Peer-reviewed publications

"Recent decades have seen increasing calls for implementing Indigenous Knowledges (IK) in natural resource management (NRM). However, efforts have been limited by the cultural incommensurabilities between (1) NRM institutions, which are rooted in worldviews that prioritize extraction for dominant cultures and assume dominance over nature and (2) Indigenous worldviews that prioritize kincentric reciprocity with the environment. This manuscript addresses how transforming NRM institutions enables management to better support Indigenous Knowledges and lifeways.

This manuscript examines incommensurabilities between NRM institutional cultures and Indigenous cultures, with the value and lifeway of reciprocity as the focal point. Through synthesizing interdisciplinary scholarship and examples from author experiences, we explore how NRM institutions in North America can transform to honour and facilitate reciprocity, especially within efforts to implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways.
NRM institutions are cultural products, and in North America were born of colonial histories and cultural roots connected to modern governance and power dynamics. These cultural foundations led to NRM approaches that prioritize maximizing economic growth while guarding against overexploitation. Kincentric reciprocal relations with the environment often emphasize interdependency with more-than-human kin, place-based holistic Knowledges grounded in cultural practices and communal responsibility to cultivate social-ecological abundance for present and future generations.

Incommensurabilities between NRM institutional cultures and Indigenous cultures impede efforts to implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways as: (1) rigid institutional structures do not account for Indigenous worldviews and values but instead attempt to fit IK within dominant paradigms; (2) the siloing of NRM leads to the piecemealing and invalidation of IK at the expense of Knowledge Holders and (3) ineffective public engagement strategies limit the possibility of reciprocal relations between NRM institutions and communities throughout management processes.

Transforming NRM institutional cultures to better implement IK and support Indigenous lifeways is key for redressing long-standing issues and ensuring social-ecological resilience and abundance. Heavy investments of time, personnel and resources are necessary for transforming NRM institutions to appropriately cultivate reciprocal relations with Indigenous communities and lands. Strategies towards transformation include decentralization through decolonial frameworks, knowledge co-production and using place-based cultural evaluation processes to improve cultural alignment."

None provided

Global efforts aimed at safeguarding and restoring biodiversity require methods to monitor progress towards conservation objectives. Such methods should provide a systematic and robust assessment of biodiversity for the lowest cost. River environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has been successfully applied to measure biodiversity in dendritic riverine habitats and is increasingly used to describe communities of terrestrial vertebrates in ecosystems that are challenging to survey using traditional methods. However, interpreting eDNA surveys in riverine habitats requires an understanding of the influence of eDNA transport, decay, and production on the distribution of eDNA. To this end, the hydrology-based eDITH (eDNA Integrating Transport and Hydrology) model incorporates such factors and can recover reliable spatial biodiversity patterns for aquatic taxa, but its potential to successfully model terrestrial taxa is so far unexplored. Here, we applied eDITH to eDNA metabarcoding data for terrestrial mammals collected over two mountainous catchments (575 and 745 km2) in British Columbia, Canada. We assessed prediction transferability between neighboring catchments and compared model predictions with observations from camera trapping. We found that for 9 out of 15 taxa detected by both eDNA and camera traps, predicted distributions predominantly matched observations from camera trap surveys, illustrating that eDITH can uncover patterns of mammal distribution in mountainous catchments. While lacking knowledge of actual taxon density prevents us from determining whether discrepancies stem from data limitations or complex eDNA production-density relationships, good transferability of predictions to the neighboring catchments suggests that eDNA distribution of some terrestrial and semi-aquatic mammals is partly determined by habitat preference and hydrology. Downstream sampling can recover most biodiversity across the catchment, but the inclusion of upstream samples can aid in detecting elusive species. This study underscores the broader applications of river eDNA beyond aquatic species and illustrates its potential use in addressing terrestrial mammal biodiversity monitoring objectives with tailored sampling approaches.

Ecosystem restoration is primarily led by biodiversity and climate change imperatives, often disregarding associated yet complex social, cultural, political, economic, institutional, and behavioral aspects. Ultimately, it is people who take decisions on, carry out, and are impacted by restoration. The sociopolitical contexts in which ecosystem restoration takes place, stakeholders' decisions leading to degradation or motivations to restore, influencing factors such as values, norms, and power relations, the restoration activities and their outcomes on people all constitute critical human dimensions. Yet, these dimensions are less understood and, therefore, rarely fully integrated into ecosystem restoration policy or practice. We introduce a five-pillar framework to support ecosystem restoration strategies, projects, and programs to analyze, plan, revise, and improve their design and implementation by effectively integrating human dimensions. Without attending to these human considerations, we cannot achieve—in a just, equitable, and sustainable manner—ambitious restoration targets and address the interrelated crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies hold considerable promise for biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring across Africa, where rapid human population growth and associated environmental pressures pose mounting conservation and management challenges. International research collaborations can enhance the capacity for eDNA implementation and promote its integration into regional decision-making. Here, we propose a stakeholder-driven framework for applying eDNA technologies in Africa, integrating local priorities , cultural contexts, infrastructure development, and capacity-building efforts. This framework is illustrated by a project in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area that leverages eDNA technology to support conservation management. The framework was implemented in collaboration with Namibian organizations , identifying key eDNA application needs and priorities and fostering partnerships to launch pilot projects aiming to demonstrate eDNA's potential, train local students, and enhance laboratory capacity. Our experience underscores the importance of stakeholder empowerment, emphasizing its role in unlocking the full potential of eDNA technology for conservation and sustainable environmental management in Africa.

