Safe and just operating spaces for regional social-ecological systems

Humanity faces a major global challenge in achieving wellbeing for all, while simultaneously ensuring that the biophysical processes and ecosystem services that underpin wellbeing are exploited within scientifically informed boundaries of sustainability. We propose a framework for defining the safe and just operating space for humanity that integrates social wellbeing into the original planetary boundaries concept (Rockström et al., 2009a,b) for application at regional scales. We argue that such a framework can: (1) increase the policy impact of the boundaries concept as most governance takes place at the regional rather than planetary scale; (2) contribute to the understanding and dissemination of complexity thinking throughout governance and policy-making; (3) act as a powerful metaphor and communication tool for regional equity and sustainability. We demonstrate the approach in two rural Chinese localities where we define the safe and just operating space that lies between an environmental ceiling and a social foundation from analysis of time series drawn from monitored and palaeoecological data, and from social survey statistics respectively. Agricultural intensification has led to poverty reduction, though not eradicated it, but at the expense of environmental degradation. Currently, the environmental ceiling is exceeded for degraded water quality at both localities even though the least well-met social standards are for available piped water and sanitation. The conjunction of these social needs and environmental constraints around the issue of water access and quality illustrates the broader value of the safe and just operating space approach for sustainable development.     

中国城乡居民幸福感的差异及影响因素研究

2010年上海世界博览会提出“城市让生活更美好”。然而,当前对城乡居民幸福感的实证研究得出了不同的结论。本研究认为,城市并不必然会带来更美好的生活,而是更好的城市让生活更幸福。为此,本研究运用多层次线性回归模型,基于2014年中国劳动力动态调查（CLDS）数据对中国城乡居民的幸福感及其影响因素进行了分析。结果显示,中国城市居民的幸福感整体上高于乡村居民,这种差异主要源于城乡居民的生活水平、生活环境和生活节奏等方面的差异。因此,要实现“城市让生活更美好”的目标,需要在城市化的过程中不断提升城乡居民的获得感、推动城市住房政策改革、进一步加快城乡公共服务一体化进程、实现以家庭为单位的新型市民化模式以及推行更为健全的劳动政策。     

Reflecting on the risks and ethical dilemmas of digital research

As technology continues to evolve, digital methods are increasingly becoming key components of social and cultural geographers’ research toolkits. This paper explores the risky and uncertain dimensions of digital research by reflecting on an adverse ethical event which occurred in research involving young people and online dialogic diaries. Assemblage thinking is used to conceptually frame the data leakage event, the subsequent disruption of confidentiality, and the wide-ranging affects and effects that followed. Three particular issues which are critical for researchers working with digital methodologies to consider are highlighted: the ethical implications of procedural disruption, institutional responses within the neoliberal university, and researcher wellbeing. We conclude by advocating for researchers to continue to push boundaries with digital research but suggest that this needs to be undertaken in an informed way that takes account of the immanent potential for digital disruption.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of human wellbeing and its coupling relationship with ecosystem services in Shandong province,China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Rapid economic and social change promotes to improve human wellbeing (HW), but poses threats to ecosystems and the environment. Studying the coupling relationship...     

Strengthening conceptual foundations: Analysing frameworks for ecosystem services and poverty alleviation research

A research agenda is currently developing around the linkages between ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. It is therefore timely to consider which conceptual frameworks can best support research at this nexus. Our review of frameworks synthesises existing research on poverty/environment linkages that should not be overlooked with the adoption of the topical language of ecosystem services. A total of nine conceptual frameworks were selected on the basis of relevance. These were reviewed and compared to assess their ability to illuminate the provision of ecosystem services, the condition, determinants and dynamics of poverty, and political economy factors that mediate the relationship between poverty and ecosystem services. The paper synthesises the key contributions of each of these frameworks, and the gaps they expose in one another, drawing out lessons that can inform emerging research. Research on poverty alleviation must recognize social differentiation, and be able to distinguish between constraints of access and constraints of aggregate availability of ecosystem services. Different frameworks also highlight important differences between categories of services, their pathways of production, and their contribution to poverty alleviation. Furthermore, we highlight that it is important to acknowledge the limits of ecosystem services for poverty alleviation, given evidence that ecosystem services tend to be more associated with poverty prevention than reduction. We conclude by reflecting on the relative merits of dynamic Social–Ecological Systems frameworks versus more static checklists, and suggest that research on ecosystem services and poverty alleviation would be well served by a new framework distilling insights from the frameworks we review.     

Empowerment of an Aging Population and Rural Women Farmers: a Small Business Model-A Japanese Case Study

Using the combined approach of questionnaire and semi-structured interview, this study aims to examine the characteristics of a small agricultural business, and benefits perceived by the participants, and challenges. The “multi-industrial system” regional initiative for creating new high-value-added businesses project encourages rural residents to commercialize their surplus agricultural and forestry products, such as pickled or dried wild and cultivated plants. Knowledgeable older people, women farmers in particular, are motivated to market their vegetables directly to the urban market, and their home-processed wild plants to local restaurants and hotels. It found that the older people involved in the business considered that their health and economic situation had been improved through participating in vegetable cultivation and sales. Some lessons from this case study can be identified: the empowerment of older people and women farmers, through active interaction with the market and learning new technologies, including internet-based information search strategies.     

