In the international relations literature, two large narratives of power are sustaining a bipolar polemic on global governance, which is either supposed to foster the dynamics of empowerment (emancipatory narrative) or domination (critical narrative). Yet such presentations rarely rely upon detailed empirical work. Remarkably, International Relations (IR) scholars are paying little attention to the local power effects of global discourses. This research takes issue with a key but under-studied discourse - Community Participation (CP) - in the protection of biodiversity. The first case study is located in the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and relates to corals. The second is in the Brazilian Pantanal, the world's largest wetland. Data were collected over four months of fieldwork, using face-to-face interviews, participant observation, focus groups and written material. To capture a broader diversity of power mechanisms, a grid drawn from recent works in IR was mobilised for the first time in this type of study. An analytical framework was also built that allows testable implications to be derived from macro-narratives and compared with micro-data. Rather than engendering empowerment, it appears that CP has essentially set in motion various containment dynamics affecting local stakeholders. Yet, while our data impressively fit the critical narrative, they also underscore its fragilities and contingency. At local levels, global governance discourses can no longer be seen as "singular and accepted", but rather as "contested and reinterpreted". They do not produce either emancipation or domination per se. They are most fruitfully analysed as tools thrown into local arenas which rent-seeking actors scramble to seize and use for their own ends. This significance of local dynamics undermines notions of North-South dependency or global governmentality. Data favour a hegemony model of the exercise of power that works through alliances and compromises amongst global and local groups within what we call "power formations".

Trigeneration and the use of biofuels are two research topics which are important in trying to help relieve global energy shortage and bring about a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Trigeneration produces electricity, cooling, and heating simultaneously using a single fuel source and can operate at a high efficiency rate. The use of biofuel provides a renewable and carbon neutral substitution for fossil fuels. This research thesis describes the development of a biofuel micro-trigeneration (BMT) system using raw vegetable oils and explores the feasibility of meeting the total energy demand of a typical household. The system was designed and constructed using a 6.5kW single cylinder diesel generator as the prime mover, two heat exchangers for recovering waste heat from the engine coolant and exhaust gas, and an absorption refrigerator driven by exhaust gas heat. Four raw vegetable oils: sunflower, rapeseed, jatropha and croton oils were preheated to 90℃ and used in the study. The system performance using the vegetable oils was compared to that of the gas oil. Experiments were carried out to determine the fuel properties of the oils, including viscosity, density, higher heating value and fatty acid components. Power generation, combined heat & power and trigeneration tests were also carried out. The experimental results reveal that the BMT system performed with a high efficiency of 65% for trigeneration at full load, and CO2 emissions was reduced by around 60% compared to single power generation mode. The exergy efficiency was also increased by approximately 5 points. An engine model was developed using DIESEL-RK software to study the engine performance and emissions using different fuel types. Optimizations were performed to improve the engine performance and emissions. A trigeneration system model was also developed using Dymola software and was used to predict the dynamic performance of the system parameters. These models and simulation studies were validated against experimental results and matched well with the experimental results; hence can be used to explore wider system design and performance considerations. Both the experimental and theoretical studies have proved the feasibility of the BMT system to meet the overall energy demand of a household user.

