Welfare environmentality and REDD+ incentives in Indonesia

This paper applies the concept of welfare environmentality to analyse Indonesia’s emerging national and project-based incentive frameworks, a key component to the climate programme reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). The paper adapts governmentality theory to explore the rationale and design of various incentive instruments, including government institutions to disburse financial payments and co-benefits to multiple recipients, as well as a local demonstration project in Central Kalimantan Province. These REDD+ incentives are often conflated with the neoliberalisation of the climate agenda, focused on the adoption of market instruments and the commodification of forest carbon. However, REDD+ incentives in Indonesia include diverse policy mechanisms and encompass multiple objectives – such as the delivery of social services and employment schemes aimed at improving community livelihoods. These incentives employ a welfare environmentality, where government agencies and their partners deliver certain rights and socio-economic security for communities in return for adopting practices that improve carbon and forest management. The application of welfare environmentality shows how incentive frameworks operate as a state intervention designed to restructure relations between people and environmental resources.     

Nitrogen Trioxide: Key Intermediate in the Chemistry of Polluted Air?

It is proposed that peroxyacetyl nitrate and its homologues are formed in polluted air via hydrogen abstraction from the corresponding aldehyde by nitrogen trioxide, followed by (a relatively fast) combination of the resulting acyl radical with oxygen and NO₂. This mechanism provides a simple explanation for the formation of nitric acid, HNO3, as well. Nitrogen trioxide should be able to abstract hydrogen atoms from hydrocarbons, since the H-ONO₂ bond strength is about 100 kcal/mole.     

Strategic assessment of the magnitude and impacts of sand mining in Poyang Lake, China

Planning for the extraction of aggregates is typically dealt with at a case to case basis, without assessing environmental impacts strategically. In this study we assess the impact of sand mining in Poyang Lake, where dredging began in 2001 after sand mining in the Yangtze River had been banned. In April 2008 concern over the impact on the biodiversity led to a ban on sand mining in Poyang Lake until further plans could be developed. Planning will require consideration of both sand extraction in relation to available sediment resources and also environmental impacts within the context of future demand for sand in the lower Yangtze Valley. We used pairs of near-infrared (NIR) Aster satellite imagery to estimate the number of vessels leaving the lake. Based on this we calculated a rate of sand extraction of 236 million m³ year⁻¹ in 2005–2006. This corresponds to 9% of the total Chinese demand for sand. It qualifies Poyang Lake as probably the largest sand mining operation in the world. It also indicates that sand extraction currently dominates the sediment balance of the lower Yangtze River. A positive relation between demand for sand and GDP, revealed by historic data from the USA, suggests that the current per capita demand for sand in China might increase in the near future from 2 to 4 m³ year⁻¹. We review various environmental impacts and question whether it will be possible to preserve the rich biodiversity of the lake, while continuing at the same time satisfying the increasing Chinese demand for sand. Finally we review alternative options for sand mining, in order to relieve the pressure from the Poyang Lake ecosystem.     

Daily Mortality and Air Pollution in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

We studied the association of daily mortality with short-term variations in the ambient concentrations of major gaseous pollutants and PM in the Netherlands. The magnitude of the association in the four major urban areas was compared with that in the remainder of the country. Daily cause-specific mortality counts, air quality, temperature, relative humidity, and influenza data were obtained from 1986 to 1994. The relationship between daily mortality and air pollution was modeled using Poisson regression analysis. We adjusted for potential confounding due to long-term and seasonal trends, influenza epidemics, ambient temperature and relative humidity, day of the week, and holidays, using generalized additive models.

Influenza episodes were associated with increased mortality up to 3 weeks later. Daily mortality was significantly associated with the concentration of all air pollutants. An increase in the PM₁₀ concentration by 100 u.g/m³ was associated with a relative risk (RR) of 1.02 for total mortality. The largest RRs were found for pneumonia deaths. Ozone had the most consistent, independent association with mortality. Particulate air pollution (e.g., PM₁₀, black smoke [BS]) was not more consistently associated with mortality than were the gaseous pollutants SO₂ and NO₂. Aerosol SO₄ ^-2, NO₃ ^-, and BS were more consistently associated with total mortality than was PM₁₀. The RRs for all pollutants were substantially larger in the summer months than in the winter months. The RR of total mortality for PM₁₀ was 1.10 for the summer and 1.03 for the winter. There was no consistent difference between RRs in the four major urban areas and the more rural areas.     

