Methods for integrated assessment

Integrated assessment is an approach that seeks to involve all disciplines in policy-relevant assessment. The process aims to encompass environmental science, technology and policy problems. The aim is to establish an overview of the environmental issue in question that attempts to avoid the mistakes of the past associated with narrow, one-sided or unidimensional approaches. A number of methods are available for such assessments. However, they are also subject to a number of limitations, difficulties and dilemmas. Integrated methods are inherently complicated and the tradition is that only experts are involved. New more inclusionary procedures have to be devised in order to involve all stakeholders. They have to be involved in the framing of the issue and in the value judgements associated with the approach. The dilemmas cannot be solved by integrated approaches, but they can be mitigated via proper identification, analysis and evaluation of the gains and losses involved. In structuring the analysis the existence of ignorance has to be accounted for and communicated to the managers and the political decision makers. The ignorance/uncertainty aspects can be partially accommodated for via an intensification of feasible monitoring and research so as to minimise the risks of unpleasant surprises. Electronic Publication     

Measuring the linkage between strategies on sustainability and institutional forces: an empirical study of Spanish universities

Policy documents are commonly identified as key outcomes that guide initiatives directed by senior university leaders towards sustainability through plans and policies. Many studies have called for a more integration of sustainability into universities. Nevertheless, the interest in sustainability issues has been more recent in the specific case of Spain. This study analyses the strategic plans developed by Spanish universities in the last decade with two different aims: first, we examine the extent to which Spanish universities are incorporating strategies on sustainability. The second goal evaluates whether the presence of strategies on sustainability in Spanish universities could be associated with coercive and mimetic pressures. Findings indicate the low presence of strategies on sustainability in Spanish universities. Moreover, the results seem to suggest that the presence of strategies on sustainability in Spanish universities could be linked with coercive and mimetic pressures emanating from the State performance funding for universities. The results indicate that universities usually incorporate practices and strategies on sustainability as a response of the pressure exerted by institutional forces, such as the funding systems of higher education institutions.     

Barriers to Renewable Energy Development on Brownfields

Brownfields that are reused for the generation of renewable energy are called brightfields. This rapidly emerging idea advocates the combination sustainable site reuse and the generation of electricity from renewables. While programmes like the RE-Powering America's Land Initiative herald its benefits, academia knows but little of its barriers and challenges. This study aims to examine the technical/environmental, regulator/financial/institutional, and social barriers to this type of development, along with measures that may address them. The barriers and measures were predominately identified via a qualitative and quantitative survey sent to brightfield developers (experts), along with a review of case studies and the emerging brightfield literature. The study found that environmental/technical barriers only differ from ‘conventional’ renewable energy projects (e.g. on Greenfields) in the event of site contamination. The latter then is what makes brightfields unique and is the source for a myriad of challenges concerning risk and liability, which cause financial problems and investment hesitance. However, evidence conjectures that there is less contextual public opposition to brightfields compared to conventional renewable energy.     

Source apportionment of PM2.5 for supporting control strategies in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area,Mexico

The Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) in Northeast Mexico has shown high PM_2.5 concentrations since 2003. The data shows that the annual average concentration exceeds from 2 to 3 times the Mexican PM_2.5 annual air quality standard of 12 µg/m³. In a previous work we studied the chemical characterization of PM_2.5 in two sites of the MMA during the winter season. Among the most important components we found ammonium sulfate and nitrate, elemental and organic carbon, and crustal matter. In this work we present the results of a second chemical characterization study performed during the summer time and the application of the chemical mass balance (CMB) model to determine the source apportionment of air pollutants in the region. The chemical analysis results show that the chemical composition of PM_2.5 is similar in both sites and periods of the year. The results of the chemical analysis and the CMB model show that industrial, traffic, and combustion activities in the area are the major sources of primary PM_2.5 and precursor gases of secondary inorganic and organic aerosol (SO₂, NOx, NH₃, and volatile organic compounds [VOCs]). We also found that black carbon and organic carbon are important components of PM_2.5 in the MMA. These results are consistent with the MMA emission inventory that reports as major sources of particles and SO₂ a refinery and fuel combustion, as well as nitrogen oxides and ammonium from transportation and industrial activities in the MMA and ammonium form agricultural activities in the state. The results of this work are important to identify and support effective actions to reduce direct emissions of PM_2.5 and its precursor gases to improve air quality in the MMA. Implications: The Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) has been classified as the most air-polluted area in Mexico by the World Health Organization (WHO). Effective actions need to be taken to control primary sources of PM_2.5 and its precursors, reducing health risks on the population exposed and their associated costs. The results of this study identify the main sources and their estimated contribution to PM_2.5 mass concentration, providing valuable information to the local environmental authorities to take decisions on PM_2.5 control strategies in the MMA.     

Utilizing international networks for accelerating research and learning in transformational sustainability science

A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions of a particular place, such as problem features and solution capabilities, and adopt and adapt solutions developed at other places around the world. Therefore, research and teaching in international networks becomes critical, as it allows for accelerating learning by sharing problem understandings, successful solutions, and important contextual considerations. This article identifies eight distinct types of research and teaching collaborations in international networks that can support such accelerated learning. The four research types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) solution adoption; (2) solution consultation; (3) joint research on different problems; and (4) joint research on similar problems. The four teaching types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) adopted course; (2) course with visiting faculty; (3) joint course with traveling faculty; and (4) joint course with traveling students. The typology is illustrated by extending existing research and teaching projects on urban sustainability in the International Network of Programs in Sustainability, with partner universities from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The article concludes with challenges and strategies for extending individual projects into collaborations in international networks.     

