Pressing the Local Account: A case study of meanings and responsibilities with regard to the local press and a local nature reserve

This case study concerns the effect of meanings and use of language by a local newspaper in relation to an environmental incident in a town in south-east England that will be called Woodbridge. It explores the implications of insensitive, or misleading, use of language over a four-month period towards the end of 1995 through recordings and observations made at the time. The event is explored through the eyes of a local teenager called Tim who was involved in a school environmental education research project and who became a key player in the developing out-of-school conflict. Although the account concerns a controversy that raged several years ago, it nevertheless raises general concerns regarding newspaper coverage of environmental issues at the local level, the tension between profits and reporting truth and the apparent lack of a medium- to long-term approach to environmental issues. All names are fictitious to ensure anonymity in what remains a sensitive memory.     

Pressing the Local Account: a case study of meanings and responsibilities with regard to the local press and a local nature reserve

This case study concerns the effect of meanings and use of language by a local newspaper in relation to an environmental incident in a town in south-east England that will be called Woodbridge. It explores the implications of insensitive, or misleading, use of language over a four-month period towards the end of 1995 through recordings and observations made at the time. The event is explored through the eyes of a local teenager called Tim who was involved in a school environmental education research project and who became a key player in the developing out-of-school conflict. Although the account concerns a controversy that raged several years ago, it nevertheless raises general concerns regarding newspaper coverage of environmental issues at the local level, the tension between profits and reporting truth and the apparent lack of a medium- to long-term approach to environmental issues. All names are fictitious to ensure anonymity in what remains a sensitive memory.     

Landscape Characterization Integrating Expert and Local Spatial Knowledge of Land and Forest Resources

In many developing countries, political documentation acknowledges the crucial elements of participation and spatiality for effective land use planning. However, operative approaches to spatial data inclusion and representation in participatory land management are often lacking. In this paper, we apply and develop an integrated landscape characterization approach to enhance spatial knowledge generation about the complex human–nature interactions in landscapes in the context of Zanzibar, Tanzania. We apply an integrated landscape conceptualization as a theoretical framework where the expert and local knowledge can meet in spatial context. The characterization is based on combining multiple data sources in GIS, and involves local communities and their local spatial knowledge since the beginning into the process. Focusing on the expected information needs for community forest management, our characterization integrates physical landscape features and retrospective landscape change data with place-specific community knowledge collected through participatory GIS techniques. The characterization is established in a map form consisting of four themes and their synthesis. The characterization maps are designed to support intuitive interpretation, express the inherently uncertain nature of the data, and accompanied by photographs to enhance communication. Visual interpretation of the characterization mediates information about the character of areas and places in the studied local landscape, depicting the role of forest resources as part of the landscape entity. We conclude that landscape characterization applied in GIS is a highly potential tool for participatory land and resource management, where spatial argumentation, stakeholder communication, and empowerment are critical issues.     

Contextualisation of Local and Global Environmental Issues in North-east England: Implications for debates on globalisation and the 'risk society'

In this paper the authors explore data on environmental meanings, and the contextualisation of environmental concerns, that were obtained from a qualitative study of risks to health from air pollution. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 49 people living in two conurbations in north-east England. The findings highlight the importance of the local context (local history, experience, local knowledges and everyday existence) as an arena in which environmental meanings and concerns are constructed and negotiated, and how global environmental issues are also contextualised, and made sense of, within an explicitly local framework. These findings are used as a basis upon which to critically reflect upon the emphasis on globalisation within theoretical debates on 'risk society'.     

Contextualisation of Local and Global Environmental Issues in North-east England: implications for debates on globalisation and the 'risk society'

In this paper the authors explore data on environmental meanings, and the contextualisation of environmental concerns, that were obtained from a qualitative study of risks to health from air pollution. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 49 people living in two conurbations in north-east England. The findings highlight the importance of the local context (local history, experience, local knowledges and everyday existence) as an arena in which environmental meanings and concerns are constructed and negotiated, and how global environmental issues are also contextualised, and made sense of, within an explicitly local framework. These findings are used as a basis upon which to critically reflect upon the emphasis on globalisation within theoretical debates on 'risk society'.     

