Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into inland aquaculture policies in Thailand

While there have been many pilot projects on adaptation undertaken in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, state policies are only just beginning to address let alone refer to climate change. This study explores the climate-related content, climate sensitivities, and opportunities to incorporate climate change concerns in a set of aquaculture policies by the government of Thailand. The analysis is based on content analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with 14 officials that had roles in the design or implementation of 8 Department of Fisheries policies. The Aquaculture Master Plan 2011–2016 and the now abandoned Tilapia Strategy refer directly to climate variability or change. The Master Plan also suggests measures or strategies, such as investment in research, and the transfer of technologies, which would be helpful to sustainability and adaptation. Other policies suggest, or at the very least include, practices which could contribute to strengthening management of climate-related risks, for example: a registration policy included provisions for compensation; extension programme policy recognizes the importance of extreme events; and a standards policy gives guidance on site selection and water management. Most existing aquaculture policies appear to be sensitive to the impacts of climate change; for instance, the zoning policy is sensitive to spatial shifts in climate. Stakeholders had ideas on how policies could be made more robust; in the case of zoning, by periodically reviewing boundaries and adjusting them as necessary.

POLICY RELEVANCE

This study is one of the first evaluations of the coverage and sensitivity of aquaculture policies to climate change. It shows that while existing policies in Thailand are beginning to refer explicitly to climate change, they do not yet include much in the way of adaptation responses, underlining the need for identifying entry points as has been done in this analysis. Further mainstreaming is one option; another possibility is to adopt a more segregated approach, at least initially, and to collect various policy ideas under a new strategic policy for the aquaculture sector as a whole.     

Place-based or sector-based adaptation? A case study of municipal and fishery policy integration

Place-based adaptation planning is an approach to address cross-sectoral and multi-level governance concerns as well as to build local adaptive capacity in vulnerable resource-dependent communities facing the adverse impacts of climate change. In contrast, sector-based adaptation planning focuses on addressing climate change impacts on individual economic sectors (e.g. fisheries or forestry) or sub-sectors (such as lobsters or timber). Yet, linking sectoral approaches with local adaptation policies is challenging. More effort is needed to identify opportunities for complementary adaptation strategies and policy integration to foster multiple benefits. In this article, we use a case study of fishery sector resources and municipal adaptation planning in Nova Scotia to demonstrate how meaningful entry points could catalyse policy integration and lead to co-benefits across multiple levels and stakeholder groups. Drawing on a fisheries systems and fish chain framework, we identify and assess several entry points for policy integration across sector- and place-based adaptation domains within coastal habitats, as well as harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The analysis highlights the multiple benefits of integrating local municipal adaptation plans with multi-scale resource sectors especially towards monitoring ecosystem changes, protecting essential infrastructure, and securing local livelihoods.

POLICY RELEVANCE

Climate change is having a growing impact on coastal communities around the world, with consequences for sea-level rise, critical habitats, essential infrastructure, and multiple economic sectors and industries. This Canadian case study demonstrates how municipal adaptation initiatives can be complementary to sector-based adaptation at both local and regional levels through various entry points across commodity production chains. Policy integration across place-based and sector-based adaptation processes should lead to multiple benefits such as conserving marine biodiversity, protecting essential infrastructure, and securing livelihoods. Our analysis, which focuses specifically on the fishery sector and coastal communities, shows that these co-benefits may arise particularly in such coastal-marine systems and provide policy lessons to terrestrial systems and other sectors.     

Alignment between nationally determined contributions and the sustainable development goals for West Africa

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2015 Paris Agreement are two of the most important policy frameworks of the twenty-first century. However, the alignment of national commitments linked to them has not yet been analysed for West African states. Such analyses are vital to avoid perverse outcomes if states assess targets and develop SDG implementation plans, and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, without integrated planning and cross-sectoral alignment. This article provides a situation analysis guided by the following questions: (a) Which priority sectors are mentioned in relation to adaptation and mitigation in West African NDCs? (b) Are the NDCs of West African states well aligned with the SDGs? (c) What are the co-benefits of NDCs in contributing towards the SDGs? and (d) How are West African states planning to finance actions in their NDCs? The study uses iterative content analysis to explore key themes for adaptation and mitigation within NDCs of 11 West African states and their alignment to selected SDGs. A national multi-stakeholder workshop was held in Ghana to examine the co-benefits of the NDCs in contributing towards the SDGs and their implementation challenges. Results show that agriculture and energy are priority sectors where NDCs have pledged significant commitments. The analysis displays good alignment between mitigation and adaptation actions proposed in NDCs and the SDGs. These represent opportunities that can be harnessed through integration into national sectoral policies. However, cross-sectoral discussions in Ghana identify significant challenges relating to institutional capacity, a lack of coordination among institutions and agencies, and insufficient resources in moving towards integrated implementation of national planning priorities to address successfully both NDC priorities and the SDGs.

Key policy insights

• Positive alignments between West African NDCs and SDGs present opportunities for mutual benefits that can advance national development via a more climate resilient pathway.

• NDCs of West African states can provide mutual benefits across the water–energy–food nexus, such as through climate-smart agriculture and low carbon energy technologies.

• Ghanaian multi-sectoral insights show the need to empower national coordinating bodies to overcome misalignments across different sectors.

