Robert I McDonald
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 6016028 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Robert I McDonald |
| NOMBRES | Robert I |
| APELLIDO | McDonald |
| FIRMA | MCDONALD R I |
| AFILIACIONES | The Nature Conservancy |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7273-6549 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 24 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 134 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 23 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 1 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2006 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 6 |
Global trends in urban forest irrigation
Urban forests are critical for climate adaptation and liveability, but effective irrigation management—key to their sustainability—remains poorly documented at the global scale. This study addresses this critical knowledge gap by analysing urban forest irrigation practices across 109 cities in 21 countries, offering one of the first global assessments of irrigation approaches, challenges, and opportunities. Using survey data, we examined water so…
Will biodiversity actions yield healthy places? A systematic review of human health outcomes associated with biodiversity‐focused urban greening
There is growing interest in using urban greening projects to support biodiversity. While there are many potential co‐benefits, the health outcomes resulting from biodiversity‐supporting activities have yet to be synthesized. We conducted a systematic review of health outcomes associated with seven biodiversity‐supporting elements, including patch size, connections, matrix quality, habitat diversity, native plants, special resources and vegetatio…
Uncharted political waters for sustainability
Global evidence of human well-being and biodiversity impacts of natural climate solutions
Commentary
Recent advances in data science and urban environmental health research utilise large-scale databases (100s-1000s of cities) to explore the complex interplay of urban characteristics such as city form and size, climate, mobility, exposure, and environmental health impacts. Cities are still hotspots of air pollution and noise, suffer urban heat island effects and lack of green space, which leads to disease and mortality burdens preventable with be…
Denser and greener cities
Green spaces in urban areas—like remnant habitat, parks, constructed wetlands, and street trees—supply multiple benefits. Many studies show green spaces in and near urban areas play important roles harbouring biodiversity and promoting human well‐being. On the other hand, evidence suggests that greater human population density enables compact, low‐carbon cities that spare habitat conversion at the fringes of expanding urban areas, while also allo…
Global protection from tropical cyclones by coastal ecosystems—past, present, and under climate change
Coastal ecosystems have the potential to contribute to disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. While previous studies have estimated the value of current coastal ecosystems for reducing coastal risk, there have been relatively few studies that look at changes in ecosystem service provision, in the past and under climate change. We employ the probabilistic, event-based CLImate ADAptation platform (CLIMADA) to quantify the protect…
Biodiversity impacts and conservation implications of urban land expansion projected to 2050
As the global urban population is poised to grow by 2.5 billion over the next 30 y, urban land conversions are expected to be an increasingly prominent driver of habitat and biodiversity loss. Mitigating these impacts urgently requires an improved understanding of where and how these biodiversity losses might occur. Here, we use a recently developed suite of land-use projections to provide an assessment of projected habitat that will be lost to u…
Nature futures for the urban century
There is an emerging consensus that the health of the planet depends on the coexistence between rapidly growing cities and the natural world. One strategy for guiding cities towards sustainability is to facilitate a planning process based on positive visions for urban systems among actors and stakeholders. This paper presents the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF), a framework for scenario building for cities that is based on three Nature Futu…
Nature inequity and higher Covid-19 case rates in less-green neighbourhoods in the United States
Urban nature—such as greenness and parks—can alleviate distress and provide space for safe recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nature is often less available in low-income populations and communities of colour—the same communities hardest hit by COVID-19. In analyses of two datasets, we quantified inequity in greenness and park proximity across all urbanized areas in the United States and linked greenness and park access to COVID-19…
Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity
Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature
Aligning evidence generation and use across health, development, and environment
Although health, development, and environment challenges are interconnected, evidence remains fractured across sectors due to methodological and conceptual differences in research and practice. Aligned methods are needed to support Sustainable Development Goal advances and similar agendas. The Bridge Collaborative, an emergent research-practice collaboration, presents principles and recommendations that help harmonize methods for evidence generat…
Natural climate solutions for the United States
U.S. land management can contribute 1.2 Pg CO 2 e year −1 of greenhouse gas mitigation, 76% of which costs USD 50 Mg CO 2 e −1 or less.
