Reducing hazard vulnerability: towards a common approach between disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation

Over the past few decades, four distinct and largely independent research and policy communities--disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, environmental management and poverty reduction--have been actively engaged in reducing socio-economic vulnerability to natural hazards. However, despite the significant efforts of these communities, the vulnerability of many individuals and communities to natural hazards continues to increase considerably. In particular, it is hydro-meteorological hazards that affect an increasing number of people and cause increasingly large economic losses. Arising from the realisation that these four communities have been largely working in isolation and enjoyed only limited success in reducing vulnerability, there is an emerging perceived need to strengthen significantly collaboration and to facilitate learning and information exchange between them. This article examines key communalities and differences between the climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction communities, and proposes three exercises that would help to structure a multi-community dialogue and learning process.     

Airborne organic micropollutant concentrations in mosses and humus as indicators for local versus long-range sources

The concentrations of HCB, PCB, and PAH in epiphytic mosses (Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi) and forest humus were used to study the atmospheric exposure of conferous forests in a region in central Sweden. Air concentrations of HCB and PCB were monitored around an expected source. Moss contamination was used as a short-term exposure indicator, and humus contamination was assumed to indicate long-term exposure to HCB, PCB, and PAH.The level of HCB in mosses (0.4–1.7 ng/g, by dry weight, DW) complied well with background values. The levels of PCB measured as a sum of 7 identified PCB-congeners varied between 2–28 ng/g DW, with the highest levels in moss from the western part of the region, and decreasing concentrations from west to east. Around an expected PCB source in the southeastern part of the region the concentrations of PCB declined with increasing distance from the source area. The identified PAH concentrations in mosses varied between 39 and 730 ng/g DW. The PAH content in the mosses consisted mainly of nonvolatile PAH while the more volatile PAH were below the detection limit. The levels of HCB in humus were slightly more than in mosses (0.4–3.3 ng/g DW), and complied well with the background values. Sum PCB in the humus varied between 2 and 28 ng/g DW. The PAH in the humus were mainly nonvolatile PAH. The PAH concentrations in humus varied between 99 and 2600 ng/g DW. The air concentrations of PCB around the expected source (radius <1.5 km) were higher than background levels, and most likely caused the raised levels of PCB measured in the moss nearby.     

A New Framework for the Assessment of Animal Welfare: Integrating Existing Knowledge from a Practical Ethics Perspective

When making an assessment of animal welfare, it is important to take environmental (housing) or animal-based parameters into account. An alternative approach is to focus on the behavior and appearance of the animal, without making actual measurements or quantifying this. None of these tell the whole story. In this paper, we suggest that it is possible to find common ground between these (seemingly) diametrically opposed positions and argue that this may be the way to deal with the complexity of animal welfare. The model will have to be acceptable for the different parties that will be affected by it and real benefits for the animal should result from it. This will be the basis of a practical ethical approach. All this can be condensed into a model that essentially is made up out of three basic elements: the classical welfare analysis with an existing welfare assessment tool, an assessment of the stockholder, and an implementation of the Free Choice Profiling technique. This new framework does not pretend to be a different or better animal welfare matrix; it is intended to integrate existing knowledge and to provide a practical tool to improve animal welfare. It identifies whether there are welfare problems on a farm, if present whether these problems are caused by the housing system or the stockholder, and what can be done to improve the situation.     

Inspiring England's urban fringes: multi-functionality and planning

The urban fringe has been described as 'planning's last frontier'; a zone of transition and interface between town and country where a broad variety of land uses and activities come together, and where development pressure is often intense.

In this paper, we argue that the urban fringe possesses special characteristics, making it more than simply a transitional landscape. These characteristics centre on patterns of land use, biodiversity and leisure/development opportunity which are unique to the urban edge and to land extending away from built-up areas. The uniqueness, diversity and particular dynamics of the urban fringe demands a special brand of planning and management response. Therefore we suggest that the principle of 'multi-functionality' provides a framework for action, showing how diversity can be managed and supported. Through brief case studies, we demonstrate how functional interactions at the urban fringe might be promoted in the future.     

