2015 Publications

Author(s): West, S.E., A. Owen, K. Axelsson and C.D. West

Year: 2015

In: Journal of Industrial Ecology, early view, online 16 November 2015

DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12372

Type: Journal article

Through an increasingly globalized supply chain, local consumption of goods and services has impacts around the world. The carbon footprint can be used to link local consumption to global greenhouse gas emissions. This study describes the development and use of REAP Petite, a household-level footprint calculator.

The authors describe how the tool integrates geodemographic information with user-inputted data; allows users to compare their footprint with others in their community; and presents them with targeted pledges to help them reduce their impact. Such tools can help individuals to see the impact their consumption has on emissions and help promote alternative behaviours.

Based on the lessons learned during tool development and through using the tool with individuals in the UK and Sweden, the authors make recommendations for the development of new footprinting tools for use in the public domain. They highlight the benefits of using bottom-up methods for calculating footprints; recommend that designers consider future-proofing their tools; discuss the trade-off between complexity and usability; and recommend that designers consider going “beyond carbon” to increase the appeal of tools to a wider audience. They also highlight the importance of providing opportunity for users to compare their footprints with those of others and of monitoring and evaluating user engagement with the tool.

Read the article (external link to article – open access)

Author(s): Cinderby, S., G. Haq, H. Cambridge, and K. Lock

Year: 2015

In: Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, online 5 November 2015

DOI:10.1080/13549839.2015.1100597

Type: Journal article

Initiatives to reduce community carbon emissions and foster sustainable lifestyles have had varying degrees of success. There is now a need for a re-energized, concerted and joined-up approach that places environmental issues in a wider context – one that improves quality of life while building community resilience. This involves enhancing the capacity of neighbourhoods to recover, respond and adapt to environmental and socio-economic changes.

This paper examines the experience gained in a participatory action research (PAR) study to build community resilience, where facilitators supported residents to take ownership of their own agendas. The New Earswick Good Life Initiative (GLI) was an 18-month project undertaken in a low-income suburb of York, UK. A range of approaches were used to identify activities which had the most potential to nurture resilience and foster a shift towards greater environmental sustainability.

The GLI highlighted how the introduction of new ideas not only needs to be locally relevant but also requires care and time in order for them to embed within community. Altering the way a community manages its environment involves transforming social relationships, strengthening institutions and influencing local power balances. Furthermore, it is necessary to build social capital, knowledge, leadership skills and support social networks to allow communities to effectively engage with relevant local and national policies. Only by providing opportunities to develop these resilient attributes can increased local responsibility be successful. The paper concludes by providing guidance on strengthening community resilience and delivering pro-environmental behaviour change.

Read the article (external link to journal)

Learn more about the Good Life Initiative »

Author(s): de Bruin, A., R. Pateman, J. Barron, M. Balima, I. Ouedraogo, E. Da Dapola, M. Fosu, F. o. Annor, M. Magombeyi, J.-M. Kileshye Onema

Year: 2015

In: Water Resources and Rural Development, in press, online 9 September 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.wrr.2015.09.001

Type: Journal article

Long-term investments in agricultural water management (AWM) interventions in the Volta and Limpopo river basins have aimed at improving water availability and quality for smallholder farming systems. However, sustained and wider uptake of AWM technologies and approaches has not been as successful. We need to learn from successful AWM interventions, those interventions that have led to a sustained or increased uptake of AWM technologies or approaches, and which have led to improved well-being of farmers and livestock keepers in the rural development context of sub-Sahara Africa. This paper explores AWM interventions, specifically, the impacts these interventions have had and the factors contributing to the success of these interventions.

In four countries within the Volta and Limpopo river basins, consultations were carried in 33 case studies of successful AWM interventions with implementing organisations and beneficiaries using a participatory GIS methodology. A systematic text analysis of 55 case study reports showed that these 33 interventions have had a positive impact on the well-being of beneficiaries and there was a sustained and wider uptake of the AWM technologies or approaches introduced. A clear demand for the technology, appropriate design of the technology, input support, training and capacity building, and a sense of ownership of the community helped to sustain the uptake of AWM technologies and approaches. We conclude that implementing organisations would benefit from investing in the soft components of an AWM intervention, as this will increase the likelihood of successful adoption and adaptation of the AWM technologies and approaches in the long-term.

Read the article (external link to journal)

Author(s): J. Whitelegg

Year: 2015

In: 245 Pages. Straw Barnes Press. Available as an E-Book.

Type: Book

John Whitelegg argues for a complete  transformation of how transport planning, as well as urban and rural planning, is dealt with in the UK citing best practice examples from other countries such as Zurich and Vienna's public transport system and Sweden's Vision Zero policy which has the aim of zero deaths and zero serious injuries in the road traffic environment.  He also emphasises the importance of dealing with air pollution from traffic sources which kills over 40,000 each year in Britain and concludes that this is a massive failure of public policy and can and must be reduced to zero.

