| 1. |
- Almered Olsson, Gunilla, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Revisiting drivers for Environmental Migration in Africa
- 2016
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Ingår i: Deveopment Research Conference 2016. August 22-24, Stockholm University. - Stockholm : Stockholm University, VR, Formas, SIDA.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- International migration is one of the burning global challenges for sustainable development. Environmental migration is a contested concept since destruction of livelihood conditions that leads to the deterioration of options for securing a living, is caused by a number of interacting variables such as changes in climate, land use, local and regional ecological conditions, socio-cultural-economic and political dynamics. The different factors act at different temporal and spatial scales that makes the outcome difficult to generalize for a specific site, which adds to the confusion of the interpretation and application of the concept. Yet migration due to livelihood deterioration is ongoing and environmental migrants seem to be an increasing challenge. This is also acknowledged by the EU, whose governance system related to migration does not cater for the environmental dimension. In spite of much of environmentally induced migration to the EU originates from Africa, this topic has not until recently been up on the agenda of policy discussions between the EU and Africa. The Valletta Summit on Migration, November 2015, was organised to discuss the ‘migration crisis’ experienced in Europe and Africa. The summit resulted in the EU setting up an Emergency Trust Fund to promote development in Africa, in return for African countries to help out in the crisis. We are reporting from a project on the complex interactions of different drivers acting on the local African livelihoods and thus driving migration. The aim is inform the development of sustainable governance mechanisms at different institutional levels in the EU-Africa relations.
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| 2. |
- Hallquist, Mattias, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Photochemical smog in China: scientific challenges and implications for air-quality policies
- 2016
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Ingår i: National Science Review. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2095-5138 .- 2053-714X. ; 3:4, s. 401-403
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In large areas of China severe air pollution events pose a significant threat to human health, ecosystems and climate. Current reduction of primary emissions will also affect secondary pollutants such as ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM), but the magnitude of the effects is uncertain. Major scientific challenges are related to the formation of O3 and secondary particulate matter including Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA). Large uncertainties also remain regarding the interactions of soot, SOA and O3 under the influence of different SO2, NOX and VOC concentrations. To improve the understanding of these secondary atmospheric interactions in China, scientific areas of central importance for photochemically induced air pollutants have been identified. In addition to the scientific challenges, results from research need to be synthesized across several disciplines and communicated to stakeholders affected by air pollution and to policy makers responsible for developing abatement strategies. Development of these science-policy interactions can benefit from experience gained under the UN ECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)
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| 3. |
- Finnveden, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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Policy Instruments towards a sustainable waste management
- 2016
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Ingår i: Solid waste management: Policy and planning for a sustainable society. - : Apple Academic Press. - 9781771883740 - 9780429091650 ; , s. 185-246, s. 185-246
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Ojha, Hemant R., et al.
(författare)
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Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal
- 2016
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Ingår i: Climate Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1469-3062 .- 1752-7457. ; 16:4, s. 415-433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As developing countries around the world formulate policies to address climate change, concerns remain as to whether the voices of those most exposed to climate risk are represented in those policies. Developing countries face significant challenges for contextualizing global-scale scientific research into national political dynamics and downscaling global frameworks to sub-national levels, where the most affected are presumed to live. This article critiques the ways in which the politics of representation and climate science are framed and pursued in the process of climate policy development, and contributes to an understanding of the relative effectiveness of globally framed, generic policy mechanisms in vulnerable and politically volatile contexts. Based on this analysis, it also outlines opportunities for the possibility of improving climate policy processes to contest technocratic framing and generic international adaptation solutions.