Conservation is an inherently social process—people collectively endeavor to enact conservation. Yet, in conservation social science, research methodologies, training, and competency are less common than in natural sciences. Globally, formal education and training in the social sciences are often unavailable or inaccessible to conservation practitioners, and nonformal education may help fill this gap. To identify potential opportunities, we implemented a global survey of practitioners to identify their knowledge gaps and social science training needs and conducted a gap analysis of available social science training resources. We compiled 449 resources, including 266 English-language and 183 non-English-languages resources into an open-access online database hosted by the Conservation Social Science Partnership. Resources were categorized as communication, data collection, ethics and human rights, intervention, impact evaluation, or analysis. Most resources were open access (90%) and half were specific to conservation practice. Survey responses (n = 90) revealed demand for help with data analyses, research ethics, and human rights considerations. We found a need for organization leaders to prioritize social sciences in conservation, greater diversity of accessible training resources in alternate mediums and languages, resources tailored to conservation contexts, and additional ethics and human rights and data analysis resources.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is emerging as a valuable tool for generating standardised biodiversity data. Whether used alone or alongside conventional surveys, it is expected that eDNA data can improve conservation planning, but this remains largely untested. Here, we assessed the value of eDNA data for making more robust conservation prioritisation decisions, by comparing errors made when identifying priority areas based on conventional data, eDNA or a combination of both. We collected distribution data for 29 freshwater bivalve species in France from both a conventional source (public databases) and field eDNA surveys. We then used Marxan, a spatial prioritisation tool, to assess how conventional versus eDNA data can influence conservation decisions. Data from both sources were used to model species distributions, considering either all available data (full dataset), eDNA data only (eDNA dataset), conventional data only (conventional dataset), or varying proportions of conventional and eDNA data (mixed datasets: 25/75; 50/50; 75/25). We compared the performance of conservation planning solutions derived from the different datasets against the full dataset, which served as the best approximation to the species' true distributions. For each dataset, we assessed the percentage of species targets met (effectiveness), the efficiency of the conservation solutions, the representation error rates compared to the best attainable information (omission and commission errors), and the overlap between each scenario and the full dataset. The inclusion of eDNA data allowed us to model the distribution of more species, compared to conventional data. However, when using eDNA data alone, fewer species achieved the targets and solutions were less efficient, requiring more areas to be selected. Using either conventional or eDNA data alone was associated with higher commission and omission errors, respectively. Overall, integrating eDNA data with conventional datasets outperformed using conventional data alone, improving the efficiency of conservation solutions.

None provided

Aquatic invertebrates are a diverse, nutrient-dense, and socio-ecologically important food whose contribution to human nutrition is frequently overlooked. We quantify their contribution to global nutrient supplies and estimate the nutrient content of >50,000 macroinvertebrate species. Current aquatic invertebrate production supplies the equivalent annual requirement for >6 billion people in terms of vitamin B12 and selenium; >1 billion people for copper, omega 3 fatty acids, iodine and zinc; and >100 million people for nutrients such as vitamins B2 and B3, iron, manganese, and magnesium. Nutrient composition differs among taxonomic groups, consumption patterns, and environmental and life-history factors. Our study highlights the benefits of integrating aquatic invertebrates into dietary portfolios across global societies, mainstreaming their nutritional importance in development projects, sustainability assessments and food policy.

The rapid expansion of the ocean economy has triggered a wave of environmental injustices and human rights abuses worldwide, with often-marginalized coastal communities bearing the brunt of the fallout. Many communities and their allies are confronting these mounting pressures through advocacy and on-the-ground mobilization. This resistance is often met by harsh repression from corporations and governments. Recognizing, supporting, and protecting ocean defenders is thus essential for advancing environmental justice and human rights in sustainable ocean governance. This chapter outlines the main issues at stake and key avenues for further research, which include ocean governance by scrutinizing human rights and ocean defenders, as well as the experiences and protection for ocean defenders. The chapter also emphasizes that while diverse methodologies might be employed, a collaborative approach based on mutual trust can help to ensure the research reflects the concerns and aspirations of ocean defenders. Innovative knowledge co-production and ethical considerations should promote the co-creation of knowledge and guarantee the security and well-being of ocean defenders and their communities. Equally, attention needs to focus specifically on preventing discriminatory practices in these research endeavors. Translation of research findings and solidarity practices integrated into public policy and practice should be prioritized to ensure that ocean defenders benefit from greater agency and more effective protection.