This paper presents a critical and reflexive account of using Q methodology in human geography. Q methodology has a long pedigree in psychological, political and sociological research, but is only ...recently beginning to be used by human geographers. We discuss, in particular, the parts of the process(es) of Q methodology that are often glossed over in the literature, through reflecting on our learning in using Q within a project examining the use and production of environmental science by NGOs. We conclude that Q may be a useful supplement to existing methods in human geography, as long as it is used creatively and reflexively and with full awareness of its interpretative dimensions.
Environmental decisions made by individuals, civil society, and the state involve questions of economic efficiency, environmental effectiveness, equity, and political legitimacy. These four criteria ...are constitutive of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, which has become the dominant rhetorical device of environmental governance. We discuss the tendency for disciplinary research to focus on particular subsets of the four criteria, and argue that such a practice promotes solutions that do not acknowledge the dynamics of scale and the heterogeneity of institutional contexts. We advocate an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of environmental decisionmaking that seeks to identify legitimate and context-sensitive institutional solutions producing equitable, efficient, and effective outcomes. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by using it to examine decisions concerning contested nature conservation and multiple-use commons in the management of Hickling Broad in Norfolk in the United Kingdom. We conclude that interdisciplinary approaches enable the generalisation and transfer of lessons in a way that respects the specifics and context of the issue at hand.
Abstract
Located in a semi-arid and arid zone, Iran is suffering from growing challenges of water scarcity. In the paradigm of a circular economy, the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture is ...currently regarded as a possible solution for alleviating the issues of water scarcity and pollution. Accordingly, this research aims to assess the use of polluted water in the integrated management of water resources in Semnan. The research used the Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) software package to model and analyze the water sector. Also, the Bayesian network method was used to assess the risk of using polluted water and its effects on humans and plants. The research explored two general scenarios for the study site of Semnan. The first scenario assumes the increase in population, crops (food), and industries, and the second has the same assumptions plus an increase in agricultural efficiency (food production). Based on the results, the agricultural, urban, and industrial water demands are 37, 0.06, and 0.01 million m3 in the base year, respectively. The water demand in the next years will be higher due to population growth. Finally, it is safer to use the wastewater of both treatment plants of the region (Mehdishahr and Semnan) in the industry than in other sectors. Additionally, the wastewater of the Mehdishahr Sewage Treatment Plant is more reliable than that of the Semnan Sewage Treatment Plant.
International climate negotiations have stressed the importance of considering emissions from forest degradation under the planned REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation ...+ enhancing forest carbon stocks) mechanism. However, most research, pilot-REDD+ projects and carbon certification agencies have focused on deforestation and there appears to be a gap in knowledge on complex mosaic landscapes containing degraded forests, smallholder agriculture, agroforestry and plantations. In this paper we therefore review current research on how avoided forest degradation '... may affect emissions of greenhouse gases ...' (GHG) and expected co-benefits in terms of biodiversity and livelihoods. There are still high uncertainties in measuring and monitoring emissions of carbon and other GHG from mosaic landscapes with forest degradation since most research has focused on binary analyses of forest vs. deforested land. Studies on the impacts of forest degradation on biodiversity contain mixed results and there is little empirical evidence on the influence of REDD+ on local livelihoods and tenure security, partly due to the lack of actual payment schemes. Governance structures are also more complex in landscapes with degraded forests as there are often multiple owners and types of rights to land and trees. Recent technological advances in remote sensing have improved estimation of carbon stock changes but establishment of historic reference levels is still challenged by the availability of sensor systems and ground measurements during the reference period. The inclusion of forest degradation in REDD+ calls for a range of new research efforts to enhance our knowledge of how to assess the impacts of avoided forest degradation. A first step will be to ensure that complex mosaic landscapes can be recognised under REDD+ on their own merits.
It is a truism that environmental management has experienced a significant change in the locus of governing, in which centralised forms of steering have been gradually replaced by more collaborative ...management approaches organised at the ecosystem scale. Whereas much research capital has been expended on informing their design and promoting their uptake, surprisingly little systematic comparative empirical research exists on the precise nature and extent of what is often described as a ‘paradigm shift’ in governing. We address this gap by examining how one issue often deemed to require deeper ‘collaboration’, namely, catchment management, has been addressed in three comparable federal political systems: the European Union; the USA; and Australia. On the basis of a fresh and more comparable account of the forms and modalities of collaboration, we reveal that, although collaboration has undoubtedly grown in recent decades, its depth and extent remains highly variable both across and within the three cases. We also examine what these subtly different geographical ‘contours of collaboration’ imply for future research and practice.
•Stakeholder statements related to bioenergy legislation were examined.•Environmental and local interests are neglected, downplaying conflicts.•Traditionally dominant actors persist in power via ...framing.•Sensitivity to framing actor positions is needed in policy making.
The Finnish forest bioenergy production has mainly evolved in close connection to the industrial forestry system producing pulp, paper and building materials, with tensions also related to these competing forms of forest resource utilization. However, in recent years, the tensions have been growing in terms of climate change, sustainability and innovations, and forest bioenergy production is facing important pressures pushing simultaneously for both increasing and restricting the production. Focusing on stakeholder perspectives in the preparation processes of two recent bioenergy related pieces of legislation, and drawing from framing theory, this study demonstrates the existence of the tensions. Only parts of the tensions are acknowledged in the making of bioenergy policies. The most significant tension evolves between actors related to forest industry and bioenergy production. Environmental tensions and wider sustainability aspects including local actors are largely neglected. The results show sustenance of old energy and forest policy paradigms with resistance related to new emerging interests. The resistance is explained by the ability of established actors to frame themselves as important in the policy arena, which hinders the entrance of new actors. The resistance presents a risk for aggravated tensions in the future and may constrain innovations related to the development of different types of bioenergy production.
•Waste is a becoming process between matter-out-of-place and matter-in-place.•The clean-up event empowered particular situations, bodies and collectives.•Waste-related mapping technologies enacted ...the extended expertise.•Waste-related objects and subjects in interaction help to constitute society and space.
This article studies how illegally dumped matter becomes collectively identified waste associated with broader environmental, social, economic and political issues. Spaces of visualization, embodiment and circulation play a key role in these processes. Besides theoretical discussion on the emergence of waste, this article focuses on the collective environmental action “Let’s Do It!” (Teeme Ära!) in Estonia and its litter/waste collection event. An unidentified matter was made into a singular, visible and affective waste; an environmental clean-up event was then performed and awareness about the environmental problems and possible solutions were diffused. In this process, interactive information and communication technologies were important.
