The idea of "overcoming" natural resource scarcity by substituting man-made capital for natural capital separates classical from modern economic thought. Today, "valuing nature" is deemed essential to warrant capital "trade offs" that are consistent with sustainability (defined as constant capital over time). While the explicit valuation of nature via non-market techniques is difficult and often controversial, its implicit - often zero- valuation puts us into an uncertain path whereby discussing substitution as a legitimate means to attain sustainability can be futile. This suggests supplementary ways to understand long-run capital substitutability are now in demand. The exploratory notion of "runaway capital" is thus introduced into a hypothetical "sustainable society" model. Runaway capital accounts for" capital" which, far from yielding services people prefer, yields services that "escape" those institutional arrangements that a society on its way to sustainability would demand, hence inducing a sort of "production failure" into the economy. The result is an "appreciative" heuristic model of long-run substitutability that is tested against four "empirical" scenarios to the year 2050 featuring cars, food and green homes as topical entry points. Scenario storylines are assembled to exhibit contrasting degrees of policy implementation of the Hartwick-Solow rule of investment as relevant to a low-energy-density carrier transition. A preliminary proof of concept analysis shows four scenario patterns of substitutability. These are interpreted and followed by model refinements and discussion. Overall, the study stresses the need to grasp long-run substitutability alongside the social legitimation and governance of capital inputs. This may in turn improve the quality of expectations about the internalisation of externalities agenda.

No description available.

Aviation is an integral part of the infrastructure of the modern civilization. Air transport plays an important role in the global economy and has contributed enormously towards global integration. It supports commerce, tourism and private travel. These positive advantages of the aviation industry involve substantial costs to the environment. Aircraft emit large amounts of air pollutants, degrading air quality. Air pollution in and around airports worldwide is rapidly growing. Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) is no exception. It is planned to undertake expansion and development at Abu Dhabi airport to meet the requirement of fast growing air traffic, which is expected to reach 30 million passengers annually between 2030-2050. The projected growth of air traffic is likely to result in considerable impact on local air quality and climate. The first aim of this project was to review the available monitoring data and explore what additional measurements would be useful. The second aim was to assess emissions from the various sources on the ground, which will increase with airport development. Thirdly, since CO2 emissions from aircraft is major issue in relation to climate change, this study also aimed to estimate CO2 emissions from aircraft, and provide future projections. Monitoring data from the Abu Dhabi area and monitoring campaigns at the airport have been analysed relating them to characteristics of the surrounding area and airport activities. To obtain higher spatial resolution, diffusion tubes were used although they proved to be of limited use because of extreme meteorological conditions. Data have been collected from various sources on each of the emission related activities at ADIA. An emission inventory of ADIA activities has been generated using Emission Dispersion Modelling System (EDMS) for different air pollutants such as NOx, PM10, and CO. This included emissions from aircraft and ground support sources. The information gathered produced a basis for projections for future growth and development of ADIA during the coming years. CO2 emissions have been assessed based on current aircraft mix and air traffic data at ADIA, combined with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) data. The consequences of projected growth of ADIA for different aircraft types and journeys have been determined.

Businesses are seen as the next stage in delivering biodiversity improvements linked to local and UK Biodiversity Action Plans. Global discussion of biodiversity continues to grow, with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, updates to the Convention on Biological Diversity and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity being published during the time of this project. These publications and others detail the importance of biodiversity protection and also the lack of strategies to deliver this at an operational level. Pressure on UK landholding businesses is combined with significant business opportunities associated with biodiversity engagement. However, the measurement and reporting of biodiversity by business is currently limited by the complexity of the term and the lack of suitable procedures for the selection of metrics. Literature reviews identified confusion surrounding biodiversity as a term, limited academic literature regarding business and choice of biodiversity indicators. The aim of the project was to develop a methodology to enable companies to identify, quantify and monitor biodiversity. Research case studies interviews were undertaken with 10 collaborating organisations, selected to represent =best practice‘ examples and various situations. Information gained through case studies was combined with that from existing literature. This was used to develop a methodology for the selection of biodiversity indicators for company landholdings. The indicator selection methodology was discussed during a second stage of case study interviews with 4 collaborating companies. The information and opinions gained during this research was used to modify the methodology and provide the final biodiversity indicator selection methodology. The methodology was then tested through implementation at a mineral extraction site operated by a multi-national aggregates company. It was found that the methodology was a suitable process for implementation of global and national systems and conceptual frameworks at the practitioner scale. Further testing of robustness by independent parties is recommended to improve the system.

