Next generation application of DPSIR for sustainable policy implementation

As our societies and natural systems are becoming ever more interconnected, it is critical that sustainable management can adapt to new knowledge from both the ecological and the social domains, and act on it in a timely and effective manner. This need is amplifying in the Anthropocene as we are approaching the limit for humanity's safe operating space, leading to irreversible change to ecosystem function. This urgently requires increased attention and concern regarding the information feedbacks between the silos of science, policy and society. A web of policies is in place to protect the health of people and the planet, but to ensure that they are effective we need frameworks to make sense of real-world complexities and interlinkages between multiple factors. The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) framework was created for this purpose, however, its' implicit focus on 1) analytical and 2) procedural aspects must be made explicit, to enable coordination across silos and studies. Continued creation of new DPSIR derivatives may limit its impact, while more explicit coordination between these two aspects can improve the effectiveness of DPSIR while retaining its flexibility. We thus propose five elements to support sustainable policy development and implementation using DPSIR: 1) iteration; 2) risk, uncertainty and analytical bias; 3) flexible integration; 4) use of quantitative methods, and; 5) clear and standard definitions for DPSIR. We illustrate these elements in four cases: Three highlight missing feedbacks when DPSIR elements are not made explicit and a fourth case - on per-and-polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) - showing a potential roadmap to successful policy implementation using DPSIR.

Automated summary

As societies and natural systems become more interconnected, sustainable management needs to adapt to new knowledge from both ecological and social domains and act on it effectively. The Anthropocene and approaching the limit for humanity's safe operating space highlight the need for better information feedbacks between science, policy, and society. The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) framework can support sustainable policy development and implementation, but its focus on analytical and procedural aspects should be made explicit for more effective coordination across silos and studies.