Sustainability Science Research Articles

Investigating gut contents of the leptocleidian plesiosaur Umoonasaurus demoscyllus using micro-CT imaging

The holotype of Umoonasaurus demoscyllus (AM F.99374) is one of the most complete plesiosaur skeletons ever discovered in Australia. It preserves a gastric mass in the pectoral girdle region that has not yet been documented in detail. Here, we use high resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to image the gut contents of this specimen. These comprise 17 vertebrae from an unidentified teleost, together with at least 60 rounded gastroliths averaging about 5 mm in maximum length. Our study demonstrates the potential for 3D tomographic imaging to investigate Mesozoic marine reptile diets and ecology. Joshua M. White [Joshua.white@anu.edu.au], Research School of Physics, Department of Materials Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia. Aleese Barron [aleese.barron@anu.edu.au], Research School of Physics, Department of Materials Physics, Australian National University, Canberra ACT, 2601, Australia; School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Banks Building, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Matthew R. McCurry [matthew.mccurry@austmus.gov.au], Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia; Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales 2052, Australia; Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA. Tim Denham [tim.denham@anu.edu.au], School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Banks Building, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

A participative method to build bridges between sustainability science and anticipatory governance at Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Basque Country)

A key-goal for governance is the translation of knowledge into planning. We recruited 125 representatives from society, technical-political and the scientific community in a participation process focused on the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. We analysed their testimonials by using qualitative and quantitative methods, including Computer Assisted Qualitative Contents Analysis. We validated consensuses for future management, detailing criteria for a sustainable, collaborative, and anticipatory governance. The consensuses that stood out as most important have been the following: 1. Urdaibai should work towards human well-being and prosperity. 2. Synergies between institutions and society through participation strategies are necessary. 3. It is important to have a political leadership to guide governance. We can state that the participatory process carried out allowed participants to express shared horizons on future strategies. We present the methodology of this process as well as its results since we consider that both can be useful for managers of protected areas.

Urban Success and Urban Adaptation Over the Long Run

Abstract One of archaeology’s principal contributions to knowledge is its ability to track human actions and social conditions over long periods of time. I describe an approach to operationalizing this insight for the rise and fall of cities and other settlement over time. Cities that survive and thrive are considered successful, and urban success can be measured along three dimensions: persistence, population, and prosperity. Successful cities were those whose leaders, residents, and institutions found ways to adapt to a range of shocks and conditions, including the environment, local institutions, and regional political and economic forces. Urban success is therefore due to processes of urban adaptation that operated over long periods of time. I outline a conceptual and methodological approach to urban success and position the concept with respect to notions of adaptation and time scales in sustainability science and the social and historical sciences more broadly.

Report of the International Conference on Science and Technology for Sustainability 2022

Report of the International Conference on Science and Technology for Sustainability 2022

Leveraging the metacoupling framework for sustainability science and global sustainable development.

Sustainability science seeks to understand human-nature interactions behind sustainability challenges, but has largely been place-based. Traditional sustainability efforts often solved problems in one place at the cost of other places, compromising global sustainability. The metacoupling framework offers a conceptual foundation and a holistic approach to integrating human-nature interactions within a place, as well as between adjacent places and between distant places worldwide. Its applications show broad utilities for advancing sustainability science with profound implications for global sustainable development. They have revealed effects of metacoupling on the performance, synergies, and trade-offs of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across borders and across local to global scales; untangled complex interactions; identified new network attributes; unveiled spatio-temporal dynamics and effects of metacoupling; uncovered invisible feedbacks across metacoupled systems; expanded the nexus approach; detected and integrated hidden phenomena and overlooked issues; re-examined theories such as Tobler's First Law of Geography; and unfolded transformations among noncoupling, coupling, decoupling, and recoupling. Results from the applications are also helpful to achieve SDGs across space, amplify benefits of ecosystem restoration across boundaries and across scales, augment transboundary management, broaden spatial planning, boost supply chains, empower small agents in the large world, and shift from place-based to flow-based governance. Key topics for future research include cascading effects of an event in one place on other places both nearby and far away. Operationalizing the framework can benefit from further tracing flows across scales and space, uplifting the rigor of causal attribution, enlarging toolboxes, and elevating financial and human resources. Unleashing the full potential of the framework will generate more important scientific discoveries and more effective solutions for global justice and sustainable development.

