Environmental science takes an average of seven years to influence international policy, study finds
Published in Cell Reports Sustainability , the paper was authored by researchers from the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM)
A study led by the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM) analyses the barriers separating scientific knowledge from environmental policy and its effective implementation.
The research sets out how long it takes for scientific knowledge in ecology to reach environmental policies, and the extent to which these policies subsequently translate into real-world outcomes.
Published in Cell Reports Sustainability under the title "Quantifying the gap from scientific evidence to environmental policy and implementation across scales", the paper addresses two fundamental gaps: the divide between science and policy, and the disconnect between policy formulation and its actual implementation.
The team, which includes researchers from the Department of Ecology and the Ramon Margalef Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies at the UA, analysed the emergence of various ecological concepts in scientific literature and their subsequent incorporation into major United Nations environmental conventions.
The findings show that, on average, around seven years elapse before these concepts are integrated into international policies. Older concepts – those available in scientific literature for a longer time – tend to experience shorter delays, whilst incorporation depends heavily on the alignment between scientific and political agendas.
In this respect, the results challenge the assumption that generating scientific evidence is sufficient on its own to ensure its automatic translation into policy decisions.
From international agreements to action
The study also examines what happens once environmental commitments are established, using biodiversity as a case study. The data demonstrate that the effectiveness of conservation measures increases as the scale of implementation narrows, proving greater at local or regional levels than at a global scale.
This outcome highlights that establishing broad international targets is necessary, but insufficient: success depends on whether these targets can be translated into concrete measures, resources, and actions tailored to specific territories.
The study proposes that narrowing these gaps requires moving towards knowledge co-production models, in which scientists, policymakers, managers, and other stakeholders participate from the initial stages of defining problems and solutions.
In a context of accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, the paper emphasises that the challenge lies not only in generating robust scientific knowledge, but also in delivering it more rapidly to decision-makers to drive effective action.
The research was carried out within the framework of the CEAM-University of Alicante Joint Research Unit, which coordinates scientific collaboration between the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies ( CEAM ) and the UA Department of Ecology .
Cell Reports Sustainability
Literature review
“Quantifying the gap from scientific evidence to environmental policy and implementation across scales
9-Sep-2026