Climate change,multiple stressors and human vulnerability: a systematic review

We systematically reviewed current climate change literature in order to examine how multiple processes that affect human vulnerability have been studied. Of the 125 reviewed articles, 79 % were published after 2009. There are numerous concepts that point out to stressors other than climate change that were used in reviewed studies. These different concepts were used interchangeably, and they illustrate processes that act on different scales. Most widely used concepts included non-climatic (40 % of the articles), multiple stressors (38 %) and other factors (37 %). About 75 % of the studies either acknowledged or carefully analyzed the social and environmental context in which vulnerability is experienced. One-third of the studies recognized climate change-related stressors as the most important, one-third argued that stressors other than climate are more important, and the rest of the studies did not analyze the relative importance of the different processes. Interactions between different stressors were mentioned in 76 % and analyzed explicitly in 28 % of the articles. Our review shows that there are studies that analyze the social context of vulnerability within climate change-related literature and this literature is rapidly expanding. Reviewed studies point out that there are multiple interacting stressors, whose interlinkages need to be carefully analyzed and targeted by policies, which integrate adaptation to climate change and other stressors. In conclusion, we suggest that future studies should include analytical frameworks that reflect dissimilarities between different types of stressors, methodological triangulation to identify key stressors and analysis of interactions between multiple stressors across different scales.     

Predictive models of turbidity and water depth in the Doñana marshes using Landsat TM and ETM+ images

We have used Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ images together with simultaneous ground-truth data at sample points in the Doñana marshes to predict water turbidity and depth from band reflectance using Generalized Additive Models. We have point samples for 12 different dates simultaneous with 7 Landsat-5 and 5 Landsat-7 overpasses. The best model for water turbidity in the marsh explained 38% of variance in ground-truth data and included as predictors band 3 (630–690 nm), band 5 (1550–1750 nm) and the ratio between bands 1 (450–520 nm) and 4 (760–900 nm). Water turbidity is easier to predict for water bodies like the Guadalquivir River and artificial ponds that are deep and not affected by bottom soil reflectance and aquatic vegetation. For the latter, a simple model using band 3 reflectance explains 78.6% of the variance. Water depth is easier to predict than turbidity. The best model for water depth in the marsh explains 78% of the variance and includes as predictors band 1, band 5, the ratio between band 2 (520–600 nm) and band 4, and bottom soil reflectance in band 4 in September, when the marsh is dry. The water turbidity and water depth models have been developed in order to reconstruct historical changes in Doñana wetlands during the last 30 years using the Landsat satellite images time series.     

Long-Term Changes in Game Species Over a Long Period of Transformation in the Iberian Mediterranean Landscape

Agricultural change has transformed large areas of traditional farming landscapes, leading to important changes in the species community assemblages in most European countries. We suspect that the drastic changes in land-use that have occurred in Andalusia (southern Spain) over recent decades, may have affected the distribution and abundance of game species in this region. This article compares the distribution of the main game species in Andalusia during the 1960s and 1990s, using data from maps available from the Mainland Spanish Fish, Game and National Parks Service and from recent datasets on hunting yield distributions, respectively. Big-game and small-game species were significantly segregated in southern Spain during the 1990s, as two clearly independent chorotypes (groups of species whose abundances are similarly distributed) were obtained from the classification analysis. In contrast, big-game and small-game species were not significantly segregated several decades ago, when there was only one chorotype consisting of small-game species and wild boar. The other three ungulates did not constitute a significant chorotype, as they showed positive correlations with some species in the group mentioned above. These changes seem to be a consequence of the transformations that have occurred in the Iberian Mediterranean landscape over the last few decades. The abandoning of traditional activities, and the consequent formation of dense scrubland and woodland, has led to an expansion of big-game species, and a decrease of small-game species in mountain areas. Moreover, agricultural intensification has apparently depleted small-game species populations in some agricultural areas. On the other hand, the increasingly intensive hunting management could be artificially boosting this segregation between small-game and big-game species. Our results suggest that the conservation and regeneration of traditional agricultural landscapes (like those predominating in the 1960s) should be a priority for the conservation of small-game species.     

Sediment integrative assessment of the Bay of Cádiz (Spain): An ecotoxicological and chemical approach

This study consisted of the sediment toxicity assessment of the Bay of Cádiz based on two endpoints: growth inhibition for Cylindrotheca closterium (benthic microalgae) and fecundity inhibition for Tisbe battagliai (harpacticoid copepod). A new methodology to eliminate (but not as storage technique) the autochthonous biota present in the sediment samples by immersing them in liquid nitrogen (? 196 °C) was also assessed. Sediment toxicity data showed different toxicity levels for both organisms. In general, T. battagliai was more sensitive; however a good correlation (r = 0.75; p  < 0.05) between sediment toxicity results for both species was found. Data in pore water (pH, redox potential, and toxicity for microalgae and copepod) and sediment (pH, redox potential, organic carbon, and metal concentrations) demonstrated that ultra-freezing did not alter sample characteristics; thus, this technique can be adopted as a pre-treatment in whole-sediment toxicity tests in order to avoid misleading results due to presence of autochthonous biota. Multivariate statistical analysis such as cluster and principal component analysis using chemical and ecotoxicological data were employed. Silt and organic matter percentage and lead concentration were found to be the factors that explain about 77% of sediment toxicity in the Bay of Cádiz. Assay methodology determined in this study for both assayed species is considered adequate to be used in sediment toxicity monitoring programs. Results obtained using both species show that the Bay of Cádiz can be considered a moderately polluted zone.