The IPBES Global Assessment: Pathways to Action Ruckelshaus, Mary H.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Mooney, Harold A. ...
Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam),
20/May , Letnik:
35, Številka:
5
Journal Article
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The first Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found widespread, accelerating declines in Earth’s biodiversity and ...associated benefits to people from nature. Addressing these trends will require science-based policy responses to reduce impacts, especially at national to local scales. Effective scaling of science-policy efforts, driven by global and national assessments, is a major challenge for turning assessment into action and will require unprecedented commitment by scientists to engage with communities of policy and practice. Fulfillment of science’s social contract with society, and with nature, will require strong institutional support for scientists’ participation in activities that transcend conventional research and publication.
The IPBES Global Assessment released in the spring of 2019 is a significant milestone for the international scientific community; the critical challenge now is to disseminate and apply its findings at national and local scales where most policy and management decisions affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services are made.Effective, enduring action from assessments requires collaborative, multidisciplinary science-policy processes that frame and cogenerate knowledge with decision makers and stakeholders from many sectors.Examples of assessments driving policy responses to recover biodiversity and ecosystem services highlight the need for significant, long-term commitments by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, civil society, and the scientific community.
To help answer questions about availability, accessibility, sustainability and other dimensions of energy security, the vulnerability approach concentrates the attention of policymakers on the ...assessment of risks associated with natural, technical, political and economic factors. This understanding, combined with a focus on energy services (e.g. lighting, heating, telecommunications, mobility, etc.) helps to prioritize actions to achieve the goal of energy security. This paper conceptualizes energy security as low vulnerability of vital energy systems and sustained provision of modern energy services. Taking Tajikistan as a case, this paper highlights key vulnerabilities including neglect of environmental conditions, insufficient energy production capacity, unreliable and expensive energy imports, dwindling power infrastructure causing technical and economic losses, inadequate transparency in the power sector, lack of regional cooperation in energy and water resources sharing, and inadequate financial resources to address these challenges. Three major proposals presented by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the Government of Tajikistan to achieve energy security in Tajikistan are evaluated. Specifically, they lack a focus on energy services and therefore overlook people's socio-cultural context and appropriate energy needs. This paper highlights energy services as critical to people’s wellbeing and socio-economic development.
•A novel vulnerability approach is applied to energy security assessment.•Key vulnerabilities in energy system are assessed in case of Tajikistan.•Three major pathways to achieve energy security in Tajikistan are evaluated.•A paradigm shift from energy sources to services is recommended to improve access.
The proliferation of woody plants has been observed on rangelands globally and has significant impacts on subsistence livestock production. However, adaptation strategies to such environmental ...changes remain largely unexamined. This paper investigates pastoralists' adaptations to such environmental changes in the Borana zone of southern Ethiopia by integrating pastoralists' ecological knowledge, surveys of plant species composition, and census data on livestock holdings. The results indicated that a proliferation of woody plants and corresponding decline in herbaceous species would have negative impact on forage values for cattle and sheep, whereas goats would remain relatively unaffected, and camels would benefit. While census data showed declines in household herd size from 2000 to 2014, pastoralists have been adapting to the proliferation of woody plants by doubling their goat holdings, and wealthier households are investing in camels. These changes in livestock holdings based on indigenous ecological knowledge will mitigate the negative impacts of vegetation shifts on livestock production, and facilitate adaptive environmental management in the pastoral systems.
•Indigenous knowledge informs local solution to global environmental change.•Vegetation dynamics simulation suggests divergent impacts on different livestock.•Pastoralists change livestock holdings for adaptive environmental management.