Comparative Assessment of Public Opinion on the Landscape Quality of Two Biosphere Reserves in Europe

The European Landscape Convention (2000) obligates European Union countries to identify and implement landscape quality objectives (LQOs) understood as the specification of public expectations and preferences concerning the landscape of a given area, expressed by competent public authorities. The convention emphasizes the important role of local community representatives in this field. In Poland, the implementation of the LQO concept was first undertaken in two regions with radically different landscape characteristics: (1) the West Polesie Biosphere Reserve and (2) the selected protected areas of the Roztocze–Solska Forest, nominated to the rank of a biosphere reserve. The first stage of the presented study was the recognition of public opinion on the quality of key features of landscape, based on a questionnaire (n = 470). The primary objective of the study was to provide an answer to the following questions: (1) Whether similar social expectations regarding landscape quality exist in spite of radically different landscape characteristics of the regions investigated (landscape quality is understood as spatial arrangement, scenic beauty, and lack of environmental pollution); (2) which landscape features are considered to be most preservation worthy by the representatives of both local communities; and (3) What processes or development impacts pose the greatest threat to the landscape quality of both regions according to the public opinion? The conducted comparative assessment revealed that it is possible to define a set of features fundamental to the quality of both areas and that representatives of local communities pointed out the same threats to the natural and cultural values of both regions investigated.     

The influence of institutional design on local environmental interest representation in the national polity

This article investigates structural and informal institutional design variables to account for civil society actors’ views on the political representation of local environmental interests in the national polity. It does so by linking literature on institutional design and place-based environmental advocacy to a case of large scale infrastructure development in the national interest. The case study concerns the proposal for a national high speed rail network (“HS2”) in the United Kingdom, which is heavily opposed locally based on its expected adverse impacts. Through fieldwork research on protest against HS2 in an area of high landscape value, it has been found that local actors perceived specific institutions to structurally under-represent interests associated with environmental conservation, compounded further by an informal style of doing politics. The paper recommends that the environmental management and planning literature turns to institutional explanations to make insightful the dynamics of defending the local interest in the national sphere.     

Is Natural Food Healthy?

Is food’s naturalness conceptually connected to its healthiness? Answering the question requires spelling out the following: (1) What is meant by the healthiness of food? (2) What different conceptual meanings the term natural has in the context of food? (3) Are some of those meanings connected to the healthiness of food? In this paper the healthiness of food is understood narrowly as food’s accordance with nutritional needs of its eater. The connection of healthiness to the following five food-related senses of the term “natural’’ is analyzed: naturalness as nutritive suitability, naturalness as moderate need satisfaction, naturalness as lack of human influence, naturalness as authenticity, and naturalness as familiarity. It is concluded that some very common current uses of the term “natural,” such as naturalness as lack of human influence, are not conceptually connected to the healthiness of food. Nevertheless, the first two senses of naturalness are strongly conceptually connected to healthiness in the food context and the last one may be indirectly related to it. Thus, desire for natural food is not necessarily mistaken and misguided.     

Environmental planning at the local level: The example of local conservation strategies in Victoria,Australia

Summary While there is a burgeoning literature on national approaches to environmental policy and programmes, much less interest thus far has been shown in the role of local government. However, the State of Victoria in Australia, in the period 1988–1990, took a world lead in encouraging local municipalities to formulate Local Conservation Strategies (LCSs) with a high level of citizen input. The paper places this programme initiative in context and reports on the results of consultations and workshops with local Municipal Conservation Officers who have been in the front line in terms of developing and implementing LCSs in that State. In particular, the paper explores the process of LCS formulation and highlights some of the benefits and problems with the programme so far.Dr David Mercer is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University, Melbourne. His major research interest is Australian environmental policy. Dr Meg Keen's research interests are in environmental education and management.     

