The New Environmental or Ecological Paradigm (NEP) is widely acknowledged as a reliable multiple‐item scale to capture environmental attitudes or beliefs. It has been used in statistical analyses for almost 30 years, primarily by psychologists, but also by political scientists, sociologists and geographers. The scale's theoretical foundation is, however, seldom discussed and not comprehensively specified. This article explores the environmental ethics that underlies the scale, analysing which ethical positions on human—nature relations the scale seem to match. The study shows that pronounced forms of anthropocentrism are well captured by the scale, while the environmental position is ‘shallow’ rather than ‘deep green’ and misses crucial elements of the contemporary environmental ethics debate.

Article impact statement : Upgrading policy on, resources for, and knowledge and communication of genetic diversity closes the conservation‐genetics gap.

This paper explores the relationship between different types of multilevel governance systems and policy coherence (i.e., uniformity of goals and rules) through a study of the governance systems for water and large carnivores in Sweden. The study objects represent multilevel governance systems for contested natural resources in the same national context, although in different policy areas and with substantial differences in institutional arrangements. We define the characteristics of each governance system through an institutional analysis of official records and compare their perceived ability to promote coherence through a statistical analysis of survey data. Our empirical results both support and problematize common ideas about how different institutional features relate to policy coherence in multilevel governance. The results clearly indicate that multilevel governance systems are challenged by conflicting goals and rules, both within and across governance systems, and that the capacity to address these difficulties is generally perceived as wanting in both types of systems. The results tentatively suggest that clashes with other governance systems are more prominent in polycentric and ecologically based systems, whereas internal goal and rule conflicts are more prevalent in centralized and more traditionally organized systems. The findings contribute to our understanding of the quandaries associated with the design of new governance systems. The study also contributes important insights into what features to focus on in attempts to mitigate the downsides of different institutional arrangements in multilevel governance systems.

Genetic diversity is needed for species’ adaptation to changing selective pressures and is particularly important in regions with rapid environmental change such as the Baltic Sea. Conservation measures should consider maintaining large gene pools to maximize species’ adaptive potential for long-term survival. In this study, we explored concerns regarding genetic variation in international and national policies that governs biodiversity and evaluated if and how such policy is put into practice in management plans governing Baltic Sea Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Germany. We performed qualitative and quantitative textual analysis of 240 documents and found that agreed international and national policies on genetic biodiversity are not reflected in management plans for Baltic Sea MPAs. Management plans in all countries are largely void of goals and strategies for genetic biodiversity, which can partly be explained by a general lack of conservation genetics in policies directed toward aquatic environments.

Knowledge transfer (KT) from academia to practice is important in many fields, but comprehensive studies on identifying the most effective forms of KT are scarce. This paper aims to provide an overview of KT theory and presents a cross-disciplinary scoping review of empirically oriented peer-reviewed articles. The review offers guidance for researchers seeking to communicate effectively with practitioners. It explores the effects of research communications, delves into the understanding and measurement of these effects, attempts to identify the most effective forms of communication, and highlights important considerations when designing KT strategies. Few studies in our sample (eight of 27) systematically measured effects of KT, and merely four studies compared multiple forms of KT. Nevertheless, most studies estimated effects from KT, regardless of the chosen form (e.g., workshops or lectures). Most studies estimated knowledge change as the primary outcome. Additionally, several studies explored altered beliefs such as increased self-efficacy. A third of the studies addressed how the knowledge was applied, ranging from sharing information to developing new habits. The identified effects were, however, both small and volatile. Our findings underscore the significance of continuity and repeated interactions to enhance the impact of KT initiatives. Furthermore, researchers need to develop a comprehensive set of tools to facilitate successful KT, considering factors such as expertise, communication skills, trust-building, and participant-centered approaches. By employing these strategies, researchers can effectively bridge the gap between academia and practice, facilitating successful KT in various fields.