Adapting to climate change through local municipal planning: barriers and challenges

Municipal planning represents a key avenue for local adaptation, but is subject to recognised constraints. To date, these constraints have focused on simplistic factors such as limited resources and lack of information. In this paper we argue that this focus has obscured a wider set of constraints which need to be acknowledged and addressed if adaptation is likely to advance through municipal planning. Although these recognised constraints are relevant, we argue that what underpins these issues are more fundamental challenges affecting local, placed-based planning by drawing on the related field of community-based environmental planning (CBEP). In considering a wider set of constraints to practical attempts towards adaptation, the paper considers planning based on a case study of three municipalities in Sydney, Australia in 2008. The results demonstrate that climate adaptation was widely accepted as an important issue for planning conducted by local governments. However, it was yet to be embedded in planning practice which retained a strong mitigation bias in relation to climate change. In considering the case study, we draw attention to factors thus far under-acknowledged in the climate adaptation literature. These include leadership, institutional context and competing planning agendas. These factors can serve as constraints or enabling mechanisms for achieving climate adaptation depending upon how they are exploited in any given situation. The paper concludes that, through addressing these issues, local, place-based planning can play a greater role in achieving climate adaptation.     

Transformation of rural communities: lessons from a local self-initiative for building resilience in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is vulnerable to negative impacts from climate change, where people’s livelihoods and their well-being are threatened, especially the viability of isolated communities. Realising the increasing risks from climate change on communities, government, in partnership with aid-donor partners, has invested millions of dollars in climate change projects, through mitigation and adaptation strategies. As a form of adaptation, the government invests in programmes aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable communities through landscape and seascape projects across the rural communities. Focusing on the “transformation concept” as a long-term adaptation strategy and enlargement of climate engineering and ecological resilience concepts, the paper discusses why building resilience from transformation of rural communities, as well as from landscape and seascape projects, would benefit communities and relevant authorities. This paper describes the findings of a study on two rural villages, Keigold and Mondo, from Ranogha Islands, Western Province, in Solomon Islands, where 80% of households decided to relocate from their old village “Mondo” to their new home “Keigold” after an earthquake in 2007, as part of a self-initiative. The reallocation process can be seen as a case of pro-active community transformation that provides valuable lessons to other rural communities that may be forced to move due to impacts from natural catastrophes, including those explained by climate change risks. Lessons from this experience suggest that policy-makers and non-government organisations should consider and empower local transformation initiatives as a way to building long-term adaptation to climate change.     

Analysis of the cyanotoxins anatoxin-a and microcystins in Lesser Flamingo feathers†

Feathers from carcasses of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), which had died after ingesting cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) contained between 0.02 and 30.0?µg microcystin-LR equivalents per gram of feather according to HPLC and ELISA analysis of feather extracts. Anatoxin-a was detected less frequently in the Lesser Flamingo feathers, up to 0.8?µg anatoxin-a per gram of feather being recorded. When feathers from different body regions were analysed and compared for microcystins and anatoxin-a, wing feathers were found to contain the highest concentrations of these cyanotoxins, the order of concentration and frequency of analytical detection being wing?>?breast?>?head. Consistent with the presence of the microcystins and anatoxin-a in gut contents and the livers of the dead birds and negligible in vitro adsorption to feathers, the cyanotoxins associated with the feathers of the dead wild flamingos are inferred to be primarily of dietary origin.     

Climatic effects on the growth of a temperate reef fish from the Southern Hemisphere: a biochronological approach

Increments in the hard parts of marine organisms (otoliths, skeletons, shells) can provide long-term chronologies of growth analogous to tree rings. For the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, we use a dendrochronological (tree-ring analysis) approach to develop a multidecadal chronology of growth for a temperate reef fish, Girella tricuspidata, from the coast of northern New Zealand. Growth patterns in the otoliths of this species were strongly synchronous among individual fish over a period spanning 27 years (1980–2006). We then compared our otolith chronology to climatic records and found strong positive correlations of growth with sea surface temperature, and weak negative correlations with the multivariate El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index. Strongest correlations were found between summer sea surface temperature and otolith growth. This relationship was consistent across all years and explained 44 % of the variation (y = −2.0 + 0.1785 × temperature, r ² = 0.4367, P = 0.0002) in the G. tricuspidata growth chronology. Our study illustrates how otolith chronologies provide remarkable records of annual growth patterns over decadal time scales that will be useful for forecasting the likely effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.     

