38:192 Environment & Society - Finals

Comanagement

• Primarily concerned with user-participation in decision-making and with linking communities and government managers

  • Users have a say in what’s actually happening in decisions

Communication Main Purposes

1. Raise awareness

2. Confer understanding

3. Motivate action

Communication Effectiveness

• Only effective when new understanding results in attitude and/or policy adjustments

Aspects to Consider in Communication of Scientific Understanding with the Public

1. Much of the public does not understand the nature of science or hows it’s conducted

2. Much of the public ‘probability’, the idea of risk as a part of life is rejected by many people. Association and causation are often assumed to be the same

3. The media does not deal well with the scientific process → progresses by new research disproving or challenging existing understanding

4. The public should consider the process of science akin to expert witnesses in court cases, where divergence of opinion should be understood as characteristics of scientific ‘findings’

Considerations in Preparing Scientific Messages

1. What do we know, with what accuracy, and how confident are we about our data?

2. What don’t we know, and why are we uncertain?

3. What could we know, with more time, money and talent?

4. What should we know in order to act in the face of uncertainty?

Adaptive Environmental Management Turbulent Conditions

• Uncertainties, conflict, changing socioeconomic state of society, etc.

• Causes unexpected things to happen

• E.g. Cost of oil skyrockets → threw industries into uncertainty

• E.g. East coast fisheries closed down in the mid 1990s

Adaptive Environmental Management Main Objectives

• To prepare policies and approaches capable of coping with:

  • The uncertain

  • The unexpected

  • The unknown

How to Develop an Adaptive Environmental Management

• Develop a system of deliberate experimentation and systematic monitoring so we can learn from experiences

Adaptive Environmental Management Characteristics

1. Collaboration of interest groups

2. Identification of shared values

3. Continuous learning

4. Continuous evaluation and modification

Adaptive Management

• Primarily concerned with learning-by-doing in a scientific way to deal with uncertainty

Adaptive Co-Management Characteristics

• Learning by doing (i.e. experimentation)

• Integration of different knowledge systems

• Collaboration and power-sharing among community, regional, and national levels

• Management flexibility

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• The process identifying the future consequences of a current or future action;

  • The impact is the difference between what would happen with the action and what would happen without it

Risk Assessment

• Determining the probability of an environmentally or socially negative event of some specific magnitude

Precautionary Principle

• Lack of scientific certainty regarding the risk of impact shall not be a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation

Challenges in Impact Assessment

1. Types of initiatives to be assessed

2. When impact assessments should be done

3. Determining the significance of impacts

4. Inadequate understanding of ecosystems

5. The nature of public involvement

6. The development of monitoring

7. Sustainability assessment

Climate

• Naturally variable - spatially and temporally

• Over the last 100 years, global climate has changed noticeably

• By the year 2000, climate change had become an integral part of vocabulary

• Lots of complexity and uncertainty associated with climate change

  • Humans are wired to ignore climate change

Weather

• Is expressed by a combination of elements:

  • Temperature

  • Precipitation and humidity

• Is the sum total of atmospheric conditions for a short period of time

Climate

• Is a composite of the variety of day-to-day weather conditions (i.e. average weather) over the long term

Climate Change

• Is a long-term alteration in the climate of a particular location or region or for the entire planet

Global Warming

• Refers to changes in average surface temperatures

Climate Causes

• Photosynthesis → 0.023%

• Wind and waves → 1%

• Evaporation of water → 23%

• Incoming radiation reflected by clouds, dust, and Earth’s surface → 34%

• Heating of atmosphere and Earth’s surface → 42%

• Degraded heat or longer-wave length far infrared radiation (emissivity) → 66%

Greenhouse Gases

• Inputs of shortwave energy but leaves longwave energy

• Absorbs the longwave energy and reradiate the energy in all directions

  • Results in atmospheric warming

Natural Events of Climate Change

• Fires

• Volcanic eruptions

• El Niño

Volcanos Cooling effect

• Emission of dust → blocks energy from the sun

El Niño

• Warm blobs of surface water

La Niña

• Cool blobs of surface water

International Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) Reports

• Human-induced warming reached approximately 1 deg C above pre-industrial levels in 2017, increasing at 0.2 deg C/decade

