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Copyright of GeoHumanities is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates what 'cultural ecosystem services' are important for nomadic herders' well-being in Mongolian pasturelands, and how nomads' knowledge facilitates understanding of these cultural ecosystem services. Nomads' appreciation of cultural ecosystem services is an aspect of their local knowledge and practices. Interviews, focus group discussions, and a household survey were conducted in the case study area of north-east Mongolia to understand what the main cultural ecosystem services relied upon at a local level are, and how people perceive their benefits. The key cultural ecosystem services supporting their well-being are historical and cultural heritage, sacred and religious landscape values, inspirational values of landscape and the symbolic and aesthetic meaning of the landscape. The paper contributes to debates regarding cultural ecosystem services assessment by addressing the importance of memories and perceptions of local communities and emphasising its importance for local decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change will affect communities in diverse and differentiated ways, so adaptation approaches must strive to address social justice in order to reduce inequality. This paper applies a social justice framework to examine planning for sea level rise in a densely populated coastal settlement in eastern Australia. The Lake Macquarie area is highly vulnerable to sea level rise with local adaptation planning already underway. An in-depth case study is presented that draws upon 19 interviews with key informants and householders and a structured document and media analysis from 12 newspapers. This qualitative data was analysed to identify: the range of understandings of what is just in planning for sea level rise; and key factors that influence perceptions of justice in planned retreat scenarios. The study concludes that there is a need for guiding principles in decision-making that explicitly address social justice in order to realise more equitable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herders in Mongolia have adapted to changing environmental conditions over thousands of years through innovations in pasture and herd management practices, knowledge, collective institutions and mobility strategies, yet they now face unprecedented climate risks threatening their livelihoods, economies and ways of life. This paper presents the results of a study into how herder communities adapt to climate change and the potential role an ecosystem services approach could play in informing the development of effective adaptation strategies. The findings are based on semi-structured interviews with herders, key informants, focus group discussions and a survey of nomadic households in Northeast Mongolia. The benefits of pasture ecosystem services have changed considerably due to climatic and socio-economic changes in the Mongolian steppe resulting in degradation of the pastureland and water resources. The ways that traditional ecological knowledge and practices can support adaptation to climate change are explored. In particular, the seasonal movement of nomads represents a valuable form of knowledge and practice of adaptation in response to the changes in temperate dryland ecosystems. To continue to maintain mobility as part of adaptation strategies other adaptation actions are required, such as the implementation of an appropriate livestock insurance systems that addresses climate and weather risks, and restoration of dryland ecosystem services, notably through reforestation and improvement of water supplies. Further changes in the pastureland ecosystems may lead to further adaptations in nomadic livelihoods, leveraging nomadic herders' knowledge of local ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Policy & Research is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Technical transport models are commonly relied upon in planning practice for the development of urban rail infrastructure projects. By considering the assessment and management of social impacts in the planning and decision-making of two rail megaprojects (the North-South Metro line in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Parramatta Rail Link in Sydney, Australia), we found that technical approaches continued to overlook social impacts, and had an overemphasis on economic and engineering considerations. We conclude that good practice Social Impact Assessment (SIA) offers opportunities to better consider social issues as a critical component of transport projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly commonplace in cities, extreme heat events introduce multi-stress vulnerability, affecting people’s health and well-being, financial situation, mobility, social relations, and access to basic services. Planning to reduce heat vulnerability has become part of government business and to some extent community-level responses, cutting across a number of sectors including public health, emergency management, social services, critical infrastructure, and housing. This planning is often framed around heat as an emergency, focusing on preventing loss of life and severe health impacts, yet a vulnerability perspective also draws attention to the chronic and persistent impacts of heat. Our research, based on interviews and desktop research in Melbourne, Australia, found tensions between addressing heat as an emergency and heat as a source of chronic stress, with emergency responses taking precedence over responses addressing the chronic dimensions of heat. Each approach results in different but nonetheless related programmatic priorities for reducing vulnerability. In complex institutional settings, improving relations between policy and programme managers, non-government organisations, and vulnerable people themselves would enable the multiple stresses associated with extreme heat