Climate change debates have typically centred around the environmental and economic effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions. The focus, however, has recently begun to shift towards acknowledging the human impacts of global climate change, especially in vulnerable regions and communities. This thesis considers whether human rights law can compensate for the inability of traditional, state-centred, environmental law and international law to address the human impacts of climate change. By using the situation of the Canadian Inuit as a case study, this thesis focuses on 'greening' existing human rights to address the environmental damage in the Canadian Arctic as a result of climate change. This study concludes that, although international human rights regimes provide potential forums for groups such as the Canadian Inuit, substantive environmental human rights are necessary in international law in order to best address the complex intersection of environmental degradation, such as climate change, and human rights.

This article aims to discuss China’s possible future climate change policy after the 2011 Durban Conference. Before engaging in a discussion on China’s future policy, a brief review of China’s climate change policy before the Durban Conference, as well as the logic behind the making of China’s stance will firstly be investigated. Furthermore, this article also makes inquiries into the implications of the Durban outcomes, and then discusses China’s position during the transitional period of 2012-2020. Additionally, the article analyses China’s climate change stance in future climate negotiations in a post-2020 era and the key domestic measures that China will take to cut its carbon emissions after 2020. In conclusion, the article reveals that China’s real significance for global climate action in future is not coming through an international regime, but through the global importance of its domestic measures.

Climate change debates have typically centred around the environmental and economic effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions. The focus, however, has recently begun to shift towards acknowledging the human impacts of global climate change, especially in vulnerable regions and communities. This thesis considers whether human rights law can compensate for the inability of traditional, state-centred, environmental law and international law to address the human impacts of climate change. By using the situation of the Canadian Inuit as a case study, this thesis focuses on 'greening' existing human rights to address the environmental damage in the Canadian Arctic as a result of climate change. This study concludes that, although international human rights regimes provide potential forums for groups such as the Canadian Inuit, substantive environmental human rights are necessary in international law in order to best address the complex intersection of environmental degradation, such as climate change, and human rights.

This article aims to discuss China’s possible future climate change policy after the 2011 Durban Conference. Before engaging in a discussion on China’s future policy, a brief review of China’s climate change policy before the Durban Conference, as well as the logic behind the making of China’s stance will firstly be investigated. Furthermore, this article also makes inquiries into the implications of the Durban outcomes, and then discusses China’s position during the transitional period of 2012-2020. Additionally, the article analyses China’s climate change stance in future climate negotiations in a post-2020 era and the key domestic measures that China will take to cut its carbon emissions after 2020. In conclusion, the article reveals that China’s real significance for global climate action in future is not coming through an international regime, but through the global importance of its domestic measures.

Oyster farming is an important mariculture along the western coast of Taiwan. There is always impacts on the oyster farming. The information of frequency, size and timing of tyhoon every year is strongly connected to the decisions of starting and harvesting of oyster culture. Climate change or variation seem to examine the future management of an oyster farm. This study aims to understand the adaptive strategies of oyster farmers in Tainan to possible climate change or variability. To analyze the mechanism of adaptive capacity and decision-making through a qualitative approach, specially , with focus groups, in-depth interviews, and semi-structured questionnaires. The results revealed abundant adaptation existing in the oyster farmers in Tainan, such as selecting small-size or median-size oyster as a way to cope with typhoon. However information exchange is rare among focus groups and more training and out reach courses are suggested.