The book presents a very different argument to the ones normally seen where local authorities and campaign groups try to increase walking and cycling. He suggests that whilst there is still scope to increase these very healthy and inexpensive means of moving around but only if we have serious polices to reduce traffic volume, create car-free streets and residential areas and have a total 20mph speed limit on all streets where people live. 

The need to reduce traffic volumes and traffic speeds is described in some detail and the book illustrates how this can be done on a short time scale and by following an  inexpensive policy pathway.  Traditional transport policy that does not focus seriously on traffic reduction is very expensive and the alternatives are much better for reducing the costs of running cities. 

E-Book available online.

Author(s): Gouldson A., S. Colenbrander, A. Sudmant, F. McAnulla, N. Kerr, P. Sakai, S. Hall, E. Papargyropoulou and J.C. Kuylenstierna

Year: 2015

In: Global Environmental Change, 35, 93–105

DOI:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.07.009

Type: Journal article

There is increasing interest in the potential of cities to contribute to climate mitigation. Multiple assessments have evaluated the scale and composition of urban GHG emissions, while others have evaluated some aspects of urban mitigation potential. However, assessments of mitigation potential tend to be broadly focused, few if any have evaluated urban mitigation potential on a measure-by-measure basis, and fewer still have considered the economic case for investing in these measures.

This is a significant knowledge gap as an economic case for action could be critical in building political commitment, strengthening institutional capacities, securing large-scale finance and targeting investment and implementation in cities. In this paper, the authors compare the results of five recent studies that examined the economic case for investing in low-carbon measures in five cities: Leeds, UK; Kolkata, India; Lima, Peru; Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and Palembang, Indonesia.

The analysis finds a compelling economic case for cities in both developed and developing country contexts to invest, at scale, in cost-effective low-carbon measures. The results suggest that these investments could generate significant reductions in urban emissions over the next 10 years, in the range of 15–24% relative to business-as-usual trends.

Securing these savings would require an average investment of 3.2 billion USD per city, which if spread over 10 years equates to 0.4–0.9% of city GDP per year. However, the savings generated in the form of reduced energy bills would be equivalent to between 1.7% and 9.5% of annual city-scale GDP, and the average payback period of investments would be approximately 2 years at commercial interest rates. The authors provisionally estimate that if these findings were replicated and similar investments were made in cities globally, they could generate reductions equivalent to 10–18% of global energy-related GHG emissions in 2025.

While the studies offer some grounds for optimism, they also raise important questions about the barriers to change that prevent these economically attractive options from being exploited and about the scope for mitigation based on the exploitation of only the economically attractive options. The authors discuss the institutional capacities, policy environments and financing arrangements that need to be developed before even these economically attractive opportunities can be exploited. They also demonstrate that, in rapidly growing cities, the carbon savings from such investments could be quickly overwhelmed – in as little as 7 years – by the impacts of sustained population and economic growth. 

The authors conclude by highlighting the need to build capacities that enable the exploitation not only of the economically attractive options in the short term but also of those deeper and more structural changes that are likely to be needed in the longer term. Read the article (external link to journal)

Author(s): Rich, K.J., M. Ridealgh, S.E. West, S. Cinderby and M. Ashmore

Year: 2015

In: PLoS ONE 10(8), e0136522

DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0136522

Type: Journal article

There is increasing recognition of the importance for local biodiversity of post-mining sites, many of which lie near communities that have suffered significant social and economic deprivation as the result of mine closures. However, no studies to date have actively used the knowledge of local communities to relate the history and treatment of post-mining sites to their current ecological status.

This paper presents a study of two post-mining sites in the Yorkshire coalfield of the UK in which the local community were involved in developing site histories and assessing plant and invertebrate species composition. Site histories developed using participatory GIS revealed that the sites had a mixture of areas of spontaneous succession and technical reclamation, and identified that both planned management interventions and informal activities influenced habitat heterogeneity and ecological diversity.

Two groups of informal activity were identified as being of particular importance. Firstly, there has been active protection by the community of flower-rich habitats of conservation value (e.g. calcareous grassland) and distinctive plant species (e.g. orchids) which has also provided important foraging resources for butterfly and bumblebee species. Secondly, disturbance by activities such as use of motorbikes, informal camping, and cutting of trees and shrubs for fuel, as well as planned management interventions such as spreading of brick rubble, has provided habitat for plant species of open waste ground and locally uncommon invertebrate species which require patches of bare ground.

This study demonstrates the importance of informal, and often unrecorded, activities by the local community in providing diverse habitats and increased biodiversity within a post-mining site, and shows that active engagement with the local community and use of local knowledge can enhance ecological interpretation of such sites and provide a stronger basis for successful future management.

