The adaptive capacity of institutions in the spatial planning,water, agriculture and nature sectors in the Netherlands

The climate change problem calls for a continuously responding society. This raises the question: Do our institutions allow and encourage society to continuously adapt to climate change? This paper uses the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW) to assess the adaptive capacity of formal and informal institutions in four sectors in the Netherlands: spatial planning, water, agriculture and nature. Formal institutions are examined through an assessment of 11 key policy documents and informal institutions are analysed through four case studies covering each sector. Based on these ACW analyses, both sector-specific and more general strengths and weaknesses of the adaptive capacity of institutions in the Netherlands are identified. The paper concludes that the most important challenge for increasing institutional adaptive capacity lies in combining decentralized, participatory approaches with more top-down methods that generate leadership (visions, goals) standards, instruments, resources and monitoring.     

Awareness of environmental legislation as a deterrent for wildlife crime: A case with Masaai pastoralists,poison use and the Kenya Wildlife Act

Illegal wildlife crime is a global phenomenon, accelerating the ongoing biodiversity crisis. In the Old World, and particularly in Africa, illegal use of poisons to eliminate carnivores is the main driver of the continental vulture crisis. Knowledge about the underlying source and drivers of this threat is lacking for most areas, including Kenya, a global vulture and biodiversity hotspot. An extensive questionnaire survey of over 1300 respondents was run, using a specialized questioning technique and quantitative analytical approaches. Results show that, while pastoralists have a positive attitude towards vultures, over 20% of them use poisons to eliminate predators. Poisoning was largely driven by livestock losses to predators, and by negative attitude towards predators. Poisoning was less prevalent among respondents aware of the Kenya Wildlife Act. Overall, we suggest that a combination of top-down, e.g. legislation, and bottom-up (such as corrals or compensation) along with awareness campaigns may help reduce poisoning on the ground.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01695-8.     

Trends in summer sulphate in Europe

A trend analysis of the sulphate concentration in Europe in the summer half-year was performed. Data from various measuring networks were analysed, but only stations with quality assured sampling methods and a record of more than 10 years were included in the study. 1978 served as the reference year for the trend, because in that year most stations started operation. The relatively dense network in Belgium provided the most valuable data, as evidenced by the fact that two sites at a distance of only 10 km apart correlated better than 95% over a month. The two sites also show a correlation of better than 90% over a season with two other stations at distances of 45 and 95 km. The relative decrease in summer-sulphate at the four stations in Belgium, as analysed by linear regression, was 3.3% per year which corresponds to an absolute decrease of 0.42 μgm⁻³ per year. In the Netherlands the average yearly decrease in summer-sulphate at two stations was 3.5% (−0.34 μgm⁻³). In other countries stations were further apart or only a single site wits in use, which limits the representativeness of the data. In northwestern Germany, a region with several monitoring stations, a yearly averaged decrease of 3.0% occurred. The lower absolute decrease (0.25 μgm⁻³) per year compared to that in the two neighbouring countries reflects the lower summer-time sulphate concentrations. In the remainder of Germany the average decrease was 1.6%. In South-Scandinavia the yearly relative decrease at two sites was 2.6% (0.13 μgm⁻³ absolute). There was no significant trend in the U.K. Al the Polish station the levels increased, it decreased at the Hungarian and Austrian station and remained constant at the Czechoslovakian site. Reasons for omission of the data from France from the trend analysis are discussed.     

University engagement and regional sustainability initiatives: some Danish experiences

With an outset in ‘sustainability’ defined as a continuous process requiring balance between (the emergence of) problems and our ability and capability to solve them using four distinct capitals available, i.e. natural, production, human and intellectual, and social capital, a model of universities as factories is used. The model suggests that the most notable products of a university being graduates, and knowledge in the form of books, journal articles etc., i.e. human and intellectual capital. As a consequence, these are also the most important impacts from a university. Using the case of Aalborg University, Denmark, the linkages (actual, potential and missing) between academic work in research and education and sustainability initiatives are explored. The focus is both on the university's core activities as a provider of research and education and on the university's activities as an organisation, i.e. its own operation and its accounting for this. It is suggested that systematic engagement activities could benefit both the university's ability to manage internal university processes (by learning from its peers) and its ability to produce the right graduates and knowledge. As a consequence, the main societal benefit would be the ability to better cope with emerging problems endangering the sustainable development of our societies. It is concluded that Aalborg University with its long tradition for project-based and problem-oriented learning in fact has every opportunity to be able to lead by example and become the link to sustainability.     