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| 5. |
- Fenton, Paul, 1981-
(författare)
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Sustainability · Strategy · Space – exploring influences on governing for urban sustainability in municipalities
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The pursuit of urban sustainability is considered central to sustainable development and is a key objective of the global Sustainable Development Goals (2015) and the New Urban Agenda (2016). This thesis aims to contribute to debates on urban sustainability by providing insights as to the role of actors participating in processes of governing for urban sustainability, with particular focus on the municipal organisation.The thesis employs an interdisciplinary approach to illustrate divergent approaches to governing for urban sustainability, with reference to empirical studies of strategic planning processes in municipalities in selected North-western European countries – Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands.These studies address themes including climate change, sustainable transport and multi-level governance. The thesis provides a broad overview of theoretical discussions related to governing, strategy and planning, the role of actors in governing for urban sustainability, and the particular importance of climate change as a challenge for urban sustainability.A number of research gaps are identified and addressed in two research questions, focusing on the organisation and practice of processes of governing for urban sustainability, and the factors influencing actors participating in such processes. The thesis responds to these research questions with reference to five appended papers, which illustrate different dimensions of governing for urban sustainability.The first paper concerns the organisation of processes to develop energy and climate strategies in Swedish municipalities, and the second paper highlights the experiences of actors participating in such processes. The third paper presents results from a survey illustrating the expectations of stakeholders active in governing transport in the city of Norrköping, Sweden.In the fourth paper, the development and implementation of policies aiming for sustainable transport and urban sustainability in Basel, Switzerland, are discussed. In the final paper, cooperation through transnational municipal networks is explored with reference to the World Ports Climate Declaration, an initiative of the city of Rotterdam.The thesis confirms the presence of five factors – capacity, mandate, resources, scope and will – that shape the “strategy space” of actors and play an important role in conditioning the form and content of processes of governing for urban sustainability. The thesis suggests that the ways in which a municipal organisation perceive and mobilise the five factors will strongly determine the extent of its sustainability strategy space.In sum, municipal organisations and other actors participating in processes of governing for urban sustainability need to mobilise the five factors and expand their strategy space, in order to achieve vertical and horizontal alignment of strategic objectives and facilitate implementation that delivers transformative change.
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| 6. |
- Lindkvist, Emilie, 1973-
(författare)
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Learning-by-modeling : Novel Computational Approaches for Exploring the Dynamics of Learning and Self-governance in Social-ecological Systems
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As a consequence of global environmental change, sustainable management and governance of natural resources face critical challenges, such as dealing with non-linear dynamics, increased resource variability, and uncertainty. This thesis seeks to address some of these challenges by using simulation models. The first line of research focuses on the use of learning-by-doing (LBD) for managing a renewable resource, exemplified by a fish stock, and explores LBD in a theoretical model using artificial intelligence (Paper I and II). The second line of research focuses on the emergence of different forms of self-governance and their interrelation with the dynamics of trust among fishers when harvesting a shared resource, using an agent-based model. This model is informed by qualitative data based on small-scale fisheries in Mexico (Paper III and IV). Paper I and II find that the most sustainable harvesting strategy requires that the actor values current and future yields equally, cautiously experiments around what is perceived as the best harvest action, and rapidly updates its ‘mental model’ to any perceived change in catch. More specifically, Paper II reveals that understanding these aspects in relation to the type of change can yield not only increased performance, but also, and more importantly, increased robustness to both fast and slow changes in resource dynamics. However, when resource dynamics include the possibility of a more fundamental shift in system characteristics (a regime shift), LBD is problematic due to the potential for crossing a threshold, resulting in possible persistent reductions in harvests (Paper I). In Paper III, results indicate that cooperative forms of self-governance are more likely to establish and persist in communities where fishers’ have prior cooperative experience, fishers’ trustworthiness is more or less equal, and that this likelihood increases when resource availability fluctuates seasonally. Finally, to achieve a transformation toward more cooperative forms of self-governance, interventions are required that can strengthen both financial capital and trust among the members of the cooperatives (Paper IV). The unique contribution of this thesis lies in the method for ‘quantitatively’ studying LBD, the stylized model of a small-scale fishery, and the analysis of the two models to advance our understanding of processes of learning and self-governance in uncertain and variable social-ecological environments. Together, the results shed light on how social and ecological factors and processes co-evolve to shape social-ecological outcomes, as well as contributing to the development of novel methods within the emerging field of sustainability science.
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| 7. |
- Natchimuthu, Sivakiruthika
(författare)
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Freshwater methane and carbon dioxide fluxes : Spatio-temporal variability and an integrated assessment of lake and stream emissions in a catchment
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Freshwater bodies such as lakes and streams release the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Global freshwater CH4 and CO2 emissions have been estimated to be of a similar magnitude to the global land or ocean carbon sink, and are thus significant components of global carbon budgets. However, the data supporting global estimates frequently lacks information regarding spatial and temporal variability and are thus highly inaccurate. In this thesis, detailed studies of the spatio-temporal variability of CH4 and CO2 fluxes were conducted in the open water areas of lakes and streams within a whole catchment in Sweden. One aim was also to evaluate the importance of spatio-temporal variability in lake and stream fluxes when making whole catchment aquatic or large scale assessments. Apart from the expected large spatio-temporal variability in lake fluxes, interactions between spatial and temporal variability in CH4 fluxes were found. Shallow lakes and shallow areas of lakes were observed to emit more CH4 as compared to their deeper counterparts. This spatial variability interacted with the temporal variability driven by an exponential temperature response of the fluxes, which meant that shallow waters were more sensitive to warming than deeper ones. Such interactions may be important for climate feedbacks. Surface water CO2 in lakes showed significant spatio-temporal variability and, when considering variability in both space and time, CO2 fluxes were largely controlled by concentrations, rather than gas transfer velocities. Stream fluxes were also highly variable in space and time and in particular, stream CH4 fluxes were surprisingly large and more variable than CO2 fluxes. Fluxes were large from stream areas with steep slopes and periods of high discharge which occupied a small fraction of the total stream area and the total measurement period, respectively, and a failure to account for these spatially distinct or episodic high fluxes could lead to underestimates. The total aquatic fluxes from the whole catchment were estimated by combining the measurements in open waters of lakes and streams. Using our data, recommendations on improved study designs for representative measurements in lakes and streams were provided for future studies. Thus, this thesis presents findings relating to flux regulation in lakes and streams, and urges forthcoming studies to better consider spatio-temporal variability so as to achieve unbiased large-scale estimates.