• Annual average temperatures in Canada have warmed at double the global average

Scientific Evidence Related to Climate Change (Gasses)

• Greenhouse gas emissions have been rising for several decades

• Higher concentrations than at any time over the past 3 to 5 million years

• Annual GHG emissions went up 2.2%/year between 2000 and 2010, compared to 1.3%/year between 1970 and 2000

Scientific Evidence Related to Climate Change (Glacial Bodies & Snow)

• 2017/18 was the 31st consecutive year that glaciers lose more mass than they gained

• Probably 80% of glaciers in AB and BC will disappear in the next 50 years

• Snow cover in the Northern hemisphere has decreased since the 1950s

Scientific Evidence Related to Climate Change (Sea Level)

• Between 1900 and 1990, sea level rose just over 1mm/year

• Sea level rose 77 mm between 1993 and 2017 alone

Climate Modelling Use

• Used to address uncertainties surrounding past and future climate change

Climate Change Variables

• Radiation: incoming and outgoing

• Dynamics: vertical and horizontal movement of energy

• Surface processes: effects of Earth’s surface

  • Albedo and emissivity

• Atmospheric chemistry (e.g. carbon cycling)

• Time step and resolution: time and spatial scales

Climate Modelling Limitations

• Model resolution: course spatial resolution means less mathematical accuracy

• Complexity: simplistic representation of complex Earth-system processes (e.g. rain, ocean processes)

• Number of simulations: multiple simulations increase range of results but multiply computational costs

Implications of Climate Change - Terrestrial

• Changes in forest and grassland boundaries resulting from a doubled CO2 climate

• Phenology (life cycle events of flora and fauna and how they are influenced by climate and habitat) will change

• Phenological mismatch happens when life cycle events become out of synch with each other

• Polar bears my no longer den in the protected areas created for them

Implications of Climate Change - Agriculture

1. Crop productivity: locations will change

2. Pollinators: shorter winters, different food sources, timing of flowering

3. Animal production: will be affected by crop changes (#1), water availability, seasonal changes

4. Water supply: changes in precipitation, patterns, hydrology , water quality

5. Food processing: challenged by #4, need for grater food storage

Implications of Climate Change – Marine & Freshwater Systems  

• Every part of Canada except the southern prairies has become wetter, with precipitation increasing 16% between 1950 and 2010 

• Higher temperatures cause higher rates of evapotranspiration, increasing surface drying and more moisture in the air  

• Changes in precipitation can have a range of impacts on freshwater and marine systems including variability in streamflow of rivers and in lake levels

Implications of Climate Change – Fish

• Are vulnerable to changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and chemical conditions  

• Warmer water in freshwater systems would enhance conditions for warm-water fish but create additional stress for cold-water fish  

• Migration to more suitable waters resulting in competition with resident species 

Implications of Climate Change – Ocean & Coastal Systems  

• Both sea temperatures and sea levels are rising 

  • Will affect coastal communities, the severity depending on the nature of the coastline and the amount of increase

• Wave action may become more severe 

• Changes are likely to have significant impacts on the chemical composition of oceanic waters

  • Warm water holds more dissolved carbon, increases acidity 

Implications of Climate Change – Health & Infectious Disease 

1. Higher incidences of water-borne diseases 

2. Decreased food security and increased malnutrition  

3. Increased heat-related mortality  

4. Increased health-related issues due to poor air quality  

5. Increased emergence of infectious diseases  

Communicating About Climate Change  

• Level of in-depth understanding by the general public is poor and hampered by media reporting

• Uncertainties exist regarding almost every aspect of the global climate change issue: statistical randomness, lack of scientific understanding, inadequate data, varying protocols that make risk assessment imprecise  

• Impacts will be greater for less developed countries and future generations

• Basic causes of climate change are strongly embedded in our lifestyles: fossil fuels, consumptions 

Responding to Climate Change: Mitigation

• Human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases 

Responding to Climate Change: Carbon Taxes

• Tax is applied either on emissions produced by a company or organization or on products and services that significantly contribute to emissions (e.g. gasoline)