Reflections on a vulnerability framework for sustainability science

Reflections on a vulnerability framework for sustainability science

A new Early–Middle Miocene phalangerid (Marsupialia: Phalangeridae) from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park, northwestern Queensland

Archerus johntoniae represents a new genus and species of phalangerid possum from the Early to Middle Miocene of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. The new taxon is the tenth extinct phalangerid species to be described and is the seventh species recognized from the diverse Riversleigh fossil assemblages. A. johntoniae has its closest morphometric affinities (such as relatively short molars, narrow premolars, an anteriorly narrow upper first molar, and posteriorly narrow fourth molars) with trichosurine and stem phalangerids. Morphologically, A. johntoniae has similarities to phalangerines and trichosurines, but is most dissimilar to other fossil phalangerids. The new species is one of the smallest (ca 1.3 kg) phalangerids known and may have occupied Early and Middle Miocene frugivorous/insectivorous niches demarcated from other phalangerids by body size and diet. A. johntoniae is one of a minority of Riversleigh species to have survived a significant decline in marsupial diversity associated with a rapid spike in global temperature at the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum.Troy Myers [t.myers@unsw.edu.au], Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Kirsten Crosby [Kirsten.crosby@gmail.com], GHD Group Pty Ltd, Level 15, 133 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW, 2000 (currently), School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

An overview of research trends on sustainability in higher education – an exploratory study

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the main areas in which researchers are focusing their efforts in terms of sustainability in higher education (curriculum, campus greening, research, governance or outreach), the format in which this research is performed (in terms of individual or combined efforts) and the primary research focus (in terms of local or global issues).Design/methodology/approachTrends on sustainability research were investigated by means of an online survey – the World Survey on Sustainability Publishing and Research in Higher Education, which was disseminated among members of the European School of Sustainability Science and Research and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme.FindingsThe survey collected responses from 103 researchers across over 40 countries. Three trends emerged: in spite of the intrinsic value of sustainability research in higher education, this area is not as mature as one could expect; the range of themes covered is wide and addresses a variety of areas; and individuals working alone is the most common means of doing research, whereas research at the university, department and faculty level appears to be less common.Originality/valueThe paper outlines some measures via which higher education institutions may be able to take more advantage of the many opportunities sustainability research offers to them.

A review of health and mental well-being indicators and its assessment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Health and mental well-being are shaped by multiple factors which should be considered for a wholistic assessment. This need is strengthened considering that health is not just the absence of illness but a complete state of well-being. This fact leads to a sharp turn to psychological measures for understanding and ascertaining the construct which has been explored extensively in developed countries. Understanding the construct through the sub-Saharan African lense becomes necessary for accuracy in the assessment to improve the population’s health mental-well-being and to reduce the risk of those impending effects in case of the reverse. With the need for comprehension across multiple factors, scientific consensus is considered necessary for reflexivity and applicability, deployable at medium-scale level. Adapting the POWER framework while leveraging the Web of Science data base complemented with random Google-led searches, this paper reviewed related literature on mental health and well-being revealing that the construct is fast gaining attention in sub-Saharan African space with heavy reliance on western-developed/validated assessment instruments majorly deployed as paper-pencil. The adaptive forms which are largely non-existent becomes a direction for research considering the need for accuracy in mental well-being and a framework for action to ensure transdisciplinary science of sustainability which is fast-gaining relevance for tackling complex problems in a bid to promote health and mental well-being in a targeted population.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Biodiversity Education

The importance of biodiversity is one of the most critical issues today, and intense efforts are being made to protect and maintain biodiversity. In this study, biodiversity, which is related to many disciplines, was evaluated in terms of education. A bibliometric analysis was used. The bibliometric method is widely used to reveal the relationship between scientific studies, the effect of the studies, and the effect of the researchers and journals in a particular field. Research findings showed that many articles have been published on biodiversity recently. In education, out-of-school learning activities are used more widely today. Moreover, the USA, China, and Germany are among the countries that publish more articles about biodiversity. Based on the research findings, it was determined that combining the formal education process with out-of-school activities will help students exhibit positive behavior about the environment and biodiversity. Considering the trend in recent years, studies related to climate change, ecosystem service, sustainability, and citizen science can be carried out.