Genetically-growth-attenuated blood-stage parasites were generated inPlasmodium falciparumby targeted deletion of NT1 (Nucleoside Transporter-1) gene, and Pfnt1(-) parasites only grew after providing ...the culture with supra-physiological concentrations of purines. Genetically-attenuatedP. yoeliint1(-)parasites induced sterile-protection against homologous blood-stage infectious challenge after immunization with single subpatent doses, which remained subpatent even in immune-compromised mice. Here, we showed that immunizations with frozen-stocks of equally-mixedP. bergheiandP. yoelii nt1(-)parasites in single subcutaneous doses, which did not lead to patent blood-stage infection, conferred sterile protection against intravenous infectious blood-stage challenge with wild-type parasites ofP. bergheiANKA andP. yoelii17X-NL strains. This data highlights the possibility that a single subcutaneous sub-patent dose of two species of genetically-growth-attenuated parasites, which can protect humans against twoPlasmodiumspp. infections, could be developed in cultures provided with supra-physiological concentrations of purines, and shipped to endemic areas as frozen-stock doses.
Ecological calendars are knowledge systems based on close observation of one's habitat to measure and give meaning to time, thereby providing anticipatory capacity for livelihood activities and ...contributing to food sovereignty. They rely upon seasonal indicators that integrate biophysical and ecological phenomena (e.g., first snowfall, last frost, blossoming of a tree species; seasonal appearance of an animal or plant) with locally grounded cultural meaning and value systems. These context‐specific relationships have enabled Indigenous and rural societies to anticipate weather and other seasonal processes in their environment. However, anthropogenic climate change could undermine ecological calendars due to adverse impacts on specific indicators species, but this issue remains unexplored. We address this knowledge gap by examining how anthropogenic climate change might affect selected species (birds, fish, and mammals) that are seasonal and key to Indigenous food systems in two Western Arctic communities. We leverage existing dietary animal datasets to which we apply a novel methodology for assessing organismal vulnerability to climate change. The methodology uses intrinsic species traits such as physiological tolerances, genetic variability, and life history traits to generate an empirical and integrative assessment of vulnerability for any given species. Subsequently, an aggregate view of vulnerability across calendar species is achieved through comparative statistical analysis across species both within and between communities. This exercise permits the first quantitative assessment of the continued relevance and effective use of an ecological calendar, thus demonstrating that food sovereignty and livelihood security is enhanced by biodiversity of indicator species.
Plain Language Summary
Ecological calendars are a way in which human societies have historically anticipated seasonal change. These calendars help Indigenous and rural societies make effective decisions about food production. Like our food system, these calendars depend fundamentally on species biodiversity to predict changing seasons. For example, the arrival of a migratory animal, the appearance of an insect, the song of a bird or the call of a frog, and the blossoming of a tree may indicate the arrival of spring. Ecological calendars can be powerful tools for anticipating anthropogenic climate change. However, in order to secure our food system and keep ecological calendars updated, we need to be able determine which species of bird, fish, and mammals will be resistant or resilient to climate change and which will be vulnerable. Here we present a methodological approach for such an assessment in order to safeguard our food sovereignty and achieve food security.
Key Points
Biodiversity is the foundation of ecological calendars which are used to anticipate seasonal change
Ecological calendars are an expression of food sovereignty and facilitate the goal of food security
An empirical analysis of biodiversity responses to climate change is vital to render ecological calendars relevant in the climate crisis
The open radio access network (O-RAN) offers new degrees of freedom for building and operating advanced cellular networks. Emphasizing on RAN disaggregation, open interfaces, multi-vendor support, ...and RAN intelligent controllers (RICs), O-RAN facilitates adaptation to new applications and technology trends. Yet, this architecture introduces new security challenges. This article proposes leveraging zero trust principles for O-RAN security. We introduce zero trust RAN (ZTRAN), which embeds service authentication, intrusion detection, and secure slicing subsystems that are encapsulated as xApps. We implement ZTRAN on the open artificial intelligence cellular (OAIC) research platform and demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness in terms of legitimate user throughput and latency figures. Our experimental analysis illustrates how ZTRAN's intrusion detection and secure slicing microservices operate effectively and in concert as part of O-RAN Alliance's containerized near-real time RIC. Research directions include exploring machine learning and additional threat intelligence feeds for improving the performance and extending the scope of ZTRAN.
