Guest editors
Professor Dr. Khai Ern Lee, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia, khaiernlee@ukm.edu.my
Professor Emeritus Dr. Mazlin Bin Mokhtar , United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Netowrk Asia Headquarters, Malaysia, mazlin.mokhtar@unsdsn.org
Professor Benfeng Yu , Jiangxi University of Water Resources and Electric Power, China, yubenfeng@juwp.edu.cn
Dr. Menghan Gao, Weinan Normal University, China, gaomenghan@wnu.edu.cn
This Special Issue aims to connect nature-based solutions (NbS) with emerging science on global tipping points and resilience in coupled social–ecological systems. It will examine how NbS can reduce non-climatic pressures and the risk of crossing damaging ecological thresholds, strengthen resilience as systems approach critical transitions, support recovery of degraded ecosystems, and create conditions for positive, self-reinforcing change. Contributions will investigate ecological, technological, governance, financial and social mechanisms that determine whether NbS remain local interventions or scale into transformative pathways. Particular attention will be given to critical systems, such as tropical forests, wetlands, peatlands, coral reefs, coastal ecosystems, river basins, agricultural landscapes and cities. Comparative perspectives across the Amazon, Congo Basin and Borneo are especially encouraged, alongside studies from other vulnerable regions, to identify transferable principles while respecting ecological, institutional and cultural differences.
List of topic areas
Preventing negative tipping: NbS for reducing anthropogenic pressures, protecting ecological thresholds and strengthening resilience.
Recovery and positive tipping: restoration, regeneration and ecological feedbacks capable of producing self-reinforcing recovery.
Critical social–ecological systems: comparative evidence from the Amazon, Congo Basin and Borneo, alongside wetlands, peatlands, coral/coastal systems, river basins, agricultural landscapes and cities.
Enabling transformation: governance, finance, institutions, Indigenous and local knowledge, equity, community participation and cross-border cooperation for scaling NbS.
Evidence and foresight: thresholds, early-warning indicators, remote sensing, AI/modelling, monitoring, metrics and evaluation of resilience, positive tipping and cascading impacts.
Submissions information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esar
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emerald.com/journals/author-guidance/1627/emerald-publishing-author-guidelines
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else while under review for this journal.
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions (if agreed with publisher): 01/10/2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 30/09/2027
Email contact for submissions: khaiernlee@ukm.edu.my