Water competition between cities and agriculture driven by climate change and urban growth
Mainstreaming investments in watershed services to enhance water security
AIG in Hindsight
The near-failure on September 16, 2008, of American International Group (AIG) was an iconic moment in the financial crisis. Two large bets on real estate made with funding vulnerable to bank-run-like dynamics pushed AIG to the brink of bankruptcy. AIG used securities lending to transform insurance company assets into residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, ultimately losing at least $21 billion and threatening …
Water on an urban planet
Urban growth is increasing the demand for freshwater resources, yet surprisingly the water sources of the world's large cities have never been globally assessed, hampering efforts to assess the distribution and causes of urban water stress. We conducted the first global survey of the large cities’ water sources, and show that previous global hydrologic models that ignored urban water infrastructure significantly overestimated urban water stress. …
Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities
Urban growth, climate change, and freshwater availability
Nearly 3 billion additional urban dwellers are forecasted by 2050, an unprecedented wave of urban growth. While cities struggle to provide water to these new residents, they will also face equally unprecedented hydrologic changes due to global climate change. Here we use a detailed hydrologic model, demographic projections, and climate change scenarios to estimate per-capita water availability for major cities in the developing world, where urban…
Global Urban Growth and the Geography of Water Availability, Quality, and Delivery
The implications of current and future urbanization for global protected areas and biodiversity conservation
Domesticated Nature
Like all species, humans have exercised their impulse to perpetuate and propagate themselves. In doing so, we have domesticated landscapes and ecosystems in ways that enhance our food supplies, reduce exposure to predators and natural dangers, and promote commerce. On average, the net benefits to humankind of domesticated nature have been positive. We have, of course, made mistakes, causing unforeseen changes in ecosystem attributes, while leavin…
Sustainable development as freedom
There has been considerable debate about how best to define sustainable development. In this commentary, I argue that Amartya Sen's concept of 'development as freedom' is the appropriate theoretical framework for understanding sustainable development. Environmentalists should consider defining their goal as 'sustainable development as freedom,' the achievement of the greatest possible level of freedom without restricting the access of future gene…
Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity
Water on an urban planet
Urban growth is increasing the demand for freshwater resources, yet surprisingly the water sources of the world's large cities have never been globally assessed, hampering efforts to assess the distribution and causes of urban water stress. We conducted the first global survey of the large cities’ water sources, and show that previous global hydrologic models that ignored urban water infrastructure significantly overestimated urban water stress. …
Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature
Nature futures for the urban century
There is an emerging consensus that the health of the planet depends on the coexistence between rapidly growing cities and the natural world. One strategy for guiding cities towards sustainability is to facilitate a planning process based on positive visions for urban systems among actors and stakeholders. This paper presents the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF), a framework for scenario building for cities that is based on three Nature Futu…
Water competition between cities and agriculture driven by climate change and urban growth
Nature inequity and higher Covid-19 case rates in less-green neighbourhoods in the United States
Urban nature—such as greenness and parks—can alleviate distress and provide space for safe recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nature is often less available in low-income populations and communities of colour—the same communities hardest hit by COVID-19. In analyses of two datasets, we quantified inequity in greenness and park proximity across all urbanized areas in the United States and linked greenness and park access to COVID-19…
Mainstreaming investments in watershed services to enhance water security
Global Urban Growth and the Geography of Water Availability, Quality, and Delivery
AIG in Hindsight
The near-failure on September 16, 2008, of American International Group (AIG) was an iconic moment in the financial crisis. Two large bets on real estate made with funding vulnerable to bank-run-like dynamics pushed AIG to the brink of bankruptcy. AIG used securities lending to transform insurance company assets into residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, ultimately losing at least $21 billion and threatening …
Sustainable development as freedom
There has been considerable debate about how best to define sustainable development. In this commentary, I argue that Amartya Sen's concept of 'development as freedom' is the appropriate theoretical framework for understanding sustainable development. Environmentalists should consider defining their goal as 'sustainable development as freedom,' the achievement of the greatest possible level of freedom without restricting the access of future gene…
Domesticated Nature
Like all species, humans have exercised their impulse to perpetuate and propagate themselves. In doing so, we have domesticated landscapes and ecosystems in ways that enhance our food supplies, reduce exposure to predators and natural dangers, and promote commerce. On average, the net benefits to humankind of domesticated nature have been positive. We have, of course, made mistakes, causing unforeseen changes in ecosystem attributes, while leavin…
The implications of current and future urbanization for global protected areas and biodiversity conservation
Urban growth, climate change, and freshwater availability
Nearly 3 billion additional urban dwellers are forecasted by 2050, an unprecedented wave of urban growth. While cities struggle to provide water to these new residents, they will also face equally unprecedented hydrologic changes due to global climate change. Here we use a detailed hydrologic model, demographic projections, and climate change scenarios to estimate per-capita water availability for major cities in the developing world, where urban…
Global Urban Growth and the Geography of Water Availability, Quality, and Delivery
Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities
Water on an urban planet
Urban growth is increasing the demand for freshwater resources, yet surprisingly the water sources of the world's large cities have never been globally assessed, hampering efforts to assess the distribution and causes of urban water stress. We conducted the first global survey of the large cities’ water sources, and show that previous global hydrologic models that ignored urban water infrastructure significantly overestimated urban water stress. …
AIG in Hindsight
The near-failure on September 16, 2008, of American International Group (AIG) was an iconic moment in the financial crisis. Two large bets on real estate made with funding vulnerable to bank-run-like dynamics pushed AIG to the brink of bankruptcy. AIG used securities lending to transform insurance company assets into residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, ultimately losing at least $21 billion and threatening …
Mainstreaming investments in watershed services to enhance water security
Natural climate solutions for the United States
U.S. land management can contribute 1.2 Pg CO 2 e year −1 of greenhouse gas mitigation, 76% of which costs USD 50 Mg CO 2 e −1 or less.
