Publications
Peer reviewed articles, books, chapters and policy reports.
Scaling nature-based solutions for climate resilient infrastructure
2025
Han, R., Marchant, R., and Thorn, J.P.R. (2025) Are vulnerable neighbourhoods left behind? Urban cooling disparities from greenspace inequality in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Urban Climate. 61: 102467. Doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102467
Climate justice and informal trader’s access to urban green spaces
Thorn, J. P. R., Maruza, T. C. G., & Stoffberg, M. (2025). Climate justice and informal trader’s access to urban green spaces. Cities, 159, 105725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.105725
Impacts of road development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A call for holistic perspectives in research and policy.
Biber-Freudenberger, L., Bogner, C., Bareth, G., Bollig, M., Dannenberg, P., Diez, J. R., Greiner, C., Mtweve, P. J., Klagge, B., Kramm, T., Müller-Mahn, D., Moseti, V., Nyamari, N., Ochuodho, D. O., Kuntashula, E., Theodory, T., Thorn, J. P. R., and Börner, J. (2025). Impacts of road development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A call for holistic perspectives in research and policy. iScience, 111913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.111913
A catalogue of land-based adaptation and mitigation solutions to tackle climate change.
Chiriacò, M. V., Dămătîrcă, C., Abd Alla, S., Barilari, S., Biancardi Aleu, R., Brazzini, T., Capela Lourenço, T., de Carolis Villars, C. A., Durand, S., Di Lallo, G., Encarnação Coelho, R., Espin, O., Ferreras-Alonso, N., Galluccio, G., Ganszky, D., Hellsten, S., Hernández-Moral, G., Ihrfors, J., Keramitsoglou, I., Kiranoudis, C. T., Nemethy, A., Oakes, R., Ortuño Castillo, J., Pastor, A. V., Pérez-Ramirez, P., Ramos-Diez, I., Sismanidis, P., Trozzo, C., & De Notaris, C. (2025). A catalogue of land-based adaptation and mitigation solutions to tackle climate change. Scientific Data, 12, Article 166. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04484-0
2024
Sea level rise in Europe: Adaptation measures and decision-making principles.
Galluccio, G., Hinkel, J., Fiorini Beckhauser, E., Bisaro, A., Biancardi Aleu, R., Campostrini, P., Casas, M. F., Espin, O., & Vafeidis, A. T. (2024). Sea level rise in Europe: Adaptation measures and decision-making principles. State Planet, 3(slre1), 6. https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-3-slre1-6-2024
Freeing imagination for fair and resilient future cities.
Comelli, T., Ensor, J., Filippi, E., Hope, M., Marchant, R. A., Pelling, M., Thorn, J. P. R. (2024) Freeing imagination for fair and resilient future cities. Nature Cities. 1: 536-539. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-024-00099-5

Han, R., Marchant, R. A. and Thorn, J. P. R. Global disparities in wellbeing from green infrastructure cooling services: a systematic review. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 97: 128372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128372
How to transform Africa’s food system
Ogega, O., Korsten, L., Odongo, D. A., Oti-Boateng, P. Thorn, J. P. R. (2024) How to transform Africa’s food system. Nature Communications Earth and Environment 5, 82. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01250-9
Towards more sustainable and inclusive development corridors in Africa.
Juffe-Bignoli, D., Burgess, N., Wijesinghe, A., Thorn, J. P. R., Brown, M., Gannon, K. E., Sang, C. C., Lesutis, G., Lyimo, P., Chilagane, N., Tam, C., Munishi, P., Kashaigili, J. J., Sandbrook, C., Olago, D., Marchant, R., Wariungi, L., Meng. H., Conway, D., Payne, T., van Soesbergen, A., Xu, Y., Wentworth, J., Niazi, A., Hargey, A., Butt, H., Blasi-Foglietti, C., Palmer, R., Bull, J., Runsten, L. (2024) Towards more sustainable and inclusive development corridors in Africa. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ad7887

