| 1. |
- Abdul-Sattar, Nizami, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Comparative analysis using EIA for developed and developing coutnries case studies of hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden
- 2011
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1745-2627 .- 1350-4509. ; 18:2, s. 134-142
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al.
(författare)
-
A background on social context and renewable energy sources in Mozambique and Tanzania - An initial report from the STEEP-RES project
- 2009
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This initial research report, appearing before the formal commencement of the STEEP-RESproject, focuses on the background and context of the project which is intended to make asocio-technical-ecological assessment of prerequisites to and effects of introducing renewableenergy sources (RES) into rural communities of the coastal Tanzania and Mozambique. Thereforea short review of the scientific literature is made dealing with societal prerequisites andrepercussions of electrification. Technical aspects related to the availability of natural resourcesand technologies for renewable energy resources utilisation are also briefly coveredalong with some very brief remarks on possible environmental repercussions.The review of the social context covers > 45 papers dealing with different experiencesof electrification in developing countries relating to renewable energy applicable for povertyalleviation in rural settings. The primary energy sources in rural East Africa are biofuels andelectricity plays a limited role. Electrification influences the composition of the energy mix,but during early development it has very limited impact on the use of wood for cocking andheating purposes. The institutional and financial frameworks are currently major barriers tosmall-scale RES-projects, although local technical and financial capacities are slowly increasing.Social and cultural settings create important drivers and barriers to introduction and diffusionof new technologies. Further, poverty and gender inequality are considered key issues forelectrification projects and create important barriers to success. Participatory and needorientedapproaches are considered necessary by most researchers for successful RES-projects.The more technical review is based on ~50 papers covers the existing renewable energysources (RES) - biofuels, solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, wave and tide. The technologicalstate and resource abundance of each source is discussed briefly in a regional context,along with environmental considerations on each technology.As large scale hydropower is being used in the region since long, it is noticeable thatsmall- and micro-scale hydropower is now advancing and will contribute to electrification inmany smaller river-bound areas. Bioenergy, in terms of firewood is widely used for cookingpurposes, although not environmentally sustainable and not with potential for electricity generation.Biofuels from plantations is rapidly increasing in Africa as well as the global trend.Also here, environmental considerations are of great importance for sustainability. Other RESof potential in the region, and with perhaps less environmental constrains, may be solar photovoltaicand tidal energy. Of less importance, according to regionally sparse resource abuniidance, seem to be wind and wave energy. The potential of geothermal energy is geographicallyrestricted to a few good locations.An inventory of actors within the field of East-African RES based on internet resourcesreveals a “top-heavy” information situation with many and well-designed information sourcesand active networks on global and African regional level while less web-information is availablefrom local levels in Tanzania and Mozambique, where only few companies working inthe field has been identified. More direct investigations are needed starting from the actorsidentified in this initial inventory.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al.
(författare)
-
Bringing Technology into Social-Ecological Systems ResearchMotivations for a Socio-Technical-Ecological Systems Approach
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this synthesis paper is to present the motivations and conceptual basis for research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), addressing the need for interdisciplinary studies targeting the technological mediation of human-environment relationships. The background is the very limited number of collaborations between scholars of social-ecological systems and sociotechnical systems (SES), despite repeated calls for bridging work. The synthesis builds on an in-depth review of previous literature, interdisciplinary exchanges, and empirical examples. The result is arguments for why a sociotechnical understanding of technology' is of central importance for SES studies, related to how technology: (1) mediates human-environment relationships; (2) brings ambivalence to these relationships; (3) enhances and transforms human agency and provides a source of constitutive power; (4) changes scalar relationships, enabling our interaction with and impact on the natural world across time and space. Furthermore, we present an STES analytical approach which starts from symmetrical attention to technology, society, and environment, specifically targeting interfaces and relationships of critical relevance for SES scholars, and address counterarguments that we have encountered. We conclude that a shift to STES research will enhance our knowledge of system interfaces that are often overlooked, opening further avenues for research and real-world interventions.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al.
