Publications

Sebastian Luckeneder, Victor Maus, Juliana Siqueira-Gay, Tamás Krisztin, Michael Kuhn. 2025. Forest loss and uncertain economic gains from industrial and garimpo mining in Brazilian municipalities. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61930-8

Environmental and social risks in mining regions often juxtapose promises of local economic growth. Brazil, a major global mineral supplier and conservation leader, has pursued resource-led development despite mining’s threat to its forests. Yet, the efficacy of this development strategy is uncertain. In this study, we examine mining’s contribution to deforestation and regional economic growth in Brazil. For garimpo mining con...

Stefan Giljum, Victor Maus, Laura Sonter, Sebastian Luckeneder, Tim Werner, Stephan Lutter, Julia Gershenzon, Megan J. Cole, Juliana Siqueira-Gay, Anthony Bebbington. 2025. Metal mining is a global driver of environmental change. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-025-00683-w

Global metal extraction is increasing, owing to rising mineral demands from infrastructure development and the growing need for metal-intensive renewable energy technologies to mitigate climate change and phase out coal mining. However, extraction of metal ores also drives impacts on land use, water resources and biodiversity. In this Review, we evaluate mining trends of 47 metal ores between 1970 and 2022 and explore the envi...

Erica von Essen, Emily Wanderer, Gabriel Lennon, Karin Ahlberg. 2025. The wild workforce: Enlisting non-human labor in invasive species management. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486241300941

An all-hands-on-deck rationality appears to characterize invasive alien species (IAS) eradication. Not only are citizens enrolled in their monitoring and management to extend authorities’ capabilities, but a recent trend in so-called nature-based solutions also outsources labor to non-human species. Within the realm of biocontrol initiatives, these non-human actors are strategically enlisted to counter invasive species through...

Malin Jonell, Abigayil Blandon, Julia Maria Charlotte Feine, Sofia Käll. 2025. Broadening the sustainable seafood movement — systemic and enabling approaches to transform blue food. Environmental Research: Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601x/adfd62

The global appetite for environmentally sustainable and just seafood is expected to grow in coming decades. However, the sustainable seafood movement, including private governance tools like certifications and recommendation lists has yet to transform fisheries and aquaculture on a large scale. At the same time, alternative voluntary governance approaches have taken shape, each aiming to guide production and consumption toward...

Johan Enqvist, Kinga Psiuk, Luke Metelerkamp. 2025. Mobilizing stewardship through theater: Pathways to transform polarizing conservation conflicts. Earth Stewardship. https://doi.org/10.1002/eas2.70028

Since human–nature relationships are inherently complex, so are stewardship responses to environmental problems. This can cause social conflict and polarization, especially when the complexity is overwhelming and responses seem to challenge fundamental ideas about human–nature relations. Arts-based methods and creative practices can help people reflect and reimagine such ideas. This paper uses Vervoort et al.'s nine dimensions...

Hallie Eakin, Johan Enqvist, Maike Hamann, Nadine Methner, Martha Nthambi Sibanda, Jade Sullivan, Ernita van Wyk, Gina Ziervogel. 2025. Negotiating informality and urban resilience: implications for equity. Ecology and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/es-16059-300220

Informality is a distinguishing characteristic of cities in the Global South and is strongly associated with urban inequality. Yet, in pursuing resilience, urban resilience strategies and planning have yet to grapple with the role of informality in social-ecological dynamics, resulting in incomplete representations of the reality of these cities’ socioeconomic and demographic diversity. Neglect of informality has significant, ...

Maraja Riechers, Tamara Schaal‐Lagodzinski, Laura Pereira, Jacqueline Loos, Joern Fischer. 2025. ‘Chains of leverage’ as way to identify and foster transformative potential. People and Nature. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70144

We propose the framework of ‘chains of leverage’. It is an operationalisation to understand and analyse the transformative potential of social-ecological systems and identify leverage points for sustainability transformations through a concrete four-step approach. Step 1 : Analysing the social-ecological system regarding its core elements across system depth. Elements in a system can be situated at different system depths (f...

Laura M. Pereira, Sally Archibald, Odirilwe Selomane, Kim Zoeller, Mohammed Armani, James Kairo, Barney Kgope, Duncan M. Kimuyu, Blandina R. Lugendo, Denise Nicolau, Mike I. Olendo, Kelly Ortega-Cisneros, Lynne J. Shannon, U. Rashid Sumaila. 2025. Six principles to get natural climate solutions right in Africa. Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01652-3

Laura M. Pereira, Steven R. Smith, Lauren Gifford, Peter Newell, Sebastian Villasante, Therezah Achieng, Azucena Castro, Sara M. Constantino, Tom Powell, Ashish Ghadiali, Ben Smith, Coleen Vogel, Caroline Zimm. 2025. Beyond tipping points: risks, equity, and the ethics of intervention. Earth System Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1267-2025

Earth system tipping points pose existential threats to current and future generations, both human and non-human, with those least responsible for causing them facing the greatest risks. “Positive” social tipping points (that we shorten to positive tipping points, or PTPs) are often deliberate interventions into social systems with the aim of rapidly mitigating the risks of Earth system tipping. However, the desire to interven...

Nanda Wijermans, Caroline Schill, Therese Lindahl, Maja Schlüter. 2025. Towards Understanding Collective Resource Use: The Role of Individual Attribution of Ecological Change. Advances in Social Simulation. Pages 565–575. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91782-0_41

Common pool resources, like fish, timber, water, are essential in providing food, income and raw material. However, maintaining sustainable practices for common pool resources is a collective challenge due to the social and ecological uncertainties. Climate impacts only further complicates the collective governance of these resources, as resource availability will substantially change and reduce. To understand how do resource ...