to be more effectively addressed. Policy and institutional responses that better appreciate the interconnections between the emergency and chronic aspects of heat would likely reduce vulnerabilityandcontribute to more just approaches to urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The capacity to anticipate and respond to climate change can critically shape vulnerability, influencing whether a country experiences harm from exposure to stresses or is able to cope, adapt and realize sustainable outcomes. This paper presents the results of a study that evaluates capacity in relation to the health and water sectors in Vietnam. The study presents informants’ views on the adequacy of financial resources, understanding of vulnerability and adaptation, training needs, information requirements and levels of cooperation as well as their priorities to address adaptation. The perceptions of respondents on challenges and obstacles faced in developing adaptation strategies are also examined. Training on vulnerability and increasing funds for adaptation were reported as the top priorities, indicating that the inadequacy of human and financial resources is the most significant challenge to effective adaptation in the study context. Difficult and weak cooperation was also widely considered to be a barrier. The paper concludes that there are significant interconnected constraints on adaptive capacity in Vietnam that are further exacerbated by governance issues, such as inadequate cooperation and transparency in sharing information and data. This paper identifies priorities for action to address the challenge of climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of continuing pressures from managerialist and neoliberal drivers of university reform in Australia, Macquarie University’s recent undergraduate curriculum innovation, based on “People,” “Planet,” and “Participation,” has resulted in the embedding and integration of experiential learning in its curriculum and institutional framework. Such an approach challenges academic and administrative staff, students, and partners in industry, the community and public sector settings, to engage and collaborate across significant boundaries. This article outlines the scope and nature of the curriculum reform, then considers the way geographers have both shaped and responded to the opportunities it created. In so doing, it proposes a number of challenges and recommendations for geographers who might seek to extend their longstanding commitment to field-based learning through similar reforms. In this regard, the discipline of geography and its tendency to engage with the “field” can offer much in fostering deeply transformative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Institutional capacity is an important element for climate change adaptation (CCA) and the development of such capacity is a great challenge in a Least Developed Country like Cambodia where resources are limited. An important first step to increasing capacity is via an understanding of the level of existing capacity; future priorities can then be subsequently identified. This study aimed to assess the capacity of organizations to implement climate change activities in Cambodia in order to provide such a basis for building capacity. Four elements of capacity were investigated in this research: (1) financial resources, (2) cooperation and coordination of stakeholders, (3) availability and quality of information on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, and (4) the level of understanding of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. The data were collected through semistructured interviews with a wide range of government and non-government informants across a number of sectors. Results of the study showed that informants perceived capacity for CCA to be very constrained, especially in terms of financial resources and cooperation, and addressing these factors was ranked as the highest climate change capacity priority. Institutional capacity constraints were considered to relate more generally to weak governance of CCA. In light of our research findings, the absence of local higher education institutions in CCA activities should be addressed. The support of such institutions would provide an important mechanism to progress both capacity development as well as partnerships and coordination between different types of organizations and relevant sectors. Policy relevance Capacity for CCA within Cambodian health and water sectors was perceived to be very constrained across a range of interdependent factors. Increasing funding was ranked as the highest priority for building capacity for CCA; however, governance factors such as ‘improved cooperation’ were also ranked highly. Improving stakeholders' awareness of the availability of adaptation funds and resources, and their responsiveness to funding criteria, is an important implication of our research, as is improving the mobilization of local resources and the private sector. To address the issue of weak cooperation among stakeholders, improving the coordination function of the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) regarding stakeholder engagement and capacity building is crucial. Ensuring that CCA activities are based on sound information and knowledge from across different disciplines and, importantly, include the perspectives of vulnerable people themselves, ultimately underpins and supports the realization of the above priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Change has been at the heart of the livelihoods concept since its inception, allowing for a clear focus on how people perceive, respond to and experience risk. The ardent focus on ‘the local’ within livelihoods work, both in research and programmatic terms, has to some extent overshadowed attention on the role of wider-scale political economic and environmental processes in generating change and determining responses to change. Livelihoods in