The role of Common Pool natural Resources (CPRs) such as forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, wetlands and oceans in rural economies has been much debated in the literature, often on the basis of micro-level or provincial-scale analyses and focusing on a single type of CPR, typically forests. This study draws on data from 6,509 households across fifteen regions in nine low and middle-income countries covering Africa, Asia, and Latin America that also cover a diverse set of CPRs, including forests, savannas, grasslands, mangroves and inland and marine fisheries. We estimate the contribution of CPR-based income to total household income and vis-a-vis the poverty line across income classes, and analyse the correlates of CPR-based income and the relationship between CPR income and income inequality within rural settlements.Our results highlight three important aspects of the CPR-rural income relationship. First, they confirm that CPR-based income makes up a significant portion of the income of the rural poor even across diverse geographies and CPRs. Households below the World Bank $1.9 per capita per day poverty line derive on average one fourth of their household income from CPRs. Second, the regression results highlight the importance of physical resource abundance and social accessibility, household demography, the regional demographic/market context, and most importantly the complementary productive assets owned by households in deriving income from CPRs. Third, there is a distinct correlation between the broad nature of CPR harvest technologies and income-inequality: when the harvest technology is capital-intensive, richer households derive more monetary benefit from CPRs, not only in absolute terms but also in terms of share in household income, leading to a situation where such CPRs exacerbate inequality within settlements. Our results highlight the importance of integrating a diversity of CPRs and CPR availability, access and technological context into CPR studies. They also highlight the need for pro-poor policies that go beyond securing resource access and include support for the poor to access technologies and markets.

Trade relations in small-scale fisheries have long been studied as more than economic exchanges. Relational economic sociology and relational economic geography have shown the importance of social relations and space in understanding trade relations. We argue that the recent relational turn in sustainability science adds a focus on the social-ecological aspects of fishery trade chain dynamics, worth investigating further. We propose to use the relational concept of assemblage to put the three perspectives into dialogue, which we argue contributes to understand the complexity of economic exchanges in small-scale fisheries. We justify and illustrate these arguments through the case of Magweva in the island of KaNyaka in Mozambique. Magweva are women traders whose role and importance have been poorly investigated. In sum, we aim at fulfilling three objectives: first, to put into dialogue relational economic sociology, relational economic geography, and the relational sustainability science to showcase the value of associating these three perspectives to sustainability scientists interested in small-scale fisheries; second, we provide an empirical application of the concept of assemblage to small-scale fisheries as a concrete way of studying distributed agency; third, we aim at highlighting the role of Magweva, women fish traders, thus contributing to the small-scale fisheries literature calling attention to the often invisible role women play in maintaining trade networks.

Democracies struggle to translate sustainability science, and public concern into sufficiently transformative actions. Ongoing polarization, politicization and disinformation extenuate this challenge. Some scholars suggest that deliberative democratic innovations can help to bridge science, public understanding and will formation, and policy implementation in the face of vested interests. In light of these challenges, we introduce deliberative mini-publics (DMPs), and why they are of interest to sustainability scientists. DMPs are distinguished from participatory methods more familiar to sustainability scientists by their random and stratified selection of ‘ordinary citizens’. An emphasis is also placed on facilitated deliberation, access to information and learning. Evidence shows that the particular conditions of DMPs can support more deliberative and informed reasoning and offer a considered public voice for decision-makers, fellow citizens and sustainability scientists. However, evidence of their wider effect on society and sustainability is mixed and warrants further examination. We draw on examples from emerging research and experience of DMPs to conceptualize three broad mechanisms for how they could potentially enhance the relationship between sustainability science, publics and politics. These differ based on whether they are primarily aiming to (1) inform policy-makers, (2) support public discourse, or (3) enhance transdisciplinary science. We also explore whether DMPs can challenge unsustainable systems and contribute to transformation through visioning, strategizing transitions, and scrutinizing the decisions of public agencies. We encourage experimentation and critical research on DMPs for sustainability transformations to test and better understand their potential.

