Changing the narrative on fisheries subsidies reform: Enabling transitions to achieve SDG 14.6 and beyond.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in the final stages of negotiating an agreement to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies, thereby achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6. An effective agreement should be viewed as an opportunity for nations to proactively transition towards sustainable and equitable fisheries and pave the path for other SDGs. Supporting fishers does not require harmful subsidies, and we provide evidence-based options for reform that highlight equity needs while reducing environmental harm. Subsidy reforms need clear goals, co-design, transparency, and fair implementation. An agreement on SDG 14.6 could be a turning point for the oceans and for the well-being of those that depend on the oceans for livelihoods and nutrition. Responsible seafood production will require international cooperation not only at WTO, but among governments, fisher organizations, civil society, and the wider public.

Hotspots 2.0: Toward an integrated understanding of stressors and response options.

Integrated and transdisciplinary approaches are necessary in hotspots research where the intention is to influence policy and practice. Knowing that climate change will impact major ecosystem services and the sustainability of life support systems, a critical examination of the hotspot concept and approach is undertaken to pursue synergistic responses. Hotspots 2.0 embodies current thinking about planning towards multiple drivers of change and seeing human and natural systems as mutually inter-dependent and benefiting from integrated policy approaches. Such proposed adaptation interventions to inter-related stressors will complement biodiversity conservation, disaster risk reduction, and human well-being. Through a systematic review, we assess 114 relevant peer review cases to examine integrative responses to climatic and non-climatic vulnerabilities in various hotspot regions. Furthermore, we illustrate the utility of the Hotspots 2.0 approach using emerging insights from the 'Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia' in semi-arid regions, deltas, and glacier-fed river basin hotspots.