(författare)
-
Ecology and sociotechnical systems research – motivations for theoretical and methodological integration across fields
- 2017
-
Ingår i: International Sustainability Transitions conference 2017.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Currently, we are witnessing a number of global trends that do not promise well for the future. Accelerating climate change, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, disappearance of natural forest and degradation of fishing grounds and agricultural lands are just a few of the serious environmental problems that threaten the functional and structural integrity of ecosystems, to an extent that also human societies risk collapse. The scale of human impact is now such that scholars suggest that we live in the Anthropocene. The trends are driven by several linked factors, which are not easily disentangled into manageable specific problems to be solved by specific policies. More than ever, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations are needed in order to address these urgent challenges. The objective of this paper is to argue for the importance of research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES) rather than social-ecological (SES) and sociotechnical systems (STS) separately. Hence, we address researchers in both the social-ecological and sociotechnical fields. We organize the argument around six reasons why “technology” should be integrated into SES studies. We call these reasons: (1) the interface and mediation aspect, (2) ambivalence, (3) the agency aspect, (4) the question of scale, (5) the question of governance and politics, and (6) the question of epistemology and framing. We also highlight potential conceptual conflicts and mistranslations. Our discussion is primarily a theoretical argument, exemplified with empirical examples.Among the conceptual challenges, we note that SES scholars, if they consider technology in their analyses, generally treat it as an exogenous factor or as a passive background element. Similarly, STS scholars tend to neglect ecological dynamics and refer to the ecological domain mainly in terms of inputs and outputs, e.g. natural resources, environmental and health problems caused by human activities. In light of the discussion, we conclude that the importance of collaborating across the two fields goes beyond each field adding pieces together. We argue that integration and translation across these domains will lead to qualitative change in the theoretical and methodological approaches of both fields; and that technology, society and ecology should be given symmetric analytical attention.
|
|
| 7. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al.
(författare)
-
Technology and social-ecological change: Scale mismatch, synergy and conflict in poor rural communities
- 2015
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is little communication and bridging between the research fields of social-ecological and socio-technical systems approaches, while both fields construct systems that share characteristics such as complexity, uncertainty and multi-actor involvement. Beyond that, little conceptual work has been done to understand socio-technical-ecological dynamics. In the real world, however, processes of socio-technical change are at the heart of human use of and relations to natural resources and environments. In this paper we argue that there is need to engage theoretically and empirically with the interfaces between society, technology and nature, to identify how these system conceptions overlap, where and how pressures and feedbacks emerge and what synergies, trade-offs and conflicts that appear as a result of interactions. In this paper, we aim to take the conceptual discussion forward by highlighting where the current discussion may be misleading and by providing an empirical example of how socio-technical change and social-ecological dynamics can be studied and analyzed together. In order to achieve this we draw on socio-technical systems thinking, the concept of scale mismatch and literature on common pool resources (CPR). Our conceptual points are developed using an empirical case study of an NGO-led micro-hydropower development project in Tanzania. The fieldwork took place in 2012-2013 over a period of three months, and multiple data sets were gathered; 142 semi-structured interviews, documentation from participatory observation, group discussions, workshops and documentation (project reports, a GIS study of soil erosion risk, a baseline study of local livelihoods).This case study of a small-scale decentralized energy system problematizes a proposal made recently by some socio-technical scholars: that collective action and CPR theories are relevant to apply in analyses of decentralized energy systems. These attempts at bridging theoretically between fields are valuable. However, the system characteristics are sometimes similar only at the surface, and the application of CPR theory can in some cases be misleading and theoretically flawed, in cases where the technology is poorly understood. Based on our case study and conceptual discussion, we conclude that introduction of a new technology can motivate influential members of a community to engage in natural resource management and environmental protection, also when this generates social conflict and has negative implications for local food security. Theoretically, we conclude that developed understanding of non-human elements, scale and relations of power are critical to advancing the bridging work while keeping complementary analyses genuinely grounded in the theoretical base of each field.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Anselm, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
-
Bannlys alla politiska beslut som ger mer klimatutsläpp
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Dagens Nyheter.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Torftig valdebatt. Dagspolitiken klarar inte att hantera ödesfrågan om klimatet, vilket oroar oss. Vi föreslår därför ett ”utsläppsmoratorium”: inga beslut får tas som ökar utsläppen av växthusgaser. Principen måste kopplas till mål om exempelvis förnybar energi och grön infrastruktur, skriver 23 forskare och debattörer.
|
|
| 10. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
-
Assessing the Environmental Risks of Silver from Clothes in an Urban Area
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). - : Informa UK Limited. - 1549-7860 .- 1080-7039. ; 20:4, s. 1008-1022
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The environmental risks from the use of silver-containing clothes (“silver clothes”)were assessed for an urban area. First, we evaluated whether the use of silver clothesmay cause contamination of wastewater treatment sludge that exceeds certain risk thresholds. Second, we assessed the risk of silver exposure to earthworms from applyingthe sludge as fertilizer to agricultural land. The most critical parameter was the concentration of silver in silver clothes, for which estimates in the literaturevary by more than five orders of magnitude. For concentrations at the high end of that parameter range, there is considerably increased concentration of silver in the sludge, and toxic effects on earthworms even at modest use rates of silver clothes suggest high risk. At the low end, no risks can be expected. The main recommendationfrom this study is that if silver is used in clothes, the silver concentration must be kept at the lower end of the range applied in this study if risks are to be avoided.This can be done either by design choices of companies, or by regulation. If the function of the applied silver is not maintained at these lower levels, the use of silver clothes should be minimized.
|
|