Dealing with uncertainty in collaborative planning: developing adaptive strategies for the IJsselmeer

Adaptive strategies to deal with uncertainty in water management are often collaboratively developed. So far, however, little attention has been paid to the influence of collaboration on handling uncertainty through adaptive planning. In this paper, we study how collaboration has influenced the handling of uncertainty through adaptive planning for water management strategies for the IJsselmeer area in the Netherlands. We show how a fixation on certainty, different perspectives among actors and unclear responsibilities between arenas affect the handling of uncertainty, and found that it is adversely affected by collaboration. The use of adaptive planning challenged current water uses and system functions, creating resistance from actors. We conclude that developing a shared problem perception, creating a common understanding of uncertainties and ensuring a clear demarcation between the water system, its societal functions and water usage, are necessary to make adaptive planning successful in handling uncertainty.     

First record of plicidentine in Synapsida and patterns of tooth root shape change in Early Permian sphenacodontians

Recent histological studies have revealed a diversity of dental features in Permo-Carboniferous tetrapods. Here, we report on the occurrence of plicidentine (infolded dentine around the base of the tooth root) in Sphenacodontia, the first such documentation in Synapsida, the clade that includes mammals. Five taxa were examined histologically, Ianthodon schultzei, Sphenacodon ferocior, Dimetrodon limbatus, Dimetrodon grandis, and Secodontosaurus obtusidens. The tooth roots of Ianthodon possess multiple folds, which is generally viewed as the primitive condition for amniotes. Sphenacodon and D. limbatus have distinctive “four-leaf clover”-shaped roots in cross section, whereas Secodontosaurus has an elongate square shape with only subtle folding. The most derived and largest taxon examined in this study, D. grandis, has rounded roots in cross section and therefore no plicidentine. This pattern of a loss of plicidentine in sphenacodontids supports previous functional hypotheses of plicidentine, where teeth with shallow roots require folds to increase the area of attachment to the tooth-bearing element, whereas teeth with long roots do not. This pattern may also reflect differences in diet between co-occurring sphenacodontids as well as changes in feeding niche through time, specifically in the apex predator Dimetrodon.     

Critical Loads of Acidity for Surface Waters in South-Central Ontario, Canada: Regional Application of the First-Order Acidity Balance (FAB) Model

Major sulphur emission control programs have been implemented in North America, resulting in current emissions being ～30% less than those in 1980. However, the level of acidic deposition remaining is still unlikely to promote widespread recovery of aquatic ecosystems. The First-order Acidity Balance (FAB) model has been applied to south-central Ontario (285 lakes in the Muskoka River Catchment) to evaluate the need for further reductions in emissions. As a result of the past decline in deposition, the proportion of lakes with critical loads exceedance has dropped substantially; however, further reductions in sulphur and nitrogen emissions are required to eliminate critical loads exceedance. Based on bulk deposition of sulphate and nitrogen (41.1 mmol_c m^-2 yr^-1 and 62.5 mmol_c m^-2 yr^-1, respectively) for the period 1995–1999, 166 lakes (58.3%) exceedcritical loads. Even with full implementation of SO₂ abatementprograms in Canada (achieved in 1994) and the United States (legislated for 2010), critical loads will be exceeded in a large proportion (46.6%) of the study lakes.     

Effects of Regional Reductions in Sulphur Deposition on the Chemical and Biological Recovery of Lakes within Killarney Park, Ontario, Canada

The lakes in KillarneyProvincial Park, located 40–60 km southwest ofSudbury, Ontario, were some of the first lakesin North America to be acidified by atmosphericpollutants. Acidification affected thousandsof fish and invertebrate populations in dozensof lakes. Since the 1970's, water quality hasimproved in response to atmospheric pollutionreductions and some lakes have alreadyrecovered to approximately their pre-industrialpH levels, as inferred from diatom microfossilsin lake sediments. Since the 1970's, fishspecies richness has not changed substantially,but zooplankton species richness has increasedin acidified lakes. The critical sulphur load,the amount of SO₂-derived acid depositionthat can occur while still maintaining suitable water quality, was estimated to beexceeded in 38% of the park area in 1997. Depending on which of four possible NorthAmerican emission control scenarios (CLR =currently legislated reduction; CLR + 25%; CLR+ 50%; CLR + 75%) is achieved by 2010, theprojected critical loads will be exceeded inabout 0-30% of the park area in the future. There are many factors that can affectbiological recovery rates of damaged lakes, butit is expected that biological recovery willlag considerably behind observed chemicalrecovery rates.