Life cycle inventory of recycling portable nickel–cadmium batteries

In this study, the environmental impact of recycling portable nickel–cadmium (NiCd) batteries in Sweden is evaluated. A life cycle assessment approach was used to identify life cycle activities with significant impact, the influence of different recycling rates and different time boundaries for emissions of landfilled metals. Excluding the user phase of the battery, 65% of the primary energy is used in the manufacture of batteries while 32% is used in the production of raw materials. Metal emissions from batteries to water originate (96–98%) from landfilling and incineration. The transportation distance for the collection of batteries has no significant influence on energy use and emissions. Batteries manufactured with recycled nickel and cadmium instead of virgin metals have 16% lower primary energy use. Recycled cadmium and nickel metal require 46 and 75% less primary energy, respectively, compared with extraction and refining of virgin metal. Considering an infinite time perspective, the potential metal emissions are 300–400 times greater than during the initial 100 years. From an environmental perspective, the optimum recycling rate for NiCd batteries tends to be close to 100%. It may be difficult to introduce effective incitements to increase the battery collection rate. Cadmium should be used in products that are likely to be collected at the end of their life, otherwise collection and subsequent safe storage in concentrated form seems to offer the best solution to avoid dissipative losses.     

Robustness in life history of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) across large scales: effects of spatially and temporally induced variability on population growth

Understanding the demography and function of biotope-forming seaweed species is of great importance for the conservation of the target species itself, as well as its associated organisms. The brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum is fundamental for the functioning of coastal marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic. In this study, we use a data-based size-classified matrix model to investigate the temporal and spatial variability in demography, and the environment-specific stochastic sensitivity and elasticity, of two A. nodosum populations, one in western Sweden and one on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. A significant difference between the two populations was that the Swedish population had comparably low and more variable stochastic population growth rate (λ _s). This pattern was partly explained by the relatively high and varying mortality rates during extreme ice-years in Sweden, and by the lower survival of small individuals during all years. There were also fewer large individuals in Sweden due to lower transitions to the larger size-classes and higher probability of shrinkage. Sensitivities were analogous in the two populations, and showed a high selection pressure for increased individual growth. Elasticities were also similar, with the exception that survival of the smallest individuals (i.e., transition a _1,1), had a higher elasticity on the Isle of Man. Overall, the stochastic growth rate (λ _s) was most sensitive to proportional changes in loop- (i.e., survival within size-class) and, to some extent, growth-transitions in both study areas. These results show that structurally and demographically diverging A. nodosum populations may be similarly sensitive to changes in vital rates. This, in turn, indicates a plastic life history of A. nodosum that may cope with large environmental variability. The results further suggest that environmental change affecting the survival or growth of the larger, reproductive A. nodosum individuals could have severe and regional effects on the abundance and biomass of this species, with potential negative effects on the biodiversity of the associated communities.     

Ensuring effectiveness of information to influence household behaviour

The behaviour of household members has a significant impact on the resulting energy consumption of a household. Studies show that within the same buildings with the same installations, energy consumption can be reduced by an average of 37% by a more economical behaviour. There exists therefore, a large potential to reduce the demand by influencing behaviour.The question remains how this potential can be addressed. VITO conducted, in collaboration with the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, the SEREC-project. This project investigated the socio-economic factors influencing residential energy consumption; furthermore, in the larger framework different tools have been developed. Several were tested and evaluated in a number of dwellings in this research. They address both energy consumption for heating as well as electricity consumption. The tools are completely different, but all were designed to help make householders aware of their energy-related behaviour and to provide recommendations on energy saving measures. For each case, potential changes in habits were followed-up. The observed range is quite large, as full scale audits of every dwelling were performed as general comparisons of annual consumption were made.To gain more insight into the effectiveness of the tools, several families participated in in-depth sociological interviews. The overall results show the strengths and weaknesses of the different tools. More generally, the results reveal some of the key properties of recommendations that are necessary to ensure effectiveness for behavioural change.     

