting theme in different research projects. However, there is a limited understanding of how researchers from multiple disciplinary backgrounds approach sustainability and position themselves...

Operationalising a large research programme tackling complex urban and planetary health problems: a case study approach to critical reflection

Addressing increasingly urgent global challenges requires the rapid mobilisation of new research groups that are large in scale, co-produced and focussed explicitly on investigating root causes at a systemic level. This requires new ways of operationalising and funding research programmes to better support effective interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary (ID/TD) partnerships...

Advancing sustainable development goals: embedding resilience assessment

Accelerating challenges to cities and communities have triggered a growing interest in the assessment of resilience and sustainability of future developments. For this purpose, many countries have adopted the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goals (SDGs), in which resilience has been incorporated as a component of sustainability. However, the framework has...

Senses of injustices-in-place: nature’s voice through Melbourne’s environmental stewards

Ecological injustices are systemic acts and processes of misrepresentation, misrecognition, maldistribution of impacts, and destruction of fundamental capabilities, to both human and nonhuman living beings. Unpacking these context-specific injustices requires in-depth explorations of people and their experiences, perceptions, types of knowledge, actions, and relations to, for...

The different values of nature: a comparison between university students’ perceptions of nature’s instrumental, intrinsic and relational values

Human–nature relationships are in a critical state, characterized by increasing environmental problems caused by humans. Thus, it is essential to know how to motivate people for environmental protection. Motivation can arise from intrinsic, instrumental or relational perceptions of why nature is valuable. The present study investigates empirically how university students differ...

Navigating ecological security research over the last 30 years: a scoping review

Intensification of human activities is pushing our use of ecosystems beyond thresholds of resiliency. Given the accelerating global crisis of ecological sustainability, there has been enormous growth in research related to ecological security. However, differences in opinions on ecological security have hindered understanding and effective applications of this concept. To...

Transforming universities

The dominant model of universities, especially in the social sciences, is often based upon academic disciplines, objectivity, and a linear knowledge-transfer model. It facilitates competition between academics, educating students for specific professions from an objective, descriptive, and neutral position. This paper argues that this institutional model of universities is...