The first paper from a joint research effort between the Wyss Academy for Nature and Vrije University Amsterdam, led by Diana Ramírez-Mejía, has been published in Global Environmental Change. The study examines how environmental policies such as protected areas or carbon pricing can unintentionally shift environmental pressures to other regions, a phenomenon known as land-use spillovers. These effects are widespread and shaped by policy design, market forces, land system dynamics, and governance gaps.

The paper emphasizes that addressing spillovers requires more than technical solutions. It calls for integrated, multi-scale approaches that connect ecological outcomes with institutional design, social equity, and global goals. It also highlights the need for stronger institutional coordination and for integrating spillover risks into policy, planning, and governance in order to support more coherent and just land use outcomes.

This publication contributes to a broader effort by the Wyss Academy for Nature and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to develop a framework that anticipates the displaced impacts of global biodiversity targets and supports the design of more just, robust, and effective policies. Upcoming work on this project includes a global biodiversity assessment and a regional case study in Madre de Dios, Peru.