Wild fish and meat (WFM) are vital provisioning ecosystem services in tropical regions, supporting food security, livelihoods, and cultural identity. Yet their use increasingly intersects with conservation and nutrition challenges amid rapid social and ecological change. Actors engaged in WFM span a wide spectrum, from rural subsistence consumers to commercial harvesters and urban consumers for whom WFM represents a luxury good. Understanding this social differentiation is essential for developing conservation and nutrition policies that are both equitable and sustainable. Using data from approximately 2000 households across 40 settlements in two regions, the Amazon Rainforest (AR: Colombia, Peru) and East African Savannas (EAS: Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya), we modeled how settlement-level (urban connectivity, proportion of uncultivated area) and household-level (income, livelihood activity) factors influenced the likelihood of consuming wild meat, fish, and domestic meat within a week. WFM consumption varied widely across sites, reflecting distinct ecological and cultural contexts. Fish was consumed more frequently than wild meat, underscoring its central nutritional role. In AR, wild meat was more common in remote settlements, whereas in EAS it played dual roles: a subsistence food in poorer, remote areas and a luxury item among wealthier, more urban-connected households. Consumption patterns further revealed that wild meat in AR, and fish and domestic meat in EAS, were normal goods, with their likelihood of consumption increasing with income. Domestic meat intake rose with urban proximity, consistent with the global “nutrition transition.” Yet concurrent consumption of wild and domestic proteins within settlements suggests complementarity rather than substitution. Overall, spatial and economic access to markets and landscapes, rather than culture alone, shaped animal protein use in tropical rural areas. WFM remains a critical yet evolving dietary component. Policies reconciling biodiversity conservation with nutrition security should integrate sustainable fisheries and community-based wildlife management while ensuring equitable access to diverse animal and plant proteins within local food systems.

Sustainability scientists have engaged in extensive discussions on ethical ways of doing research and argued on the importance of co-production approaches to counter knowledge extractivism. The specific issue of research fatigue, often associated with knowledge extractivism, and the possible methods to counter it, have however received less attention. This paper seeks to contribute to discussions on ethical ways of doing research by focusing on our experience of using theatre, specifically, Forum Theatre, to investigate divergent perceptions of environmental change and related tensions among selected coastal communities in Kenya and Mozambique. We argue that Forum Theatre constitutes an ethical method for sustainability scientists for four reasons: (i) it allows to co-produce knowledge with participants; (ii) it facilitates horizontal exchange; (iii) it creates joyful moments; and (iv) it enables the transmission of skills that remain with participants beyond project durations. The paper engages with these four themes, first theoretically and then proposing a reflection based on our project experience. In the last section, we warn against some of the limitations of the approach.

Deliberative minipublics remain a rather un-tested tool, particularly in the Swedish context, but offer two unique contributions to social acceptance. First, they could help elites to understand and design socially acceptable climate policies. Second, they could support societal acceptance by improving deliberative reasoning in the public sphere.

The rapidly growing international experience in DMPs on climate policy (climate assemblies) shows that they generate ambitious policy suggestions. However, their impact on policy depends on context, while their impact on public discourse remains poorly studied.

A new wave of DMP experiments has started in Sweden including a highly publicized national assembly to generate climate policy suggestions. Initial findings from this process show that members increased their sense of urgency and broadly supported policies that promote sustainable behavior. However, a minority remained opposed to punitive measures such as taxes.

Denna rapport sammanfattar resultaten från medborgarrådet i Nämdöskärgården. Medborgarrådet arrangerades genom ett samarbete mellan den ideella föreningen Nämdö Green Archipelago (NGA) och forskningsprojektet LANDPATHS. Syftet var att ta fram prioriteringar och fördjupad kunskap för arbetet med att etablera ett biosfärområde i Nämdöskärgården.

”Medborgarråd om klimatet” var Sveriges första nationella klimatmedborgarråd. Dess syfte var att ge en grupp slumpmässigt utvalda personer möjlighet att diskutera och enas om välgrundade rekommendationer för hur Sverige kan minska sina växthusgasutsläpp i enlighet med Parisavtalet. Rådet fokuserade på utsläpp från trafik- och transportsektorn då dessa står för en tredjedel av Sveriges utsläpp, är politiskt omdebatterade, och har relevans för varje medborgares vardagsliv.

Rådet organiserades av de svenska universitet och forskningsinstitut som ingår i forskningsprogrammet Fairtrans, finansierat av Mistra och Formas, med ytterligare med ytterligare finansiering från European Climate Foundation och EU Horizon. Till skillnad från de flesta klimatmedborgarråd var Medborgarråd om klimatet oberoende av offentlig förvaltning, och hade som målsättning att berika och nyansera den klimatpolitiska debatten i Sverige.

