Bryde's whales are among the lesser known balaenopterids found in Brazilian waters, as well as globally. At the beginning of this project, only occasional sightings of this species were identified off the coast of São Paulo State. In this paper, we present the results of our investigations into the occurrence and behaviour of Bryde's whales along the São Paulo coast, both inside and outside the Marine State Park of Laje de Santos, as a contribution to biological and behavioural knowledge of Bryde's whales under the conservation scope. Sighting surveys were conducted from January 2003 to July 2005 in coastal and oceanic areas. During the survey, 42 sightings were made, totalling 71 individuals, between the isobaths of 20 and 3000 m. Sightings and individual rates were higher in coastal areas during the summer season. Different kinds of behaviour were observed in coastal and oceanic areas. At the 1200 m isobath, notable social interactions were observed in which four adult individuals performed breaching – the first report of this behavioural pattern for Brazil. Results suggest that Bryde's whales possibly use coastal areas for feeding and may migrate to oceanic areas for breeding, thus providing important aspects that must be considered for the proper management of Marine Protected Areas and for oceanic areas, especially considering the intensive and continuous increase of oil and gas exploitation activities in those areas. Data reported here, therefore, constitute a significant contribution in Bryde's whale research and to cetacean conservation efforts in Brazil.

To address the global challenge of plastic waste, 175 UN Member States are negotiating a legally binding instrument, the Plastic Treaty, aimed at ending plastic pollution. This ambitious framework, targeting both terrestrial and marine sources, is being developed through Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meetings scheduled to conclude by 2025. Amidst uncertainties and power dynamics influencing state positions, this research identifies 10 critical, yet unresolved, points within the treaty negotiations (i.e., the scope of the treaty, equity and differentiation, involvement of non-state actors, integration with existing agreements, standards and specifications, trade implications, monitoring and reporting, responsibility and historical contributions, binding vs. non-binding commitments, and financing and technology transfer). The findings suggest potential compromises in the treaty’s environmental provisions, influenced by domestic interests and international power disparities. As negotiations progress, the imperative for cooperation and decisive action against plastic pollution becomes increasingly pressing, challenging member states to prioritize global environmental integrity over national interests.

Human demands and activities introduce cross-scale pressures in different systems and scales, affecting the provision of ecosystem services and causing an unbalanced effect on human well-being within the territory. The existing institutions are frequently considered panaceas since they do not take into account the different spatial and jurisdictional scales of the social-ecological systems (SES). This paper aims to broaden the existing DPSIR (Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Response) assessment frameworks to strengthen the ecosystem approach and promote an integrated cross-scale perspective. The concept of the Cross-scale Ecosystem-Based Assessment (DIET) was developed and applied to a case study on the demand of seafood provisions. The assessment has indicated that the activities related to the specified demand occur at different scales and generate cumulative impacts and pressures on other scales, especially in the coastal zone. The existing responses to address this issue are highly fragmented, both spatially and among sectors. DIET was applied here to the land–sea interface to illustrate how coastal zone governance and management can be improved and how the impact of certain drivers or activities in the SES can be reduced. DIET may help to reduce the governance morbidity and prevent panaceas by fostering the integration of institutions in pursuing flexible, adaptive and fit-for-purpose policies to address complex issues so as to secure social-ecological justice and well-being for all humans.

Coastal climate change impacts challenge policy and decision makers to adopt more effective adaptation measures. The ecosystem-based management approach can shift adaptation towards a more holistic, integrated and sustainable path. However, as countries work on strategies to adapt to climate change, the questions of if and how such agendas consider and operationalise ecosystem-based management remains. As one of the world’s largest coastal countries, Brazil can have a prominent role in advancing the implementation of ecosystem-based management to coastal zones. By analysing two national Brazilian climate change adaptation institutions, this article evaluates and discusses the country’s advances in promoting climate change adaptations based on ecosystem-based management principles. Our findings show that, although Brazil has incorporated many ecosystem-based management principles to climate change adaptation at the national level, greater attention should be given to operationalizing principles related to acknowledging uncertainties, sustainability, democracy and knowledge production and application. The challenges to implement these principles mirror historical challenges of Brazilian coastal management policies, such as balancing development and conservation, promoting social participation and implementing effective social-ecological assessments and monitoring programs. Policy makers, scientists and communities should be aware of the need to strengthen ecosystem-based management principles in the current adaptation agenda in order to enhance its capacity to foster adaptation and just coastal sustainability.

We used Brazil as a Global South case study to analyze the evolution of the coastal governance in a young and still unstable democracy. Based on twenty-five years of documentation related to a federal-level actor interaction hub named Coastal Management Integration Group (GIGERCO) we explored the opportunity context for the transformation of the Brazilian coastal governance system using a Theory of Transformative Agency to identify five periods of evolution. The coastal governance system shifted from an exploitation to a conservation phase (periods 1 to 3), where an increasing number of actors were getting to know the system and each other’s interests turned into a moment of higher stability and resistance to change. The mobilization of social capital and higher heterogeneity of actors allowed novel strategies to emerge, generating opportunities for structural changes from a conservation towards a release phase (period 4). We argue that the recent political changes in Brazil caused a rupture in such a flourishing coastal governance process (period 5), which is now at a critical juncture that may unfold into one of three envisioned alternative scenarios: conservative regime, a new integrated and ecosystem-based regime, or a remanent of past regime properties. Our paper informs coastal governance processes across the world, highlighting the dynamic nature of the interplay between alternative institutional entrepreneurship strategies, opportunity contexts, and innovations in governance systems.