A new Eocene species of presbyornithid (Aves, Anseriformes) from Murgon, Australia

The taxa found in an Eocene deposit, near Murgon, Queensland, the only pre-Oligocene Paleogene site recording a terrestrial vertebrate fauna from Australia, are very significant for the insight they provide concerning the evolution of the Australian biota. Here we resolve the identity of fossils previously referred to the Graculavidae, waterbirds of then unresolved affinities. We taxonomically describe the first bird to be named from this fauna, Murgonornis archeri gen. et sp. nov., Presbyornithidae. Our findings reveal that presbyornithids were widespread globally in the earliest Eocene, and that this family had a history on Australia from at least 55 Ma until ca. 24 Ma, when they disappear from the fossil record.Trevor H. Worthy [trevor.worthy@flinders.edu.au], College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, SA, Australia; Vanesa L. De Pietri [vanesa.depietri@canterbury.ac.nz], University of Canterbury, School of Earth and Environment, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand; R. Paul Scofield [pscofield@canterburymuseum.com], Canterbury Museum, 11 Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand; Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

Co-design approaches in land use related sustainability science – A systematic review

“Co-design“ has become a widely used approach in land use science to address complex sustainability challenges. However, the term “co-design” is applied in quite different contexts, often implying different meanings and practices to implementation which leads to terminological fuzziness. Since an overview and synthesis of these different approaches is still missing, this systematic review aims at shedding light on the different meanings of “co-design,“ systematizing the body of literature on land use sciences, and exploring how scientists and experts implement co-design processes in practice. Applying a quantitative meta-analysis of 88 SCOPUS-listed publications, we identified two main objectives and types for conducting co-design research: Seventy-six studies aim at jointly developing problem-solving interventions for sustainable transformations (“intervention type”), whereas 12 studies seek to collaboratively develop research questions or agendas (type: “co-created research designs”). Using a qualitative in-depth analysis, we further divide the “intervention type” corpus into four subtypes: (a) “researcher-led and model-based” and (b) “social science-driven intervention” studies applying a rigorous pre-defined study design where scientists are the dominant actors. Subtype (c) includes studies that develop “design-led and practice-oriented interventions” and rather focus on practical outcomes than on scientific knowledge production. The subtype (d) “transformative transdisciplinary interventions and living labs” shows the strongest ties to transdisciplinary research philosophy, theory, methodology, and practice. Co-citation-network analyses reveal that these subtypes have partly evolved independently from each other by using different theoretical and methodological references. Generally, “co-design“ is applied in various ways, but without an agreement on what exactly “co-design” entails. It is often used intuitively across the subtypes, without carefully reflecting the existing theoretical and methodological foundations. Finally, we provide suggestions for supporting an integration of “co-design“ into future research projects in a more conscious and sound way.

Lessons for Participation from an Interdisciplinary Law and Sustainability Science Approach: The Reform of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive

AbstractStakeholder participation is an important tenet for European Union (EU) policymaking and it can be approached from different disciplinary angles. The legal literature tends to refer to participation as a formal consultative opportunity in regulatory processes, resulting in rather homogeneous institutional arrangements for participation across policy fields and different sets of problems. Sustainability science, on the other hand, starts from the understanding of a problem in its complexity and peculiarities as a driving force determining both the rationale behind and the design of each participatory process. In this paper, we explore lessons regarding participation that could be derived from adopting an approach in which we combine insights from law and sustainability science. Along four principles, we explore potential leverage points for improving the sustainability of EU decision-making processes and their outcomes.

E-Archeo: A Pilot National Project to Valorize Italian Archaeological Parks through Digital and Virtual Reality Technologies

Commissioned to ALES spa by the Ministry of Culture (MiC), the e-Archeo project was born with the intention of enhancing and promoting knowledge of some Italian archaeological sites with a considerable narrative potential that has not yet been fully expressed. The main principle that guided the choice of the sites and the contents was of illustrating the various cultures and types of settlements present in the Italian territory. Eight sites were chosen, spread across the national territory from north to south, founded by Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians, natives and Romans. e-Archeo has developed multimedia, integrated and multi-channel solutions for various uses and types of audiences, adopting both scientific and narrative and emotional languages. Particular attention was paid to multimedia accessibility, technological sustainability and open science. The e-Archeo project was born from a strong synergy between public entities, research bodies and private industries thanks to the collaboration of MiC and ALES with the CNR ISPC, 10 Italian Universities, 12 Creative Industries and the Italian National Television (RAI). This exceptional and unusual condition made it possible to realise all the project’s high-quality contents and several outputs in only one and a half years.