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| 8. |
- Almered Olsson, Gunilla, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Peri-Urban Food Production and Its Relation to Urban Resilience
- 2016
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 8:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Food production on the urban-rural fringe is under pressure due to competing land uses. We discuss the potential to improve resilience for urban-rural regions by enhancing food production as part of multifunctional land use. Through studies of peri-urban land in the regions of Gothenburg (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Gent (Belgium), recent developments are analysed. Arable farming has been declining since 2000 in all three areas due to urban expansion and recreational land use changes. In city plans, networks of protected areas and green spaces and their importance for human wellbeing have been acknowledged. Policies for farmland preservation in peri-urban settings exist, but strategies for local food production are not expressed in present planning documents. Among the diversity of peri-urban agricultural activities, peri-urban food production is a developing issue. However, the competing forms of land use and the continuing high dependence of urban food on global food systems and related resource flows reduces peri-urban food production and improvements in urban food security. The positive effects of local food production need to be supported by governance aiming to improve the urban-rural relationship. The paper discusses the resilience potential of connecting urban-rural regions and re-coupling agriculture to regional food production.
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| 9. |
- Alfaro-Shigueto, J., et al.
(författare)
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The intentional harvest of waved albatrosses Phoebastria irrorata by small-scale offshore fishermen from Salaverry port, Peru
- 2016
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Ingår i: Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences. - 1809-9009. ; 11:1, s. 70-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The waved albatross Phoebastria irrorata is classified by the IUCN as "critically endangered" because of its geographically restricted breeding range and evidence of a substantial decline in adult survival during the 1990s and early 2000s. This decline has been proposed to be a consequence of incidental mortality in the Peruvian small-scale fisheries but also of direct hunting for human consumption by fishermen. This paper uses a trans-disciplinary approach to describe and analyse the intentional capture of waved albatrosses in northern Peru by offshore small-scale fishermen. During 2008, 36 interviews were conducted in the port of Salaverry to understand the extent and reasons for the intentional capture. Sixty-nine precent of the interviewees mentioned occasionally harvesting albatrosses. Considering two to three vessels capture albatrosses regularly in Salaverry, we estimate a total annual mortality between 16 and 24 individuals since 2006. Reasons for capturing albatrosses included insufficient food supplies onboard during long fishing trips, collection of rings from ringed birds, the development of a taste for the bird's meat and even boredom. Interviews with fishermen showed a lack of awareness of the conservation status of albatrosses. We recommend strengthening the role of existing local governmental and non-governmental organizations involved with monitoring and surveillance, education and conservation.
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| 10. |
- Fischer, Klara
(författare)
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Pollen-mediated gene flow and seed exchange in small-scale Zambian maize farming, implications for biosafety assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gene flow in agricultural crops is important for risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly in countries with a large informal agricultural sector of subsistence cultivation. We present a pollen flow model for maize (Zea mays), a major staple crop in Africa. We use spatial properties of fields (size, position) in three small-scale maize farming communities in Zambia and estimate rates of cross-fertilisation between fields sown with different maize varieties (e.g. conventional and transgene). As an additional factor contributing to gene flow, we present data on seed saving and sharing among farmers that live in the same communities. Our results show that: i) maize fields were small and located in immediate vicinity of neighboring fields; ii) a majority of farmers saved and shared seed; iii) modeled rates of pollen-mediated gene flow showed extensive mixing of germplasm between fields and farms and iv) as a result, segregation of GM and non-GM varieties is not likely to be an option in these systems. We conclude that the overall genetic composition of maize, in this and similar agricultural contexts, will be strongly influenced both by self-organised ecological factors (pollen flow), and by socially mediated intervention (seed recycling and sharing).
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