Barriers and guidelines for public policies on climate change adaptation: A missed opportunity of scientific knowledge‐brokerage

Progress in formulating and implementing effective adaptation policies is often hampered by a wide variety of barriers that are well documented in the literature. Among the barriers are lack of awareness, certainty, resources and political commitment. Since these and other barriers can be overcome (e.g., by raising awareness, closing knowledge gaps, and increasing resources), numerous decision‐support frameworks (mainly written guidelines) have been developed for this purpose. The present paper takes stock of both the barriers in adaptation policymaking, as documented in the literature, and the guidelines that aim to facilitate public policies on climate change adaptation. It then compares to what degree selected adaptation guidelines serve as knowledge‐brokerage tools that provide guidance on how to overcome the barriers addressed in the scientific literature. The comparison shows that adaptation guidelines address barriers of adaptation policymaking neither comprehensively nor systematically. Since most adaptation guidelines focus on (subjective) experiences with good practices than on empirical research findings, we conclude that they represent a missed opportunity of scientific knowledge‐brokerage in climate change adaptation.     

Road Traffic Pollution Monitoring and Modelling Tools and the UK National Air Quality Strategy

This paper provides an assessment of the tools required to fulfil the air quality management role now expected of local authorities within the UK. The use of a range of pollution monitoring tools in assessing air quality is discussed and illustrated with evidence from a number of previous studies of urban background and roadside pollution monitoring in Leicester. A number of approaches to pollution modelling currently available for deployment are examined. Subsequently, the modelling and monitoring tools are assessed against the requirements of local authorities establishing air quality management areas. Whilst the paper examines UK-based policy, the study is of wider international interest.     

Community knowledge networks: an action-orientated approach to energy research

The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to reducing carbon emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. With household emissions constituting more than a quarter of current total energy use in the UK, energy practices in the home have taken on increased policy attention. In this paper, we argue that the UK government's approach is founded upon a variant of methodological individualism that assumes that providing greater energy information to individuals will effect behaviour change in relation to energy use. Such an approach is potentially limited in its effectiveness and does not afford appropriate recognition to all those affected by energy policy. In contrast to this approach, we set out an alternative perspective, a community knowledge networks approach to energy and justice which recognises the contexts and relationships in which people live and use energy. Such an approach emphasises situated knowledge and practices in order to gain a greater understanding of how individuals and communities use energy, but, importantly, offers a means for affording greater recognitional justice to different social groups.     

Technical assessment and public perception of environmental issues: the case of the Municipality of Pisa

The different approach of specialists and general public to environmental topics has often led to contrasting positions. After decades of strong debate, however, there seems to be a growing agreement on the need for overcoming a mere contraposition in favour of an integration of opinions. This paper aims to contribute to the topic by shifting the setting into the urban environment, through the case of Pisa Municipality, Italy. It compares the scenarios described by the latest State of the Environment Report – expression of the technical evaluation – with the perception of citizens measured by a direct survey. Results were first used to investigate any disagreements about quality of environmental matrices, entity of pressures exerted on them and characteristics of determinants. They were then used to identify the range where the integration of the two positions might be pursued and finally collect, in view of future policies, indications on locally adoptable key factors and strategies.     

Vernacular knowledge and environmental law: cause and cure for regulatory failure

The Australian environment and agriculture is suffering from land degradation and declining biodiversity. Laws protecting native vegetation are aimed at addressing these problems but have been resisted by farmers, compromising the social agreement necessary for regulatory success. A case study drawing on farmer interviews in central northern New South Wales reveals that the laws are considered to be under-achieving environmental outcomes since they are ill-suited to local conditions. The low feasibility of the rules is also undermining rule and state legitimacy. Regulatory resistance is due to the lack of recognition of place-specifics by government and laws that impose universal requirements. There is an epistemic distance between the bureaucratic knowledge held by government and the vernacular knowledge (place-based knowledge) of heterogeneous environments held by farmers. Incorporating vernacular knowledge so that laws are more geographically sympathetic may close vernacular disjunctures and cure regulatory failure.     