Responding to Climate Change: Cap-and-Trade Systems

• Emitters that exceed allowed emission levels, or quotas, need to purchase emission quotas from emitters that fall short of their allowed quota  

Responding to Climate Change: Carbon Sequestration

• Land use practices that encourage agricultural crops and forest systems with capacity to sequester carbon are a legitimate way for nations to achieve GHG emission reduction targets 

Responding to Climate Change: New Technologies

• Alternatives to fossil fuel combustion for heating buildings, running manufacturing and industrial equipment, and powering vehicles, aircraft, and ships  

Responding to Climate Change: Geo-Engineering

• Reduce the greenhouse effect and thereby reduce global warming through systematic large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s climate  

Adaptation to Climate Change  

• The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities

  • Structural/Physical: e.g. engineered and built environment, technological, ecosystem-based, services  

  • Social: e.g. educational, informational, behavioural  

  • Institutional: e.g. economic, laws and regulations, government policies and programs 

The Paris Climate Agreement  

• Signed by 196 countries in December, 2015 

• Entered into force in 2016 following the end of the Kyoto Protocol, and once it was ratified by 55 countries 

• Covers 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions  

• Commits nations to keep temperatures “well below 2 deg C” above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 deg C 

Criticisms of the Paris Agreement

• No legally binding emission targets  

• Lack of specificity on financial support  

• No liability provision 

• No changes in policy promises

• Makes no formal distinction between developed and developing countries’ responsibilities for emission reduction 

Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change Pillars

1. Pricing carbon pollution  

2. Other actions to reduce GHG emissions  

3. Adaptation and climate resilience  

4. Clean technology, innovation, and jobs 

Canada’s Climate Change Action Plan Targets

• Emissions Reduction Plan 

• Net-zero emissions by 2050 

• Adapting to climate change  

Manitoba’s Climate Change Action Plan Pillars

• Climate

• Jobs

• Water

• Nature

Brandon’s Climate Change Action Plan ~ 7 “Big Moves”

1. Become a carbon free corporation by 2050 

2. Transition to renewable energy

3. Rethink transportation

4. Build resilient infrastructure

5. Conserve and protect nature

6. Prepare for emergencies & recovery

7. Consume and produce sustainably

Oceanic Systems

• Dominant limiting factor → nutrient availability

  • Nutrient concentrations increase with depth    

• Cover 70% of the Earth yet only contribute 50% of NPP

• Most is between 4,000 and 6,000 meters deep 

• Majority of marine life exists in the euphotic zone, where there is sufficient light for photosynthesis  

Oceanic Productive Areas

• Occur where upwellings bring nutrients to surface and along coasts where nutrients are dumped by rivers

• Highest productivity on continental shelves, at depths <200 metres

Oceanic Ecosystems: Biomass & Energy 

• Consumers -> Ocean Biomass -> Producers 

  • More biomass at the top of the food chain

• Consumers -> Ocean Energy -> Producers  

  • More energy at the bottom of food chain  

• Has a fast turnover rate

Oceanic Ecosystems: Carbon Balance 

• Carbon is constantly sucked into the ocean from the atmosphere 

• Ocean is a large carbon sink 

• Ocean takes about half of the pollution since the industrial revolution 

• Important for mitigation of climate change  

Oceanic Ecosystems: Acidification 

• More carbon is going into the ocean → acidification

• CO2 + H20 + CO3²- -> 2 HCO3- 

• 2 bicarbonate ions are what make the water acid 

• Carbonate ions are required to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3) (calcification), which is the building block for coral reefs, bivalve shells, etc. 