Sack, H., and Thorn, J. P. R. (2024). Confronting climate at the water’s edge: Marine and coastal nature-based solutions in Southern Africa. In: Leal Filho, W., Nagy, G.J., Ayal, D.Y. (eds) Handbook of Nature-Based Solutions to Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98067-2_157-1
2023

Gilmore, E., Olazabal, M., Safra de Campos, R., Thorn, J. P. R., Coughlan de Perez, E., and Harper, S. L. (2024) Charting the future of adaptation: Five key takeaways from Adaptation Futures. 2023. https://latitude.plos.org/2024/01/charting-the-future-of-adaptation-five-key-takeaways-from-adaptation-futures-2023/

Marchant, R., Cuni-Sanchez, A., Thorn, J. P. R., Schmitt, C and Gelete, D. C. (2024). The sky islands in eastern Africa: biodiversity and risks. In Schneiderbauer, S., Pisa, P. F., Shroder, J and Szarzynski, J. (eds.) Safeguarding mountain social-ecological system, a global challenge: Facing emerging risks and adapting to changing environments. Volume 2 of 2. Elsevier. P. 97-104. ISBN: 978-0-443-32824-4
Stories of social (in)equity in nature-based solutions.
Holden, P.; Hoffman, T.; Djenontin, I.; Esler, K.; Gannon, K.; Humphrey, G.; Mbidzo, M.; Mtati, N.; New, M.; Ndlovu, V.; Razafimanantsoa, A. H. I.; Rebelo, A.; Savory, S.; Thorn, J.P.R.; Visser, M., Ziervogel, G. (2023). Stories of social (in)equity in nature-based solutions. Adaptation Futures conference. Montreal, Canada. https://sites.google.com/view/tesnbsworkshop/stories
‘Kesho’ scenario development for supporting water-energy-food security under uncertain future conditions in Zanzibar.
Newman, R. J. S., Enns, C., Capitani, C., Thorn, J. P. R., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Buckton, S., Om, S., Fazey, I., Haji, T. A., Nchimbi, A.Y., Kariuki, R., Marchant, R. A. (2024) ‘Kesho’ scenario development for supporting water-energy-food security under uncertain future conditions in Zanzibar. Land. 13(2)195 https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020195

Newman, R. J. S., Thorn, J. P. R., Haji, T. A., Nchimbi, A. Y., Musa, I., Enns, C., and Marchant, R. A., (2023) A people-centred framework for exploring water, energy and food security in a small developing island. Population and Environment. 45: 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-023-00427-2

Marchant, R. and Thorn, J. P. R. (2023) The value of researching the past for crafting sustainable African mountain futures. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, https://doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2023.2205373

Shackleton, S., Taylor, A., Gammage, L., Gilson, L., Sitas, N., Methner, N., Jarre, A., Barmand, A., Thorn, J. P. R., McClure, A., Cobban, L., Jarre, A., Odume, O. N. (2023) Fostering transdisciplinary research for equitable and sustainable development pathways across Africa: what changes are needed? Ecosystems and People. 19:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2022.2164798

Klein, J. A., Tucker, C., Roane, T., Nolin, A., Reid, R., Steger, C., Cuni-Sanchez, A., Thorn, J. P. R. (2023) The role of networks in safeguarding mountain futures: Insights from the Mountain Sentinels Collaborative Network. In Schneiderbauer, S., Pisa, P. F., Shroder, J and Szarzynski, J. (eds.) Safeguarding mountain social-ecological system, a global challenge: Facing emerging risks and adapting to changing environments. Volume 1 of 2. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822095-5.00023-1
2022

Hejnowicz, A.P., Thorn, J.P.R., Giraudo, M.E., Sallach, B.J., Hartley, S.E., Grugel, J., Pueppke, S., and Emberson, L. (2022) Appraising the water-energy-food nexus from a sustainable development perspective: A maturing paradigm? Earth’s Future. 10(12) https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002622
Environmental policy design and implementation: Toward a sustainable society.
Hejnowicz, A. P., and Thorn, J. P. R. (2022) Environmental policy design and implementation: Toward a sustainable society. Sustainability. 14, 3199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063199