Från ett urval på 7000 slumpmässigt utvalda personer rekryterades 60 av de intresserade till medborgarrådet. Medlemmarna speglade Sveriges mångfald i demografi, politiska uppfattningar och oro inför klimatförändringar. Medborgarrådet genomfördes på 40 timmar fördelade över nio tillfällen mellan den 9 mars och den 19 maj. Fyra dagar (två helger) träffades medlemmarna i Stockholm, och fem kvällar däremellan i digitala möten. Vid dessa tillfällen fick deltagarna tillgång till kunskap från olika perspektiv för att sätta sig in i klimatfrågan, dess utmaningar och möjliga lösningar. Medlemmarna uppmanades också att söka information på eget håll. Genom faciliterade gruppdiskussioner fick medlemmarna självständigt komma fram till förslag för att minska utsläppen. Grupperna tog fram 22 förslag, innehållande 62 åtgärder, samt ett gemensamt uttalande. Dessa bedömdes av rådets medlemmar genom en anonym individuell omröstning vid rådets sista träff.

Denna rapport syftar till att ge en transparent dokumentation av medborgarrådet, dess utformning, genomförande, huvudsakliga insikter samt resultat från utvärderingsenkäter. Förhoppningen är att rapporten kan inspirera andra och bidra med lärdomar inför framtida medborgarråd.

 ‘Medborgarråd om klimatet’ was Sweden’s first national climate assembly. The assembly aimed to enable a group of randomly selected Swedish residents to deliberate and agree upon a set of well informed and well considered recommendations that advise how Sweden may decrease the GHG-emissions in a fair manner, and thereby contribute to Sweden’s obligations under the Paris Agreement. The focus of the assembly was on emissions from transportation.

The assembly was organized by Swedish universities and research institutes within the Fairtrans research programme, funded by Mistra and Formas, with additional funding from the European Climate Foundation and EU Horizon. Unlike many climate assemblies in other countries, the assembly was independent of any political or administrative authority and aimed to support an enriched and nuanced debate on climate in Sweden. 

Based on an an initial random selection of 7000 Swedish residents, 60 members were recruited to reflect the diversity of Sweden in terms of demographics, political affiliation and concern about climate. Members met for 40 hours distributed over 9 sessions between the 9th of March to 19th May – two whole weekends in person in Stockholm and five evenings online. Members were presented with expert knowledge and perspectives. Through facilitated deliberations in small groups they identified challenges and developed 22 recommendations, 62 individual policy suggestions, and a general statement. These were anonymously voted on by 49 members at the last meeting.

This report aims to give a transparent account of how the assembly was designed, planned and delivered. It presents the findings and learnings as well as results of before/after suveys. We hope that this report inspires others and contributes learnings that can inform future assemblies.

Governing sustainability challenges such as climate change or biodiversity loss presents a profound democratic dilemma. Although democratic practices and procedures are widely regarded as essential for collectively addressing complex sustainability issues, liberal democracies have been criticized by some scholars for their inability to effectively tackle global environmental threats like climate change. We reconcile these positions by outlining how the emerging field of democratic innovations can help to address the critical challenges that democracies face when governing sustainability transformations. We focus on three issues liberal democracies are confronted with: reformist incrementalism, (de)politicization, and imaginary boundaries. We then exemplify how democratic innovations such as deliberative mini-publics, participatory budgeting, and material participation can help address these challenges. Our review suggests that democratic innovations hold the potential to address political concerns, find compromises between extreme positions, reconnect people’s everyday lives with the grand sustainability challenges they face, and allow for alternative visions of a desirable future society. However, we also address cautionary tales, discuss the limitations of democratic innovations, and outline avenues for future research, which we believe can help further elaborate and develop participatory approaches to critical sustainability challenges.

This chapter outlines a role play in which students take part in a meeting in a Solomon Islands village, where the meeting participants discuss whether to allow an international logging company to log their customary lands. The role play highlights how globally interconnected commodity chains intersect with cultural power dynamics, in this case, gendered power dynamics in combination with customary land tenure rules. After a warm-up, each student receives instructions on whether they are for or against the logging application and how they are allowed to behave in the meeting (based on a hierarchy of speaking underpinned by the intersection of gender, kinship, and rights to the land in question). However not all is revealed to the students and they have to figure it out during the debrief, to emphasise the taken-for-granted impact of identities, especially such as gender, on social relations and power.