Participatory Approach for Rapid Assessment of Plant Diversity through a Folk Classification System in a Tropical Rainforest: Case Study in Xishuangbanna, China

Abstract:  Rural indigenous people are often very knowledgeable about plant and animal species, including their identification and ecology. The use of indigenous knowledge has increasingly attracted attention in scientific circles. The Dai people, a dominant nationality in southwestern Yunnan, China, have developed their own traditional plant classification system. In a case study in Xishuangbanna, we compared the differences in number of plant species identified between scientific and Dai folk classification. The Dai people identified more than 80% of the plant species, and the correspondence between folk and scientific plant species was 87.7%. Our results indicate that folk plant classification could be used in rapid assessment of plant species in certain regions. The use of folk systems of plant classification for rapid biodiversity assessment will contribute to conservation of both indigenous knowledge and regional biodiversity.     

Redressing cultural erosion and ecological decline in a far North Queensland aboriginal community (Australia): the Aurukun ethnobiology database project

Traditional environmental knowledge (usually imparted orally) is being lost from many regions of the world, requiring novel forms of transmission if this situation is to be redressed. Loss of this knowledge may be a significant contributory factor towards ecological decline. Undoubtedly, disruption to ecosystems and societies that depend on these has impacted on traditional land management practices, with negative ramifications for biodiversity. From an environmental perspective, scientists in northern Australia need to understand traditional Aboriginal methods of ‘caring for country’, such as burning regimes, so that these can be incorporated into strategies today for maintaining Australia’s rich biodiversity. However, information exchange should be two-way: as well as learning from local people, science can in turn benefit people who may have little experience of, for example, invasive species. The challenge is how can the complexity of biological knowledge from within different ontologies be represented and integrated in a way that it can be of use to scientists and local people, in order to ensure a sustainable future? The main aim of this study was to record existing local knowledge of biodiversity for the community of Aurukun (far north Queensland), integrating this knowledge with scientific data, while giving parity to both knowledge systems and protecting intellectual property rights. A cross-cultural collaboration between community members and ethnobiologists resulted in development of the Aurukun Ethnobiology Database. An interdisciplinary approach was taken to effectively model autochthonous biological knowledge and scientific data to create a database with a number of practical applications.     

Screening for a new Streptomyces strain capable of e cient keratin degradation

Keratinous wastes could be degraded by some microorganisms in nature. Native human foot skin （NHFS） was used as sole nitrogen source to screen microorganisms with keratin-degrading capability. From approximately 200 strains, a strain of Streptomyces sp. strain No. 16 was found to possess the strongest keratinolytic activity, and the total activity in the culture was 110 KU/ml with specific activity of 2870 KU/mg protein （KU： keratinase unit）. Substrate specificity test indicated that the crude keratinase could degrade keratin azure, human hair, cock feathers and collagen. The optimal pH of the crude keratinase ranged from 7.5 to 10 and the temperature ranged from 40℃ to 55℃. Metal chelating agent ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid obviously stimulated the keratinolytic activity but suppressed the proteolytic activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report on specific induction of keratinases by NHFS from an actinomycete. Moreover, excellent characteristics of its crude keratinase may lead to the potential application in waste treatment and recovery, poultry and leather industry, medicine, and cosmetic development.     

福州大学生环境公众参与意愿调查研究——以福州大学城部分高校为例

环境公众参与意愿调查研究是公众环境教育的重要组成部分之一,本文针对福州大学城部分在校大学生的环境知识、意识及行为进行问卷调查,分析得出福州大学生环境公众参与意愿的程度,从而进一步探索如何使大学生环境意识真正内化为自觉环境保护行动,为提高大学生在环境保护公众参与方面提出有意义的对策和建议。     

电网应急预案知识图谱构建方法与应用*

为提高电网应急预案知识的检索效率以及电网事故的处置效率,提出电网应急预案知识图谱的构建方法。首先,以电网自然灾害和大面积停电事件应急预案为数据源,分析电网应急预案知识内容体系框架;其次,采用基于规则与基于深度学习的知识抽取方式对应急预案进行知识抽取,并基于Neo4j图数据库对电网应急预案知识进行存储和可视化展示;最后,以某市大面积停电事件应急响应为例,分析电网应急预案知识图谱在实际案例中的有效性。研究结果表明:所构建电网应急预案知识图谱可对电网突发事故进行辅助决策,从而缩短应急决策时间,提高电网事故的应急处置效率。