Shifting from binaries to pluralism: Unpacking polarizing discourses on the Forest Rights Act in India

Environmental policy debates often get polarized along binaries of environment versus economic development or conservation versus rights. Sustainability scientists and practitioners generally suggest finding common grounds as a pathway for building consensus among the diverse perspectives involved in polarized environmental policy discussions. This paper takes a critical stance towards such calls for common grounds by calling attention to the implicit assumptions that underlie these discourses. We study the case of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in India, which has polarized the forest policy discourse between conservationists and rights activists in India. We examine scientific publications on the FRA using discourse and framing analysis and show that scholarly discourses on FRA lie along a spectrum characterized by underlying epistemic and normative practices. We identify five groups of scholars based on the unique positions they have taken on FRA: a) advocacy-centric, b) welfare-centric, c) community-centric, d) dialogue-centric, and e) techno-centric scholars. We find that negative framings of the forest dweller community lead to scientific endorsement of policy prescriptions that empower socio-political institutions that are external to these communities. We argue that scholarly calls for common grounds often assume uniform or neutral framings for the stakeholders involved. We conclude that recognizing the polarization spectrum in environmental policy discourses can help us move towards pluralistic approaches to environmental governance.

Perceived interest in learning sustainability competencies among higher education students

PurposeThis study aims to assess higher education students’ interest in learning sustainability competencies and their pro-ecological worldviews at a large research-intensive university in Finland to provide a background information for developing a sustainability science course.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 797 students participated in the study. The data were collected through an online survey that measured students’ interest in learning sustainability competencies and their pro-ecological worldviews. Participants were classified into five categories based on field of study. The data were analysed by using Pearson’s correlation, independent samples t-tests, and analysis of variance.FindingsThe participating students perceived learning of critical thinking and values thinking most interesting. Interest in learning sustainability competencies and pro-ecological worldview appeared to differ across fields of study. Participants studying humanities expressed lower interest in collaborative use of digital technology compared to the participating students in science and agriculture. Participating students in health and welfare scored lower on interest in learning values thinking than students in other study fields.Research limitations/implicationsThe response rate was low. It is likely that the participants felt strongly about sustainability challenges, therefore making them more interested in sustainability competencies. The limited number of sustainability competencies studied does not allow generalisation to all sustainability competencies.Practical implicationsThe differences in interest in learning sustainability competencies and pro-ecological worldview should be understood and considered when planning sustainability education.Originality/valueThese results provide new insights into the interlinkage of students’ interest in learning sustainability competencies, their pro-ecological worldviews and their field of study.

Bridging organisational discourse and practice change: exploring sustainable procurement portfolios for Australian beef