Systems In Organic Dairy Production

The aim of this study was to explore stakeholder perceptions of the contribution of an Automatic Milking System (AMS) to sustainable development of organic dairy production in Denmark and the Netherlands. In addition, reasons for the current difference in AMS use on organic dairy farms between both countries were explored. To answer above mentioned aims, farmers and advisors in both countries were interviewed using a focus group approach. Questions of the interviews were based on a literature review on sustainability issues affected by introduction of AMS. Participants expressed no moral problems regarding AMS use. They, however, pointed out uncertainty about the economic gain, difficulties with grazing, adaptation problems to technology, and image problems towards consumers. The latter results from a reduction in grazing time affecting both animal welfare and product quality. The participants did not recognize eutrophication, as result of high stocking density on farmstead lots, as a problem caused by AMS. The milk quality problem related to AMS use, although acknowledged as crucial towards consumers, was not prioritized very highly, especially not by the farmers in both countries. All groups were, however, unanimous in their perception of how important image was as far as the consumers are concerned. The perception analysis revealed that Dutch participants were more concerned about the economic payoff of AMS use, and showed more reluctance towards enlargement than Danish ones. In addition, they acknowledged the small-scale naturalness of organic production. These differences in perception could possibly explain observed differences in AMS use in organic dairy production between Denmark and the Netherlands.     

Understanding transitions in farming systems and their effects on livestock rearing and smallholder livelihoods in Telangana,India

Increasing food demands are causing rapid transitions in farming systems, often involving intensified land and resource use. While transitioning has benefits regarding poverty alleviation and food outputs, it also causes environmental and social issues over time. This study aims to understand the transitions in farming systems in a region in Telangana, from 1997 to 2015, and their effect on livestock rearing and smallholder livelihoods. We also examine the impact of the transitions on lower caste groups and women in particular. We collected data using a combination of methods, i.e., a household survey, focus group discussions, and secondary data sources, to build a comprehensive picture of the transitions in the region. We found that subsistence mixed farming systems transitioned to market-orientated specialized systems over a short time span. As the transition process gained momentum, households either intensified their production or got marginalized. Technological interventions, development programs with integrated approaches, and market demand for certain agricultural produce triggered increased regional production but also led to the scarcity of water, land, and labor. The transitions marginalized some of the households, changed the role of livestock in farming, and have been inclusive of both lower caste groups and women in terms of increased ownership of large ruminants and access to technologies. However, for women specifically, further increase in workload in the context of farming is also found.     

Coastal and riverine ecosystems as adaptive flood defenses under a changing climate

Adaptation planning for flood risk forms a significant part of global climate change response. Engineering responses to higher water levels can be prohibitively costly. Several recent studies emphasize the potential role of ecosystems in flood protection as adaptive risk reduction measures while also contributing to carbon fixation. Here, we use a conceptual model study to illustrate the built-in adaptive capability of ecosystems to reduce a wide range of wave heights, occurring at different water levels, to a narrower range. Our model shows that wave height of waves running through a forested section is independent of initial height or of water level. Although the underlying phenomenon of non-linear wave attenuation within coastal vegetation is well studied, implications of reducing variability in wave heights for design of ecosystem and levee combinations have not yet been properly outlined. Narrowing the range of wave heights by a vegetation field generates an adaptive levee that is robust to a whole range of external conditions rather than only to a maximum wave height. This feature can substantially reduce costs for retrofitting of levees under changing future wave climates. Thereby, in wave prone areas, inclusion of ecosystems into flood defense schemes constitutes an adaptive and safe alternative to only hard engineered flood risk measures.     

LCA-IWM: a decision support tool for sustainability assessment of waste management systems

The paper outlines the most significant result of the project 'The use of life cycle assessment tools for the development of integrated waste management strategies for cities and regions with rapid growing economies', which was the development of two decision-support tools: a municipal waste prognostic tool and a waste management system assessment tool. The article focuses on the assessment tool, which supports the adequate decision making in the planning of urban waste management systems by allowing the creation and comparison of different scenarios, considering three basic subsystems: (i) temporary storage; (ii) collection and transport and (iii) treatment, disposal and recycling. The design and analysis options, as well as the assumptions made for each subsystem, are shortly introduced, providing an overview of the applied methodologies and technologies. The sustainability assessment methodology used in the project to support the selection of the most adequate scenario is presented with a brief explanation of the procedures, criteria and indicators applied on the evaluation of each of the three sustainability pillars.