A flexible spatio-temporal model for air pollution with spatial and spatio-temporal covariates

The development of models that provide accurate spatio-temporal predictions of ambient air pollution at small spatial scales is of great importance for the assessment of potential health effects of air pollution. Here we present a spatio-temporal framework that predicts ambient air pollution by combining data from several different monitoring networks and deterministic air pollution model(s) with geographic information system covariates. The model presented in this paper has been implemented in an R package, SpatioTemporal, available on CRAN. The model is used by the EPA funded Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air) to produce estimates of ambient air pollution; MESA Air uses the estimates to investigate the relationship between chronic exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. In this paper we use the model to predict long-term average concentrations of \(\text {NO}_{x}\) in the Los Angeles area during a 10 year period. Predictions are based on measurements from the EPA Air Quality System, MESA Air specific monitoring, and output from a source dispersion model for traffic related air pollution (Caline3QHCR). Accuracy in predicting long-term average concentrations is evaluated using an elaborate cross-validation setup that accounts for a sparse spatio-temporal sampling pattern in the data, and adjusts for temporal effects. The predictive ability of the model is good with cross-validated \(R^2\) of approximately \(0.7\) at subject sites. Replacing four geographic covariate indicators of traffic density with the Caline3QHCR dispersion model output resulted in very similar prediction accuracy from a more parsimonious and more interpretable model. Adding traffic-related geographic covariates to the model that included Caline3QHCR did not further improve the prediction accuracy.     

Optimisation of adjusted barrier management to improve glass eel migration at an estuarine barrier

Estuarine barriers may significantly reduce the upstream migration of diadromous fish species like the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Previous research showed that limited barrier opening during tidal rise was a cost-efficient and effective mitigation option to improve upstream glass eel migration, without significant intrusion of sea water. This paper aims to optimise this adjusted barrier management to improve eel passage at a tidal barrier complex at the mouth of the River Yser, Flanders, Belgium, one of the most important migration routes for glass eel in Flanders. Specifically, three hypotheses were tested. The first hypothesis analysed the impact of the number of barriers opened on the upstream glass eel migration. The second hypothesis evaluated the relation between the size of the barrier opening and glass eel migration. Finally, we tested whether the suggested adjusted barrier management may lead to a significant increase in conductivity in the River Yser. Increased opening of one barrier appeared more efficient than opening several barriers slightly. Conductivity increased during periods of extreme drought and at base flow, but decreased within 24 h after the first peak flow. This indicates that adjusted barrier management does not entail salt intrusion in the Yser basin, as long as this management is not applied in extremely dry periods. Since the adjusted barrier management is easily implemented and could be applied on numerous tidal barriers, the presented results may contribute to restoration of eel populations worldwide and be of interest to a wide range of river managers and stakeholders.     

Population size affects vital rates but not population growth rate of a perennial plant

Negative effects of habitat fragmentation on individual performance have been widely documented, but relatively little is known about how simultaneous effects on multiple vital rates translate into effects on population viability in long-lived species. In this study, we examined relationships between population size, individual growth, survival and reproduction, and population growth rate in the perennial plant Phyteuma spicatum. Population size positively affected the growth of seedlings, the survival of juveniles, the proportion of adults flowering, and potential seed production. Analyses with integral projection models, however, showed no relationship between population size and population growth rate. This was due to the fact that herbivores and pathogens eliminated the relationship between population size and seed production, and that population growth rate was not sensitive to changes in the vital rates that varied with population size. We conclude that effects of population size on vital rates must not translate into effects on population growth rate, and that populations of long-lived organisms may partly be able to buffer negative effects of small population size on vital rates that have a relatively small influence on population growth rate. Our study illustrates that we need to be cautious when assessing the consequences of habitat fragmentation for population viability based on effects on only one or a few vital rates.