Author Correction: Estimating global mean sea-level rise and its uncertainties by 2100 and 2300 from an expert survey

Correction to: NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-0121-5, published online 08 May 202

The influence of the environment and lifestyle on myopia

Background: Myopia, commonly known as near-sightedness, has emerged as a global epidemic, impacting almost one in three individuals across the world. The increasing prevalence of myopia during early childhood has heightened the risk of developing high myopia and related sight-threatening eye conditions in adulthood. This surge in myopia rates, occurring within a relatively stable genetic framework, underscores the profound influence of environmental and lifestyle factors on this condition. In this comprehensive narrative review, we shed light on both established and potential environmental and lifestyle contributors that affect the development and progression of myopia. Main body: Epidemiological and interventional research has consistently revealed a compelling connection between increased outdoor time and a decreased risk of myopia in children. This protective effect may primarily be attributed to exposure to the characteristics of natural light (i.e., sunlight) and the release of retinal dopamine. Conversely, irrespective of outdoor time, excessive engagement in near work can further worsen the onset of myopia. While the exact mechanisms behind this exacerbation are not fully comprehended, it appears to involve shifts in relative peripheral refraction, the overstimulation of accommodation, or a complex interplay of these factors, leading to issues like retinal image defocus, blur, and chromatic aberration. Other potential factors like the spatial frequency of the visual environment, circadian rhythm, sleep, nutrition, smoking, socio-economic status, and education have debatable independent influences on myopia development. Conclusion: The environment exerts a significant influence on the development and progression of myopia. Improving the modifiable key environmental predictors like time spent outdoors and engagement in near work can prevent or slow the progression of myopia. The intricate connections between lifestyle and environmental factors often obscure research findings, making it challenging to disentangle their individual effects. This complexity underscores the necessity for prospective studies that employ objective assessments, such as quantifying light exposure and near work, among others. These studies are crucial for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how various environmental factors can be modified to prevent or slow the progression of myopia

Denial of long-term issues with agriculture on tropical peatlands will have devastating consequences

Non peer reviewe

Study context shapes recommendations of land-sparing and sharing; a quantitative review

Minimizing the negative impacts of tropical agricultural expansion and intensification on biodiversity and food security has been intensively discussed in the context of the land-sparing/land-sharing framework. Here, we evaluate how study scope, methodologies, geographical focus, number of species studied, and type of cropping system helped to shape authors’ recommendations. First, we found that empirical studies focusing on tropical biodiversity were primarily in favor of land sparing (67%, 12 of 18 studies), whereas reviews and perspectives with a non-biodiversity focus (e.g. ecosystem services and food security) were more likely to favor of land sharing (58%, 7 of 12 studies). Second, wildlife-friendly tree crops or shaded systems (e.g. coffee and cacao) were the focus of most applied ecology research, while annual crops accounted for the majority of tropical cropland area and recent expansion. While these trends lend support that land sparing—by closing yield gaps paired with the protection of large contiguous habitats—is favored to limit the impacts on sensitive tropical forest biodiversity, the necessary policies and enforcement mechanisms may not yet be present or effective, nor is there adequate understanding and mitigation of negative food security impacts. By illustrating how a study's context shapes recommendations, our results help move the land-sparing/land-sharing debate forward by clarifying the origins of long-standing disagreements

Will Oil Palm’s Homecoming Spell Doom for Africa’s Great Apes?

Expansion of oil palm plantations has led to extensive wildlife habitat conversion in Southeast Asia [ 1 ]. This expansion is driven by a global demand for palm oil for products ranging from foods to detergents [ 2 ], and more recently for biofuels [ 3 ]. The negative impacts of oil palm development on biodiversity [ 1, 4, 5 ], and on orangutans (Pongo spp.) in particular, have been well documented [ 6, 7 ] and publicized [ 8, 9 ]. Although the oil palm is of African origin, Africa’s production historically lags behind that of Southeast Asia. Recently, significant investments have been made that will likely drive the expansion of Africa’s oil palm industry [ 10 ]. There is concern that this will lead to biodiversity losses similar to those in Southeast Asia. Here, we analyze the potential impact of oil palm development on Africa’s great apes. Current great ape distribution in Africa substantially overlaps with current oil palm concessions (by 58.7%) and areas suitable for oil palm production (by 42.3%). More importantly, 39.9% of the distribution of great ape species on unprotected lands overlaps with suitable oil palm areas. There is an urgent need to develop guidelines for the expansion of oil palm in Africa to minimize the negative effects on apes and other wildlife. There is also a need for research to support land use decisions to reconcile economic development, great ape conservation, and avoiding carbon emissions

Multi-level actor-network : Case of Peatland programs in a Riau Village, Indonesia (1974–2020)

This paper studies the survivability of peatland-related programs in Indonesia. Despite an increase in the global and national programs for peatland restoration, many of these programs fail to survive in the long-term. To understand this low survivability, this paper examines how peatland-related programs re-arrange the relationship between the local community and peatland across time and how the new actor-network contributes to the survivability of peatland programs. We develop a multi-level actor-network framework that combines the multi-level perspective from transition studies to capture the stability of actors’ relationships and power from actor-network theory to investigate how activities mobilise human and non-human actors to comply with a specific program. Our research shows that non-human actors such as peat, paddy, Acacia, and fire shape peatland-related programs by resisting non-suitable crops, by re-shaping the program, by mobilizing human actors, and by creating pressure to the existing regime. We highlight that the survivability of peatland restoration programs is strongly influenced by how they are adjusted to the materiality of these non-human actors. Given the importance of peatland restoration programs, our study provides an approach in which human and non-human come together to generate plural voices to ensure the survival of peatland restoration programs