Read the article (external link to open-access journal)

Author(s): West, S.E.

Year: 2015

In: Journal Environmental Education Research, 21(1), 45-60

DOI:10.1080/13504622.2013.879695

Type: Journal article

Environmental education can deliver benefits to individuals, society and the environment, but few studies have asked practitioners or participants what they feel these benefits are. Using questionnaires, focus groups and participant observation, practitioners and participants listed a large number of outcomes, with increasing knowledge about the environment mentioned most frequently. For participants, this was often in relation to gaining new skills. Social outcomes, such as making new friends, were more prominent in participant than practitioner responses. Practitioners did not spontaneously mention any negative outcomes of environmental education, and few were suggested with prompting. Participants suggested more negative outcomes than practitioners, notably damage to the environment. The differing views suggest a need for greater discussion between practitioners and their participants.

Read the article (external link to Journal website)

Author(s): West, S.E.

Year: 2015

In: Journal of Environmental Education, 46(1), 41–55

DOI:10.1080/00958964.2014.973351

Type: Journal article

Questionnaires and discussion groups with a convenience sample of UK-based practitioners were used to uncover their evaluation methods. Although many report that they are evaluating regularly, this is mainly monitoring numbers of participants or an assessment of enjoyment. There may be a difference between practitioners’ and evaluation experts’ understandings of what constitutes evaluation, with many practitioners appearing to see “data collection” and “evaluation” as synonymous. In addition, evaluators would not consider many of the methods used for data collection appropriate. More robust methods for collecting data and longer-term evaluations are often impractical for environmental educators to conduct themselves, and mechanisms are suggested for improving interaction between practitioners, researchers, and evaluators, which could enhance evaluation practice.

Read the article (external link to Journal website)

Author(s): Tidblad, J., K. Hicks, J.C.I. Kuylenstierna, B.B. Pradhan, P. Dangol, I. Mylvakanam, S.B. Feresu, and C. Lungu

Year: 2015

In: Materials and Corrosion.

DOI: 10.1002/maco.201408043

Type: Journal article

From 2001 to 2010, Swerea KIMAB coordinated studies in 14 countries in Asia and Africa as part of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)-funded programme on Regional Air Pollution in Developing Countries (RAPIDC). The SEI York Centre managed the programme.

This article, the third in a series, presents the results of exposures of carbon steel, zinc and limestone samples in Kathmandu for one year. Their corrosion was measured at 10 locations and related to SO₂, NO₂, O₃, HNO₃and PM concentrations, as well as climatic factors. Corrosion rates vary considerably and are correlated mainly with the SO₂concentration. Estimated policy targets for SO₂are most stringent for limestone, in the range 3 to 6 μg m⁻³.

The authors find that the Kathmandu carbon steel and limestone samples match a general pattern from exposures across the study sites in Asia and Africa. Corrosion of copper is generally higher than corrosion of zinc, while in Europe, corrosion of zinc has been found to be higher than corrosion of copper.

Read the article online (external link to journal website)

Author(s): Ensor, J., and B. Harvey

Year: 2015

In: WIREs Climate Change, online 22 June 2015

DOI: 10.1002/wcc.348

Type: Journal article

The potential for social learning to address complex, interconnected social and environmental challenges, such as climate change adaptation, is receiving increasing attention in research and practice. Social learning approaches vary, but commonly include cycles of knowledge sharing and joint action to co‐create knowledge, relationships, and practices among diverse stakeholders. This results in learning and change that goes beyond the individual into communities, networks, or systems.

Many authors have focused on analysis of case studies to better understand the contexts in which such learning occurs. This paper looks across this literature to draw out lessons for international development practice. To support those looking to purposively design social learning interventions for adaptation, the authors focus on four areas: lessons learned and the principles adopted when using a social learning approach, examples of tools and methods used, approaches to evaluating social learning, and examples of its impact. 

While they identify important lessons for practice within each of these areas, three cross‐cutting themes emerge: the importance of developing a shared view among those initiating learning processes of how change might happen and of how social learning fits within it, linking this locus of desired change to the tools employed; the centrality of skilled facilitation and in particular how practitioners may shift toward being participants in the collective learning process; and the need to attend to social difference, recognizing the complexity of social relations and the potential for less powerful actors to be co‐opted in shared decision making.

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Author(s): Barron, J., E. Kemp-Benedict, J. Morris, A. de Bruin, D. Wang and A. Fencl

Year: 2015

In: Water Resources and Rural Development, in press, online 15 June 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.wrr.2015.06.001

Type: Journal article

The online open-access TAGMI tool (available atwww.seimapping.org/tagmi) uses country-scale Bayesian network models to assess the likelihood of success for outscaling various agricultural water management (AWM) interventions at sub-national level. The web tool integrates multiple sources of expertise on the enabling environment for outscaling based on key social, human, physical, financial, and natural factors. In this paper it estimates the relative probability of success of an AWM intervention across the Limpopo and Volta river basins.