Thorn J. P. R., Nangolo, P., Biancardi Aleu, R., Marchant, R. A., Shackleton, S., Ajala, O., Delgado, G., Cinderby, S., and Hejnowicz, A. P. (2022) Exploring the benefits and dis-benefits of climate migration as an adaptive strategy along the rural-peri-urban continuum in Namibia. Regional Environmental Change. 12(10). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01973-5

Thorn, J. P. R., Juffe-Bignoli, D., Mwangi, B., Marchant, R. A. (2022) The African Development Corridors Database: a new tool to assess the impacts of infrastructure investments. Nature: Scientific Data. 9:679. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01771-y

Hejnowicz, A. P. and Thorn, J. P. R (2022) Environmental policy design and implementation: towards sustainable society. ISBN 978-3-0365-5186-9 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/environmental_policy_design_implementation. 210 pp. MDPI.

Thorn, J. P. R., Mwangi, B., Juffe Bignoli, D. (2022) The African Development Corridors Database. https://arcg.is/TynL90 and https://datadryad.org/stash/share/80dKow6W1-fFT1BRFAVHVl8AbiB_SjzVa8-_nlVRBv4 Dataset. Dryad Digital Repository.

Giombini, V., and Thorn, J. P. R. (2022). Overcoming unequal access to urban green spaces in a post-apartheid city: Challenges and opportunities for nature-based solutions. In: Misiūnė, I., Lukas, E. K., and Daniel, D (eds.). Exploring the multiple values of nature – connecting ecosystems and people across landscapes. Springer Nature. pp 207-219. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01980-7_17#DOI .
2021
Governance of urban green infrastructure governance in Windhoek, Namibia.
Wijesinghe, A., and Thorn, J. P. R. (2021). Governance of urban green infrastructure governance in Windhoek, Namibia. Sustainability 13(16)8937. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168937

Juffe-Bignoli, D., Burgess, N., Hobbs, J., Smith, R. J., Tam, C., Thorn, J. P. R., and., Bull, J. (2021) Mitigating the impacts of development corridors on biodiversity: a global review. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9, 477. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.683949
Defining pathways towards African Ecological Futures.
Scheren, P., Tyrrell, P., Brehony, P., Allan, J. R., Thorn, J. P. R., Chinho, T., Katerere, Y., Ushie, V. and Worden, J. S. (2021) Defining pathways towards African Ecological Futures. Sustainability. 13 (16): 8894. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168894

Thorn, J. P. R., Klein, J. A., Steger, C. E., Hopping, K. A., Capitani, C., Tucker, C. M., Reid, R. S., and Marchant, R. (2021). Scenario archetypes reveal risks and opportunities for mountain futures. Global Environmental Change; 69: 102291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102291
Evidence-based guidance for best practices in environmental transdisciplinary work.
Steger, C. E., Klein, J. A., Reid, R. S., Lavorel, S., Tucker, C.M., Hopping, K.A., Marchant, R., Teel, T., Cuni-Sanchez, A., Dorji, T., Greenwood, G., Huber, R., Kasam, K., Kreuer, D., Nolin, A. W., Russell, A., Sharp, J.L., Šmid-Hribar, M., Thorn, J. P. R., Grant, G., Mahdi, M., and Waiswa, D. (2021) Science with society: Evidence-based guidance for best practices in environmental transdisciplinary work. Global Environmental Change. 68: 102240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102240
Exploring the potential of scenario planning for more effective environmental assessments: Standard Gauge Railway development corridor, Kenya.
Thorn, J. P. R., Hobbs, J., and Marchant, R. A. (2021). Exploring the potential of scenario planning for more effective environmental assessments: Standard Gauge Railway development corridor, Kenya. In: Hobbs, J. and Juffe-Bignoli, D. (eds.) Impact assessment for corridors: from infrastructure to development corridors. Development Corridors Partnership, UNEP-WCMC. Pp 200-222. https://developmentcorridors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Chapter-12-1.pdf
Lessons Learned from a corridor focused research and capacity-building programme.
Brown, M. R. C., Runsten, L., Juffe Bignoli, D., Wijesinghe, A., Payne, T., Meng, H., Marchant, R., Thorn, J. P. R., Olago, D. O., Sang, C. C., Munishi, P. K. T., Kashaigili, J. J., Waruingi, L., Tam, C., Hobbs, J., and Burgess, N. D. (2021) Lessons Learned from a corridor focused research and capacity-building programme. In: Hobbs, J. and Juffe-Bignoli, D. (eds.) Impact assessment for corridors: from infrastructure to development corridors. Development Corridors Partnership, UNEP-WCMC. https://developmentcorridors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Chapter-23-1.pdf
2020

