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Aquaculture is surpassing wild-caught seafood, but we feed aquaculture with wild forage fish for key nutrients. This study finds removing such forage fish from diets of livestock and non-carnivorous aquaculture species and moderating its use in China will help sustain forage fish populations in the future.

A comprehensive review of studies about the impact of agricultural intensification on both human well-being and ecosystem services shows mixed evidence, which depends mostly on previous land use, the sort of intensification, and what specific outcomes are measured.

An analysis of famines in England, France and Italy from 1300 to 1850 to determine the ecological and social determinants that cause famines, and their severity and timing. The authors find that Malthusian arguments regarding population density and food production were correct before the Industrial Revolution, with famines being caused by meteorological events; famines did not become ‘man-made’ events until after 1710.

China’s agricultural output is growing rapidly, but the environmental impacts are unclear. This study finds this impact has risen, but much more slowly than output due to improved farm management, though ongoing shifts in cropland location may challenge this development.

Many cities rely on not just traditional delivery systems for potable water, but also standard economic models for valuing those systems. Both must be questioned to ensure future water security in drought-challenged urban regions.

A large-scale economic analysis of the economics of water supplies in the greater Los Angeles area, based on the ‘full-cycle’ costs of water sources such as imported water, groundwater, and reused and storm-water capture. The study showcases an updated model and framework for urban water studies that can be applied to other cities.

Most published geoengineering scenarios are climate modelling studies, which biases the public perception of what is possible and desirable. Scenarios should be used more broadly to engage scientists, policymakers and society in a debate about which future climate and world we want.

Civil society, businesses, governments and academia should unite forces to transform the plastic economy.

The Belt and Road Initiative will greatly influence the future of global trade. However, it may also promote permanent environmental degradation. We call for rigorous strategic environmental and social assessments, raising the bar for environmental protection worldwide.

The structure of criminal phenomena is often obscure for researchers. A study based on thousands of self-reported cases reveals the paths underpinning illegal adoptions in China, and some leads on how to tackle them.

Agroforests can combine crop production with ecosystem service provisioning, but how they should be implemented to balance their costs and benefits remains unknown. This study finds that low-to-intermediate shade cocoa agroforests in West Africa benefit biodiversity and climate without compromising production.

A social network analysis of over 20,000 reports of illegal child adoption in China reveals the most important cities, provinces and paths of child trafficking. Over 80% of the network can be reached by targeting four cities.

Models for preventing climate from warming by more than 2 °C assume implementing land-use change, such as reforestation, to store carbon. This study finds these models assume 8.8 Mha yr⁻¹ more cropland and, in some cases, massive reforestation and even afforestation.

Ensuring human well-being within the limits of the natural world over time requires designing for sustainability. This Review analyses the extent to which cognitive biases can either limit or help such design. It also suggests possible changes to the decision settings of engineers as new ways to achieve sustainability.

Theories of cultural evolution can help explain how norms that are externally enforced are internalized to become intrinsic motivations to behave sustainably. This knowledge is useful for developing interventions for behavioural change.