The Dynamics of Justification in Policy Reform: Insights from Water Policy Debates in Ireland

Policy reform can be complex and fraught with contending arguments. Although much research has been conducted into the politics of coalition formation, less attention has been devoted to legitimating logics in policy reform. Drawing on the work of Boltanski and Thévenot, this exploratory study addresses this deficit by examining the influence of justifications deployed in policy debates. The paper analyses the role of shifting reasoning in contentious debates concerning attempts to reform water policy, including the introduction of domestic water charges in Ireland. Employing data from parliamentary deliberations, the paper traces the changing forms of justification used by those favouring and opposing the reforms. This examination suggests the importance of aligning an argument’s content with the shifting context into which it is introduced. The paper highlights the benefits of an investigative approach concerning policy justification for understanding policy reform dynamics at the intersection of politics and environmental communication.     

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food,energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.     

Emission factors of particulate matter,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,and levoglucosan from wood combustion in south-central Chile

In south-central Chile, wood stoves have been identified as an important source of air pollution in populated areas. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), Chilean oak (Nothofagus oblique), and mimosa (Acacia dealbata) were burned in a single-chamber slow-combustion wood stove at a controlled testing facility located at the University of Concepción, Chile. In each experiment, 2.7–3.1 kg of firewood were combusted while continuously monitoring temperature, exhaust gases, burn rate, and collecting particulate matter samples in Teflon filters under isokinetic conditions for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and levoglucosan analyses. Mean particulate matter emission factors were 2.03, 4.06, and 3.84 g/kg dry wood for eucalyptus, oak, and mimosa, respectively. The emission factors were inversely correlated with combustion efficiency. The mean emission factors of the sums of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particle phases were 1472.5, 2134.0, and 747.5 μg/kg for eucalyptus, oak, and mimosa, respectively. Fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, and chrysene were present in the particle phase in higher proportions compared with other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that were analyzed. Mean levoglucosan emission factors were 854.9, 202.3, and 328.0 mg/kg for eucalyptus, oak, and mimosa, respectively. Since the emissions of particulate matter and other pollutants were inversely correlated with combustion efficiency, implementing more efficient technologies would help to reduce air pollutant emissions from wood combustion.

Implications: Residential wood burning has been identified as a significant source of air pollution in populated areas. Local wood species are combusted for home cooking and heating, which releases several toxic air pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Air pollutant emissions depend on the type of wood and the technology and operational conditions of the wood stove. A better understanding of emissions from local wood species and wood stove performance would help to identify better biomass fuels and wood stove technologies in order to reduce air pollution from residential wood burning.     

石漠化治理区小尺度土地利用变化及其驱动机制分析——以花江石漠化治理区为例

研究石漠化治理区小尺度土地利用变化,将有助于深入分析和研究喀斯特地区土地利用变化的时空变化规律、驱动力及资源环境效应。运用逐步多元回归方法,分析石漠化治理区小尺度土地利用变化及其驱动机制。研究表明:(1)2005~2012年,研究区石漠化面积有所减少,由2 824.23 hm2减少到2 777.60 hm2,减少了46.63 hm2,占2005年石漠化面积的1.65%;石漠化程度呈现从重变轻的趋势,无石漠化和中度石漠化面积分别增加12.68%和3.08%,潜在石漠化、轻度石漠化和强度石漠化分别减少5.11%、2.07%和5.24%。其中,稳定型石漠化区域面积最大,占喀斯特面积的95.40%;土地利用变化面积比重为1.15%,土地利用较为稳定。恢复型石漠化区域面积占喀斯特面积的3.95%;土地利用变化面积比重为40.64%,土地利用变化剧烈。退化型石漠化区域面积最小,仅占喀斯特面积的0.65%;土地利用变化面积比重为22.21%,土地利用变化较明显。(2)土地利用变化以园地减少为主要特征,其变化主要由农户的劳动力文化程度变化、劳动力比重变化、本地务工收入变化和外出务工收入变化等4个因子驱动产生。其中,园地变化与本地务工收入变化指数呈显著的正相关关系,回归系数为0.691;与劳动力文化程度变化指数、劳动力比重变化指数和外出务工收入变化指数呈显著的负相关关系,回归系数分别为-0.472、-9.735和-0.443。劳动力比重变化指数是引起园地发生变化的最主要驱动因子。(3)国家因生态文明建设需求而施行退耕还林(草)政策和工业化、城镇化战略,农户因脱贫致富需要而提高文化素质和调整从业行为,分别从宏观和微观两个层面促进石漠化治理区的劳动力转移和产业转型,进而共同驱动了石漠化治理区的土地利用变化。     