Water competition between cities and agriculture driven by climate change and urban growth
Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity
Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature
Aligning evidence generation and use across health, development, and environment
Although health, development, and environment challenges are interconnected, evidence remains fractured across sectors due to methodological and conceptual differences in research and practice. Aligned methods are needed to support Sustainable Development Goal advances and similar agendas. The Bridge Collaborative, an emergent research-practice collaboration, presents principles and recommendations that help harmonize methods for evidence generat…
Nature inequity and higher Covid-19 case rates in less-green neighbourhoods in the United States
Urban nature—such as greenness and parks—can alleviate distress and provide space for safe recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nature is often less available in low-income populations and communities of colour—the same communities hardest hit by COVID-19. In analyses of two datasets, we quantified inequity in greenness and park proximity across all urbanized areas in the United States and linked greenness and park access to COVID-19…
Biodiversity impacts and conservation implications of urban land expansion projected to 2050
As the global urban population is poised to grow by 2.5 billion over the next 30 y, urban land conversions are expected to be an increasingly prominent driver of habitat and biodiversity loss. Mitigating these impacts urgently requires an improved understanding of where and how these biodiversity losses might occur. Here, we use a recently developed suite of land-use projections to provide an assessment of projected habitat that will be lost to u…
Nature futures for the urban century
There is an emerging consensus that the health of the planet depends on the coexistence between rapidly growing cities and the natural world. One strategy for guiding cities towards sustainability is to facilitate a planning process based on positive visions for urban systems among actors and stakeholders. This paper presents the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF), a framework for scenario building for cities that is based on three Nature Futu…
Denser and greener cities
Green spaces in urban areas—like remnant habitat, parks, constructed wetlands, and street trees—supply multiple benefits. Many studies show green spaces in and near urban areas play important roles harbouring biodiversity and promoting human well‐being. On the other hand, evidence suggests that greater human population density enables compact, low‐carbon cities that spare habitat conversion at the fringes of expanding urban areas, while also allo…
Global protection from tropical cyclones by coastal ecosystems—past, present, and under climate change
Coastal ecosystems have the potential to contribute to disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. While previous studies have estimated the value of current coastal ecosystems for reducing coastal risk, there have been relatively few studies that look at changes in ecosystem service provision, in the past and under climate change. We employ the probabilistic, event-based CLImate ADAptation platform (CLIMADA) to quantify the protect…
Global evidence of human well-being and biodiversity impacts of natural climate solutions
Commentary
Recent advances in data science and urban environmental health research utilise large-scale databases (100s-1000s of cities) to explore the complex interplay of urban characteristics such as city form and size, climate, mobility, exposure, and environmental health impacts. Cities are still hotspots of air pollution and noise, suffer urban heat island effects and lack of green space, which leads to disease and mortality burdens preventable with be…
Global trends in urban forest irrigation
Urban forests are critical for climate adaptation and liveability, but effective irrigation management—key to their sustainability—remains poorly documented at the global scale. This study addresses this critical knowledge gap by analysing urban forest irrigation practices across 109 cities in 21 countries, offering one of the first global assessments of irrigation approaches, challenges, and opportunities. Using survey data, we examined water so…
Will biodiversity actions yield healthy places? A systematic review of human health outcomes associated with biodiversity‐focused urban greening
There is growing interest in using urban greening projects to support biodiversity. While there are many potential co‐benefits, the health outcomes resulting from biodiversity‐supporting activities have yet to be synthesized. We conducted a systematic review of health outcomes associated with seven biodiversity‐supporting elements, including patch size, connections, matrix quality, habitat diversity, native plants, special resources and vegetatio…
Uncharted political waters for sustainability
Geography (18 obras) · Economics (16 obras) · Environmental planning (13 obras) · Environmental resource management (13 obras) · Environmental Science (13 obras) · Business (10 obras) · Ecology (10 obras) · Land Use and Ecosystem Services (10 obras) · Biology (9 obras) · Natural resource economics (8 obras)