Grantocracy: Conservation grant-making and the territorialization of neoliberalism in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula

This paper uses the concept of “grantocracy” as an analytic to understand a form of governance through grant-making by state actors as one aspect of the reregulation wrought by neoliberalization of the state. We explore this idea through a case study of conservation grant making in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a highly rural and remote forestry-dependent economy. Grantocracy requires the disaggregation and rescaling of the public good, as grants are provided to address specific problems and provide single-purpose solutions. We found that while grants were intended for single purposes, in practice the use of partnerships and matching funds espoused by these programs resulted in funding programs being recombined in often conflicting and unstable ways. Moreover, limited transparency in the grant-making process restricted opportunities for public input and has helped to elide the role of the state in land conservation, undermining democratic environmental governance. This further promotes a neoliberal ideology that government is the problem, never the solution. Many of these difficulties, we conclude, arise from reliance upon the territorial strategy of private property to achieve land conservation goals.     

Area,length and thickness conservation: Dogma or reality?

The basic assumption of quantitative structural geology is the preservation of material during deformation. However the hypothesis of volume conservation alone does not help to predict past or future geometries and so this assumption is usually translated into bed length in 2D (or area in 3D) and thickness conservation. When subsurface data are missing, geologists may extrapolate surface data to depth using the kink-band approach. These extrapolations, preserving both thicknesses and dips, lead to geometries which are restorable but often erroneous, due to both disharmonic deformation and internal deformation of layers. First, the Bolivian Sub-Andean Zone case is presented to highlight the evolution of the concepts on which balancing is based, and the important role played by a decoupling level in enhancing disharmony. Second, analogue models are analyzed to test the validity of the balancing techniques. Chamberlin's excess area approach is shown to be on average valid. However, neither the length nor the thicknesses are preserved. We propose that in real cases, the length preservation hypothesis during shortening could also be a wrong assumption. If the data are good enough to image the decollement level, the Chamberlin excess area method could be used to compute the bed length changes.     

Viewpoint geosites — values,conservation and management issues

Viewpoint geosites are a specific category of geosites, defined as locations which allow for unobstructed observation of the surrounding landscape and comprehension of Earth history recorded in rocks, structures and landforms visible from this locality. They have been poorly addressed in literature so far and this paper, primarily based on field observations and literature review, aims to discuss their significance and associated management and geoeducation issues. Viewpoint geosites do not necessarily have an intrinsic value related to geology or geomorphology but offer a view towards features and areas which do have such values. The role of a viewpoint geosite may be played by both natural features such as tors, crags, mountain tops, cliff edges, as well as by man-made structures erected intentionally to provide panoramic views and converted to play such a role. Paradoxically, although viewpoint geosites are the most suitable places to develop landscape interpretation, any interpretation facilities may severely interfere with the natural scenery, spoiling the aesthetic qualities of the landscape. Publications and mobile applications are alternative means to develop interpretation programmes. As other types of geosites, viewpoint geosites require management strategies that should focus on sustaining the view by periodic removal of vegetation if necessary, getting right balance between on-site facilities and scenic values, preventing soil erosion, and ensuring visitor safety.     

Keeping the stress off the sheep? Agricultural intensification, neoliberalism, and ‘good’ farming in New Zealand

Under neoliberal schemes like audit systems, consumer demands born of concerns about food safety, the environment and animal welfare are theoretically poised to influence agricultural production systems (Campbell and Le Heron, 2007). Whether such influences might reverse or redirect the trend toward environmentally-damaging rampant productivism of the 20th century hinges in part on the subjective positions of farmers and the ways in which they inform how farmers respond to policy and market signals.In this paper we argue the need for a genuine engagement with both the complexities of farmer subjectivity and the interactions amongst farmer subjectivity and agro-ecologies, and animal bodies in particular. This paper presents a case study of sheep farmers on the South Island that reveals contestation and transitions in traditional markers of “good farming”, particularly animal health. We observe how such transitions arise from reconfigurations of the relationships between agro-ecological, political and social histories. In this paper’s formulation, neither state subsidies nor neoliberalism in agriculture is primary cause or ultimate effect of the transformation of agricultural practice. Rather, changes in the political economy expose contradictions in farmer subjectivities, the resolution of which may block or reinforce trends suggested by the political economy. We suggest that contested ideas about animal health within the social field of pastoral farming in New Zealand makes it possible that New Zealand’s sheep growers may take the high road of best environmental practice via highly audited environmental standards of production demanded by elite consumer markets, or that they may remain in the intensifying trajectory of continuing to drive the sheep’s body to its maximum possible intensity of production. The mixed legacy of neoliberal reform is that it has simultaneously enabled both of these contradictory trajectories in New Zealand pastoralism.     