This study addresses the global technical challenges of resource depletion and climate change by developing the first demonstration of incorporating smart energy storage (super-capacitors and batteries) with bio-fuel micro-tri-generation (BMT-HEES) for domestic applications. The developed system is capable of producing required heat, electricity and refrigeration from renewable bio-fuels for an average British household usage, and dynamically regulating the energy distribution within the system by using a novel energy storage system and a following electric load (FEL) energy management method. In this study, an extensive literature review has been carried out to investigate previous trigeneration and hybrid energy storage systems with a particular focus on their features, advantages and challenges which provide a basis for further improvements. The research work started with a preliminary investigation to fully understand the dynamic characteristics of lead acid batteries and super-capacitors used in combination to provide the desirable electrical output. The test results suggested that the super capacitors performed better than batteries in meeting transient electrical demands. In order to develop a complete BMT-HEES system, computational modeling and simulation was then conducted in the Dymola simulation environment, where the complete BMT-HEES system with advanced operational strategies has been implemented followed by case studies. System performance was assessed by evaluating key performance indicators including fuel consumption, dynamic response of each power sources, operational durations and energy efficiencies. A full experimental setup of the proposed system was also developed. Experimental tests on individual components and the BMT-HEES system as a whole have validated the effectiveness of the developed methodologies and techniques. Specific case studies have proved that the system can improve over the existing ones in terms of energy efficiency (with 47.86% improvement compared to one tri-generation system without HEES) and dynamic response for selected days as reported in the case studies. Test results from both simulation and physical experiments show that BMT-HEES can satisfy the fluctuating energy demands faithfully and instantly with high system efficiency for domestic applications. In addition, the predicted performance based on the developed methodologies has a good agreement with actual measurements. The low error of each assessment indicator provides iii the confidence that the system models can predict the system performance with good accuracy (all of the errors were within 3%). The developed technologies in this study can help cut down the carbon footprint in domestic environments, facilitate a shift towards an environment-friendly lifestyle, and in the long run, improve the quality of human life. Moreover, the established system is flexible, scalable and inter-connectable. That is, the system can incorporate other types of bio-fuels or other sources of new and renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass etc.), depending on the availability of the energy and location of the system used. In addition to the small-scale domestic environment, the physical system can be scaled up to be used in larger commercial and industrial environments. It may be used as a stand-alone energy system or it can be interconnected with neighboring energy systems or connected with the power grid as a distributed generation set if there is a need (or a surplus) of generated electricity. Without doubt, this will require further work on this inter-disciplinary topic as well as new innovations in the fields of energy networks and smart grids.

Northern Ireland, like many other nations, has made high-level commitments to improving marine management and conserving biodiversity through the development of a representative network of marine protected areas (MPAs). However progress to fulfil commitments was found to be hampered by complex governance, poor interdepartmental cooperation and lack of political will. Stakeholder participation is a vital component of MPA planning and implementation, and the successes of MPA designation is greatly affected by fisher buy-in and compliance. This Thesis presents a novel participatory mapping method, which was used to directly engage fishers in the development of quantitative pre-planning data on their spatial access priorities. Data on the perceptions of fishers' and their thoughts on marine management, including MPA site suggestions, were also gathered. Stakeholder engagement and the incorporation of stakeholder data should facilitate the development of MPA planning solutions that have a reduced negative impact on stakeholders. This assertion was tested with the fisher-derived data. Multiple MPA planning scenarios were developed and the benefit of incorporating both quantitative and qualitative fisher data was clearly demonstrated on planning solutions. A novel approach of transparent inclusion of stakeholder MPA suggestions into decision-support software was also proposed. MPAs and fisheries face increasing competition for space from emerging ocean uses. Building upon previous strategic conservation planning-based approaches to ocean zoning, planning scenarios were developed to simultaneously optimise space allocations for MPAs, renewable energy generation and fisheries. The approach enabled explicit assessment of the trade-offs between competing uses, which should help increase the transparency and defensibility of planning decisions. It was also established that co-location of marine industries can significantly affect both the cost and the spatial configuration of marine planning solutions. The use of the insights and tools developed in this Thesis should contribute to improved MPA planning processes and help reduce the amount of conflict associated with planning solutions.