Soil is a vital and non-renewable resource, which performs many important functions. Soil quality management is faced with a number of challenges including overcoming objections to policies for soil protection, and the resource requirements implementation will entail. Further to this, soil is often neglected, as it is not high on the public or regulatory agenda. This work has focused on collecting large and cost effective data sets and raising awareness of soil, through the use of members of the public or ‘citizen scientists’. The aim of this PhD research was to assess the challenges facing soil protection and to evaluate role of citizen science for this purpose. The emergence of policies dealing with soil degradation is likely to increase the requirement for soil quality assessment. Despite this, there remains an issue with soil protection policy, which has not been implemented to the same extent as for water and air policy. To increase understanding of these issues, this work evaluated soil quality, and the reservations which it faces. Findings reveal the need for a method of assessment that is not soil function dependent, but uses a number of cross-functional indicators. Examination of the policy drivers for water and air highlight the importance of moving toward more holistic management and protection of soil. To help to address challenges for soil protection policy, this work proposes a set of indicators that can be collected by members of the public, and which can be used to direct further detailed soil quality assessment. With the need for evidence based policy, and recognition that involving the public in environmental monitoring is an effective way of increasing understanding and commitment, there has been growing interest in public surveys. The development of a mass public soil survey, the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Soil and Earthworm Survey, is presented as an example of public participation in soil surveys. This approach can deliver improvements in the quality of the evidence collected and provide effective public involvement in policymaking and implementation, on top of direct educational benefits. Such data from the public have been analysed to provide information about soils and earthworm distributions, and has indicated apparent differences in earthworm abundance across England. Investigation of the reliability of patterns shows the importance of following up apparent findings from public data with more detailed investigation. Examination of patterns in public data provided important information on threats to soil, and has allowed further examination of the main environmental drivers of earthworm distribution, as well as distribution and fate of contaminants. The work highlights the important role to be played by members of the public in the move toward a holistic and harmonised protection of soil resources, with great value in public participation in data collection, education and policy formation.

Waste-to-energy technology addresses several societal concerns. It protects human health and the environment, treats waste and recovers material. It mitigates climate change by reducing the carbon intensity of energy generation whilst increasing energy security. Often, these multiple services are not sufficiently recognised. This thesis informs energy and waste management policy by characterising the benefits that can justify appropriate support to address the currently limited awareness. To investigate the greenhouse gas emissions, economic viability and energy efficiency potential, a model was created using performance metrics and, where possible, real plant data. Gasification, as a novel technology, was compared with incineration in combined thermal treatment scenarios. Anaerobic digestion was analysed independently. Gasification can achieve higher energy efficiency with lower carbon intensity and higher flexibility of location. At low levels of support gasification is less attractive than incineration; but more competitive with increased support similar to current levels. Without incentives for its electricity output, relying only on the price for carbon and high landfill tax, small-scale gasification would be ruled out. Commercial viability of anaerobic digestion is significantly influenced by support for its heat and electricity outputs. Particularly small-scale plants would not be viable without support or appropriate valuation of the multiple objectives they fulfil. Established waste management companies are necessary partners for new technology providers to access finance. Industrial interest in new technologies, however, is driven by their qualifying for support. Analysis shows that an efficiency-linked escalating reward could incentivise development and use of gasification (with combined-cycle gas turbine) instead of deployment of less risky but less efficient configurations. An extended assessment framework was developed to recognise the contribution to resource effectiveness of waste-to-energy technology by characterising energy security (in size of the contribution and through abundant, negative-cost national feedstock); the contribution to renewable energy targets; the higher energy system resilience (through increased predictability, variety, disparity and balance); and lower carbon intensity of the economy.

Artisanal fisheries are a key source of food and income for millions of people worldwide. However, unmanaged or excessive fishing activity can lead to declining returns for fishing effort and livelihood insecurity, and adversely impact wetland ecosystems. Management interventions such as protected areas and temporal closures may improve fishery sustainability and reduce environmental degradation, but often carry costs for fishers. Understanding predictors of fishing behaviour would allow conservation planning to minimise the adverse impacts of interventions, increasing the likelihood of fisher support of change. However, factors influencing fishers’ behaviour are rarely identified or taken into account when implementing conservation actions. Madagascar’s Lake Alaotra wetland supports the nation’s largest and most productive artisanal freshwater fishery, and provides critical habitat for endemic wildlife. Local fishers depend on the fishery for livelihood throughout the year. Catch-monitoring interviews, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and follows were conducted over 16 months with 784 fishers at Lake Alaotra to understand the socioeconomic dynamics of the fishery. Although information from the fishers was sometimes imprecise, participatory monitoring methods engaged fishers and improved understanding of system dynamics. Linear mixed models confirmed that proposed restricted areas and temporal closures would generate direct short-term costs through reduced catch sizes, which vary between gear types. Socioeconomic data, spatial distribution of fishing effort, and fishers’ evaluations of management scenarios were used to explore alternative strategies. The conservation planning tool Marxan was used to identify reserve networks capable of achieving conservation goals while minimising adverse impacts for fishers. The research demonstrates that: interventions can have unequal impacts on local people: information about costs and benefits of interventions can produce more realistic and implementable conservation plans: and actively engaging fishers and understanding their spatial behaviour at relevant scales is critical for managing fisheries sustainability and promoting effective long-term conservation of freshwater ecosystems.