The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot

Arid regions are home to unique fauna, flora, and vulnerable human populations, and present a challenge for sustainable land-use management. We undertook an assessment and valuation of three key services, grazing, tourism and water supply in the arid Succulent Karoo biome in western South Africa - a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. We were looking for ways and values that could be used to promote conservation in this region through the adoption of sustainable land-use practices which have human welfare benefits. Our study adopted a variety of methods in valuing these services in developing ranges of values for these services. At the biome level, total annual values ranged from $ 19-114 million for grazing, $ 2-$ 20 million for tourism, and $ 300-3120 million for water. These values are generally low compared with values derived for other biomes and regions and do not adequately reflect known dependence and the importance of ecosystem services to the residents of this biome. The ecosystems here provide small but critical benefits enabling communities to sustain themselves and small changes in service levels can have major welfare effects. Highlighting these sensitivities will require finding more appropriate ways to link ecological and social factors.     

To Move or not to Move: Community Members’ Reaction to Surface Mining Activities in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Abstract

Despite the impact of mining-induced environmental change on community livability, we know little about how disparities in knowledge of health risks associated with mining influence residents’ response, especially in an already environmentally stressed context. Guided by theoretical insights from solastalgia, we examined residents’ decision to relocate due to increasing gold mining activities in the fragile Northern Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana. Fitting complementary log-log regression models to cross-sectional data from the Upper West Region (UWR) of Ghana, we found that residents with limited knowledge of potential health impacts of mining and those who believe mining activities were not meeting environmental standards were more likely to consider relocating. Given the centrality of land in community health and wellbeing in the UWR, Ghana’s mining guidelines should promote local participation in the regulation of mining activities and guarantee the rights of indigenes to livable native lands.     

Trapped in Jobless Household Areas: the spatio-temporal dynamics of children in jobless households in metropolitan Australia

Child disadvantage is an important issue in Australia today and is one of the key policy target areas of the Federal government. Child disadvantage not only affects child wellbeing in the present time but can also inhibit their future achievements. As well as individual- and family-level effects, there is growing evidence that child wellbeing and achievement is highly affected by the environment in which children grow up, and what resources and role models are available to them in their surrounding areas. In this paper, we examine the spatial clustering of children in jobless households through the computation of the Global and Local Moran's statistics, for the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan regions, and observe how these clusters have changed between the 2001 and 2006 census years. We find that there are significant spatial clusters of children in jobless households in both periods, suggesting that ‘place’ is a driver of this particular phenomenon. Further, we observe an expansion of ‘hot spots’, in both Sydney and Melbourne, suggesting that areas with high proportions of children in jobless households have both persisted and increased despite the sizeable economic growth in Australia over the same period.     

Efficacy of rights-based management of small pelagic fish within an ecosystems approach to fisheries in South Africa

South Africa's small pelagics fishery is moving towards a management strategy using an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), with rights-based management (RBM) as the key rights allocation system. While EAF strives to balance between, among others, ecological and social-economic objectives, RBM is driving the sector towards economic efficiency. Within EAF itself, there are still underlying mismatches between the two top objectives, ‘human wellbeing’ and ‘ecological wellbeing’, in effect requiring a better balance between these objectives than there is currently. For example, fishers do not believe they should be competing with marine mammals and birds for allocation of the resource, yet this is one of the primary trade-offs that have to be made when setting the annual total allowable catches (TACs) under EAF. A balance between the two objectives could be achieved through acceptable trade-offs between them among all stakeholders within inclusive governance. Implementation of RBM has had both positive and negative effects on the objectives for EAF. Of concern are the negative effects of RBM on human wellbeing. For example, fishers feel that RBM has weakened their bargaining position, thereby reducing their benefits. In addition, RBM has resulted in job losses and insecurity of employment within the fisheries sector. The most affected have been the most vulnerable — the low level workers — who ought to be the key beneficiaries of RBM. Thus prioritising and protecting vulnerable groups and fishing communities need careful consideration when creating RBM, even in the context of EAF. Rights-based management has also had negative effects on ecological wellbeing through practices such as increased dumping and ‘high grading’ as part of industry's drive for increased efficiency under RBM. Whereas scientists believe that variability is largely due to environmental conditions, fishers strongly feel that dumping, high grading and high fishing pressure are the main factors. One of the positive aspects of RBM has been improved understanding among rights-holders and fishers of the need to consider other organisms in the TAC and to protect these through establishment of marine protected areas, island perimeter closures and limiting bycatch, thereby impacting positively on ecological wellbeing.