Thorn, J. P. R., Klein, J., Steger, C., Hopping, K., Capitani, C., Tucker, C., Nolin, A., Reid, R., Seidl, R., Chitale, V., and Marchant, R. (2020). A systematic review of participatory scenario planning to envision mountain social-ecological systems futures. Ecology and Society. 25(3):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11608-250306
Indigenous uses of wild and tended plant biodiversity maintain ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes of the Terai Plains of Nepal.
Thorn, J. P. R., Thornton, T. F., Helfgott, A., and Willis., K. J. (2020). Indigenous uses of wild and tended plant biodiversity maintain ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes of the Terai Plains of Nepal. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 16-33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00382-4
A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness.
Badu, K., Thorn, J. P. R., Goonoo, N., Dukhi, N., Fagbamigbe, A. F., Kulohoma, B. W., Oyebola, K., Abdelsalam, S. I., Doorsamy, W., Awe, O., Sylverken, A. A., Egeru, A., and Gitaka. J. (2020). Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness. African Academy of Sciences Open Res, 3:19. https://doi.org/10.12688/aasopenres.13060.1
Integrating insights from social-ecological interactions into sustainable land use change scenarios for small islands in the Western Indian Ocean.
Newman, R. J. S., Capitani, C., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Thorn, J. P. R., Kariuki, R., Enns, C. and Marchant, R. (2020). Integrating insights from social-ecological interactions into sustainable land use change scenarios for small islands in the Western Indian Ocean. Sustainability, 12, 1340. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041340

Ouko, C. A., Mulwa, R., Kibugi, R., Oguge, N., and Thorn, J. P. R. (2020). Prospects of scenario planning for Kenya’s protected ecosystems: An example of Mount Marsabit forest. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2019.10.001
Dryland nature-based solutions for informal settlement schemes in Africa upgrading.
Thorn, J. P. R., Kavonic, J., Hejnowicz, A., Marchant, R., Cinderby, S., Mueller, A., Ajala, O. (2021). Dryland nature-based solutions for informal settlement schemes in Africa upgrading. ICLEI Africa: Cape Town. https://africa.iclei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/nbs-policy-brief-final.pdf
Socially inclusive and innovative policy making for climate resilient urban strategies in Africa.
Thorn, J. P. R., Kavonic, J., Hejnowicz, A., Marchant, R., Cinderby, S., Mueller, A., Ajala, O. (2021). Socially inclusive and innovative policy making for climate resilient urban strategies in Africa. ICLEI Africa: Cape Town. https://africa.iclei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/socially-inclusive-policy-brief-final.pdf
Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas 4th EAI International Conference, InterSol 2020, Nairobi, Kenya.
Thorn, J. P. R., Hejnowicz, A. P., and Gueye, A (eds.). (2020). Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas 4th EAI International Conference, InterSol 2020, Nairobi, Kenya, March 8-9, Proceedings. Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-51050-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51051-0

Thorn, J. P. R., Thornton, T., Helfgott, A., and Willis, K. J. (2020). The role of biodiversity in the maintenance of ecosystem services in human-dominated landscapes: evidence from the Terai Plains of Nepal. Thornton, T. F., and Bhagwat, S. (eds) The Routledge handbook on indigenous and ecological knowledge. Routledge. ISBN: 9780367565442
2019

Thorn, J. P. R. (2019). Adaptation “from below” to species distribution, habitat, and climate-driven changes in agro-ecosystems in the Terai Plains of Nepal. AMBIO, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01202-0

