Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has only lately included environmental sustainability as a key area for the social desirability of research and innovation. That is one of the reasons why just a few RRI projects and proposals include environmental sustainability, and Climate Change (CC) in particular. CC is one of the grand challenges of our time and, thus, this paper contributes to the operationalization of CC prevention in RRI. To this end, the tools employed against CC were identified. Tools originated in corporate social responsibility and sustainable innovation which help to operationalize strategies against CC in RRI practice. Complementarily, the latest proposals by RRI projects and actors related to CC were reviewed. The findings of the document analysis and the web review were arranged in a framework intended for research and innovation that has an indirect but relevant negative impact due to CC. Thus, four main strategies for CC prevention in RRI were determined: a voluntary integration of the aims, a life cycle perspective, open access databases and key performance indicators, and stakeholder management. The article is finished acknowledging diverse barriers hindering the operationalization of CC prevention in RRI, and we introduce future avenues for research in this area.
Protected areas play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation worldwide, but often neglect the involvement of local communities. This study presents a participatory planning methodology for promoting social and economic development in protected areas, using Cotopaxi National Park (PNC) in Ecuador as a case study. The PNC represents an appropriate case study due to its diverse ecosystems and challenges related to grazing activities. The proposed methodology integrates a qualitative approach with the Social Network Analysis (SNA) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to design a sustainable management approach. Firstly, the SNA maps the stakeholder network, identifying key actors and their relationships. Secondly, interviews with influential stakeholders provide insights into their perceptions of influence, relationships, and strategies to enhance grazing activities. Thirdly, the ANP is used to analyze and prioritize management strategies. Finally, a novel sensitivity analysis was made to validate the results. The promotion of new opportunities for productive projects and alternative sources of income was the best-rated strategy for sustainable grazing. The proposed methodology can facilitate and improve the co-management of the protected areas and their governance. It allows the integration of environmental conservation objectives with the main concerns of the stakeholders, promoting social and economic development. This study confirms that stakeholders have different interests, sensitivities, and ways of understanding sustainability; thus, improving stakeholder communication and the involvement of additional actors, such as NGOs and government agencies, is crucial. The proposed integrated approach can be adapted to any participatory decision-making process related to the conservation of protected natural areas.
7 April 2026 in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments