Productive science–policy interactions for sustainable coastal management: Conclusions from the Wadden Sea area

In this paper we synthesise the findings from the papers in this special issue on Organising productive science-policy interactions for sustainable coastal management. Lessons from the Wadden Sea. We first briefly discuss some relevant theoretical debates, and then present our main insights and lessons from the empirical evidence reported in the papers. We conclude the paper with suggestions for further research.     

The interplay between knowledge and governance: Insights from the governance of recreational boating in the Dutch Wadden Sea area, 1981–2014

Through shifts toward interactive and participatory forms of environmental governance, knowledge dynamics may come into play that differ from those of traditional forms of policy-making. This paper investigates how shifts of environmental governance and knowledge are related. In order to do so, it reconstructs the development of the governance of recreational boating in the Dutch Wadden Sea on the empirical basis of interviews, document analysis, and a focus group. Moreover, it analyzes this development by means of an analytical framework that combines governance modes, knowledge systems and knowledge–governance interfaces. Our results show that in the last decades partly an accumulation and partly a sequence of various governance arrangements concerning recreational boating has occurred; this has entailed a shift from predominantly centralized governance to a combination of governance modes with a stronger emphasis on decentralized, interactive and self-governance. This shift has occurred together with an increasing prominence of qualitative local knowledge, stakeholders’ knowledge, and the integration of various forms of knowledge. Furthermore, a shift has taken place toward more participatory knowledge–governance interfaces. Our analysis suggests that environmental governance and knowledge are interconnected in various ways: the regulatory and epistemic aspects of environmental issues are bound up with each other, and governance and knowledge are coproduced and mutually constitutive. Key lessons from this analysis are that room for experimentation is an important factor in improving environmental governance, and that increasing stakeholder involvement in governance implies that new modes of jointly creating and exchanging knowledge may need to be taken into account.     

The role of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific,Technical and Technological Advice to the Convention on Biological Diversity as science–policy interface

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has become the centre of heated debates concerning its function as the science–policy interface of the Convention. Based on explorations of the role, nature, and organisation of scientific advice mechanisms for multilateral environmental agreements in general, we give reasons for SBSTTA's inherently political role in the current governance process of the CBD, and then explore ways to enhance SBSTTA's effectiveness as a science–policy interface, going beyond the usual view that it should merely be “more scientific”. As the quality of SBSTTA's work depends primarily on the processes that guide the discussions during its meetings and on the material on which these discussions are based, we suggest that SBSTTA (a) improves its scientific foundation by systematically strengthening its relations to more scientific institutions outside the formal CBD regime, and (b) focuses on providing for a more substantive political debate to resolve alternative policy choices during its meetings. For this approach to succeed there is a need for a mechanism that provides SBSTTA with timely, salient, legitimate, and credible advice—a role that an International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMoSEB) could well provide.     

Divergent perspectives on water resource sustainability in a public–policy–science context

Diverging perspectives toward environmental problems, their causes, and solutions can exacerbate controversy in participatory decision making. Past research has examined the lay–expert divide in perceptions about diverse risks, but relatively few studies have examined multidimensional perspectives on water scarcity across expert groups with different knowledge systems. We address this gap by examining conflicting perspectives across ‘lay’ residents and academic and policymaking ‘experts’ in Phoenix, AZ. We analyze ecological concern about water issues, risk perceptions regarding the factors contributing to scarcity, and policy attitudes pertaining to resource management alternatives. All three groups expressed substantial concern for broad-scale water issues, especially drought. Residents exhibited a heightened tendency to blame other people for water scarcity, in addition to opposition toward stringent approaches such as water pricing. While strongly supporting the acquisition of more supplies, policymakers exhibited lower concern about regional water use rates while displacing blame away from anthropogenic causes compared to both residents and academic experts. Scientists, on the other hand, stressed the need for stricter regulation of water demand. Findings point to the challenges of meshing different knowledge systems for collaborative research and policy making.     

Uncertainties in the assessment of “significant effect” on the Dutch Natura 2000 Wadden Sea site – The mussel seed fishery and powerboat race controversies

Natura 2000, the nature network based on the European Bird and Habitat Directives, is explicitly grounded on ecological science. To acquire a permit under the Dutch Nature Conservation Act, an appropriate assessment of significant effects must be conducted based on the best available scientific knowledge. In this way the scientific and policy world are directly linked. This article focuses on ‘significant effect’ as a boundary object to analyse how science–policy interactions shape the meaning and assessment of significant effect and how these interpretations influence the decision-making process. To this end, two conflicts over significant effect are investigated: the conflict over the 2006-spring permit for the mussel seed fishery, and the 2011 permit for the planned World Championship powerboat races. In both cases nature organisations started a court process against the government-granted permits in protest to the “no significant effect” claim, stating that there was insufficient certainty for this conclusion. These conflicts are approached as controversies between discourse coalitions with different interpretations of the ecological knowledge. We show how significant effect became a focal point in the controversies, limiting the debate to ecological arguments and science-based expertise, but also creating options for parties to advance their protest by articulating uncertainties. Only uncertainty of incomplete knowledge was explicitly addressed, excluding ambiguity of values and unpredictability of the actual ecosystem. We suggest that acknowledging the value aspect in disputes on significant effect would leave more space for effective solutions of the problems under debate.     

The evolution of Dutch environmental policy: The changing ecological arena from 1970–2000 and beyond

Dutch environmental policies over the past thirty years have expanded through three distinct phases. These policies gradually opened up to engage stakeholders in establishing legislation, formulating implementation plans, and finally jointly defining ecological objectives. Environmental policies became increasingly effective by ensuring the taking on of environmental responsibilities by a growing number of stakeholders. Four unresolved issues present a formidable agenda for environmental policy attention in the next decade: managing CO₂ emissions, controlling future infrastructure development, minimising resources use, and reducing the burden on biodiversity. These issues relate to the necessary management of stocks of energy, other non-renewable resources, space, and biodiversity, respectively. Up to now, the issue of the preservation of stocks has not received much policy attention. They are expected to become the new policy issues complementing the traditional emission reduction policies which mainly aim at safeguarding the quality of air, water and soil. It is argued that super-optimizing policies engaging jointly economic, social, and ecological interests, are needed to resolve the issues at stake.     

The impact on food security and future adaptation under climate variation: a case study of Taiwan’s agriculture and fisheries

According to Food and Agriculture Organization and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, climate change will lead to a severe food-supply problem. In the future, food production will continually decrease because of aggravated effects of climate change, causing food production to continually decrease. Food production will be unable to satisfy the demand of the global population, leading to a food-security crisis. As the world population continues to increase, the shortage of food will become increasingly severe, particularly for those located in “climate impact hotspots” of tropical, subtropical, small-island countries, and countries that are dependent on imports to meet domestic demand such as Taiwan. Numerous Taiwanese studies have suggested that agricultural and fishery productivity has declined because of climate variation, which may cause changes and instability in food quantity and quality, and increase deficiency and uncertainty in the food supply. Therefore, to discuss the risks posed by climate change to the stability of food supply and demand, this paper, taking Taiwan as a case, explored the impact of climate variation on food security and future adaptation strategies. TaiCCAT’s supportive system for decision-making (TSSDA) was adopted here to assess and analyze the current situations of agricultural and fisheries production and supply, as well as future food supply risks, in addition to evaluating the deficiencies in the existing climate adaptation strategies in order to plan and revise feasible future adaptation alternatives. Based on the rule of risk management, the adaptation strategies recommended in this study were differentiated into two categories: proactive adaptation and planned adaptation. Proactive adaptation is emphasized to counter the uncertainty of food production, which increases the difficulty of production and necessity to import food. Conversely, planned adaptation can be used to manage the uncertainty of food supply to implement adjustments in production and marketing, as well as to mitigate the impact of climate variation.     

Temporal–spatial distribution and diastereoisomer pattern of hexabromocyclododecane in the vicinity of a chemical plant

Hexabromocyclododecane(HBCD) is an effective brominated flame-retardant additive, which is mainly produced in the coastal area of China. This study collected soil samples from a HBCD production plant and its surrounding area in Weifang, Shandong Province, China, and analyzed the temporal–spatial distribution of HBCD and its diastereoisomers in soil. The analysis results showed that the concentration of HBCD in soil near the plant was much higher than normal values, with an annual average concentration reaching 5405 ng/g. Soils 1,2 and 4 km away from the plant were also analyzed, showing that the concentration of HBCD in soil decreased accordingly with the distance from the pollution sources. In order to investigate the effect of the season on HBCD content, the soil samples were collected in all four seasons of the year 2017–2018. According to variations in the wind direction, the concentration of HBCD in soil was also changed. The distribution trend showed that the concentration of HBCD in soil in the downwind direction of the prevailing wind was higher than that in the upwind direction. In addition, this work analyzed the distribution of HBCD in vertical soil sections. It was found that the concentration of HBCD decreased with depth in the soil vertical profile. Finally, the various diastereoisomer patterns in the soil compartments were examined, finding that α-HBCD and γ-HBCD were the predominant diastereoisomers in the soil of the study area.     

Field and laboratory evaluations of the effects of “cold shock” on fish resident in and around a thermal discharge: an overview

In the 1970s, resource agencies suggested that thermal discharges could affect aquatic life including macrophytes, plankton, and fish. It was suspected that heat and cold shock would affect fish health and behavior, and that thermal plumes might affect migration. From 1978 to 1985, Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation (RG&E) conducted field and laboratory studies on fish to evaluate a power plant’s rapid winter shutdown. Lake Ontario studies included observations of fish in the near-field plume during a shutdown, and resident fish were tagged and used to study immediate and acclimated cold shock. Over 500 fish representing 17 species, captured in and around a power station plume, were used in these cold-shock studies. Five coldwater species accounted for approximately 65% of the tested fish, although clupeids, and coolwater and warmwater fish were evaluated when captured. The internal temperature of many fish was recorded upon capture. Survival for the dominant species was ≃100%, although clupeid survival was ≤10% (n=128). Tagged fish also provided long-term survival, migration, and plume-residence data. To confirm field data, laboratory cold-shock tests were conducted under controlled conditions using hatchery-reared juvenile rainbow trout. The results indicated, for example, that the lower lethal limit for rainbow trout was slightly below 1.0°C, corroborating field data for rainbow trout. These cold-shock studies suggest that previous generic guidelines, such as those provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), are probably too conservative.     

Water policy implementation in the state of São Paulo,Brazil: Key challenges and opportunities

Challenges in implementing water planning and management are common, and the effective implementation of integrated water policies is yet to occur. In Brazil, the state of São Paulo enacted a Water Act in 1991 to ensure water availability for current and future generations based on the principles of decentralization, participation and integration. This research addresses water policy implementation issues by conducting an exploratory case study in the state of São Paulo. Factors affecting the water policy implementation process were analyzed, together with some water resources management practices. The findings indicate four dimensions of key challenges: institutional and governance, political, financial and technical. The stakeholders believe the political and the institutional and governance challenges are more important than the technical and financial ones. Additionally, the results show different levels of involvement in the areas of water policy strategy, the planning and decision-making process, and implementation by the different stakeholders groups. Stakeholders external to the water sector and from local government were considered to be less involved in water-related issues, when compared with stakeholders from the water sector. The study recommends a change in current institutional and governance arrangements in order to influence decisions and investments in different levels and sectors.     

Study on the mechanism of copper–ammonia complex decomposition in struvite formation process and enhanced ammonia and copper removal

Heavy metals and ammonia are difficult to remove from wastewater, as they easily combine into refractory complexes. The struvite formation method (SFM) was applied for the complex decomposition and simultaneous removal of heavy metal and ammonia. The results indicated that ammonia deprivation by SFM was the key factor leading to the decomposition of the copper–ammonia complex ion. Ammonia was separated from solution as crystalline struvite, and the copper mainly co-precipitated as copper hydroxide together with struvite. Hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction were considered to be the main surface interactions between struvite and copper hydroxide. Hydrogen bonding was concluded to be the key factor leading to the co-precipitation. In addition, incorporation of copper ions into the struvite crystal also occurred during the treatment process.     

Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?

Bats are most diverse in the tropics, but there are no quantitative data on torpor use for energy conservation by any tropical bat in the wild. We examined the thermal biology, activity patterns and torpor use of two tree-roosting long-eared bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi, 7.8?g) in tropical northern Australia in winter using temperature telemetry. Bats commenced activity about 20?min after sunset, ended activity about 2.5?h before sunrise and entered torpor everyday in the early morning even when minimum ambient temperatures (T _a) were as high as 23°C. On average, bats remained torpid for almost 5?h, mean minimum skin temperature (T _skin) measured was 22.8?±?0.1°C and daily T _skin minima were correlated with T _a. Our study shows that even in the tropics, torpor is frequently employed by bats, suggesting that worldwide most bat species are heterothermic and use torpor for energy conservation. We propose that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions. Reduced energy requirements also may permit survival in degraded or modified habitats, reduce the need for foraging and reduce exposure to predators. Thus, the ability to employ torpor may be one important reason for why most Australian bats and other heterothermic mammals have not gone extinct whereas many obligatory homeothermic mammals that cannot employ torpor and have high energy and foraging requirements have suffered high rates of extinctions.     

Trends of the sunshine duration and diffuse radiation percentage on sunny days in urban agglomerations of China during 1960–2005

The long-term observational data of sunshine duration (SD) and diffuse radiation percentage (defined as diffuse solar radiation/total solar radiation, DRP) on sunny days during 1960–2005 were analyzed in 7 urban agglomerations and the whole of China. The results show that the sunny sunshine duration (SSD) has decreased significantly except at a few stations over northwestern China in the past 46 years. An obvious decrease of the SSD is found in eastern China, with the trend coefficients lower than − 0.8. Accompanied by the SSD decline, the sunny diffuse radiation percentage (SDRP) in most stations shows obvious increasing trends during the 46 years. The averaged SDRP over China has increased 2.33% per decade, while the averaged SSD shows a decrease of − 0.13 hr/day per decade. The correlation coefficient between SDRP and SSD is − 0.88. SSD decreased over urban agglomerations (small to large city clusters) in the past 46 years, especially in large cities and medium cities, due to the strong anthropogenic activities and air pollution represented by aerosol option depth (AOD) and tropospheric column NO₂ (TroNO₂). On the regional scale, SSD has an opposite trend from SDRP during 1960 to 2005, and the variation trends of regional mean values of SSD and SDRP in southeastern China are more pronounced than those in northwestern China.     

Recent Trends in Residential Energy Use in OECD Countries and their Impact on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Comparative Analysis of the Period 1973–1992

In the late 1970s and for most of the 1980s, residential energy use in the OECD underwent significant changes. Many of these changes were a result of more efficient energy use in response to higher energy prices, energy efficiency programs, and the appearance of new technologies for saving energy. This study analyzes these changes and the impact of energy use on carbon emissions in the residential sector for nine OECD countries for the period from 1973 to 1992. The major findings of this analysis are:

1. CO₂ emissions per capita were lower in 1992 in almost all of the countries we studied;
2. The two primary changes were improvements in energy efficiency and a decrease in the share of fossil fuels used for electricity and district heating production;
3. The main source of growth in emissions from residential energy use was increased ownership of electric appliances, where, in spite of important improvements in energy efficiency, ownership grew so rapidly that electricity use (and subsequent emissions) increased;
4. Changes in fuel mix, including both the changes in the share of fuels used in households and the share of fuels used to generate electricity and district heating, led to a decrease in emissions in the nine countries;
5. Increasing the efficiency of electric appliances and further reductions in the intensity of space heating are probably the key elements in a strategy to improve efficiency as a means to lowering CO₂ emissions.

     

Molecular diagnosis of a previously unreported predator–prey association in coffee: Karnyothrips flavipes Jones (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) predation on the coffee berry borer

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is the most important pest of coffee throughout the world, causing losses estimated at US $500 million/year. The thrips Karnyothrips flavipes was observed for the first time feeding on immature stages of H. hampei in April 2008 from samples collected in the Kisii area of Western Kenya. Since the trophic interactions between H. hampei and K. flavipes are carried out entirely within the coffee berry, and because thrips feed by liquid ingestion, we used molecular gut-content analysis to confirm the potential role of K. flavipes as a predator of H. hampei in an organic coffee production system. Species-specific COI primers designed for H. hampei were shown to have a high degree of specificity for H. hampei DNA and did not produce any PCR product from DNA templates of the other insects associated with the coffee agroecosystems. In total, 3,327 K. flavipes emerged from 17,792 H. hampei-infested berries collected from the field between April and September 2008. Throughout the season, 8.3% of K. flavipes tested positive for H. hampei DNA, although at times this figure approached 50%. Prey availability was significantly correlated with prey consumption, thus indicating the potential impact on H. hampei populations.     

Climate change,adaptive capacity and policy direction in the Canadian North: Can we learn anything from the collapse of the east coast cod fishery?

Scientific evidence gathered over the past five years suggests that northern Canada and the Arctic have undergone, and are undergoing, formidable environmental changes linked to global climate change. Environmental change in the north is expected to persist and intensify over the course of the next century. When large-scale environmental changes take place, they inevitably affect people, especially when the cultures and livelihoods of those people depend on their relationship with the environment. Managing the local impacts of these changes is a matter of adaptation. This paper discusses some of the policy implications of adaptation––government interventions aiming to build communities’ and regions’ capacities to adapt to environmental changes. Three arguments for adaptive capacity building interventions in the north are discussed, and these arguments are augmented by a comparative review of government reactions to the collapse of the cod fishery in Atlantic Canada. Reactive and proactive policy approaches are discussed, and it is suggested from the comparison that proactive approaches to intervention are desirable for building adaptive capacity.

Host pollination mode and mutualist pollinator presence: net effect of internally ovipositing parasite in the fig–wasp mutualism

The Ficus–their specific pollinating fig wasps (Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae) interaction presents a striking example of mutualism. Figs also shelter numerous non-pollinating fig wasps (NPFW) that exploit the fig–pollinator mutualism. Only a few NPFW species can enter figs to oviposit, they do not belong to the pollinating lineage Agaonidae. The internally ovipositing non-agaonid fig wasps can efficiently pollinate the Ficus species that were passively pollinated. However, there is no study to focus on the net effect of these internally ovipositing non-agaonid wasps in actively pollinated Ficus species. By collecting the data of fig wasp community and conducting controlled experiments, our results showed that internally ovipositing Diaziella bizarrea cannot effectively pollinate Ficus glaberrima, an actively pollinated monoecious fig tree. Furthermore, D. bizarrea failed to reproduce if they were introduced into figs without Eupristina sp., the regular pollinator, as all the figs aborted. Furthermore, although D. bizarrea had no effect on seed production in shared figs, it significantly reduced the number of Eupristina sp. progeny emerging from them. Thus, our experimental evidence shows that reproduction in Diaziella depends on the presence of agaonid pollinators, and whether internally ovipositing parasites can act as pollinators depends on the host fig’s pollination mode (active or passive). Overall, this study and others suggest a relatively limited mutualistic role for internally ovipositing fig wasps from non-pollinator (non-Agaonidae) lineages.     

Long-term declining in carbon monoxide(CO) at a rural site of Beijing during 2006–2018 implies the improved combustion efficiency and effective emission control

Carbon monoxide(CO) is primarily the result of incomplete combustion, which has important impacts on the atmospheric chemical cycle and climate. Improved quantitative characterization of long-term CO trends is important for both atmospheric modeling and the design and implementation of policies to efficiently control multiple pollutants. Due to the limitations of high time-resolution and high-quality long-term observational data, studies on long-term trends in the CO concentration in China are q...