Neoliberalizing environmental governance? Land trusts, private conservation and nature on the Oak Ridges Moraine

With recent changes in the ways that state agencies are implementing their environmental policies, the line between public and private is becoming increasingly blurred. This includes shifts from state-led implementation of environmental policies to conservation plans that are implemented and managed by multi-sectoral networks of governments, the private sector and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs). This paper examines land trusts as private conservation initiatives that become part of neoliberal governance arrangements and partnerships that challenge our conceptions of environmental preservation and democratic participation. The paper starts with an examination of the concept of neoliberalized environmental governance. Next, it addresses the shifting social constructions of property and land in the context of protecting large scale ecosystems. Through a case study of the extension of new environmental governance arrangements on the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, we examine the relationships that have formed between different levels of the state and environmental non-governmental organizations. Finally, we analyze the expansion of land trusts and private conservation initiatives that are predicated on private land ownership and the commodification of nature, the emerging discourses and practices of private conservation, and how these are implicated in the privatization and neoliberalization of nature.     

Post-colonial nature conservation in Southern Africa: same emperors, new clothes?

This paper analyses and evaluates the bordering and othering impacts of environmental geopolitical discourse on land conservation in Southern Africa. Through a theoretical in-depth analysis of the use and contents of the term conservation, this paper examines how conservation is determined, instrumentalized and interpreted by the state, international governmental and non-governmental institutions, and specific interest groups including neo-liberal capitalists and local communities especially in the developing world context. In particular, we discuss the impact of current transboundary park-like conservation practices in Southern Africa and how these feed into the continuous attempts to colonise Southern Africa's nature. Native Americans were not mistaken when they accused the Whites of having forked tongues. By separating the relations of political power from the relations of scientific reasoning while continuing to shore up power with reason and reason with power, the moderns have always had two irons in the fire. They have become invincible. (Latour, 1993, p. 38) Since most of us live in a hierarchical society, any discourse on wildlife tends to be about social relationships. Whom can we exclude from our Garden of Eden, and how can we keep `others' from trespassing on valuables that help sustain our life and livelihoods, if not our identities. Marks (1994, p. 120) ...it could be argued that binary divisions are deeply etched into social space and it is a deeper understanding of boundary erection and distancing that is required if we are to provide alternatives to exclusion and conflict (Sibley, 2001, p. 240).     

Contradictions at the confluence of commerce,consumption and conservation; or,an REI shopper camps in the forest,does anyone notice?

Leave No Trace (LNT) is a United States government educational program guiding outdoor recreationist behavior on public lands. The program consists of seven principles imploring outdoor enthusiasts to “enjoy the outdoors responsibly.” This essay employs a political ecology framework, comprised by critical consumption research and political economic analysis, to engage the LNT program across temporal and spatial scales. We illustrate, first, the impossibility of ’leaving no trace’ even when adhering to the program’s principles. Second, we describe how LNT minimizes local environmental impacts by displacing them to distant locations. Third, we illustrate how LNT obscures connections between the uses of outdoor products and their production and disposal impacts. Along with challenging notions of responsible recreation and ethical consumerism, a close examination of Leave No Trace reveals four mechanisms that produce and maintain program contradictions: the development of private-nonprofit alliances; the indirect enclosure of public conservation areas; the perpetuation of truncated notions of environmental citizenship; and the cultivation of ethical consumer subjects that shop at retail outlets like Recreation Equipment Incorporated (REI).     

Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage

This paper introduces the Special Issue of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association on ‘Valuing the Quaternary – Nature Conservation and Geoheritage’, arising from the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress in Dublin, in July 2019. It presents an overview of the values of Quaternary geoheritage, which merit recognition as an integral part of nature conservation, to protect priority sites and features for scientific research and education, and to deliver wider ecological, cultural and aesthetic benefits. The paper highlights the benefits of incorporating knowledge and understanding of Quaternary geoheritage for nature conservation and society. Palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeobiological archives are a key source of ecological and environmental data that allow learning from the past to help address contemporary conservation challenges such as biodiversity loss, anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Quaternary science plays a vital part in supporting the wider nature conservation agenda, including strengthening the role of protected and conserved areas in the sustainable management of natural capital and ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, marine conservation, nature restoration and recovery, connecting people and nature and informing nature-based solutions to threats faced by society. However, challenges remain to achieve protection of key geoheritage sites and landscapes globally, and to integrate better understanding of geodiversity in nature conservation research, policy development and practice to help address the twin crises facing nature conservation – biodiversity loss and climate change. Quaternary studies provide temporal and spatial perspectives to inform forward-looking nature conservation that is dynamic rather than static in outlook.     

“Yes to Peace”? Environmental peacemaking and transboundary conservation in Central America

The use of transboundary conservation as tools for improving interstate relations has become a widely supported initiative in nature conservation. The rationale follows the environmental peacemaking hypothesis, which argues that seemingly neutral environmental issues can provide a sound basis for cooperation between states. The paper investigates the hypothesis’ premise through the case of International System of Protected Areas for Peace (Si-A-Paz), a transboundary protected area shared by Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In recent years, both countries have been involved in a number of border conflicts within Si-A-Paz and linked to the use of the San Juan River, contested land areas, and oil resources. The case of Si-A-Paz shows that transboundary environmental issues can provide arguments for maintaining or even strengthening conflicts rather than fostering peace between states. The case also shows the emergence of environmental issues as a new arena for geopolitical play, where actors not only justify their actions through an environmental discourse but also, the environmental discourse is stretched to include a variety of issues through which actors can obtain international support. The events in Nicaragua and Costa Rica raise questions about the role of transboundary conservation as a peacebuilding tool.     

Recreation on public lands in New Zealand — past,present and future

Since the turn of the century, recreation has grown as a motivating force in public land administration. Today, the Department of Conservation manages approximately one third of New Zealand's outdoor recreation resources and has the mandate to foster the use of natural and historic resources for recreation, and to allow their use for tourism (Conservation Act 1987:8). This paper traces the emergence of a recreation perspective within public land administration and examines the development of a recreation philosophy and policy within the Department of Conservation. It suggests future directions for outdoor recreation management in New Zealand.     

Rebel with a cause? Iconography and public memory in the Southern United States

Recent years have witnessed debates in the American South between traditional white Southerners and African American Southerners over whether and how symbols from the region's two defining historical events – the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement – are displayed on the region's landscape. This paper examines the most contentious of these debates, the conflict over government sanction for flying the various flags of the Confederate States of America. This article first discusses the concepts of iconography and public memory, and then the role of Confederate flags in traditional white Southern iconography. We then examine four recent attempts in the states of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, and within the chambers of the U.S. Senate to remove government sanction for flying Confederate flags. We conclude from these debates that while icons can act as centripetal forces binding a people together, they can also emerge as centrifugal forces, further splitting apart a region's population along major cultural and racial divisions.     

Geoparks---geological attractions： A tool for public education, recreation and sustainable economic development

Within the framework of an international meeting, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 13 February 2004, the “Operational Guidelines for National Geoparks seeking UNESCO‘s assistance” and recommendations were presented in their final version.     

Why are flood and landslide victims less willing to take mitigation measures than the public?

Almost annually, natural hazards such as floods and landslides cause a great deal of financial loss and human suffering in Taiwan. In order to gain a better understanding of disaster preparedness, this paper examines several factors in relation to hazard mitigation behavior: social economic status (education, income), psychological vulnerability (sense of powerless and helpless), risk perception (perceived impact and control) and social trust. The statistical analysis reported here is based on the “2004 National Risk Perception Survey of Floods and Landslides in Taiwan”. The main findings include: (1) in comparison with general public, victims are less willing to adopt risk mitigation measures than the public, even though they perceive larger impacts, worry more about the hazard, and pay more attention to hazard information; (2) trust, risk perception and social economic status are positive predictors for mitigation intentions, whereas psychological vulnerability is a negative predictor; and (3) psychological variables are stronger predictors for mitigation intentions than that of socio-economic variables. In light of these findings, the policy implications and intervention strategy are also discussed.