The open radio access network (O-RAN) describes an industry-driven open architecture and interfaces for building next generation RANs with artificial intelligence (AI) controllers. We circulated a ...survey among researchers, developers, and practitioners to gather their perspectives on O-RAN as a framework for 6G wireless research and development (R&D). The majority responded in favor of O-RAN and identified R&D of interest to them. Motivated by these responses, this article identifies the limitations of the current O-RAN specifications and the technologies for overcoming them. We recognize end-to-end security, deterministic latency, physical layer real-time control, and testing of AI-based RAN control applications as the critical features to enable and discuss R&D opportunities for extending the architectural capabilities of O-RAN as a platform for 6G wireless.
Plasmodium sporozoites are the product of a complex developmental process in the mosquito vector and are destined to infect the mammalian liver. Attention has been drawn to the mosquito stages and ...pre-erythrocytic stages owing to recognition that these are bottlenecks in the parasite life cycle and that intervention at these stages can block transmission and prevent infection. Parasite progression in the Anopheles mosquito, sporozoite transmission to the mammalian host by mosquito bite, and subsequent infection of the liver are characterized by extensive migration of invasive stages, cell invasion, and developmental changes. Preparation for the liver phase in the mammalian host begins in the mosquito with an extensive reprogramming of the sporozoite to support efficient infection and survival. Here, we discuss what is known about the molecular and cellular basis of the developmental progression of parasites and their interactions with host tissues in the mosquito and during the early phase of mammalian infection.
Associations between vitamin D (VD) deficiency and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been documented in cross-sectional population studies. Intervention studies in patients with moderate to ...severe COVID-19 have failed to consistently document a beneficial effect.
To determine the efficacy and safety of VD-supplementation in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly exposed individuals.
A double-blind, parallel, randomized trial was conducted. Frontline healthcare workers from four hospitals in Mexico City, who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection, were enrolled between July 15 and December 30, 2020. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 4,000 IU VD (VDG) or placebo (PG) daily for 30 d. RT-PCR tests were taken at baseline and repeated if COVID-19 manifestations appeared during follow-up. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and antibody tests were measured at baseline and at day 45. Per-protocol and intention-to-treat analysis were conducted.
Of 321 recruited subjects, 94 VDG and 98 PG completed follow-up. SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was lower in VDG than in PG (6.4 vs. 24.5%, p <0.001). The risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection was lower in the VDG than in the PG (RR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.09–0.55) and was associated with an increment in serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.82–0.93), independently of VD deficiency. No significant adverse events were identified.
Our results suggest that VD-supplementation in highly exposed individuals prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection without serious AEs and regardless of VD status.
This special issue of GeoHealth, entitled Rhythms of the Earth: Ecological Calendars and Anticipating the Anthropogenic Climate Crisis, is a transdisciplinary articulation of a methodology of hope to ...confront the multiple injustices of the Anthropocene. One of the greatest challenges of the climate crisis is the lack of predictability at the scale of communities where impacts are most immediate. Indigenous and rural societies face an ever shifting “new normal” through increasing inconsistency in the seasonality of temperature and precipitation, as well as greater frequency of extreme weather events. With global food systems dependent on local and small producers, climatic variability disrupts access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally relevant food. Ecological calendars are context‐specific knowledge systems grounded in a particular cultural milieu and ecological space, that build anticipatory capacity for seasonal change. They measure and give meaning to time. Based on close observation of one's habitat, human societies have used such calendars for hundreds of years and potentially millennia. By engaging with the interactions among physical phenomena (such as the first snowfall or last frost) and biological events (such as blossoming of specific trees, arrival of migratory birds or mammals, appearance of plants or insects), human societies have been able to identify optimal time windows for their livelihood activities. The 11 research articles in Rhythms of the Earth cover a considerable geographical breadth from Africa to the Arctic; and, from North and South America to Central Asia. They provide evidence that spans millennia from the Roman Empire to the contemporary Anthropocene.
Key Points
Rhythms of the Earth is a transdisciplinary collaboration between Indigenous Knowledge and Science
In Rhythms of the Earth
, an innovative culturally and ecologically grounded way to anticipate seasonal change is proposed
Significant diversity of thought from around the world is engaged in Rhythms of the Earth because the research articles are co‐authored by artists, Indigenous community members, and scholars in the biological, physical, and social sciences as well as the humanities
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