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The round goby, an invasive fish from the Black and Caspian Seas, has spread to Swedish waters, threatening recreational fisheries. We modeled impacts on the future recreational fishery in Sweden using data from a recreational fishing survey, and estimated effects of the round goby on other fish species. Values attached to recreational fishing were estimated using a travel cost approach. Catch and consumer surplus were compared before and after a 10-year increase in round goby abundance. Overall impacts of a 10-year increase in round goby abundance in Swedish waters would reduce the present value of consumer surplus by SEK 379-million (EUR 33-million). Any management action keeping a status quo in round goby impact with a price less than about 3 million EUR yearly would hence be justified. This study highlights how aquatic invasive species can cause substantial social losses and that proactive management may be cost-efficient.

Drylands face urgent development challenges that are complex and interconnected, requiring holistic systems-based approaches. Here, we present a social–ecological systems framework to guide research, policy, and action across disciplines and sectors towards sustainability transformations in drylands for improved livelihoods and enhanced ecosystem, livestock, and human health. Our conceptual framework integrates three non-exclusive and complementary lenses of human-driven transformations: systemic, structural and enabling/grassroots change. Based on these three complementary lenses, along with three main phases of transformation and key associated actions, we briefly illustrate the framework’s value through the case of the Karamoja cross-border region of East Africa. We show how the framework can be used as an entry point to identify and analyse key challenges and their interlinkages; envision desired social–ecological systems; and explore pathways towards sustainability. The framework provides actionable guidance to co-develop context-specific interventions that support sustainability transformations in drylands.

For many large carnivores, minimizing the financial burden they impose on local people is critical to their conservation. Incentive-based programs that provide people with financial benefits for taking pro-conservation actions or achieving conservation goals are a promising tool for promoting human?carnivore coexistence. Although the number of incentive-based programs aimed at conserving large carnivores is growing, there has been little published research on the use of this approach. We reviewed the design, implementation, and results of a novel lion conservation incentive payment (CIP) program piloted in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Under the program, developed in collaboration with local stakeholders, villages earned direct payments based on the number of lions observed on their land each month. During the program's 3-year pilot period, villages earned more than double the value of livestock injured or killed by lions and used their earnings primarily to support education-related projects. A household survey conducted at the conclusion of the pilot indicated widespread awareness of and support for the CIP program. Lessons from this experience that may be valuable for the development of similar incentive-based conservation schemes in Tanzania and beyond include the importance of developing a practical and dynamic earnings framework, evaluating and adaptively managing program communications, supporting participating stakeholders to effectively deploy their CIP earnings, and identifying potential sources of sustainable funding.

The New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 encourages member states to implement Payment for Ecosystem Services policies and explicitly references the Finnish METSO program as an instructive example. The METSO program gained international attention as a pilot forest conservation tender. In conservation tenders, forest owners make bids for the compensation requested to voluntarily set aside their forest for a period of time. In this paper, we analyze three case studies of European forest conservation tender programs along the lines of a novel analytical framework. Although conservation tenders have many conceptual advantages, the three case studies demonstrate that the practical implementation may not work in a textbook-style manner. Our analysis reveals that rather than mistakes in policy design, the three forest conservation tenders ran into issues of deficient vertical and horizontal policy integration, policy layering, and overly optimistic expectations on the time needed to set up and run a tender program.

Competing land uses, climate change, and state regulations pose stress to Saami reindeer herders in Norway and Sweden. Saami reindeer herding is a nomadic tradition relying on huge natural pastures, often with long distance migration between seasonal pastures, and the foremost strategy to cope with changing environments has been flexible use of pastures. However, the adaptive space of reindeer herding is under pressure, which may threaten the sustainability of Saami reindeer herding both economically and culturally. The ability to adapt to external pressures has been of focus in several studies on reindeer herding, but few have analysed cumulative sources of worry as perceived by herders. Using data from a survey among reindeer herders in Norway and Sweden, we describe and analyse factors causing worry and cumulative concern. Overall, results show that differences in worry depend largely on country- and region-specific challenges, while other characteristics of the respondents, with some exceptions, do not significantly explain the degree of worry. A principal component analysis shows that underlying traits that could be interpreted as land use change have the highest factor loadings. Another principal component analysis of questions on the effects of climate change suggests that there are two groups of reactions among reindeer herders. One group of traits points to a general worry and insight that some undefined changes in management need to be done, while another set points to an insight that current reindeer husbandry is unsustainable, given the effects of climate change, and consequently a willingness to take concrete action.

