Publications

Donges, J.F., I. Petrova, A. Loew, N. Marwan, J. Kurths. 2015. How complex climate networks complement eigen techniques for the statistical analysis of climatological data. Climate Dynamics 45: 2407–2424

Eigen techniques such as empirical orthogonal function (EOF) or coupled pattern (CP)/maximum covariance analysis have been frequently used for detecting patterns in multivariate climatological data sets. Recently, statistical methods originating from the theory of complex networks have been employed for the very same purpose of spatio-temporal analysis. This climate network (CN) analysis is usually based on the same set of s...

Díaz, S., S. Demissew, J. Carabias, C. Joly, M. Lonsdale, N. Ash, A. Larigauderie, J.R. Adhikari, S. Arico, A. Báldi, A. Bartuska, I.A. Baste, A. Bilgin, E. Brondizio, K.M.A. Chan, V.E. Figueroa, A. Duraiappah, M. Fischer, R. Hill, T. Koetz, P. Leadley, P. Lyver, G.M. Mace, B. Martin-Lopez, M. Okumura, D. Pacheco, U. Pascual, E.S. Pérez, B. Reyers, E. Roth, O. Saito, R.J. Scholes, N. Sharma, H. Tallis, R. Thaman, R. Watson, T. Yahara, Z.A. Hamid, C. Akosim, Y. Al-Hafedh, R. Allahverdiyev, E. Amankwah, T.S. Asah, Z. Asfaw, G. Bartus, A.L. Brooks, J. Caillaux, G. Dalle, D. Darnaedi, A. Driver, G. Erpul, P. Escobar-Eyzaguirre, P. Failler, A.M.M. Fouda, B. Fu, H. Gundimeda, S. Hashimoto, F. Homer, S. Lavorel, G. Lichtenstein, W.A. Mala, W. Mandivenyi, P. Matczak, C. Mbizvo, M. Mehrdadi, J.P. Metzger, J.B. Mikissa, H. Moller, H.A. Mooney, P. Mumby, H. Nagendra, C. Nesshover, A.A. Oteng-Yeboah, G. Pataki, M. Roué, J. Rubis, M. Schultz, P. Smith, R. Sumaila, K. Takeuchi, S. Thomas, M. Verma, Y. Yeo-Chang, D. Zlatanova. 2015. The IPBES conceptual framework: Connecting nature and people. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 14: 1–16

The first public product of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is its Conceptual Framework. This conceptual and analytical tool, presented here in detail, will underpin all IPBES functions and provide structure and comparability to the syntheses that IPBES will produce at different spatial scales, on different themes, and in different regions. Salient innovative aspects of the IPBES...

de Grosbois, D., R. Plummer. 2015. Problematizing water vulnerability indices at a local level: A critical review and proposed solution. Water Resources Management 29: 5015–5035

Effectively assessing water vulnerability is essential as threats to water resources mount. Appraisals that take an integrative perspective incorporating physical and social considerations at a community scale are particularly important as they address the breadth of vulnerability sources and concentrate on a level where action frequently occurs. This paper critically reviews seven water vulnerability indices according to go...

de Bruin, A., R. Pateman, J. Barron, M. Balima, I. Ouedraogo, E. Da Dapola, M. Fosu, F.O. Annor, M. Magombeyi, J.-M. Kileshye Onema. 2015. Setting up agricultural water management interventions: Learning from successful case studies in the Volta and Limpopo river basins. Water Resources and Rural Development 6: 12–23

Long-term investments in agricultural water management (AWM) interventions in the Volta and Limpopo river basins have aimed at improving water availability and quality for smallholder farming systems. However, sustained and wider uptake of AWM technologies and approaches has not been as successful. We need to learn from successful AWM interventions, those interventions that have led to a sustained or increased uptake of AWM ...

Andersson, E., T. McPhearson, P. Kremer, E. Gomez-Baggethun, D. Haase, M. Tuvendal, D. Wurster. 2015. Scale and context dependence of ecosystem service providing units. Ecosystem Services 12: 157–164.

Ecosystem services (ES) have been broadly adopted as a conceptual framing for addressing human nature interactions and to illustrate the ways in which humans depend on ecosystems for sustained life and well-being. Additionally, ES are being increasingly included in urban planning and management as a way to create multi-functional landscapes able to meet the needs of expanding urban populations. However, while ES are generated ...

Andringa, T.C., K.A.-M. Van Den Bosch, N. Wijermans. 2015. Cognition from life: The two modes of cognition that underlie moral behavior. Frontiers in Psychology 6: 362.

We argue that the capacity to live life to the benefit of self and others originates in the defining properties of life. These lead to two modes of cognition; the coping mode that is preoccupied with the satisfaction of pressing needs and the co-creation mode that aims at the realization of a world where pressing needs occur less frequently. We have used the Rule of Conservative Changes – stating that new functions can only sc...

Anthony, K.R.N., P.A. Marshall, A. Abdulla, R. Beeden, C. Bergh, R. Black, C.M. Eakin, E.T. Game, M. Gooch, N.A.J. Graham, A. Green, S.F. Heron, R. van Hooidonk, C. Knowland, S. Mangubhai, N. Marshall, J.A. Maynard, P. Mcginnity, E. Mcleod, P.J. Mumby, M. Nyström, D. Obura, J. Oliver, H.P. Possingham, R.L. Pressey, G.P. Rowlands, J. Tamelander, D. Wachenfeld, S. Wear. 2015. Operationalizing resilience for adaptive coral reef management under global environmental change. Global Change Biology 21: 48–61.

Cumulative pressures from global climate and ocean change combined with multiple regional and local-scale stressors pose fundamental challenges to coral reef managers worldwide. Understanding how cumulative stressors affect coral reef vulnerability is critical for successful reef conservation now and in the future. In this review, we present the case that strategically managing for increased ecological resilience (capacity f...

Armitage, D., R.C. de Loë, M. Morris, T.W.D. Edwards, A.K. Gerlak, R.I. Hall, D. Huitema, R. Ison, D. Livingstone, G. MacDonald, N. Mirumachi, R. Plummer, B.B. Wolfe. 2015. Science–policy processes for transboundary water governance. Ambio 44: 353–366.

In this policy perspective, we outline several conditions to support effective science–policy interaction, with a particular emphasis on improving water governance in transboundary basins. Key conditions include: (1) recognizing that science is a crucial but bounded input into water resource decision-making processes; (2) establishing conditions for collaboration and shared commitment among actors; (3) understanding that socia...

Baird, J., R. Plummer, D. Dupont, B. Carter. 2015. Can context help to understand the perceptions of water quality in First Nation communities? Nature and Culture 10: 225–249.

Drinking water quality problems are persistent and challenging for many of Canada's First Nations communities despite past and ongoing initiatives to improve the situation. These initiatives have often been employed without consideration for understanding the social context that is so critical for the development of appropriate water governance approaches. This article offers insights about the relationship between instituti...

Ban, N.C., E. Boyd, M. Cox, C.L. Meek, M. Schoon, S. Villamayor-Tomas. 2015. Linking classroom learning and research to advance ideas about social-ecological resilience. Ecology and Society 20(3): 35.

There is an increasing demand in higher education institutions for training in complex environmental problems. Such training requires a careful mix of conventional methods and innovative solutions, a task not always easy to accomplish. In this paper we review literature on this theme, highlight relevant advances in the pedagogical literature, and report on some examples resulting from our recent efforts to teach complex enviro...