Local climate action plans have become more prevalent in recent years yet information on their success is limited. While unlikely, on their own, to be able to mitigate enough carbon emissions to prevent catastrophic impacts of global temperature increase, local climate planning has the potential to play an important role in a number of key ways. Cities have traditionally exercised control in areas that have GHG abatement potential at low cost (e.g. building codes, land use, energy procurement) and the total population represented by cities committed to GHG reduction efforts is not insignificant and continues to grow. The extent to which local climate plans can serve as a meaningful element in a larger (but currently woefully inadequate) policy picture, will depend on their ability to set aggressive goals, dedicate resources, test innovative strategies, and measure progress systematically. Looking at the plans and progress reports of five U.S. cities, many have set aggressive goals and created innovative programs that could be replicated at other levels of government, but most are somewhat lacking in measuring and reporting progress metrics and financial resources committed to these efforts. For local climate planning to contribute significantly to broader climate policy, it will need to develop more rigorous progress metrics so the highest yield, lowest cost abatement strategies can be identified and advanced in other cities and at higher levels of government. / text

<p> This dissertation thesis details an interdisciplinary research project, which combines the strengths of resilience theory, the sustainable livelihood framework, complex systems theory, and modeling. These approaches are integrated to develop a tool that can help policy-makers make decisions under conditions of uncertainty, with the goals of reducing poverty and increasing environmental sustainability.</p><p> Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including reducing poverty and hunger, and increasing environmental sustainability, has been hampered due to global resource degradation and fluctuations in natural, social, political and financial systems. Climate change further impedes these goals, especially in developing countries. The resilience approach has been proposed to help populations adapt to climate change, but this abstract concept has been difficult to operationalize.</p><p> The sustainable livelihood framework has been used as a tool by development agencies to evaluate and eradicate poverty by finding linkages between livelihood and environment. However, critiques highlight its inability to handle large and cross-scale issues, like global climate change and environmental degradation. </p><p> Combining the sustainable livelihood framework and resilience theory will enhance the ability to simultaneously tackle the challenges of poverty eradication and climate change. However, real-life systems are difficult to understand and measure. A complex-systems approach enables improved understanding of real-life systems by recognizing nonlinearity, emergence, and self-organization. Nonetheless, this approach needs a framework to incorporate multiple dimensions, and an analytical technique.</p><p> This research project attempts to transform the concept of resilience into a measurable and operationally useful tool. It integrates resilience theory with the sustainable livelihood framework by using systems modeling techniques. As a case-study, it explores the resilience of household livelihoods within a local village <i>Panchayat</i> in central India.</p><p> This method integrated the 4-step cross-scale resilience approach with the sustainable livelihood framework through the use of a system dynamics modeling technique. Qualitative and quantitative data on social, economic and ecological variables was collected to construct a four-year panel at the panchayat scale. Socio-economic data was collected through questionnaires, focus group discussions, participant observation, and literature review. Ecological data on forest regeneration, degradation and growth rates was collected through sample plots, literature review of the region's forest management plans, and expert opinions, in the absence of data.</p><p> Using these data, a conceptual, bottom-up model, sensitive to local variability, was created and parameterized. The resultant model (tool), called the Livelihood Management System, is the first of its kind to use the system dynamics technique to model livelihood resilience.</p><p> Model simulations suggest that the current extraction rates of forest resources (non-timber forest produce, fuelwood and timber) are unsustainable. If continued, these will lead to increased forest degradation and decline in household income. Forest fires and grazing also have severe impacts on local forests, principally by retarding regeneration. The model suggests that protection from grazing and forest fires alone may significantly improve forest quality. Examining the dynamics of government-sponsored labor, model simulation suggests that it will be difficult to achieve the Government of India's goal of providing 100 days' wage labor per household through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.</p><p> Based on vulnerability analysis under the sustainable livelihood framework, eight risks to livelihoods were identified based on which six scenarios were created. One scenario was simulated to understand the resilience of local livelihoods to external shocks. Through these simulations, it was found that while climate change is a threat to local livelihoods, government policy changes have comparatively much larger impacts on local communities. The simulation demonstrates that reduced access to natural resources has significant impacts on local livelihoods. The simulation also demonstrates that reduced access drives forced migration, which increases the vulnerability of already risk-prone populations.</p><p> Through the development and simulation of the livelihood model, the research has been able to demonstrate a new methodology to operationalize resilience, indicating many promising next steps. Future undertakings in resilience analysis can allow for finding leverage points, thresholds and tipping points to help shift complex systems to desirable pathways and outcomes. Modeling resilience can help in identifying and prioritizing areas of intervention, and providing ways to monitor implementation progress, thus furthering the goals of reducing extreme poverty and hunger, and environmental sustainability.</p><p> Many challenges, such as high costs of data collection and the introduction of uncertainties, make model development and simulation harder. However, such challenges should be embraced as an integral part of complex analysis. In the long run, such analysis should become cost- and time-effective, contributing to data-driven decision-making processes, thus helping policy-makers take informed decisions under complex and uncertain conditions.</p>

