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The development of the post-2020 strategic plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity provides a vital window of opportunity to set out an ambitious plan of action to restore global biodiversity. The components of such a plan, including its goal, targets and some metrics, already exist and provide a roadmap to 2050.
The paired watershed approach is the most popular tool for quantifying the effects of forest watershed management on water sustainability. But this approach does not often address the critical factor of water stored in the landscape. Future work needs to quantify storage in paired watershed studies to inform sustainable water management.
At least 30 million people in three African countries and Yemen are experiencing severe food insecurity. To rapidly scale-up international aid, we should acknowledge the systemic risk implied in food insecurity by looking at, for example, potential international refugee movement.
Sustainability research is often interdisciplinary, presenting challenges and opportunities for authors, editors and reviewers. Recognizing and contributing to its hard-won value is vital to unlocking the potential of sustainability science and scholarship.
Academic enterprises seeking to support society’s efforts to achieve global sustainability need to change their legacy reward systems. We need new structures to foster knowledge that is deeply integrated across disciplines and co-produced with non-academic stakeholders.
The rapid growth of bottled water use in low- and middle-income countries, and its normalization as a daily source of drinking water, does not provide a pathway to universal access. Generous and sustained investment in centralized and community utilities remains the most viable means for achieving safe water access for all.
