Search

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Regenerative agriculture, an alternative form of food and fiber production, concerns itself with enhancing and restoring resilient systems supported by functional ecosystem processes and healthy, organic soils capable of producing a full suite of ecosystem services, among them soil carbon sequestration and improved soil water retention. As such, climate change mitigation and adaptation are incidental to a larger enterprise that employs a systems approach to managing landscapes and communities. The transformative potential of regenerative agriculture has seen growing attention in the popular press, but few empirical studies have explored the processes by which farmers enter into, navigate, and, importantly, sustain the required paradigm shift in their approach to managing their properties, farm businesses, and personal lives. We draw on theories and insights associated with relational thinking to analyze the experiences of farmers in Australia who have undertaken and sustained transitions from conventional to regenerative agriculture. We present a conceptual framework of “zones of friction and traction” occurring in personal, practical, and political spheres of transformation that both challenge and facilitate the transition process. Our findings illustrate the ways in which deeply held values and emotions influence and interact with mental models, worldviews, and cultural norms as a result of regular monitoring; and how behavioral change is sustained through the establishment of self-amplifying positive feedbacks involving biophilic emotions, a sense of well-being, and an ever-expanding worldview. We conclude that transitioning to regenerative agriculture involves more than a suite of ‘climate-smart’ mitigation and adaptation practices supported by technical innovation, policy, education, and outreach. Rather, it involves subjective, nonmaterial factors associated with culture, values, ethics, identity, and emotion that operate at individual, hou

© 2019 The Authors The Blue Economy is an ocean based economic growth model gaining traction around the world. The way in which the Blue Economy is conceived and understood differs significantly across different sets of actors. A particular area of contestation exists around which ocean based industries or sectors can be considered to be ‘Blue’. This highlights the possibility of the Blue Economy becoming a forum through which the legitimacy of different private uses of ocean resources is contested and debated. The question of legitimacy of Blue Economy activities and sectors is explored through a critical engagement with the notion of a ‘social license to operate’ (SLO). Whilst SLO is normally considered in the context of individual businesses or developments, in this article we explore the applicability of SLO at a cross-sectoral scale. In doing so we examine how the concept of SLO may inform debates over appropriate private use of public ocean resources, and how this might influence the legitimacy of the broader concept of a Blue Economy. A case study involving a range of private sectors actors engaged in diverse ocean industries was conducted, drawing on interviews, a cross-sectoral survey and an interactive workshop with the ocean business community. The case study explores the role that SLO is currently playing in ocean industries. In particular we explore perceptions of who grants a SLO, what kind of concerns impact a SLO and how sectors work to obtain, or maintain, a SLO. By comparing the responses of individual sectors to these three critical questions, we identify that many of the SLO challenges currently being experienced by ocean industries relate to conflicting social and political values. This is creating a range of complex, sometimes irresolvable, SLO challenges for maritime industries, largely concentrated in sectors engaged in resource extraction, such as mining and oil and gas. In addition we find that attempts to address SLO challenges to date foc

© 2017 Human dimensions researchers and fisheries managers have long recognized the value of exploring the heterogeneity that exists amongst recreational fishers. Understanding the differences between fishers has the potential to assist managers in developing targeted communication strategies, direct resources to active management more efficiently and improve understanding of how fishers will respond to changes in regulations or new management interventions. Human dimensions research has traditionally explored fisher heterogeneity through research into the different reasons why people choose to fish, as well as attempts to categorize or segment fishers using variable based approaches. These studies have, to date, relied primarily on large scale, quantitative survey techniques with a particular focus on fisher avidity and commitment. They are therefore limited in their ability to explain how different fishing motivations might interact within an individual, why particular motivations are prioritized, and how this might influence fisher behavior and attitudes. This study trialed a mixed methods approach to understanding fisher heterogeneity based primarily on motivations using a case study in NSW, Australia. This trial involved utilizing a person-centered approach known as Latent Class Analysis (LCA), followed by qualitative, in depth focus group discussions. This revealed five distinct fisher classes; Social fishers, Trophy Fishers, Outdoor Enthusiasts, Generalists and Hunter-Gatherers, each with distinct and significantly different combinations of catch and non-catch-related motivations. The qualitative analysis sought to explore the intersection of motivations and attitudes towards management within and across the different fisher classes. The results highlighted the importance of more detailed examination of the intersection between motivations and attitudes in future LCA, with a particular focus on the potential influence of mastery (or challenge/experience) moti

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The ‘Blue Economy’ is an increasingly popular term in modern marine and ocean governance. The concept seeks to marry ocean-based development opportunities with environmental stewardship and protection. Yet different actors are co-opting this term in competing, and often conflicting ways. Four conceptual interpretations of the Blue Economy are identified, through examination of dominant discourses within international Blue Economy policy documents and key ‘grey’ literature. The way the Blue Economy is enacted is also examined, through an analysis of the Blue Economy ‘in practice’, and the actors involved. Finally, the scope of the Blue Economy is explored, with a particular focus on which particular marine industries are included or excluded from different conceptualizations. This analysis reveals areas of both consensus and conflict. Areas of consensus reflect the growing trend towards commodification and valuation of nature, the designation and delimitation of spatial boundaries in the oceans and increasing securitization of the world's oceans. Areas of conflict exist most notably around a divergence in opinions over the legitimacy of individual sectors as components of the ‘Blue Economy’, in particular, carbon-intensive industries like oil and gas, and the emerging industry of deep seabed mining.