洞庭湖湿地土壤持水能力及其影响因素研究

土壤持水能力是反映土壤调节水文和供给植物耗水的重要指标,受土壤有机质、容重、机械组成和植物地下生物量的直接或间接影响。与森林和农田生态系统相比,湿地土壤持水能力关注较少。于2010年12月,对洞庭湖湿地3种主要植被（苔草、芦苇和杨树）土壤持水能力、土壤理化性质和地下生物量进行了调查,并采用主成分分析对影响土壤持水能力的主要环境因子进行了分析。结果表明：除非毛管孔隙度外,3种植被上层土壤的总孔隙度、毛管孔隙度、田间持水量和含水量差异显著,均为苔草＞芦苇=杨树,而中、下层无显著差异。沙粒为苔草≥杨树≥芦苇,而粗粉粒、细粉粒和粘粒均为杨树≥芦苇≥苔草;容重为杨树≥芦苇＞苔草,有机质为苔草=芦苇＞杨树。各级别生物量在植被类型大小顺序不一：总地下生物量、0～1 mm和＞5 mm径级地下生物量均以芦苇最大,而1～5 mm径级地下生物量则以苔草最大。主成分分析表明,上层土壤,容重、有机质和1～5 mm径级地下生物量是影响其持水能力的主要因素,而中层土壤和下层土壤,环境因子对土壤持水能力的影响很小。此研究对于洞庭湖生物多样性保护和湿地管理政策的制定具有重要意义     

The status of mammal populations in the middle Urals and factors determining their distribution and density

Changes in the distribution and abundance of some game mammals have been analyzed over the past 100–150 years. Correlations between changes in the population density of species in slightly and strongly transformed habitats have been revealed, which show that the influence of anthropogenic factors on the population density of species has a highly complex pattern. Transformation of habitats leads to disturbances in the species composition of communities, changes in the population density of species, and disruption of functional relationships between them.     

Stable carbon isotope ratio in xylotrophic fungi and their substrates

Data on the ratio of stable carbon isotopes in xylotrophic fungi and their xylic substrates are presented for the first time. It is shown that coniferous substrates are more enriched in the heavy carbon isotope, compared to deciduous substrates. In both cases, however, their carbon isotope composition is characterized by low variability and does not correlate with the species or physiological type of decomposer fungus but shows a statistically significant correlation with the degree of wood mineralization. The ratio of stable carbon isotopes in the fungi depends on that in their substrates but is shifted in favor of the heavier isotope. This trophic shift lacks species specificity, is equally manifested in decomposers of deciduous and coniferous substrates, remains unchanged along the latitudinal climatic gradient, and is positively correlated with the carbon isotope composition of substrates, in the absence of correlation with the degree of their mineralization.     

Impact of urban anthropogenic pollution on seed production,morphological and biochemical characteristics of chamomile,Matricaria chamomila L.

It has been shown that the growth of technogenic dust pollution is accompanied by the accumulation of heavy metals in soil and plant phytomass, compared to the control, and that the morphometric and reproductive characteristics of Matricaria chamomila are most sensitive to the impact of these pollutants. The response of plants is manifested in increased variation in morphological characters, mobilization of compensatory protective biochemical mechanisms, and production of more viable seed progeny.     

Pathways of rural change: an integrated assessment of metabolic patterns in emerging ruralities

While rural transformations are nothing new in human history, current processes of rural change occur under multiple forces at an unprecedented pace, involving profound and unexpected changes in land use and users, and rapid transformations in the metabolic patterns of rural systems. The present special section aims to shed light on current drivers and pathways of rural change by analyzing, under a common conceptual and theoretical framework, examples of new ruralities that are emerging as responses across different world regions. Within this context, this introduction presents: (1) common research questions of the six presented cases of rural change; (2) the general theoretical and methodological framework of integrated assessment of societal metabolism adopted to analyze rural systems and (3) the main contributions and conclusions that could be drawn from six context-specific case studies from Asia, Latin America and Europe.