The environment as seen through the life of a journal: Ambio 1972–2022

Abstract

Emerging after World War II “the environment” as a modern concept turned in the years around 1970 into a phase of institutionalization in science, civic society, and politics. Part of this was the foundation of journals. The majority became “environmental specialist journals”, typically based in established disciplines. Some became “environmental generalist journals”, covering broad knowledge areas and often with an ambition to be policy relevant. A significant and early member of the latter category was Ambio, founded 1972. This article presents an overview of the journal’s first 50 years, with a focus on main changes in scientific content, political context, and editorial directions. A key finding is that the journal reflects an increasing pluralization of “the environment” with concepts such as global change, climate change, Earth system science, Anthropocene, resilience, and environmental governance. Another finding is that the journal has also itself influenced developments through publishing work on new concepts and ideas.

Ambio - The first 50 years

“…In the first issue of our 50 th volume, our Advisory Board member Sverker Sörlin, professor in environmental history, will provide a perspective article on the inception of Ambio -A Journal of the Human Environment following the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm on June 5-16, 1972 (also known as the Stockholm Conference). Professor Sörlin will also present a portrait of some of our most notable and prominent authors through time; from Paul J. Crutzen -who in 1975 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the formation and decomposition of ozone -to Carl Folke and his work on social-ecological systems and resilience thinking (Sörlin 2021). We will end our celebrations with another perspective article providing an outlook of what role we would expect Ambio to play in the coming decades.…”

Learning from the Past: Lessons from the First United Nations Report on Problems of the Human-Environment

“…There is no doubt that the world has seen unprecedented human impacts on the environment since the UN report (1969) [15]. The environment concept turned into a phase of institutionalisation in science, civic society, and politics around 1970 [38]. At the start of the 1970s, the term 'sustainable development' was coined, probably by Barbara Ward [4].…”

“…At the start of the 1970s, the term 'sustainable development' was coined, probably by Barbara Ward [4]. The first issue of the Journal 'Ambio' was published in 1972 as a journal about "the humanenvironment" in the same year the UN conference was held in Stockholm [38]. Many other specialised scientific environmental-related journals have emerged since then.…”