TAGMI is presented as a ‘proof of concept’, to assess current areas of high, medium, and low probability of success for three AWM technologies common in Limpopo and Volta River Basins: the soil water conservation/in situ rainwater harvesting technologies in rain-fed systems, small-scale private irrigation and small reservoirs used for communal irrigation purposes. A climate change scenario is applied and used to discuss the robustness in potential AWM, according to the TAGMI tool. The paper then discusses the need for further development of Decision Support Systems for AWM interventions, and the need for generic or specific information on ‘best practices of implementation’ for successful uptake of technologies in poverty-constrained smallholder farming systems.

Read the article (external link to journal)

Author(s): Pedoth, L., S. Jülich, R. Taylor, C. Kofler, N. Matin, J. Forrester, and S. Schneiderbauer

Year: 2015

In: emBRACE case study (Deliverable 5.4)

Type: Report

The emBRACE project aims to build resilience to disasters amongst communities in Europe. Based on previous research in the area, in this case study, emBRACE tested methods to assess and model resilience in this specific alpine context. In particular, the research focused on assessing resilience at the municipality/community and provincial/cantonal level with respect to multiple hazards (e.g. precautionary measures, multi-hazard maps, contingency plans for cascading hazards, economic effects) and on assessing capacities needed to cope with the multiple socio-economic impacts of cascading hazards.

In the Swiss part, the assessment of community and cantonal resilience included the assessment of respective policies, capacities and social learning among actors. Protective, preventive, adaptive and transformative social protection measures, which have potential for disaster risk reduction and increasing adaptive capacity, were identified. In the Italian part, socio-ecological modeling for better risk management was performed.

Download the report (PDF, 7.95 MB)

Author(s): Morris, J., Fraval, S., Githoro, E., Ran, Y., and Mugatha, S.

Year: 2015

In: SEI Working Paper No. 2015-05

Type: Working paper

The workshop focused primarily on livestock keeping, feed production and the support infrastructure and services required for small-scale dairy production, as well as the environmental context supporting the systems. Together, the information provided a basis for discussion of the likely impacts on the environmental context associated with livestock keeping for dairy production. The data were captured using participatory mapping in small group discussions during the workshop.

These discussions yielded a wealth of relevant information describing the state of dairy production and natural resources in June 2014, for input into the CLEANED-VCs framework that is especially useful because it was developed by the stakeholders who know and operate within the landscape, and who manage the associated natural resource base through their activities. The results will complement secondary data, household-level information and expert knowledge as inputs into a proof-of-concept implementation of the ex-ante environmental assessment using the Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for Improved Nutrition, a Secured Environment and Sustainable Development along Livestock and Aquaculture Value Chains.

Download the report (PDF, 3.3 MB)

Author(s): Morris, J., Fraval, S., Githoro, E., Ran, Y., and Mugatha, S.

Year: 2015

In: SEI-WP-2015-04

Type: Working paper

The workshop focused primarily on livestock keeping, feed production and support infrastructure and services for small-scale dairy production, as well as the environmental context supporting such systems. Together, the information provided a basis for discussion of the common impacts on the environmental context associated with livestock keeping for dairy production. The data were captured using participatory mapping by small group discussions during the workshop.

These groups yielded a wealth of relevant information describing the state of dairy production and natural resources in June-July 2014, which was especially useful because it was developed by the stakeholders who know and operate in the landscape, and who manage the associated natural resource base through their activities. The results will complement the secondary data, household-level information and expert knowledge gathered as inputs into a proof-of-concept implementation of an ex-ante environmental assessment using the Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for Improved Nutrition, a Secured Environment and Sustainable Development along Livestock and Aquaculture Value Chains.

Download the report (PDF, 4.7 MB)

Author(s): Forrester, J., Cook, B., Bracken, L., Cinderby, S. and A. Donaldson

Year: 2015

In: Applied Geography, Volume 56, January 2015, Pages 199–208

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.11.019

Type: Journal article

This paper explores the development of a GIS-based methodology and its application to understand and map stakeholder knowledge. The authors find that combining Q-methodology (a research method used to study people's "subjectivity"or viewpoint) with participatory mapping (gathering data using traditional methods such as interviews, questions, focus groups, all using some form of paper maps to allow participants to record spatial details) helps to overcome a significant problem in social engagement: representing the unclear connection between what people say or do and their underlying attitudes, values or beliefs.

The paper is based on a reflexive engagement with flood management and natural adaptive capacity in the Scottish-English Borderlands. The paper confirms how such topics can benefit from an appreciation of the wide range of stakeholders' positions, as well as the underlying beliefs informing those positions and provides template for others interested in unpacking complex socio-environmental issues.