Oceanic Ecosystems: Thermohaline Circulation 

• Global ocean conveyor

  • Moves water, heat, and nutrients worldwide

  • Driven by density changes from temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) differences

• How warm water (with warm air) are brought to Western Europe

Ocean Management Challenges: Fisheries 

• Continental shelves cover 18% of the Earth’s surface; however, they provide 90% of global fisheries, and account for 25% of the Earth’s GPP 

• 60% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the ocean coast  

• World capture fisheries and aquaculture production

• Fish size decline

Ocean Management Challenges: Fisheries Serial Depletion

• When fishing fish at the top of the food chain runs out, and then moving down to fishing the fish lower down on the food chain

  • Effect: difficult for fish at the top to sustain themselves because of lack of food

Ocean Management Challenges: Fisheries Bycatch

• Non-target species of marine life caught in fishing activities 

  • Estimated that 10-40% of global fishery catch is bycatch; dumped overboard and dies  

Ocean Management Challenges: Pollution 

• Pollutants in the ocean are much more mobile  

• 80% of marine pollution originates on land 

• Other 20% comes from ships, waste disposal at sea, oils spills, oil & gas exploration  

• Most marine pollution is non-point in origin  

• Many pollutants collect at the water-atmosphere (surface of the water) and seabed-water interfaces (ocean floor) 

Ocean Management Challenges: Energy  

• Many of the world’s main oil fields are under the oceans 

• Oil rigs are a source of chronic, low-level pollution  

• Oil spills can contaminate food chains for years  

• Most accessible ocean oil basins have been accessed; now pushing into more fragile ecosystems and deeper depths  

Ocean Management Challenges: Coastal Development  

• 60% of the world’s population lives <100 km from the coast; expected to increase to 75% by 2100  

• Development and associated impacts have huge effects on ocean/land interface  

• 50% of coastal countries have no legislation to deal with coastal development  

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

• Conserve marine biodiversity and fisheries  

• Protect endemic species  

• Provide ecological benchmark for marine health  

• Networks can protect long-term fishery sustainability  

• Provides nodes of scientific research for management  

Canada’s Oceans Strategy Principles  

1. Sustainable development

2. Integrated management

3. Precautionary approach

Canadian Responses: Marine Protected Areas (4 Main Areas)

• Pacific Ocean

• Great Lakes

• Atlantic Ocean

• Northern Canada

Aquaculture

• Fastest growing food production sector in the world 

• 50% of global fishery; may be a partial solution to world hunger  

• Canada ranks 26th in global aquaculture production  

• Most aquaculture in Canada is in BC (also NB, PEI, NL)  

Aquaculture Problems

• Escapement: Atlantic salmon are now spawning in BC rivers  

• Disease: high density of fish promotes rapid spread of infection  

• Lice: spreads to wild populations  

• Pollution: antibiotics, excess food, and fish wastes  

• Predator control: seals and sea lions killed in large numbers  

• Energetics: 3 – 4 kg of marine fish to produce 1 kg of farmed salmon  

Aquaculture Problems: Social Dimensions

• Mechanization means less jobs; increase in industry may mean decline in wild fishery jobs  

Aquaculture Problems: Human Health

• Farmed salmon found to contain 11 times the amount of toxins as wild salmon  

Canadian Responses: Aquaculture Solutions 

• Fish can be raised in closed pens  

• Consumer needs to be willing to pay extra cost 

• BC government has halted aquaculture farm expansion  

• Federal Liberal government promised all aquaculture facilities be closed systems by 2025 

• Increased indigenous participation  

Neolithic Revolution

• Started to settle down and do agriculture, (10,000 years ago)

Types of Agricultural Land

• Arable Land (14,237,943 km²)

  • Occupied by crops that require replanting (5-year periods) 

• Permanent cropland (1,662,007 km²)

  • Where crops (such as coffee, tea, fruit) do not require annual replanting 

• Permanent pastures (32,768,636 km²)

  • Used primarily for grazing livestock  

Food Production & Consumption Trends 

• Historically, increased production came from increasing arable land 

• Since 1960 increased production has come primarily from increased yield/area  

  • Even so we have had difficulty feeding the world’s population

Auxiliary Energy Flow

• Any energy source that reduces the costs of internal self-maintenance of the ecosystem 

  • Thereby increasing the amount of energy that can be converted to production 

  • Supplementing the natural energy flow from the sun  

Agriculture as an Ecological Process 

• Auxiliary energy flow

  • What modern agriculture relies on

• Fossil fuels, pesticides, fertilizers  

Agriculture’s Impact on Global Landscapes

1. Natural selection becomes cultural selection  

2. Redirection of natural energy flows  

3. Interruption of biogeochemical cycles  

4. Auxiliary energy flows  

5. Alteration of hydrological cycles

6. Disturbance of soil 

The Green Revolution 

• Refers to technological advances designed to increase the productivity of agricultural lands, and includes:

  • Chemical pesticides, Auxiliary energy flows, Hybridization, Higher-yield seeds, Genetic engineering, Complex irrigation systems, and Modern farming equipment

Genetic Modification (in Agriculture)

• Involves genetic manipulation  

• Produces transgenic organisms

  • Increase yields

  • Increased resistance to pests

  • Increased tolerance to climate

  • E.g. Bt Corn → Bacteria in corn to make it resistant to pests

Potential Effects of Biocrops

• Pleiotropic effects: unexpected side-effects, such as change in toxins produced or reduction in nutrients 

• Environmental effects: impacts on natural processes such as pollination, biogeochemical cycles, or gene flow  

• Unintentional spread: pollen and seeds from transgenic crops spread onto lands where they are not intended to grow  

The Ideal Pesticide

• Kills only the target pest  

• Has no short- or long- term health effects on non-target organisms, including people  

• Quickly breaks down into harmless chemicals  

• Prevents the development of genetic resistance in target organisms  

• Saves money compared with making no effort to control pest species  

Problems with Biocides

1. Resistance  

2. Non-selective

3. Mobility

4. Persistance

5. Bioaccumulation & biomagnification

6. Synergism

Biocide Treadmill

• Because of natural mutation/selection and variation, certain percentage of pests will be resistance to biocides created

  • Meaning that the next generation of pests will be resistant → continuous loop

Bioaccumulation

• Toxins gradually accumulating within the tissues and organs of an organism over its lifetime  

Biomagnification

• Concentrations of toxins increase in organisms as they pass up the food chain

  • E.g. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) → (Sometimes) Classified as toxic wastes when washed up on shore   

Whales & Dolphins (in Relation to Biocides)

• Are some of the most toxin-laden animals in the world, because they are long-lived and are top of the food chain 

Biocide Regulations

1. Mosquito control

2. Turf maintenance

3. Landscape displays

4. Forestry

5. Greenhouse & Nursery

Biocide Regulations: Greenhouse & Nursery

• Monitoring thresholds, treatment and evaluation requirements for each program  

Organic Farming

• Enhance biological activity

• Increase soil biological activity  

• Maintain long term soil fertility  

• Recycle plant and animal wastes  

• Reliance on local, renewable resources 

• Healthy use of soil, water and air; minimize pollution 

• Careful processing methods  

Organic Farming: Recycling of Plant & Animal Wastes  

• Utilises:

  • Crop rotation

  • Strip cropping

  • Green manure

  • Zero tillage

  • No pesticides

Food Miles

• Measuring the distance your food must travel from where it was produced to reach your plate  

• As food miles increase, GHG emissions, rural unemployment, and local food insecurity grow correspondingly

Local Agriculture

• The development of local food systems can contribute to reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment and agricultural economics  

Extrinsic Value

• Values that humans derive from other species 

  • Consumptive: organism is harvested (ex. Hunting, fishing) 

  • Non consumptive: organism is not harvested, and habitat is not destroyed (ex. Wildlife watching, photography)  

Intrinsic Value

• Valuing species for their own sake 

Economic Values (Extrinsic)  

• Vast number of food, medicinal, and other products derived from natural sources  

• Bioprospecting → in tropical rainforests  

• Ecotourism

Ecological Values (Intrinsic)  

• Species become extirpated when they are eliminated from one part of their range  

• Species become ecologically extinct when they exist in such low numbers, they cannot fulfil their ecological role → referred to as ghost population

• Reducing biodiversity, lowers ecosystems’ ability to adapt  

Extinction Vortex 

• Habitat loss, over-harvest, exotics, and pollution  →

  • Small, fragmented isolated populations →

    • Inbreeding →

    • Demographic instability →

      • Population decline →

        • Extirpation or extinction

• Positive feedback loop

Causes of Tropical Deforestation

• Rapidly growing population levels 

• Over-consumption of resources

• Inequality in the distribution of wealth