{
  "abstract": "Assessing key dimensions of the broader science-policy-implementation gap is crucial in an era of global environmental threats to human well-being. We quantify the time required for ecological concepts to be incorporated into United Nations environmental conventions and test whether concept age and typology influence their uptake. We also illustrate the effectiveness of environmental policies for biodiversity conservation. On average, the uptake of ecological concepts by the Conference of the Parties of the UN Conventions takes 7 years. While climate change conventions favor concepts related to structural and abiotic features, which reflects a focus on mitigation, the biodiversity and desertification conventions favor more idiosyncratic concepts, probably depending on the alignment of the scientific and political agendas on particular topics. Environmental policies have limited effectiveness, with better outcomes at local scales. Closing these gaps requires stronger implementation mechanisms and more effective identification and communication of scientific discovery across governance levels worldwide. Science for society: Scientific research is essential for informing environmental policy, yet a persistent gap remains between scientific results, their integration into policy-making, and their implementation through on-the-ground strategies. On average, scientific ecological concepts take around 7 years to be incorporated into the policies of major UN environmental conventions. While some concepts are adopted immediately, others take up to 28 years to be incorporated into global policy frameworks. Long delays in knowledge transfer occur for relevant and sound concepts, such as extreme events and soil biodiversity in the context of desertification; ecosystem services, when referring to climate change; and phylogenetic diversity, in relation to biodiversity conservation. The science-policy gap is generally smaller for older concepts but not for those with positive connotations or related to structural attributes, which we expect to be more rapidly accepted and implemented as indicators. Examining the policy-implementation gap in biodiversity conservation across contrasting geographic scales as a case study, we find that implementation is more successful at smaller spatial scales. This pattern likely relates to greater accountability, higher stakeholder engagement, and a lower diversity of socio-environmental constraints within smaller-scale governance frameworks. To ensure that science benefits society through environmental policy, we must shorten the path from evidence to action. Bridging this science-policy gap can promote mutual learning and trust at the science-policy interface, thereby fostering more informed actions, setting more realistic goals, and allowing more effective implementation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM Foundation), Joint Research Unit University of Alicante-CEAM, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Corresponding author",
    "Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Corresponding author",
    "Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain",
    "Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio Ramon Margalef, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain",
    "Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio Ramon Margalef, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain",
    "Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Department of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, Spain",
    "Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM Foundation), Joint Research Unit University of Alicante-CEAM, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain",
    "Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio Ramon Margalef, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Center for Engineering, Modelling and Applied Social Sciences, Universidade Federal do ABC, 09280-560 Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil",
    "Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM Foundation), Joint Research Unit University of Alicante-CEAM, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Luna Morcillo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Elysa Silva"
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    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Roberto C. Rodríguez-Caro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Diana Turrión"
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    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Santiago Soliveres"
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    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jon Morant"
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    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Esther Sebastián-González"
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        2
      ],
      "name": "María Botella-Cruz"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sergio Gilabert"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Maria Dolores Hidalgo-Galvez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Andreu Ibáñez-Rodríguez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Celia de Llanos-Romero"
    },
    {
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        2
      ],
      "name": "Adrian Orihuela-Torres"
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        7
      ],
      "name": "Leandro Reverberi-Tambosi"
    },
    {
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        2
      ],
      "name": "Sara Sánchez-Sáez"
    },
    {
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        8
      ],
      "name": "Alberto Vilagrosa"
    },
    {
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        4
      ],
      "name": "Susana Bautista"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5ch1etj2p6nre.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100831",
  "fulltext_url": "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949790626002004",
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  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100831",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
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  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-25",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5ch1etj2p6nre.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:44:56Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2308|Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
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  "title": "Quantifying the gap from scientific evidence to environmental policy and implementation across scales",
  "title_text": "Quantifying the gap from scientific evidence to environmental policy and implementation across scales",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:44:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5ch1etj2p6nre",
  "venue": "Cell Reports Sustainability",
  "versions": []
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