Assessment of changes in the area of the water conservation forest in the Qilian Mountains of China’s Gansu province, and the effects on water conservation

The Qilian Mountains water conservation forest in Gansu province is an important ecological barrier surrounding the oasis in China’s Hexi Corridor. The water they provide is the basis for the existence and sustainable socioeconomic development of those oases. As a result of unsustainable use of the water conservation forest until the 1980s, the oasis ecosystems of the Hexi region were seriously damaged, and the oasis areas experienced deterioration of their ecological environment. In this paper, Landsat images were used to monitor the temporal and spatial changes in area of water conservation in Qilian Mountains of China’s Gansu province and to assess the effect on water conservation by analyzed relationship between water conservation forest area, climatic data and hydrological data. The results showed that the forest covered 15.1% of the study area in 2007 and has followed different trends during the study period. From 1978 to 1990, the forest area decreased; however, from 1990 to 2007, the forest area increased, with a faster rate of increase from 1990 to 2000, and the rate of increase averaged 2,733.89 ha per year since 1990. The water conservation forest appears to play an important role in flood control, runoff regulation, the prevention of soil erosion, and water conservation; and these benefits increase with an increasing area of forest.     

The Caledonian Structures of Shetland – Funzie and Norwick Geological Conservation Review sites

Locations at Funzie on the island of Fetlar, and at Norwick on the island of Unst contain excellent examples of structures relating to the Caledonian age disruption and emplacement of the Shetland Ophiolite Complex. The Caledonian age Shetland Ophiolite Complex contains exceptionally well developed and exposed sections of the lower parts of the characteristic ophiolite sequence, including layered gabbro, cumulates and mantle rock. Composed of two tectonic units (the Lower Nappe and Upper Nappe) each underlain by an imbricate zone, it is among the finest and most accessible examples of ophiolitic rocks in Europe. The sites at Funzie and Norwick have been selected to be part of the Caledonian Structures of Great Britain Geological Conservation Review (GCR) network, as the best examples in Britain of structures relating to Caledonian ophiolite disruption and emplacement. As the Funzie GCR site and the Norwick GCR site they form the Caledonian Structures of Shetland GCR block.Accounts of all other sites in the Caledonian Structures of Great Britain Geological Conservation Review (GCR) network are already published (Treagus, 1992). Accounts of the Caledonian Structures of Shetland GCR block sites are, therefore, presented in this paper to complete publication of the Caledonian Structures of Great Britain Geological Conservation Review (GCR) network.     

Reconstruction in Moscow's historic centre: conservation, planning and finance strategies – the example of the Ostozhenka district

Reconstruction of the historic centre of Moscow and the construction of apartment blocks on the citys outskirts are the citys two main programmes within what must be regarded as its urban policy. With these priorities, the strategy of relying on a mixture of city and private investments, the city governments policies contribute to an increasing exclusiveness of the city centre. This process, which includes a process of gentrification, reflects the impact of the transition to a free-market economy. City planning and reconstruction projects are subject to the new, still chaotic, market opportunities and constraints while the soviet planning principles and organizations have not yet been replaced by efficient new ones. There is a lack of control and regulation, as well as a concentration of power in the mayoral cabinet on the one hand, but on the other hand, the finance strategies make large-scale regeneration possible. With entering the global economy, post-soviet Moscow is acquiring more traits of western, capitalist cities. These include marketing the centres historic character, subsidising private investment, and a new residential segregation based on capital.     

Quo vadis neoliberalism? The remaking of global capitalist governance after the Washington Consensus

The Washington Consensus, through which neoliberal global capitalist governance gained hegemony over the third world, entered a crisis in the late 1990s. Triggered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and by contestations of neoliberal governance from global civil society, two remakings of global capitalist governance can be identified: A ‘post-Washington consensus’ whose relation to neoliberalism is complex; and a ‘new development economics’ that advocates Keynesian principles. Irrespective of the trajectory of this emergent phase of re-regulation, particularly after the 2008 global finance crisis, these remakings can be conceptualized as supplements reinforcing an imaginary of capitalism as the solution to, rather than progenitor of, uneven development. Through discourses of capitalist development as a sequential trajectory to be followed by all countries, as flattening the world to enable catch-up by backward countries, and as incorporating socio-spatial difference via its commodification, this socio-spatial imaginary functions to legitimate expertise located in the first world, and global capitalist governance, irrespective of serial policy failures.