the Mekong Delta have never been ‘local’, having long been historically embedded in international, regional and national economic, political and environmental transformations. Drivers of change at these wider scales have intensified, complicating local responses to change, whether through economic, social or political means. A more nuanced appreciation of how scaled relations can be supported is required to better anticipate and respond to the political ecology of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon theory from the field of urban political ecology, we analyse a major strategic water plan for Melbourne, Australia—theSustainable water strategy for the Central Region, published in 2006. We assess the extent to which the strategy identified and addressed ecological sustainability in terms of: cultural frames; ecological context; social equity; and engagement processes. We identify that the strategy's framing of water was largely separate from its social and ecological context. This framing resulted in the importance of issues such as environmental flows, social equity and cultural values being diminished, thus avoiding the inevitable confrontation with environmental limits needed to ensure long-term ecological sustainability. Our analysis shows that the discursive dominance of economics limited the response to persuasive scientific arguments for greater ecological consideration in the strategy. Our findings suggest that broadening engagement with the diverse ways in which water is valued is likely to contribute to more equitable and ecologically sustainable water futures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Changes in climatic conditions and increases in weather variability affect human health directly and indirectly, including through agricultural changes and urban warming. Adaptation to climate change is receiving increasing attention, given, now, the inevitability of further climate change and its diverse impacts. However, with increased international funding for adaptation comes challenges such as ensuring supportive national policy environments for developing and implementing effective adaptation activities. Adaptation at community and population levels is underpinned by governance processes, such as the nature by which decisions are taken and implemented by government, community and private organizations. Thus an understanding of the policy context is necessary to identify the factors that enable or inhibit adaptation policy and programmes. This article examines to what degree there exist enabling factors to support the development of adaptation policy and activities, with relevance to the health sector. Results of a policy analysis are presented, which used stakeholder participation to investigate the context in which adaptation decisions were made within organizations across different sectors in Cambodia. Five factors were identified as critical components of the governance environment: (1) policy development processes; (2) the existence of a political recognition of climate change and (3–5) the organizational barriers relating to coordination, funding and lack of information. Without achieving a supportive policy environment, future adaptation actions are likely to have limited effect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A number of challenges prevent climate change adaptation activities from contributing to vulnerability reduction. Some of these relate to the nature and quality of vulnerability assessments, while others concern how well assessments link with adaptation actions. By highlighting four persistent assumptions about the role of vulnerability assessments in adaptation, this paper seeks to identify ways in which the practice of vulnerability assessment can better support progressive adaptation actions. This paper argues that, for adaptation actions identified within vulnerability assessments to be successful, there is a need for assessment to: (i) engage with marginalized perspectives; (ii) draw upon diverse knowledge domains; (iii) integrate scales of analysis with appropriate scales of action; and (iv) build political will. This requires vulnerability assessment to be considered as more than just a method for information generation on who is most vulnerable to climate change, where they are located and the underlying reasons for their vulnerability. In addition, improving the rigor and transparency of assessments and engagement with stakeholders during the assessment process can better facilitate vulnerability-focused adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Amsterdam's North-South Metro Line (NZL) megaproject has had a long eventful history. From the initial proposal in the 1990s, through construction in the 2000s to 2010s, to its opening in 2018, the NZL overcame many challenges. Several geotechnical incidents in the Vijzelgracht neighbourhood in 2008 cost the City of Amsterdam and the Dutch government millions of Euros. These incidents required complex recovery management actions, and there was a complete re-evaluation of the project, resulting in extensive reformulation of the project's communications and impact management strategies, and in more-transparent public participation. Despite NZL's significance, it never underwent any formal Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), thus it provides an interesting case to consider how social impacts are addressed when there is no formal ESIA. Drawing on document review, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group, we considered the experiences of key decision-makers and project team members to learn how social impacts were assessed and managed over time in the absence of ESIA. We conclude that, when combined with appropriate urban governance frameworks, applying ESIA in urban and transport planning would improve the assessment and management of the social impacts of future megaproject infrastructure developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]