Consumer Perceptions About Local Food in New Zealand,and the Role of Life Cycle-Based Environmental Sustainability

Local food is a popular subject among consumers, as well as food producers, distributors, policymakers and researchers in many countries. Previous research has identified that the definition of local food varies by context, and from country to country. The literature also suggested that environmental sustainability is one of the goals for many of the local food movements. While there is a substantial body of literature on local food internationally, limited research has been undertaken in New Zealand. This paper aims to understand how consumers define local food, what attributes they associate with local food, and the extent to which life cycle-based environmental aspects are represented in these attributes. Primary research employed quantitative methodology. This study identified that a majority of the respondents considered that local food may be defined as food that was produced in New Zealand and that support for community was the most important attribute associated with local food. Reduced GHG emission, conserving the landscape, and organic production were the life cycle-based environmental attributes that were associated with local food. This study provides a basis for further research into understandings of local food in New Zealand and how to improve communication among different social actors with respect to demand and supply of local food.     

Implementing landscape fragmentation as an indicator in the Swiss Monitoring System Of Sustainable Development (Monet)

There is an increasing need and interest in including indicators of landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems of sustainable landscape management. Landscape fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure and urban development threatens human and environmental well-being by noise and pollution from traffic, reducing the size and viability of wildlife populations, facilitating the spread of invasive species, and impairing the scenic and recreational qualities of the landscape. This paper provides the rationale, method, and data for including landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems, using as an example the Swiss Monitoring System of Sustainable Development (Monet). We defined and compared four levels of fragmentation analysis, or fragmentation geometries (FGs), each based on different fragmenting elements, e.g., only anthropogenic, or combinations of anthropogenic and natural elements. As each FG has specific strengths and weaknesses, the most appropriate choice of FG depends on the context and objectives of a study. We present data on the current degree of landscape fragmentation for the five ecoregions and 26 cantons in Switzerland for all four FGs. Our results show that the degree of landscape fragmentation as quantified by the effective mesh size method is strongly supported by the postulates and indicator selection criteria of Monet, and we identify the most suitable FG focusing on the land area below 2100 m (e.g., excluding lakes) and allowing for an equitable comparison of fragmentation degrees among regions that differ in area covered by lakes and high mountains. For a more detailed analysis of landscape fragmentation in the context of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, a combination of all four FGs may provide a more informative tool than any single FG.     

基于RS和GIS的西藏芒康县景观空间格局

选择Landsat TM影像和区域1:5万的地形数据及社会经济统计资料为基础数据,运用RS和GIS手段,得出西藏芒康县景观生态的空间格局是以自然景观(有林地、灌木林地和草地)为主.利用地形数据分析3种景观类型空间分布与地形间的关系,得出3种主要自然景观沿海拔高度、坡度、坡向分布的规律,为保护区域生态环境,合理利用自然资源,制定区域景观生态规划和促进区域社会经济可持续发展提供决策支持.     

Landscape Character and Fish Assemblage Structure and Function in Western Lake Superior Streams: General Relationships and Identification of Thresholds

As part of a comparative watershed project investigating land-cover/land-use disturbance gradients for streams in the western Lake Superior Basin, we examined general relationships between landscape character and fish assemblage structure and function. We also examined the shape of those relationships to identify discontinuity thresholds where small changes in landscape character were associated with marked shifts in the fish assemblages. After completing a geographic analysis of second- and third-order watersheds in the western Lake Superior drainage, we randomly selected 48 streams along mature forest and watershed storage gradients in 2 hydrogeomorphic regions as our study sites. During the summers of 1997 and 1998, we used electrofishing to sample fish assemblages from each stream. Each of the landscape factors was significantly associated with fish assemblage structure and function based on analysis of covariance. Watershed storage was related to the greatest number of fish assemblage characteristics, but hydrogeopmorphic region and mature forest cover were strongly associated as well. The hydrogeomorphic region also mediated relationships between watershed character and fish assemblages. Discontinuity thresholds for our fish assemblages averaged 11% for watershed storage and 50% for watershed mature forest cover based on piecewise regression analysis. Although many of the landscape–fish relationships might have been manifest through effects on in-stream habitat, our results highlight the importance of management and land-use planning decisions at the watershed and landscape scales.Published online     