Birds and bats reduce insect biomass and leaf damage in tropical forest restoration sites

Both birds and bats are important insect predators in tropical systems. However, the relative influence of birds and bats on insect populations and their indirect effects on leaf damage have not previously been investigated in tropical forest restoration sites. Leaf damage by herbivorous insects can negatively affect the growth and survival of tropical plants and thus can influence the success of tropical forest restoration efforts. We used an exclosure experiment to examine the top-down effects of birds and bats on insects and leaf damage in a large-scale forest restoration experiment. Given the potential influence of tree planting design on bird and bat abundances, we also investigated planting design effects on bird and bat insectivory and leaf damage. The experiment included two planting treatment plots: islands, where trees were planted in patches, and plantations, where trees were planted in rows to create continuous cover. In both types of plots, insect biomass was highest on tree branches where both birds and bats were excluded from foraging and lowest on branches without exclosures where both birds and bats were present. In the island plots, birds and bats had approximately equal impacts on insect populations, while in plantations bats appeared to have a slightly stronger effect on insects than did birds. In plantations, the levels of leaf damage were higher on branches where birds and bats were excluded than on branches where both had access. In island plots, no significant differences in leaf damage were found between exclosure treatments although potential patterns were in the same direction as in the plantations. Our results suggest that both birds and bats play important roles as top predators in restoration systems by reducing herbivorous insects and their damage to planted trees. Tropical restoration projects should include efforts to attract and provide suitable habitat for birds and bats, given their demonstrated ecological importance.     

Ethics and governance for internet-based conservation science research

Internet-based research is increasingly important for conservation science and has wide-ranging applications and contexts, including culturomics, illegal wildlife trade, and citizen science. However, online research methods pose a range of ethical and legal challenges. Online data may be protected by copyright, database rights, or contract law. Privacy rights may also restrict the use and access of data, as well as ethical requirements from institutions. Online data have real-world meaning, and the ethical treatment of individuals and communities must not be marginalized when conducting internet-based research. As ethics frameworks originally developed for biomedical applications are inadequate for these methods, we propose that research activities involving the analysis of preexisting online data be treated analogous to offline social science methods, in particular, nondeceptive covert observation. By treating internet users and their data with respect and due consideration, conservationists can uphold the public trust needed to effectively address real-world issues.     

Atmospheric mercury cycles in northern Wisconsin

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) in the lower atmosphere of northern Wisconsin exhibits strong annual and diurnal cycles similar to those previously reported for other rural monitoring sites across mid-latitude North America. Annually, TGM was highest in late winter and then gradually declined until late summer. During 2002–04, the average TGM concentration was 1.4 ± 0.2 (SD) ng m^?3, and the amplitude of the annual cycle was 0.4 ng m^?3 (～30% of the long-term mean). The diurnal cycle was characterized by increasing TGM concentrations during the morning followed by decreases during the afternoon and night. The diurnal amplitude was variable but it was largest in spring and summer, when daily TGM oscillations of 20–40% were not uncommon. Notably, we also observed a diurnal cycle for TGM indoors in a room ventilated through an open window. Even though TGM concentrations were an order of magnitude higher indoors, (presumably due to historical practices within the building: e.g. latex paint, fluorescent lamps, thermometers), the diurnal cycle was remarkably similar to that observed outdoors. The indoor cycle was not directly attributable to human activity, the metabolic activity of vegetation or diurnal atmospheric dynamics; but it was related to changes in temperature and oxidants in outdoor air that infiltrated the room. Although there was an obvious difference in the proximal source of indoor and outdoor TGM, similarities in behavior suggest that common TGM cycles may be driven largely by adsorption/desorption reactions involving solid surfaces, such as leaves, snow, dust and walls. Such behavior would imply a short residence time for Hg in the lower atmosphere and intense recycling – consistent with the “ping-pong ball” or “multi-hop” conceptual models proposed by others.     

