Dams have long been associated with elevated burdens of human schistosomiasis, but how dams increase disease is not always clear, in part because dams have many ecological and socio-economic effects. A recent hypothesis argues that dams block reproduction of the migratory river prawns that eat the snail hosts of schistosomiasis. In the Senegal River Basin, there is evidence that prawn populations declined and schistosomiasis increased after completion of the Diama Dam. Restoring prawns to a water-access site upstream of the dam reduced snail density and reinfection rates in people. However, whether a similar cascade of effects (from dams to prawns to snails to human schistosomiasis) occurs elsewhere is unknown. Here, we examine large dams worldwide and identify where their catchments intersect with endemic schistosomiasis and the historical habitat ranges of large, migratory Macrobrachium spp. prawns. River prawn habitats are widespread, and we estimate that 277–385 million people live within schistosomiasis-endemic regions where river prawns are or were present (out of the 800 million people who are at risk of schistosomiasis). Using a published repository of schistosomiasis studies in sub-Saharan Africa, we compared infection before and after the construction of 14 large dams for people living in: (i) upstream catchments within historical habitats of native prawns, (ii) comparable undammed watersheds, and (iii) dammed catchments beyond the historical reach of migratory prawns. Damming was followed by greater increases in schistosomiasis within prawn habitats than outside prawn habitats. We estimate that one third to one half of the global population-at-risk of schistosomiasis could benefit from restoration of native prawns. Because dams block prawn migrations, our results suggest that prawn extirpation contributes to the sharp increase of schistosomiasis after damming, and points to prawn restoration as an ecological solution for reducing human disease.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.

Indigenous communities possess long histories of using land acknowledgments to reinforce their cultural ties with specific areas. Today, many public and private institutions use land acknowledgments to recognize the Indigenous Peoples who inhabited and still live in local areas. However, an opportunity exists to move beyond institutional acknowledgments and into action-oriented frameworks that support decolonization efforts, especially within parks and protected areas (PPAs). PPAs present an opportunity for the actualization of the #LANDBACK movement, which could strengthen Indigenous land governance, conservation, and sovereignty. This thought piece uses decolonization and storytelling methodologies to demonstrate how current PPA management paradigms perpetuate harm against Indigenous communities. It also explores how these paradigms can evolve to improve the social-environmental efficacy of PPAs by highlighting three areas of change where PPAs could perpetuate the cultivation of Indigenous sovereignty: (1) addressing cultural tensions and transforming current management systems; (2) creating Indigenous Knowledge spaces in PPArelated educational settings; and (3) building decolonial futures by returning lands to Indigenous communities. This paper presents reflective frameworks with guiding questions for PPA managers to embrace the #LANDBACK movement in partnership with Indigenous communities. These frameworks provide opportunities for park managers, educators, and PSF PARKS STEWARDSHIP FORUM Cultivating sovereignty in parks and protected areas: Sowing the seeds of restorative and transformative justice through the #LANDBACK movement PAPERS FROM THE 2021 GEORGE WRIGHT SOCIETY STUDENT SUMMIT SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE researchers to center Indigenous epistemologies, ontologies, and community well-being. Additionally, this manuscript provides the scaffolding for PPA managers and Indigenous communities to implement restorative and transformative justice practices within current PPA systems. Implementing the proposed frameworks within PPAs could generate monumental social transformation.

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Current U.S. environmental management paradigms default to enforcement mechanisms that feed into the prison industrial complex, such as fines and jailing. To avoid contributing to and reinforcing mass incarceration and militarism, environmental management systems need to be transformed towards non-carceral forms. Additionally, working towards Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization, requires the strengthening of Indigenous relations with and governance over the land under the respective paradigms of Indigenous communities. This paper uses Hawaiʻi state fisheries law and programmatic efforts to address a central question: What is the extent and nature of carceral norms within conventional environmental management systems and how do they affect management outcomes? The study examines the current fisheries enforcement scheme in Hawaiʻi, tracing the embedded logic of carcerality, the degree to which ultimate sources of harm are addressed, and the concentration of governing powers. The results highlight how current fisheries enforcement is insufficient in caring for the seascape and, through its carceral approach, contributes to social injustices, particularly for K anaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians). Additionally, this paper demonstrates how current efforts in Hawaiʻi -Community-Based Subsistence Fisheries Areas (CBSFAs), the ʻAha Moku system, and the Makai Watch Programattempt to empower communities, but ultimately keep enforcement powers centralized within the State, thus perpetuating dependency on the criminal justice system. This study ends with a discussion on how future decarceral environmental governance systems could be designed to center Hawaiian relations & paradigms, particularly by prioritizing the values of reeducation, rematriation, and restoration.