Environmental management within an institutionalized planning process—Avoiding a paradox in the belgian environmental movement

Summary The position and weaknesses of the Belgian environmental movement are assessed within their historical context. Recent intentions pronounced by prominent members of the movement are put into the context of the on-going constitutional and administrative reformation in Belgium. An analysis is made of the organizational and operational problems that exist within any planning process, including environmental planning processes. The problems in the latter type of process are severe due to the derived or indirect nature of the subject matter of environmental management and planning. It is argued that an appropriate response to the unique opportunities furnished by the administrative reorganization consists of demanding the establishment of a central planning and strategic control authority. This authority would be the initiator of the general planning processes within the Flemish Community. It would act on the indication of the Executive Cabinet and it would be charged with planning, programming, budgeting, and strategic control of goals and policy guidelines adopted by the Flemish Community Council. The role of environmental managers and planners will be twofold. They would be members of the planning teams within the central planning and strategic control authority, thus they would ensure the environmental soundness of planning. Secondly, they will be the implementators of specific planning actions, undertaken solely to enhance the quality of Flanders' battered environment. To execute the latter function, they will constitute the personnel of peripheral, implementation-geared, environmental agencies. Walter E. J. Tips holds degrees in general biology, ecology and town and regional planning from the State University of Ghent (Belgium). He has published in fields as varied as conservation, animal ecology, environmental planning and environmental impact assessment, and rural development planning. He has been a lecturer in planning in Malaysia and an advisor to Belgian landscape planning authorities. At present his main interest is in research on the possibilities of organizational reform of government administration to include environmental planning procedures in decision making and planning.     

Nodes of a peri-urban agricultural landscape at local level: an interpretation of their contribution to the eco-structure

The ecological value of some fine-scale landscape elements tends to be overlooked when they are found in highly human-influenced landscapes, such as peri-urban agricultural ones. These landscapes usually fall beyond the scope of the defined categories of landscape protection, and are thus mapped as areas of little or no ecological interest in the context of extensive analysis. In this paper, we present a method for assessing and visualizing the existing nodes in the field pattern of a peri-urban agricultural landscape. Nodes are identified from the field pattern and characterized according to the presence of relevant features and land uses from the viewpoint of their ecological functions. The method is applied in the Vega del Guadalfeo (south of Spain). Our results show an innovative map of the Vega which may be interpreted as its eco-structure; a model based on nodes to represent the ecological value of the peri-urban agricultural landscape.     

From the inside looking out: knowledge, justice and modernity in the assessment of St. Julian's environmental capacity

The aim of this paper is to examine whether the concept of environmental capacity is useful for implementing local sustainability. This concept suggests that there may be thresholds to the total amount of development that an area can sustain without losing its critical environmental features. By means of a case study in the popular seaside town of St. Julian's, Malta, the research uncovers a number of tensions for environmental capacity assessment, surrounding the themes of knowledge, environmental justice and modernity. It concludes that the concept does have transformative potential, challenging received wisdom about the relative usefulness of expert and lay knowledge, bringing to light processes responsible for significant differences between the residents themselves, and with other groups, and uncovering a critique of understandings of progress based on physical land development. However this potential is curtailed by weak institutions and the impotence of local residents when business and politics strike an alliance.     

Responding to Pressure on Local Natural Resources: the Story of Three Villages in South-Eastern Nigeria

There has been a recent move by development professionals away from formal “scientific” attempts to address problems caused by changing environmental conditions, towards a greater reliance on the innovative ability and indigenous knowledge of local people. This has necessitated a greater understanding of the way in which communities respond to environmental and socio-economic change. Using a model that predicts community responses to pressure on local natural resources, and data collected in three villages in south-eastern Nigeria, an attempt is made to document the way in which people react and adapt to change. It is concluded that with sufficient time communities will usually develop new resource management and agricultural systems. However, where change is occurring rapidly, a facilitator is required to encourage and accelerate local innovation so that farming and natural resource management systems can be appropriately adjusted before severe environmental degradation takes place.