Removal of As,Mn, Mo,Se, U,V and Zn from groundwater by zero-valent iron in a passive treatment cell: reaction progress modeling

Three treatment cells were operated at a site near Durango, CO. One treatment cell operated for more than 3 years. The treatment cells were used for passive removal of contamination from groundwater at a uranium mill tailings repository site. Zero-valent iron [Fe(0)] that had been powdered, bound with aluminosilicate and molded into plates was used as a reactive material in one treatment cell. The others used granular Fe(0) and steel wool. The treatment cells significantly reduced concentrations of As, Mn, Mo, Se, U, V and Zn in groundwater that flowed through it. Zero-valent iron [Fe(0)], magnetite (Fe3O4), calcite (CaCO3), goethite (FeOOH) and mixtures of contaminant-bearing phases were identified in the solid fraction of one treatment cell. A reaction progress approach was used to model chemical evolution of water chemistry as it reacted with the Fe(0). Precipitation of calcite, ferrous hydroxide [Fe(OH)2] and ferrous sulfide (FeS) were used to simulate observed changes in major-ion aqueous chemistry. The amount of reaction progress differed for each treatment cell. Changes in contaminant concentrations were consistent with precipitation of reduced oxides (UO2, V2O3), sulfides (As2S3, ZnS), iron minerals (FeSe2, FeMoO4) and carbonate (MnCO3). Formation of a free gas phase and precipitation of minerals contributed to loss of hydraulic conductivity in one treatment cell.     

Development of a novel passive sampling system for the time-averaged measurement of a range of organic pollutants in aquatic environments

A new sampling system has been developed for the measurement of time-averaged concentrations of organic micropollutants in aquatic environments. The system is based on the diffusion of targeted organic compounds through a rate-limiting membrane and the subsequent accumulation of these species in a bound, hydrophobic, solid-phase material. It provides a novel and robust solution to the problem of monitoring in situations where large temporal fluctuations in pollutant levels may occur. Accumulation rates are regulated by choice of diffusion-limiting membrane and bound solid-phase material and have been found to be dependent on the physico-chemical properties of individual target analytes. Two separate prototype systems are described: one suitable for the sampling of non-polar organic species with log octanol/water partition coefficient (log P) values greater than 4, the other for more polar species with log P values between 2 and 4. Both systems use the same solid-phase material (47 mm C18 Empore disk) as a receiving phase but are fitted with different rate-limiting membrane materials (polysulfone for the polar and polyethylene for the non-polar analytes). The two systems complement each other and together can be used for sampling a wider range of organic analytes than generally possible using current passive sampling techniques. Calibration data are presented for both devices. In each case, linear uptake kinetics were sustained, under constant conditions, for deployment periods of between 1 and 9 days. The effects of water temperature and turbulence on sampling rates have been quantitatively assessed. The performance of the system was further investigated by means of field exposures for one and two weeks in marine environments where calibrated samplers were used to determine the time-averaged concentrations of the polar biocides diuron and irgarol 1051. The quantitative results obtained using the passive sampler were compared with those obtained using spot sampling.     

Using a reverse auction to promote household level stormwater control

Phase II of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater regulations requires communities smaller than 100 000 residents to meet new criteria for stormwater runoff reduction. In many cases these smaller communities have no established stormwater utility, and are investigating alternatives for complying with these new, sometimes expensive requirements. We note that it might be cost effective for some communities to encourage homeowners to control stormwater runoff at the parcel level instead of, or in conjunction with more traditional large, infrastructural best management practices (BMP). We go onto argue that in the absence of a strict regulatory cap, an auction is a cost-effective tool for implementing controls on stormwater runoff quantity at the parcel level. In this paper, we test the effectiveness of a procurement auction as the coordinating mechanism for encouraging installation of parcel-scale rain gardens and rain barrels within a small suburban watershed in the Midwest. The auction, which was conducted in spring 2007 and 2008, resulted in installation of 81 gardens and 165 barrels on 107 of the 350 eligible properties. Average cost per liter of runoff detention in both years was $0.36 for gardens and $0.59 for barrels. Interestingly, approximately 55% of the bids were for $0, suggesting that an educational campaign may result in substantial runoff mitigation if utilities paid for the installation of stormwater management practices. However, we found that an auction promoted more participation than education alone and at a cheaper per-unit control cost than a flat stormwater control payment plan. Overall, this study demonstrates that relatively minimal financial incentives can result in homeowners’ willingness-to-accept stormwater management practices on their property, thus opening an important avenue for retrofitting watersheds that are largely in private ownership.