This thesis examines the cultural features of landholding and cultivation, as well as perceptions of domestic and wild animals in a community on the island of Zakynthos in southwest Greece. Vassilikos, the community in question, is renowned for its persistent resistance to ecological conservation, as manifested in a ten year long dispute over the local people's right to control parts of their land designated to become a conservation area for the reproduction of Loggerhead sea-turtles. The legislative regulations of turtle conservation allow for the establishment of a marine national park in the area which restrains some inhabitants of Vassilikos from building on their land and engaging in tourism-related enterprises. The particular conservation dispute serves as the common uniting theme of several topics explored in this thesis, all related to the relationship of Vassilikos' people with their physical environment and the animals living in it. In fact, the entire thesis in an attempt to illuminate the cultural matrix behind the local farmers' resistance to ecological conservation. For this reason, the thesis provides a thorough ethnographic analysis of the following six themes: the significance of land ownership for the local farmers, their working relationship with their environment, the relationship between the farmers and their domesticated animals, local attitudes to wild animals, the position and classification of non-human living creatures in Greek Orthodox cosmology, and the passionate involvement of the local farmers with hunting. The thesis concludes by combining the conclusions of these themes to attempt to unravel the pragmatic relationship between the farmers of Vassilikos, their animals and the natural world.

In 2012, the British government offered its support to the start of six biodiversity offsetting pilots. In doing so, Britain became one of over 30 countries where biodiversity offsets are used worldwide. However, despite the increasing importance of these mechanisms of environmental conservation, research on the conditions for emergence and success of biodiversity offsetting markets remains scarce.

The European Union currently enjoys access to the coastal fish stocks of numerous developing third countries (particularly in West Africa) in terms of bilateral fisheries agreements. These agreements are concluded under and legitimated by the international fisheries regime, which ardently promotes the sustainable use of fisheries resources and the sustainable development of fisheries. In this thesis I analyse these agreements from a (legal) sustainability perspective. Based on my research, I argue that rather than functioning as legal instruments of conservancy, these agreements operate as means to inequitably promote the respective economic and political self-interests of the parties involved. They run contrary to the sustainability tenet of international fisheries law and expose its inherent weaknesses. The need to actively promote the sustainable use of marine fisheries arises from the difficulties in ensuring their effective management, which in turn stem from their common resource nature. International law responds by obliging states to foster the long-term sustainable use of fisheries from a biological, social and economic perspective towards the broader goal of sustainable fisheries development. Coastal states, however, particularly developing countries, struggle to achieve these objectives in their own waters. The challenge is not only to ensure the rational domestic management of their fisheries but also to engender the cooperation of foreign states that access their stocks towards these ends. Fishing arrangements between the European Union (EU) and West African coastal states have on the whole not reflected such cooperation, as I illustrate in my thesis with reference to the case study of EU-Senegalese fishing relations. In response to the deficiencies of the international fisheries regime in this regard, I identify possible alternative approaches to future bilateral fisheries interactions which will likely better foster sustainable fishing.

Migratory species undertake prolonged seasonal journeys; monitoring these movements is challenging but can sometimes be achieved by observations that taken locally and, ideally, using remote methods. Amongst the best known examples of migrating fish in Europe, are Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) that migrate between river and seawater. Characteristics of habitat suitability, feeding opportunities, predation, as well as salmonid sensitivity and needs, vary throughout successive stages of their anadromous life cycle. Since the marine stage is the longest but is also challenging to monitor, in-river fish counters are of increasing importance in understanding salmonid patterns in abundance. The original contribution of this thesis lies in the use of modelling techniques to investigate salmonid migration, based on temporal observations produced by an electronic fish counter triggered by salmonid passage, as they return to spawn in the River Tyne. Small scale observation revealed seasonal differences; aggregation behaviour intensified during the middle of the migration season, and explanatory covariates varied in both their effect size and relevance to salmonid abundance. At the population scale, migration was highly driven by annual periodicity, abundance increased with river temperature and there was an NAO effect with a four year lag, underlining the importance of marine conditions to parent population and/or post-smolts. Differences between distinct populations of S. salar and S. trutta appeared related to a species-specific annual periodicity and oceanic conditions as salmonids return (more so for S. salar). State-space models suggested a complex demographic structure for the two species. There was a species identification learning curve that affected the data by 2007. A classification algorithm determined that observations are more likely to be S. salar for larger signal amplitude, within a higher river flow and earlier in the year; characteristics were too similar between the two species to reach a useful classification success rate (69%). The project overall suggests specificities relating to both species and age-class that cannot be addressed in depth with the collected data; emerging limitations and recommendations are discussed.

