Governing local sustainability

This paper draws upon the DISCUS (Developing Institutional and Social Capacity for Sustainable Development) research project, co-funded by the European Commission. The project was undertaken during 2001 – 2004 and involved an in-depth study of 40 European towns and cities in order to understand the institutional and social factors and conditions that might contribute to policy ‘achievement' or ‘failure' in local sustainable development policy and practice. Based on the findings of this research it proposes a conceptual framework for local sustainable development, linking the concepts of institutional capital, social capital and governance to provide a model for understanding the governing of local sustainability. The research shows that in those cases that exhibit sustainable development policy achievements, there are also greater levels of civil society activity and knowledge regarding sustainability issues, and high levels of institutional capacity. Confident local government is crucial to the development of institutional capacity and to institutional learning. One aspect of this is local authorities being equipped to address the longer-term issues and to have a strategic vision for a sustainable future.     

An equivalence factor between CO2 avoidedemissions and sequestration – description andapplications in forestry

Concern about the issue of permanence andreversibility of the effects of carbon sequestrationhas led to the need to devise accounting methods thatquantify the temporal value of storing carbon that hasbeen actively sequestered or removed from theatmosphere, as compared to carbon stored as a resultof activities taken to avoid emissions. This paperdescribes a method for accounting for the atmosphericeffects of sequestration-based land-use projects inrelation to the duration of carbon storage. Firstly,the time period over which sequestered carbon shouldbe stored in order to counteract the radiative forcingeffect of carbon emissions was calculated, based onthe residence time and decay pattern of atmosphericCO₂, its Absolute Global Warming Potential. Thistime period was called the equivalence time, andwas calculated to be approximately 55 years. From thisequivalence time, the effect of storage of 1 tCO₂ for 1 year was derived, and found to besimilar to preventing the effect of the emission of0.0182 tCO₂. Potential applications of thistonne.year figure, here called the equivalencefactor, are then discussed in relation to theestimation of atmospheric benefits over time ofsequestration-based land use projects.     

Critical Review on the Public Health Impact of Norovirus Contamination in Shellfish and the Environment: A UK Perspective

We review the risk of norovirus (NoV) infection to the human population from consumption of contaminated shellfish. From a UK perspective, risk is apportioned for different vectors of NoV infection within the population. NoV spreads mainly by person-to-person contact or via unsanitary food handling. NoV also enters the coastal zone via wastewater discharges resulting in contamination of shellfish waters. Typically, NoV persists in the marine environment for several days, with its presence strongly linked to human population density, wastewater discharge rate, and efficacy of wastewater treatment. Shellfish bioaccumulate NoV and current post-harvest depuration is inefficient in its removal. While NoV can be inactivated by cooking (e.g. mussels), consumption of contaminated raw shellfish (e.g. oysters) represents a risk to human health. Consumption of contaminated food accounts for 3–11% of NoV cases in the UK (~74,000 cases/year), of which 16% are attributable to oyster consumption (11,800 cases/year). However, environmental and human factors influencing NoV infectivity remain poorly understood. Lack of standard methods for accurate quantification of infective and non-infective (damaged) NoV particles represent a major barrier, hampering identification of an appropriate lower NoV contamination limit for shellfish. Future management strategies may include shellfish quality assessment (at point of harvest or at point of supply) or harvesting controls. However, poor understanding of NoV inactivation in shellfish and the environment currently limits accurate apportionment and risk assessment for NoV and hence the identification of appropriate shellfish or environmental quality standards.