     

Where Should the Start Zone Be Located for Xiong’an New Area? A Land Use Perspective

China announced plans on April 1, 2017 to create Xiong’an New Area, a new economic zone about 110 km southwest of Beijing. The new area of national significance covers the three counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei Province, and is home to Baiyangdian, a major wetland in northern China. It will cover around 100 km² initially (called “Starting Zone”) and will be expanded to 200 km² in the mid-term and about 2000 km² in the long term. In this context, it is important to assess the land use pattern for the new area’s planning and development. Based on remote sensing interpretation of Landsat OLI images, we examine the current land use features, the potential for built-up land saving and intensive use, and the spatial variation of arable land quality. The results indicate that the arable lands, built-up lands and wetlands account for around 60%, 20% and 10%, respectively. The potential for rural built-up land saving and intensive use is quite large. The arable land quality and use intensity in Rongcheng and Anxin counties are much better than that of Xiongxian. The pros and cons for three potential options for the Starting Zone are listed and compared. The eastern area of Rongcheng county, to the north of Baiyangdian, is believed to be the most suitable Starting Zone. Policy recommendations for built-up land expansion, farmland saving and flood risk mitigation for Xiong’an New Area are also proposed in this paper.     

Vernacular heritage and evolving environmental policy in Australia: Lessons from the Murray–Darling Outreach Project

The interface between environmentalism and neoliberalism in industrialised nations is dynamic and evolving with each of these significant socio-political movements exerting influence on the other. In the context of Australian environmental policy, ideas of heritage, sense of place and belonging are increasingly invoked to support the current policy emphasis on the role of regional communities for realising goals for land and water conservation and environmental restoration. To explore the broader meaning and consequences of these developments, we focus on the manner in which ideas of heritage are employed and evoked within the Murray–Darling Outreach Project, a collaboration between the Murray–Darling Basin Commission, a key natural resource management agency, and the National Museum of Australia. The Murray–Darling Outreach Project has the aim of increasing community involvement in local environmental issues by promoting ideas of vernacular heritage.     

Choosing the Right Policy Tools to Encourage Watershed Stewardship through the Study of Attitude

Recently, a number of “Payment for Watershed Services” programs have aimed to engage private landowners in watershed stewardship initiatives by offering financial incentives for adopting watershed best management practices. However, a growing field of research suggests that financial incentives alone may be of limited utility to encourage widespread and long-standing behavior change, and other policy tools may be required. This research examines how attitudes may influence enrollment in watershed stewardship programs to shed light the application of incentive, capacity building, and symbolic policy tools. We distributed a questionnaire to rural landowners in the Clackamas River watershed, OR, and received 281 valid responses (29% response rate). We found that attitudes associated with trust, ecological understanding, and technical capacity played more fundamental roles compared with financial considerations. We interpret these findings by evaluating the likely efficacy of various policy tools, and stress the importance of engaging landowners by building capacity and trust.     

京津冀协同发展的机制创新与区域政策研究

机制创新与区域政策是政府对区域发展的方向、目标、速度、格局和路径进行调控的政策手段。本文探讨了机制创新与区域政策在京津冀协同发展中的保障作用,强调京津冀协同发展必须正确处理好公平与效率的关系、人与自然的关系。根据京津冀协同发展近中期的主要任务,提出了当前机制创新与区域政策应重点服务于：有序疏解北京非首都功能、优化产业结构与空间布局、构建一体化的现代交通网络、促进基本公共服务均等化、加强生态环境保护五大方面;并基于长远和全局视角,阐述了京津冀协同发展的机制创新与宏观区域政策,包括：区域产业协同发展机制与政策、区域要素市场一体化机制与政策、区域协同创新机制与政策、区域公共服务共建共享机制与政策和区域横向生态补偿机制与政策。这些政策旨在为推动京津冀协同发展提供决策参考依据。     

LUTI模型的概念结构、实现方法及发展趋势

回顾了LUTI模型概念、起源和发展过程,对模型的一般架构和实现技术方法进行了系统的总结分析,在此基础上讨论了LUTI模型发展所面临的问题与挑战。研究发现,作为模拟城市空间发展过程常用的数学模型,LUTI模型是基于城市土地利用-交通相互作用规律,从社会经济活动空间分布的角度模拟城市空间演化过程。根据LUTI模型,城市空间演化过程是土地利用系统和交通系统不断的相互作用过程,其中交通模型根据城市活动空间分布及交通设施评价城市交通状况,而土地利用模型根据交通可达性和其他影响因素预测城市空间发展趋势;城市发展过程中城市活动空间分布在交通的作用下发生改变后,将改变城市房租、交通状况等因素,进而再次导致城市活动空间分布随之变化,如此不断相互作用、趋于平衡。LUTI在国外被广泛用于城市空间政策检验、辅助决策。就LUTI模型的发展而言,已有研究更多地侧重要解决的现实问题,而对模型的理论结构关注较少,导致模型的发展滞后于城市的发展。应用中面临的诸多问题要求LUTI模型理论上的进一步突破。将LUTI的工作原理植入城市研究的背景中,旨在让读者对LUTI模型原理、结构、实现技术及面临的问题有深入了解,推进LUTI模型在中国应用与发展。     

人地关系地域系统与可持续发展的相互作用机理初探

地理学研究的核心为人地关系地域系统。人地关系理论的研究与实践操作对可持续发展的内涵认知有着举足轻重的影响。同时,人地系统本身也必须得到发展,这样才能促进可持续发展内涵的丰富化与哲理化。在当代世界范围内的可持续发展思想的困惑越来越多的情况下,研究了人地关系地域系统和可持续发展系统的相互作用机理,探讨了人地系统的发展本质、可持续发展的本质、人地协调发展的时空背景、二者相互作用机理的哲学本质等问题     

Federal Legislation for Disaster Mitigation: A Comparative Assessment Between Canada and the United States

Natural Hazards - Exposure to natural hazards tends to be poorly understood and yet implicitly accepted by a large proportion of populations at risk. Some people through years of experience and...