Effective regulation is essential for preventing the establishment of new invasive plants and managing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of those already established. Invasive plants are regulated by jurisdictions at a variety of local, regional, national, and international levels. Enhanced coordination of policy and regulations has been identified as a key strategy for addressing the impacts of invasive species (IPBES 2023; Pluess et al. 2012); however, coordination between jurisdictions, and even within jurisdictions, is not always considered. To review regulatory coordination in Australia, we compiled a comprehensive dataset of noxious weeds (defined as invasive plants and potentially invasive plants with controls specified in regulation) in each Australian jurisdiction (i.e., State or Territory). We found that jurisdictions on average shared c. 67% (SD = 15%) of noxious weed listings. Neighbouring jurisdictions were not more similar than separated jurisdictions in their noxious weed listings. There were significant differences in the biogeographic native ranges of noxious weeds between jurisdictions, with species native to temperate Asia being most frequently listed overall. The predominant likely entry pathway for noxious weeds in Australia was the ornamental trade. Listings were primarily dedicated to proactive control, prohibiting the cultivation of noxious weeds to avoid their naturalisation. There were 415 noxious weeds regulated in a harmonious manner across jurisdictions. However, there were 327 noxious weeds regulated by jurisdictions in a discordant manner, potentially leaving neighbouring jurisdictions vulnerable to invasion. We suggest jurisdictions reassess the regulation of these 327 discordant noxious weeds in Australia and utilise a national taxonomic standard to avoid problematic synonyms. Improved cohesion of policies could be achieved through wider adoption of existing regulatory systems and co-development of regulations between government and industry.

Outdoor air pollution continues to be a challenging health issue, even as countries experience economic growth. By exploiting a unique transboundary setting in East Asia, we study the impact of an increase in particulate matter (PM) concentrations on fetal deaths. Due to the westerlies in the mid-latitudes, residents in South Korea at times experience intermittent exposure to high levels of air pollution. Using such atmospheric setting, we estimate a reduced-form impact of high PM events on fetal deaths, which captures in utero exposure to pollution. Controlling for local weather and pollution trends, regression results indicate that high PM events in Beijing lead to a significant increase in daily fetal mortality rates in Korea, by approximately 7.4 per cent. This research finding provides lower-bound estimates of not only negative spillovers manifested in fetal health but also the impact of pollution on the health of the Chinese population and calls for a need to tackle transboundary air pollution via international cooperation.

The snow leopard Panthera uncia is the flagship species of the high mountains of the Himalayas. There is potentially continuous habitat for the snow leopard along the northern border of Nepal, but there is a gap in information about the snow leopard in Gaurishankar Conservation Area. Previous spatial analysis has suggested that the Lamabagar area in this Conservation Area could serve as a transboundary corridor for snow leopards, and that the area may connect local populations, creating a metapopulation. However, there has been no visual confirmation of the species in Lamabagar. We set 11 infrared camera traps for 7 months in Lapchi Village of Gaurishankar Conservation Area, where blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, musk deer Moschus leucogaster and Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, all snow leopard prey species, had been observed. In November 2018 at 4,100 m, 5 km south-west of Lapchi Village, one camera recorded three images of a snow leopard, the first photographic evidence of the species in the Conservation Area. Sixteen other species of mammals were also recorded. Camera-trap records and sightings indicated a high abundance of Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and musk deer. Lapchi Village may be a potentially important corridor for snow leopard movement between the east and west of Nepal and northwards to Quomolongma National Park in China. However, plans for development in the region present increasing threats to this corridor. We recommend development of a transboundary conservation strategy for snow leopard conservation in this region, with participation of Nepal, China and international agencies.

Large carnivores have extensive spatial requirements, with ranges that often span geopolitical borders. Consequently, management of transboundary populations is subject to several political jurisdictions, often with heterogeneity in conservation challenges. In continental Asia there are four threatened leopard subspecies with transboundary populations spanning 23 countries: the Persian Panthera pardus saxicolor, Indochinese P. pardus delacouri, Arabian P. pardus nimr and Amur P. pardus orientalis leopards. We reviewed the status of these subspecies and examined the challenges to, and opportunities for, their conservation. The Amur and Indochinese leopards have the majority (58–100%) of their remaining range in borderlands, and the Persian and Arabian leopards have 23–26% of their remaining ranges in borderlands. Overall, in 18 of 23 countries the majority of the remaining leopard range is in borderlands, and thus in most countries conservation of these subspecies is dependent on transboundary collaboration. However, we found only two transboundary initiatives for Asian leopards. Overall, we highlighted three key transboundary landscapes in regions that are of high importance for the survival of these subspecies. Recent listing of the leopard in the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals is important, but more international collaboration is needed to conserve these subspecies. We provide a spatial framework with which range countries and international agencies could establish transboundary cooperation for conserving threatened leopards in Asia.

The Pannonian basin in Central Europe is well known for its rich geothermal resources. Although geothermal energy has been utilised, mainly for direct use purposes, for a long time, there are still a lot of untapped resources. This paper presents novel methods for outlining and assessing the theoretical and technical potential of partly still unknown geothermal reservoirs, based on a case study from the Dráva basin, one of the sub-basins of the Pannonian basin along the Hungarian–Croatian border. The presented methods include reservoir delineation based on combining geological bounding surfaces of the Upper Pannonian basin-fill units with a set of isotherms deriving from a conductive geothermal model. The geothermal potential of each identified reservoir was calculated by a Monte Carlo method, which was considered as being represented by the heat content of the fluids stored in the effective pore space (‘moveable fluid’). The results underline the great untapped geothermal potential of the Dráva basin, especially that of the reservoir storing thermal water of 50–75°C, which has the largest volume and the greatest stored heat content.

Many seabird species of conservation concern have large geographic ranges that span political borders, forcing conservation planners to facilitate their protection in multiple countries. Seabird conservation planning within the seabird-diverse California Current System (CCS) marine ecoregion presents an important opportunity for transboundary collaborations to better protect seabirds across the USA/México border. While seabird populations in the USA are relatively well-studied and well-protected, the status of seabird populations in the Mexican region of the CCS is not well known and seabird colonies have been virtually unprotected. This study synthesizes and supplements information on breeding seabird diversity and distribution, identifies and ranks threats to seabirds and evaluates conservation capacity in the Mexican CCS to provide a framework for transboundary seabird conservation throughout the CCS ecoregion. Island-breeding seabirds in México support 43–57% of CCS breeding individuals, 59% of CCS breeding taxa and a high level of endemism. Connectivity between populations in México and the USA is high. At least 17 of the 22 extant Mexican CCS breeding seabirds are USA/México transboundary breeders or foragers, 13 of which are federally listed in the USA or México. Introduced predators and human disturbance have caused multiple seabird population extirpations in the Mexican CCS because breeding colonies lack legal protection or enforcement. However, conservation capacity in this region has increased rapidly in recent years through the establishment of new protected areas, growth of local conservation non-governmental organizations, and increase in local community support, all of which will allow for more effective use of conservation funds. Transboundary conservation coordination would better protect CCS seabirds by facilitating restoration of seabird colonies in the Mexican CCS and enabling an ecoregion-wide prioritization of seabird conservation targets to direct funding bodies to the most cost-effective investments.