Introduced species are one of the worst threats currently facing global biodiversity. They are known to impact native species and ecosystems via a wide variety of mechanisms, many of which are subtle and difficult to detect. Measuring the impacts of introduced upon native species is important as it allows vulnerable species to be identified and thus resources to be allocated to their protection. Devising and testing methods of quantifying these impacts, the theme of this thesis, is therefore important for conservation as well as being of scientific value. In this thesis I describe three approaches to measuring the impacts of introduced species on native ecosystems. Firstly, through a large scale field experiment using a series of paired fenced 'and unfenced plots designed to measure the effects of excluding introduced hedgehogs from invertebrates on the machair grassland habitat of South Uist. This showed higher than predicted variability among invertebrate populations and the impacts of this high variability are considered here. Secondly, I used stable isotope analysis to look at the diet of South Uist hedgehogs and infer their impact on prey species including invertebrates and the eggs of wading birds. The composition of hedgehog diet was shown to be largely consistent between survey months, size classes and sexes of hedgehogs. Estimates for the biomass of bird eggs a) produced by wading birds and b) consumed by hedgehogs each year were also calculated. Thirdly, I analysed two ecological networks based on real-world ecosystems using a novel mathematical model in order to determine which species were most at risk from the addition .of a series of simulated introduced species based on realworld invasives. These showed that introduced species tend to concentrate their impacts on particular taxa, even in cases where they did not predate those taxa directly. Finally, I discuss the findings and implications of these three approaches in the context of other current research and consider how the effects of invasive species can best be quantified and monitored in order to benefit land managers, conservation scientists and ultimately the ecosystems they work to protect.

Multiple stressors on reefs are increasing the need for remedial actions to buffer anthropogenic pressure and reduce coral reef deterioration. In order to promote reef framework endurance, it is critical to identify and track down multiple stressor sources. To date, spatial and temporal variations of reef framework carbonate production and erosion have been estimated using carbonate budget assessments; however, these are limited in determining the extent to which various stressors are responsible for altering the budgetary state. This study has developed a Bayesian Network model (CARBNET) to identify and evaluate the extent to which anthropogenic and climatic disturbances affect coral reef budgetary state. The main adavantage of using this type of model for management purposes are related to its ability to adapt to changes and to quantify and incorporate uncertainty. In addition, it provides the opportunity to identify key gaps in the knowledge to inform future research priorities. Multi-scale scenario-based analyses, conducted for the Wakatobi (South-east Sulawesi, Indonesia) and Grenada (Caribbean) reefs, quantified the effects of multiple stressors on the reefal components, providing information on the actual state and possible future state of the framework. Reefs with high branching coral cover were likely to be found in a positive budgetary state, whilst low coral cover and reduced topographic complexity were associated with low carbonate production or negative budgetary state. In clear water settings, degraded reefs, characterised by high turbidity, sedimentation and nutrient concentrations, were likely to be found in a low carbonate production or erosional state. Conversely, high carbonate production was characteristic of reef environments with low turbidity, sedimentation and nutrient concentrations. At regional level, CARBNET predicted that reefs will accrete at a different pace; in Grenada reduced gross production and sustained erosion maintained the budget close to the equilibrium, whilst Wakatobi reefs were defined by positive budgetary states. At local level, reefs at shallow depths were likely to be associated with erosion or low positive net production in both regions, although in Indonesia high carbonate production offsets erosion at all sites. Anthropogenic and climatic disturbances acted synergistically in decreasing carbonate production, and degraded reefs with < 10% hard coral were predicted to be in an erosional state. This result suggests that degraded systems have lowered their tipping point to a net erosion shift. The benthic community was affected by sedimentation and elevated nutrients and changes in the key drivers of carbonate production resulted in reduced net carbonate production. External bioeroder densities were restrained by degradation of the nursery ground, whilst internal bioerosion increased in nutrient enriched waters. Overall, CARBNET is reliable in groundtruthing empirical data and is therefore a valuable addition to the reef management toolbox.