Publications

Water resource management in regions with complex topography, such as Uttarakhand, requires precise estimation and spatial characterization of water yield. This study assesses water yield across the state of Uttarakhand using the Budyko Framework, land use/land cover (LULC) data, and Google Earth Engine (GEE) as a cloud-based geospatial platform...

Rapid urbanization in the Global South poses challenges to ecological integrity, cultural heritage, and equitable access to green infrastructure. This study evaluates the effectiveness of recent green infrastructure projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, including flagship parks and upgraded road corridors, through the lens of the Urban Nature Futures...

Calls to leverage “synergies” to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have increased sharply over the past decade. This rising interest stems from the belief that synergies can lower costs and build support for integrated solutions to planetary crises. Policymakers have nonetheless been slow to incorporate synergies in...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides as a comprehensive framework to address the world's most pressing sustainability challenges. However, with the 2030 deadline fast-approaching, progress on the SDGs remains woefully insufficient. At present, the world is only on track to...

Many policymaking processes have promoted a just transition to limit job losses from stronger climate policies over the past five years. However, concerns over how governments allocate resources to help fossil fuel workers transition to new jobs and a recent rise in opposition to decarbonisation has weakened support for the concept. This paper...

SDG performance in rich countries often tends to correlate with the generation of negative environmental impacts in other countries, or what has also been termed "Spillovers". This discussion paper provides an overview on the topic and proposes a few ways forward to ensure the concerns around benefits and burdens from production and consumption can...

Over the past 2 decades, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta has undergone significant changes in flooding patterns and environmental flow, driven by climate change and human activities. This study investigates these transitions, focusing on the impacts of rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extensive dam construction upstream. Using...

The global food system confronts critical challenges, including food insecurity, small-scale producer vulnerability, and environmental degradation. While locally led initiatives emerge as potential solutions, they face obstacles, such as participant bias and scaling limitations. This study analyzes 157 international and 91 Japanese locally led food...

Local-level follow-up and review (FUR) is essential for realising the 2030 Agenda, given municipalities' crucial role in delivering SDG targets. However, Japanese municipalities face significant challenges, including capacity constraints, demographic shifts, financial limitations, and the absence of mandatory national SDG directives. This policy...

The water budget in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) depends heavily on rainfall which play crucial roles in supporting agriculture, aquaculture, and local livelihoods. This study evaluated rainfall trends across the VMD from 1978 to 2022, revealing significant spatial and seasonal variations. While a few inland stations showed marginal increases...