© 2018 Indian Ocean Research Group. Maritime security is essential to supporting the Blue Economy. Many maritime security forums have been key supporters of the Blue Economy concept, particularly in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). This paper will explore the co-evolution and co-dependence of Blue Economy and maritime security agendas, with a particular focus on the IOR. It identifies two primary interactions between Blue Economy and maritime security interests. Firstly, maritime security is an enabler of the Blue Economy, for example, through safeguarding navigation routes, providing important oceanographic data to marine industries and protecting rights over valuable marine resources and activities within claimed zones of maritime jurisdiction. Secondly, an often overlooked role that maritime security plays in the Blue Economy is by being itself a source of economic development and growth. An expanded Blue Economy will create greater demand for maritime security capabilities, and this, in turn, will trigger increased investment and growth in these capabilities. The enhanced and increasingly diverse role that maritime security will continue to play in the Blue Economy can be seen across all sectors in the IOR.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one approach, amongst many, for the protection of marine biodiversity. Although proven to be effective at protecting biodiversity and to be supported by local and wider communities, the implementation of some MPAs has been very contentious especially with fishing stakeholders. We researched the causes of these issues by examining the experience of implementation of the Batemans Marine Park in New South Wales, Australia. While MPA selection and management need to be based on rigorous science, a commensurate level of attention needs to be applied to understanding the social systems that also play a role in determining the protection measures and approaches. The most pressing issue that needs to be resolved early on in a planning process is the MPA's objectives, and whether these objectives are well understood and accepted by the local community. Building community support for MPAs also involves taking into account the different systems of knowledge and views of the natural world that exist within the community. Science alone is not sufficient to convince communities of the need for MPAs or their value in achieving conservation outcomes. Incorporating 'bottom-up' approaches into communication and engagement strategies will allow for a greater diversity of voices to be heard and acknowledged, protecting the planning processes against polarisation. Engaging local communities needs to go beyond large-scale consultation processes to include more rigorous, integrated social, economic and ecological assessment exercises, involving a collaborative participatory approach. Context is important and planning processes need to recognise the individual and unique needs of each affected community. Rigid ideas around the best means of achieving biodiversity protection combined with 'a one size fits all' approach to planning and community engagement are likely to exacerbate conflict and division and stimulate opposition.

© 2016 Resource conflict is a common feature of coastal management. This conflict is often managed by using spatial planning tools to segregate uses, with access decisions made through a comparison of the economic costs and benefits of the competing sectors. These comparisons rarely include an in-depth analysis of the extent or nature of the conflict. One commonly experienced form of resource conflict in coastal communities involves professional fishing, recreational fishing and broader coastal tourism. In New South Wales, Australia the professional fishing industry is often seen as being in conflict with recreational fishing and tourism, and there are frequent calls to close areas to professional fishing, arguing that this will provide improved economic benefits to local communities. This research examined the relationships between the three sectors using economic valuations, qualitative interviews and a large-scale representative questionnaire of the general public. The results revealed highly interconnected and mutually supportive relationships, with professional fishing providing a range of services that benefit both tourism and recreational fishing. These results suggest that spatial management exercises that seek to segregate or remove one sector from an area, may be counterproductive to the interests of all these groups. Relying on economic valuations of each sector as if they stand alone is insufficient to adequately understand their roles in local communities. Resource allocation decisions should be based on evaluations that consider the interconnections between sectors, and consider whether negotiated sharing of resources may provide greater community benefits than excluding certain groups of users.

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd The principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development and Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management require that fisheries be managed for social as well as environmental and economic objectives. Comprehensive assessments of the success of fisheries in achieving all three objectives are, however, rare. There are three main barriers to achieving integrated assessments of fisheries. Firstly, disciplinary divides can be considered “too hard” to bridge with inherent conflicts between the predominately empirical and deductive traditions of economics and biophysical sciences and the inductive and interpretative approach of much of the social sciences. Secondly, understanding of the social pillar of sustainability is less well developed. And finally, in-depth analysis of the social aspects of sustainability often involves qualitative analysis and there are practical difficulties in integrating this with largely quantitative economic and ecological assessments. This article explores the social well-being approach as a framework for an integrated evaluation of the social and economic benefits that communities in New South Wales, Australia, receive from professional fish harvesting. Using a review of existing literature and qualitative interviews with more than 160 people associated with the fishing industry the project was able to identify seven key domains of community well-being to which the industry contributes. Identification of these domains provided a framework through which industry contributions could be further explored, through quantitative surveys and economic analysis. This framework enabled successful integration of social and economic, and both qualitative and quantitative information in a manner that enabled a comprehensive assessment of the value of the fishery.