The tomato leafminer Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is an economically important pest of greenhouse tomato crops in the UK, which at high infestations can reduce the value of the crop by up to 20% . Sterile insect technique, SIT, is the release of sterile insects to overflood and mate with the pest population. Wild females that mate with sterile males lay eggs that contain dominant lethal mutations and are unable to develop into larvae. SIT has been proposed as a novel, alternative method of L.bryoniae pest suppression that could be used in conjunction with the current biological controls, such as Diglyphus isaea (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). This thesis presents information on the development of SIT against L.bryoniae and examines the feasibility and compatibility with existing pest management methods. Work was carried out that determined high quality, sterile adult L.bryoniae were produced when late stage pupae were irradiated with a dose of 160 Gy gamma radiation. Both male and female L.bryoniae were sterile after irradiation with 160 Gy, which is important given the current inability to separate pupae by sex. A multi-treatment cage experiment was used to compare bi-sex and male-only releases and showed that the release of sterile females did not have a detrimental effect and did not add to the pest problem. The multi-treatment cage experiment also compared the use of D.isaea with sterile male releases both separately and concurrently. Whilst the study conditions favoured the optimal environment for D.isaea oviposition and development, the concurrent release of sterile male L.bryoniae and D.isaea were compatible. SIT is a suitable method for L.bryoniae suppression; but further work to develop a more time and cost-efficient mass-rearing technique and greater knowledge of the market are required in order for it to become a financially viable pest management option. Overall, the irradiation of L.bryoniae pupae with 160 Gy produced sterile adults that have comparable fitness to wild-type adults, do not produce viable offspring and have the potential to suppress a L.bryoniae infestation.

Over the past three decades concerns have arisen about the ability of deregulated electricity systems such as the UK’s to deliver secure supplies. Capacity margins have drawn particular attention, but a number of apparently secure systems have failed for unanticipated reasons. This has led some to question whether risk-based measures fully capture the uncertainties to which such systems are exposed, and whether the concept of “resilience” provides a framework around which to discuss less quantitative indicators. This work attempts to answer four questions. First, what are the characteristics of a resilient and secure electricity system? Second, how have these characteristics evolved over the past 25 years? Third, to what extent can these changes be attributed to privatisation & liberalisation and to the introduction of new forms of renewable generation? Fourth, how might the UK Government’s proposed policies affect the security of electricity supply? ‘Resilience’ was found to be a multi-faceted concept, but five indicators were chosen for further investigation: generation margins, system diversity, energy intensity, electricity prices and energy independence. It was shown that a decline in margins can probably not be attributed to privatisation, but that renewable generation can have a positive effect depending on the support mechanism. Diversity can be enhanced by both privatisation and some forms of renewable support, the latter also seemingly reducing a country’s import dependence, but also increasing prices. Whilst there is some evidence that policy changes can affect a system’s resilience, the suggestion is that liberalisation has not had a strong overall impact. Furthermore, achieving ‘optimal resilience’ may be inherently unachievable, meaning that policies will always need to flexible enough to respond to change, but constant enough to encourage the necessary investment for the future.

Despite the attention garnered by sustainability in the last three decades and the advances in its tools and techniques, we are no closer to attaining sustainability now than we were at the start. This elusiveness has been attributed to the lack of a clearly defined global method for evaluating sustainability and poor integration into sector, national and international policies and decision-making, amongst others. A clear limitation observed in most concepts/methods is their inability to integrate effectively ecological, economic and social sustainability during assessment. Rather, there is a tendency to assess them separately and integrate them after the assessment. This process often leaves loopholes in sustainability assessment as there are trade-offs created that often favour economic sustainability but more rarely favour environmental, or even social, sustainability. In order to address this limitation, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) in 2005 recognized that the complex interactions between these ecological, economic and social processes have to be understood and established a universal valuation concept known as ecosystem services which can be used in sustainability assessment and Spatial Planning. Ecosystem services are the benefits or services created by the ecosystem which are essential for the daily functioning of humans and economies. This research explores how best to achieve integration of the Ecosystem Approach within environmental/sustainability assessment. It adopts a mixed method approach that combines the use of existing qualitative techniques, Network Analysis and stakeholder engagement, and quantitative techniques, Geographical Information Systems, within a regeneration case study at local level (Dartford in North Kent, United Kingdom). The thesis makes recommendations for better integration of an Ecosystem Approach in Spatial Planning and decision making and the ways in which assessment tools and techniques can be best combined.