Klein, J., Tucker, C., Nolin, A., Hopping, K., Reid, R., Steger, C., Grêt-Regamey, A., Lavorel, S., Weibel, B., Brunner, S., Müller, B., Yeh, E., Boone, R., Bourgeron, P., Butsic, V., Castellanos, E., Chen, X., Dong, S., Greenwood, G., Keller, M., Marchant, R., Seidl, R., Spies, T., Thorn, J. P. R. and Yager, K. (2019). Catalysing transformations to sustainability in mountain social-ecological systems. Earth’s Future, 7, 547-557. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001024

Klein, J. A., Tucker, C. M., Nolin, A., Reid, R., Thorn, J. P. R., et al. (2019). An integrated community and ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in mountain systems. Environmental Science and Policy, 94, 143-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.034

McIntosh, E. J., Chapman, S., Kearney, S. G., Williams, B., Althor, G., Thorn, J. P. R., Pressey, R. L., McKinnon, M. C., and Grenyer, R. (2018). Absence of evidence for the conservation outcomes of systematic conservation planning around the globe: A systematic map. Environmental Evidence, 7, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-018-0134-2

Klein, J. A., Thorn, J. P. R. et al (2019) Expert survey data on key challenges, drivers, and ecosystem services across mountains worldwide. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25675/10217/194492
2018
How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research.
Friedman, R., Law, E., Bennett, N., Ives, C., Thorn, J. P. R. and Wilson, K. (2018) How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research. Environmental Research Letters, 13, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabcde

Thorn, J. P. R., Friedmann, R., Benz, D., Willis, K. J. and Petrokofsky, G. (2016). What evidence exists for the effectiveness of on-farm conservation land management strategies for preserving ecosystem services in developing countries? A systematic map. Environmental Evidence, 5, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-016-0064-9

Espejo Minan, A., Andriamanalina, R.L. and Razafipahatelo, D. (2018) Estimation of forest cover change, its uncertainty and influence on GHG emissions and emission reductions in the Atiala Atsinanana Emission Reduction Program, Madagascar. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (GC44A-01) December.
Pre-2018

Thorn, J. P. R. and Bens, D. (2016) Online interactive meta-analysis mapping tool: Systematic map of ecosystem services and on-farm conservation practices. Dataset. https://oxlel.zoo.ox.ac.uk/resources/ecosystem-services-onfarm-conservation-map.

Thorn, J. P. R., Snaddon, J., Kok, K., Waldron, A., Zhou, W., Bhagwat, S., Willis, K. J., and Petrokofsky, G., (2015). How effective are on-farm conservation land management strategies for preserving ecosystem services in developing countries? A systematic map protocol. Environmental Evidence, 4, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-015-0036-5

Thorn, J. P. R., Thornton, T. F and Helfgott, A. (2015). Autonomous adaptation to global environmental change in peri-urban settlements: Evidence of a growing culture of innovation and revitalisation in Mathare Valley Slums, Nairobi. Global Environmental Change, 31, 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.12.009

Razafipahatelo, D., Rakotoniaina, S. and Rakotondraompiana, S. (2014), Automatic floods detection with a kernel k-means approach. In 2014 IEEE Canada International Humanitarian Technology Conference-(IHTC) (pp. 1-4). June. IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/IHTC.2014.7147515

Thorn, J. P. R. and Oldfield. S. (2012). A politics of land occupation: A perspective on state practice and everyday mobilisation in Zille Raine Heights, Cape Town. Journal of African Studies, 46, 518-530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909611403710

Agroforestry and smallholder farmers welfare in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Participatory scenarios and spatial modelling to explore mangrove ecosystem service futures in Lamu, Kenya.
Place-based sustainability transformations for just futures: A systematic review.
Spatial distribution, determinants and barriers of green-blue-grey infrastructure-based urban heat island mitigation strategies in Budapest, Hungary.
Are vulnerable neighbourhoods left behind? Urban cooling disparities from greenspace inequality in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Near and far future conservation, land use and land cover interactions around the wider Etosha landscape, north-central Namibia.
Adding value to the voluntary carbon market through small-scale agroforestry.