The amount of carbon present in Earth’s mantle affects the dynamics of melting, volcanic eruption style and the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere via planetary outgassing. Mantle carbon concentrations are difficult to quantify because most magmas are strongly degassed upon eruption. Here we report undegassed carbon concentrations from a new set of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use the correlations of CO2 with trace elements to define an average carbon abundance for the upper mantle. Our results indicate that the upper mantle carbon content is highly heterogeneous, varying by almost two orders of magnitude globally, with the potential to produce large geographic variations in melt fraction below the volatile-free solidus. Such heterogeneity will manifest as variations in the depths at which melt becomes interconnected and detectable, the CO2 fluxes at mid-ocean ridges, the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, and mantle conductivity.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Improving the social acceptability or 'social licence' of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a key challenge facing countries all around the world. As the world moves slowly towards the establishment of a global network of MPAs, it is increasingly apparent that a greater understanding of social responses to MPAs is required, given they are often met with resistance from local communities. A series of in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted across coastal users in New South Wales, Australia, including surfers, recreational fishers, professional fishers, spearfishers, walkers, divers, snorkellers, kayakers and other community members. The research identified the values, images and principles at work amongst coastal users to determine the dominant 'cultural models' within the community and how these models influenced attitudes towards MPAs. This research indicates that traditional consultation models may not be sufficient to address the full spectrum of community needs, and in fact suggests the need to re-conceive the make -up of 'the community' itself. In the context of MPA planning 'the community' is not an amalgamation of a range of homogenous stakeholder groups but instead a diverse and complex mix of identities and value systems which are not confined to particular interest groups. Incorporating consideration of the diverse range of values, images and principles found within and across stakeholder groups will require new and innovative approaches to participation and management.

Mass media is a key tool by which environmental interventions, such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are communicated to the public. The way in which local news outlets present and explain MPAs to local communities is likely to be influential in determining how they respond to the proposal. In particular the tendency of news media to focus on areas of conflict and dispute ensures ideology and politics play a central role in reporting of MPA proposals, often simplifying debate into an 'us versus them' or 'fishers versus conservationists' ideological conflict. This can lead to the outright rejection of an MPA or undermine acceptance of the park within local communities. The media coverage of two marine parks in NSW, Australia was compared to determine the way in which news presented the parks to each community and how this may have influenced public acceptance of the parks. In particular the study examined the role ideology and politics played in the news coverage of each park by investigating the way in which the news was framed and the positions of key media spokespeople. Media coverage of the Batemans Marine Park appears to have been highly politicised and heavily influenced by the strong convictions of a small handful of prominent spokespeople. By way of contrast media coverage of the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park was more nuanced and drew from a wide range of sources. This research provides insight into how areas of conflict could be reframed as opportunities that enhance MPA planning exercises and highlights how ideology can help shape community sentiment. Acknowledging the role of ideology in contested areas such as these allows for the development of strategies that can accommodate as well as moderate its influence. These strategies may include the incorporation of 'bottom up' approaches into MPA planning, the promotion and support of a range of voices within the community, and seeking out and building upon common ground and shared values. © 2013 Elsev

Has the hype associated with the «revolutionary» potential of the World Wide Web and digital media for environmental activism been muted by the past two decades of lived experience? What are the empirical realities of the prevailing media landscape? Using a range of related disciplinary perspectives, the contributors to this book analyze and explain the complicated relationship between environmental conflict and the media. They shine light on why media are central to historical and contemporary conceptions of power and politics in the context of local, national and global issues and outline the emerging mixture of innovation and reliance on established strategies in environmental campaigns. With cases drawn from different sections of the globe Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, Latin America, China, Japan, the Pacific Islands, Africa the book demonstrates how conflicts emanate from and flow across multiple sites, regions and media platforms and examines the role of the media in helping to structure collective discussion, debate and decision-making.

Addressing social and economic considerations is crucial to the success of Marine Protected Area (MPA) planning and management. Ineffective social assessment can alienate local communities and undermine the success of existing and future MPAs. It is rare to critique the success of methods used currently to incorporate social and economic considerations into MPA planning. Three Australian MPA planning processes covering three states and incorporating federal and state jurisdictions are reviewed in order to determine how potential social impacts were assessed and considered. These case studies indicate that Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is under-developed in Australian MPA planning. Assessments rely heavily on public participation and economic modelling as surrogates for dedicated SIA and are followed commonly by attitudinal surveys to gauge public opinion on the MPA after its establishment. The emergence of issues around public perception of the value of MPAs indicates the failure of some of these proposals to adequately consider social factors in planning and management. This perception may have potential implications for the long term success of individual MPAs. It may also compromise Australia's ability to meet international commitments for MPA targets to gazette at least 10% of all its marine habitats as MPAs. Indeed, this is demonstrated in two of the three case studies where social and economic arguments against MPAs have been used to delay or block the future expansion of the MPA network. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.