PurposePrivate retail and brand-driven sustainable procurement standards are influencing global agri-food markets, shifting trade and export priorities and reshaping food supply chains. Using the case of Australian beef, the authors construct and evaluate three procurement activity “portfolios” and evaluate how these activity sets pull towards or against diverse organisational goals and/or science-based sustainability objectives.Design/methodology/approachA review of the academic and practitioner literature identified three key pillars for sustainable Australian beef procurement: animal welfare, environmental management and climate change (i.e. emissions). A subset of sustainable beef production activities (n = 100) was identified through this review plus semi-structured interviews with Australian beef retailers and industry bodies. This activity set was filtered (n = 40) and scored by a panel of science experts via a series of workshops and an additional survey. Using these data, the authors use a k-means cluster analysis (k = 3) to consider the strong or weak contributions of each activity portfolio towards typical sustainable beef goals.FindingsA portfolio-based view of sustainable procurement puts the trade-offs between activities and the need for clear sustainability prioritisation into sharp focus. The authors find that individual strategies may be singularly more or less impactful, complex or popular, but when combined as a suite of activities enacted towards a particular goal or set of goals, essential for success. The authors find that obtaining balance across sustainable beef pillars versus within specific pillars can narrow the optimal set of activities that can succeed against multiple sustainability goals.Practical implicationsFor procurement managers, the balance between clear focus and multidimensional progress is a difficult challenge. It requires the bold identification and articulation of an organisation’s interlocking corporate, industry or environmental objectives and flexibility on the strategies, tools and resources required. The authors posit that shifting away from a focus on rigid metrics may be useful in breaking the impasse on meaningful action.Social implicationsUsing a set of known activities and strategies that a procurement manager might draw from in operationalising sustainability goals, the authors cluster activities into three discrete activity portfolios. Each portfolio requires differing levels of effort, implementation complexity and potential for within-pillar and cross-pillar impact (i.e. co-benefits). Assessing the evidence and potential for cross-pillar impacts of individual strategies is a complex undertaking, indicative of the systems and tangled interactions that characterise sustainability science more broadly.Originality/valueBy assessing how the procurement function can be leveraged and operationalised towards sustainability goals through a lens of optimal portfolio management, the authors provide a way forward for the procurement managers working within large retailers and agri-food businesses to progress towards multiple sustainability pillars simultaneously.

Introducing the 3R Program in Teaching Laboratories to Promote Sustainability Science through Miniaturization Studies on the Spectrophotometric Determination of Organic Carbon and Phosphorus in Soil

The general assembly meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2015 adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at achieving a better and more sustainable world by 2030. Incorporating sustainable values through a series of pedagogical strategies into university curricula to help future professionals enhance their understanding of sustainability and how they relate to it is one of the crucial steps to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education. Inspired by the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) and the “3R” (reduce, recycle, and reuse) approach, a laboratory experiment has been developed to illustrate the basic concept of reaction miniaturization step by step. This article presents a novel experimental design consisting of 7 sessions, which includes all elements of the 3R approach. Herein, students miniaturize the conventional calorimetric determination of soil organic carbon (OC) and soil available phosphorus (P) utilizing recycled microtips and microcentrifuge tubes. Students apply their critical thinking abilities to compute and compare the waste generated, the analysis cost, and the time required for each test using the conventional approach (CA) and miniature approach (MA). They further assess the greenness of both approaches using the open-source Analytical GREEnness (AGREE) software. While students carry out these experiments, they acquire laboratory skills and reinforce their understanding of sustainability, Beer–Lambert law, how OC relates to the bioavailability of anionic nutrients such as PO43– phosphate species, and how such relationships can statistically vary based on the methods applied. Learning outcomes were assessed to evaluate the experimental design.

Pursuitworthiness in urgent research: Lessons on well-ordered science from sustainability science

Urgent and complex sustainability problems are redefining the conditions for success of science and instigating novel methodologies and new roles of values in science. At the same time, sustainability research, mostly under the umbrella of sustainability science, is abundant with dubious methods and dubious aims of research, contributing to the already widespread crisis of the quality control mechanisms in science. This paper identifies some of these dubious methods (non-systemic thinking and specific contractual funding mechanisms) and dubious aims (unclear aims and undisclosed value assumptions), and argues that, with proper expert evaluation, it is possible to predict the type of content (and the scientific value) these forms of research will result in. Identifying the forms of research with predictably dubious results has practical implications for doing and evaluating research in sustainability science, on the one hand, while on the other, it contributes to the discussion on the ideal of well-ordered science by concretizing the ideal and developing a criterion for ordering science in the case of sustainability science. Finally, the paper provides a connection of sustainability science with the meta-science discussions on the crisis in the quality of science and on science organization, what at the same time more closely connects the philosophy of science with problems encountered in research practice tackling urgent, complex and value-laden problems.

Green Labs: a guide to developing sustainable science in your organization.

Scientific research plays a vital role for society, but carries a significant environmental footprint, involving intensive use of energy and resources. Scientists are well placed to understand the unfolding climate and ecological crises, but may not appreciate how heavily their research, and other work-related activities, contribute to emissions and pollution. With the consequences of climate change and ecological breakdown playing out in real time, scientists now have an important, urgent role to play in catalyzing solutions. Here, we explore how research organizations can reduce their environmental impact, share useful resources and encourage the global community to engage in making science more sustainable.