• Energy Research

AbstractThis Analysis presents a recently developed food system indicator framework and holistic monitoring architecture to track food system transformation towards global development, health and sustainability goals. Five themes are considered: (1) diets, nutrition and health; (2) environment, natural resources and production; (3) livelihoods, poverty and equity; (4) governance; and (5) resilience. Each theme is divided into three to five indicator domains, and indicators were selected to reflect each domain through a consultative process. In total, 50 indicators were selected, with at least one indicator available for every domain. Harmonized data of these 50 indicators provide a baseline assessment of the world’s food systems. We show that every country can claim positive outcomes in some parts of food systems, but none are among the highest ranked across all domains. Furthermore, some indicators are independent of national income, and each highlights a specific aspiration for healthy, sustainable and just food systems. The Food Systems Countdown Initiative will track food systems annually to 2030, amending the framework as new indicators or better data emerge.

Land tenure security is increasingly recognized as a foundational element for advancing global sustainable development agendas, but questions remain about how it affects human well-being and environmental outcomes. We identify 117 studies that aimed to estimate the causal effect of land tenure security interventions on these outcomes. Approximately two-thirds of these studies reported positive links between improved tenure security and human well-being or environmental outcomes. Close to half of the studies that examined social and environmental outcomes reported positive impacts on both. The majority of studies assessed government-implemented interventions that statutorily recognized rights through land titling and formalization in the 1990s and 2000s. More research is needed to bolster the body of evidence on the effects of non-technical interventions (for example, capacity building and awareness raising) and the devolution of rights to inform future land policy efforts and accelerate sustainable development. A meta-analysis of 117 studies to determine the impacts of land tenure security on socio-environmental outcomes and sustainable development.

Abstract Background. With climate change, adverse human health effects caused by heat exposure are of increasing public health concern. Forests provide beneficial ecosystem services for human health, including local cooling. Few studies have assessed the relationship between deforestation and heat-related health effects in tropical, rural populations. We sought to determine whether deforested compared to forested landscapes are associated with increased physiological heat strain in a rural, tropical environment. Methods. We analyzed data from 363 healthy adult participants from ten villages who participated in a two-by-two factorial, randomized study in East Kalimantan, Indonesia from 10/1/17 to 11/6/17. Using simple randomization, field staff allocated participants equally to different conditions to conduct a 90 min outdoor activity, representative of typical work. Core body temperature (CBT) was estimated at each minute during the activity using a validated algorithm from baseline oral temperatures and sequential heart rate data, measured using chest band monitors. We used linear regression models, clustered by village and with a sandwich variance estimator, to assess the association between deforested versus forested conditions and the number of minutes each participant spent above an estimated CBT threshold of 38.5 °C. Results. Compared to those in the forested condition (n = 172), participants in the deforested condition (n = 159) spent an average of 3.08 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57, 5.60) additional minutes with an estimated CBT exceeding 38.5 °C, after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and experiment start time, with a larger difference among those who began the experiment after 12 noon (5.17 [95% CI 2.20, 8.15]). Conclusions. In this experimental study in a tropical, rural setting, activity in a deforested versus a forested setting was associated with increased objectively measured heat strain. Longer durations of hyperthermia can increase the risk of serious health outcomes. Land use decisions should consider the implications of deforestation on local heat exposure and health as well as on forest services, including carbon storage functions that impact climate change mitigation.

Abstract Humid heat impacts a large portion of the world’s population that works outdoors. Previous studies have quantified humid heat impacts on labor productivity by relying on exposure response functions that are based on uncontrolled experiments under a limited range of heat and humidity. Here we use the latest empirical model, based on a wider range of temperatures and humidity, for studying the impact of humid heat and recent climate change on labor productivity. We show that globally, humid heat may currently be associated with over 650 billion hours of annual lost labor (148 million full time equivalent jobs lost), 400 billion hours more than previous estimates. These differences in labor loss estimates are comparable to losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, annual heat-induced labor productivity losses are estimated at 2.1 trillion in 2017 PPP$, and in several countries are equivalent to more than 10% of gross domestic product. Over the last four decades, global heat-related labor losses increased by at least 9% (>60 billion hours annually using the new empirical model) highlighting that relatively small changes in climate (<0.5 °C) can have large impacts on global labor and the economy.