<p> Previous studies investigating the velocity and elevation change records of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) revealed rapid and complex changes. It is therefore imperative to determine changes with both high spatial and temporal resolutions. By fusing multiple laser altimetry data sets, the Surface Elevation Reconstruction and Change (SERAC) program is capable of reconstructing surface elevation changes with high spatial and temporal resolution over the entire GrIS. The input data include observations from NASA&rsquo;s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission (2003-2009) as well as data collected by NASA&rsquo;s Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) (1993-2013) and Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) (2007-2012) airborne laser altimetry systems. This study extends the record of surface elevation changes over the GrIS by adding 2012 and 2013 laser altimetry data to the previous 1993-2011 record. Extending the record leads to a new, more accurate and detailed altimetry record for 1993-2013. </p><p> Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are fused with laser altimetry data over Zachari&aelig; Isstr&oslash;m, northeast Greenland to analyze surface elevation changes and associated thinning rates during 1978-2014. Little to no elevation change occurred over Zachari&aelig; Isstr&oslash;m from 1978-1999, however, from 1999-2014 elevation changes near the calving front became increasingly negative and accelerated. Calving front position showed steady retreat and grounding line position has been retreating towards the interior of the ice sheet at an increasing rate from 2010-2014 when compared to the 1996-2010 period. The measured elevation changes near the calving front have brought a large portion of the glacier close to the height of flotation. If the current thinning trend continues this portion of the glacier will reach flotation within the next 2-5 years allowing for further retreat and increased vulnerability to retreat for sections of the glacier further upstream.</p>

The response of vegetation to climate change and permafrost disturbance was studied at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO) on Melville Island, Nunavut. Climate change is expected to alter the terrestrial ecosystem of this area and cause non-linear responses. This study focussed on two predicted outcomes of climate change in the western Canadian High Arctic: the occurrence of a permafrost disturbance termed active layer detachments (ALDs), and increased air temperature and precipitation. To study the effects of ALD formation twenty 1 m2 plots were established within two ALDs. One ALD (ALD05) was formed in July 2007 and represented the initial impact of slope failure caused by an exceptionally warm year. The other (ALD04) was formed at least sixty years ago and represented the long-term impact of slope failure. Physical soil measurements and vegetation surveys were completed in both disturbances. ALD formation creates depressions on the landscape that increase snow accumulation. Snow accumulation was greater in the more recent ALD than in the older one and this resulted in greater changes to the physical environment. Vegetation was not significantly impacted by disturbance, although phenology was delayed due to snowcover retention. To study the effects of increased air temperature and precipitation an International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) site was established at CBAWO in July 2008. Snow fences and open-top chambers (OTC) were erected to increase snow accumulation and air temperature. Physical soil measurements and vegetation surveys were completed through the summer of 2009. Soil temperature and active layer depth were affected by snow and phenology was delayed in plots with snow enhancement. Experimental warming also had some effects on the parameters measured but only in conjunction with snow enhancement. This study found that in the first year of experimentation snow enhancement has a greater effect than increased air temperature. These studies represent the beginning of two long-term projects at CBAWO and the results from this study represent baseline data for future research. Continued monitoring will show the evolution of vegetation in the ALDs and the potential long-term effects of temperature and snow manipulation. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2011-01-04 20:53:31.689

<p>The overall aim of this project was to establish whether there is a long-term decline of rainfall collected in rainfall gauges within the Jonkershoek Valley that have the longest and best quality records.</p>