Recurrent shocks and crises cause significant threats to household livelihood security in dryland Sub-Saharan Africa. In absence of social protection and institutional support, households resort to potentially problematic coping strategies that could trap them in a vicious cycle of livelihood insecurity. This study employs a unique panel data set from 698 households in the drylands of the Karamoja border region of Uganda and Kenya, to assess variations in shocks experienced by households and evaluate coping strategies. Findings indicate that shock incidences are significantly higher in Uganda’s drylands compared to Kenya, particularly during wet seasons. The extent, direction, and significance of influence differ across countries and study locations. However, findings from the multivariate probit model suggest that households led by women, larger households, and those situated in Uganda's drylands are more susceptible and more likely to decrease their food consumption. Reducing food consumption, relying on savings, seeking assistance or loans, and selling livestock are commonly adopted strategies across all shock types. This study advocates strengthening social protection programs and agro-pastoral systems, and prioritizing climate-smart agricultural practices. Financial inclusion, access to extension services, organization of communities into beneficial groups and cooperatives, and human capital investment are recommended, with government and institutional support.

Index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) is promoted as a proactive measure to protect against climate-related risks. Despite initial efforts to introduce the insurance, its adoption has generally been low in most developing countries. This paper compares adopters and nonadopters of IBLI in four arid or semi-arid counties in Kenya, focusing specifically on household demographics, climate effects, land tenure arrangements, and the interaction between other coping strategies and the decision to adopt livestock insurance. The household survey was conducted in 12 counties, whereby 491 respondents were interviewed, of which about 4.5% had insurance. The results showed that IBLI adoption was influenced by the socioeconomic, environmental, and existing adoption strategies. Lack of awareness was the most common reason (44.2% of respondents) for not adopting insurance, showing the need for simplifying information, because the respondents with more schooling were likely to purchase insurance. High precipitation reduced the need for livestock insurance due to low drought risk. Active fodder management positively influenced insurance uptake, likely due to the use of the indemnity for investment in other adaptive strategies. Otherwise, pastoralists were more likely to purchase insurance if they had to travel a long distance to the alternative grazing grounds. Likewise, insurance premiums limited insurance uptake due to the imperfect correlation between drought and indemnity payments (basis risk). Generally, insurance alone is not a panacea for pastoralists. Presently, they seem to be too expensive compared to the value they provide. Either the prediction accuracy of IBLIs must be increased, or premiums more heavily subsidized, for insurance to be a genuine alternative for pastoralists.

The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average. Rising temperatures could reduce the snow-covered season and increase plant productivity in the spring, fall and summer. While this may increase carrying capacity of pastures and growth of semi-domesticated reindeer, rising temperatures could also lead to increase the frequency of ice-locked pastures, which may negatively affect reindeer body mass, survival, and reproductive success. We create a stage-structured bioeconomic model of reindeer herding that incorporates such counteracting effects of climate change on the economics of reindeer herding in Norway and Sweden. The model is calibrated using historical data on reindeer numbers and slaughter weights, in combination with historical weather data. We find that one more day with ice-locked pastures has a greater negative impact than the benefit of earlier spring. Then the model is used to simulate possible future economic impacts of three climate change scenarios, under different assumptions about herders' information about future weather conditions. The negative impact of icing outweighs any positive impact of earlier spring for all scenarios, and the potential loss is greater the less information herders have about future weather conditions.

Factors influencing spice income in Tanzania are assessed, exploring household effects of spice diversification, socio-economic and land characteristics on spice income. Spice diversification, household size, age and gender of the household head, non-spice crops and off-farm activities are factors influencing spice income. Results indicate that successful farmers can negotiate higher prices for most spices. This suggests that policymakers should encourage farmers to diversify production and supplement their income with non-spice crops. Promoting cooperation among farmers, improving marketing infrastructure and implementing education programs could equip farmers with the necessary knowledge and skills to negotiate prices and reduce income differences among farmers.

In Tanzania, spice farming is primarily concentrated within the Eastern Arc Mountains, a designatedconservation area presenting a unique interplay of economic sustenance, environmental conservation,and geographical challenges. This study aimed to identify and understand the livelihood strategiesemployed by spice farmers, as well as to examine the various determinants influencing their decision-making process in adopting these strategies. Data were collected from 542 randomly selected spicehouseholds in the Uluguru and East Usambara mountains. Cluster analysis was utilized to categorizehouseholds into distinct livelihood strategies, while multinomial logistic regression was employed toassess the determinants of these strategies. The findings unveiled five types of livelihood strategiesamong spice farmers in the study area. Determinants included total land ownership, age, education,sex, marital status of the household head, number of working-age members, location district, altitude,distance to the district capital, extension and research/NGO interaction, and durable asset ownership.Given the heterogeneity among spice farmers, interventions should be tailored to accommodate thediversity of their livelihood strategies. Policymakers should prioritize market stability, crop productivity,and income diversification through entrepreneurship to enhance household income and resilience.Promoting improved seeds and modern farming techniques can render spice farming more financiallyappealing to young farmers.