The sustainability-peace nexus: why is it important?

Sustainability and peace have long been recognized within academic and policy circles as intrinsically interrelated. Although there are some studies that examine impacts of sustainability on peace and vice versa, a specific focus on the sustainability-peace nexus remains marginal in academic and policy discourses, and pathways where sustainability and peace interact remain ambiguous. As a result, global initiatives on peace and sustainability remain fragmented. It is, therefore, crucial to identify the different components that mutually reinforce the desirable outcomes from sustainability and peace initiatives. This special feature of Sustainability Science aims to contribute to a better understanding of these components by highlighting the emerging discourses on the peace-sustainability nexus and the issues surrounding it. It includes articles that provide insights to better address issues at the nexus of peace and sustainability. Key takeaways for scientists and policy makers are that systemic approaches are needed to capture the multiple dynamic interactions between peace and sustainability; addressing issues at the intersection of peace and sustainability requires interactions between a wide range of stakeholders within and across various local, regional, national, and global scales; and international scientific collaboration is essential for comprehensive understanding of the interactions between peace and sustainability. We hope that this special feature will contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of the peace-sustainability nexus and provide insights into developing more effective solutions and strategies for making progress towards creating more peaceful and sustainable communities in the future.

A co-designed heuristic guide for investigating the peace-sustainability nexus in the context of global change.

The interlinkages between peace and sustainability are embedded in several international agreements and declarations and recognized by various research studies. However, the characteristics of their bidirectional relationship remain underexamined. Here we scope the complex and multifaceted relationship between peace and sustainability based on an experts workshop held at Hiroshima University in August 2019. The workshop focused on how peace, as a process or a condition, can help or hinder sustainability and vice versa. Relevant environmental, socio-political, and economic and technological considerations highlighted at the workshop were integrated into a co-designed heuristic guide for investigating the peace-sustainability nexus in the context of global change. The proposed guide aims to assist academic and policy researchers in identifying the specific pathways through which peace and sustainability interact when addressing complex challenges. The reinforcing potential of the two will ultimately depend on the governance and management of global transformations.

Downstream and coastal impacts of damming and water abstraction in Africa.

Anthropogenic factors associated with damming and water abstraction, and the resultant environmental pressures, are reviewed in six African river catchments using records and forecasts of climatic, demographic, and land-use change. Changes in the states of the flow regime through catchment drainage systems to the coastal sea are considered in conjunction with climate change and other human-induced pressures. The impacts of these changes on downstream and coastal environments and their communities are described in past, present, and future perspectives. Linkages between the issues and the pressures of damming and water abstraction are appraised and scientific, policy, and management responses proposed aimed at remedying existing and perceived future negative impacts. The study proposes that there is a need to integrate catchment and coastal management to account for the whole water flow regime together with its human dimensions. Management priorities relating to the operation of existing damming and abstraction schemes and planning of future schemes include the following: consideration of ways in which water discharges could be adjusted to provide improvements in downstream and coastal environmental and socioeconomic conditions; addressing the problem of sediment trapping impacting on the sustainability of dam reservoirs; and assessment of downstream and coastal impacts of future schemes in the light of climate change forecasts.