<p>The main cause of environmental disturbance in the Fennoscandian boreal forests today is forestry. Natural disturbances are important to maintain diversity, but anthropogenic disturbance, such as forestry, differs in many ways from the natural ones. Forestry is a big industry in Sweden and only a small remnant of old-growth forest is left. Several studies have shown an initial decrease in e.g. dragonfly diversity a few years after logging, followed by an increase up to numbers comparable with the original species number. In this study I examined whether the new, quite diverse, species composition is similar to the one present before the logging or if some species are disappearing and are replaced with other, maybe opportunistic species. Other factors such as ongoing changes in climate also will be considered. A resampling of 34 (and an additional 4) lakes that also were sampled in 1996-97 was done during summer of 2006. Analyses of data from the two sampling occasions were done. I found that even if the diversity is just temporarily affected (or not affected at all), it is not always the same species involved. This means that the diversity in a single lake can appear to be high, but the total diversity in Sweden, or Scandinavia, is declining. I also found some interesting new species for the area, such as Nehalennia speciosa, Sympecma fusca and Aeshna mixta.</p>

The main cause of environmental disturbance in the Fennoscandian boreal forests today is forestry. Natural disturbances are important to maintain diversity, but anthropogenic disturbance, such as forestry, differs in many ways from the natural ones. Forestry is a big industry in Sweden and only a small remnant of old-growth forest is left. Several studies have shown an initial decrease in e.g. dragonfly diversity a few years after logging, followed by an increase up to numbers comparable with the original species number. In this study I examined whether the new, quite diverse, species composition is similar to the one present before the logging or if some species are disappearing and are replaced with other, maybe opportunistic species. Other factors such as ongoing changes in climate also will be considered. A resampling of 34 (and an additional 4) lakes that also were sampled in 1996-97 was done during summer of 2006. Analyses of data from the two sampling occasions were done. I found that even if the diversity is just temporarily affected (or not affected at all), it is not always the same species involved. This means that the diversity in a single lake can appear to be high, but the total diversity in Sweden, or Scandinavia, is declining. I also found some interesting new species for the area, such as Nehalennia speciosa, Sympecma fusca and Aeshna mixta.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att genom enkäter undersöka om det finns en diskrepans mellan det teoretiska begreppet resiliens och den empiriska tillämpningen. För att besvara denna fråga undersöks följande delfrågor: Vad ingår i olika teoretiska resiliensbegrepp? Hur ser innebörden av resiliensbegreppet ut hos svenska krishanteringsaktörer idag? Hur arbetar svenska krishanteringsaktörer för resiliens för att göra städer säkrare i framtiden? Denna studie ska vara till hjälp för krishanteringsaktörer i deras förståelse för vad resiliensbegreppet är och finna kunskap i dessa tre resilienskoncept för att kunna använda det i sitt praktiska arbete när de talar om att arbeta för resiliens. I denna studie har tjugosex stycken enkäter skickats ut till personer som på något sätt arbetar med krishantering. Respondenterna arbetar på olika nivåer (kommun, länsstyrelse, myndighet, privat sektor samt forskare). Forskning och teorier kring resiliens kommer baseras på Brian Walker &amp; David Salt som beskriver ingenjörsteknisk resiliens och ekologisk resiliens i boken Resilience thinking därefter förklarar Ulrich Beck enligt boken Risksamhället hur man måste arbeta för framtiden och inte se bakåt för att planera efter det som skett i dåtid. Pickett, McGrath, Cadenasso &amp; Felson beskriver i sin forskning Ecological resilience and Resilient cities hur hållbarhet är en viktig del i resiliens. Avslutningsvis beskrivs det tredje resiliensbegreppet, nämligen Socio-ekologisk resiliens där Carl Folke lyfter upp vikten av att utveckla resiliens för det socio-ekologiska systemet för att skapa en anpassningsförmåga som möjliggör kontinuerlig utveckling, som ett dynamisk adaptiv samspel mellan att upprätthålla och utvecklas i förändring. För att kunna minska diskrepansen mellan begreppet resiliens och den empiriska tillämpningen krävs att det först och främst finns en förståelse för och en kunskap om begreppet resiliens. Därefter krävs det en samverkan mellan olika aktörer speciellt att krishanteringsaktörerna tar del av de forskningsresultat som framkommer för att kunna implementera det praktiskt och på så sätt få nya innovativa idéer att arbeta efter. / The purpose of this qualitative study is through survey investigate if there is a discrepancy between the theoretical concept of resilience and the empirical application. To answer this question this study examines the following issues: What is included in various theoretical resilience concept? What is the meaning of the resilience concept at the Swedish crisis management actors today? How does the Swedish crisis management actors use resilience to make cities safer in the future? This study will be helpful for crisis management actors in their understanding of what the resilience concept and find the knowledge of these three concepts to use it in their practical work when they talk about working for resilience. In this study, twenty-six questionnaires was sent out to people who in some way are involved in crisis management. The respondents in this study work at different levels (municipal, county government, government, private sector and researchers). Research and theories of resilience is based on Brian Walker and David Salt describing engineering technical resilience and ecological resilience in the book Resilience thinking then Ulrich Beck explains according to the book Risk Society how one must work for the future and not look backwards and plan because of what was happening in the past. Pickett, McGrath, Cadenasso &amp; Felson describes his research Ecological Resilience and Resilient Cities how sustainability is an important aspect of resilience. Finally the third concept is described, namely socio-ecological resilience where Carl Folke lifts the importance of developing resilience for the socio-ecological system to create an adaptability that allows for continuous development, a dynamic adaptive interaction between maintaining and developing in change. In order to reduce the discrepancy between the concept of resilience and the empirical application it requires, first and foremost an understanding and a knowledge of the concept of resilience. Then it requires a collaboration between various stakeholders especially the crisis management actors to take part of the research evidence and have a will to implement it practically and as a result get new innovative ideas to work with.

The paper studies 7 new entrant smallholders on the Italian agricultural sector to begin to understand how such a grassroots movement may challenge the status-quo vis-à-vis the Italian Food-system. Additionally, the study conducts a public questionnaire survey in an attempt to gauge attitudes toward a changing food-system in Italy. Using Critical Theory to highlight the trend of critical-consumer to critical-producer, and transition movement theory to assess the real regime-change ability of such movements, this paper finds that new entrant smallholders in Italy are playing a potentially significant role in moving the sector into more sustainable territory. Current certified organic agriculture is increasingly dominated by larger farms, and excludes new entrant smallholders, this is to the detriment of sustainable agriculture goals, by identifying the barriers to such stakeholders, in addition to recognising their strengthens - namely the commitment to triple bottom line sustainability - new entrant smallholders have a significant role to play in making organic agriculture truly a mechanism by which true sustainable agriculture can be achieved.

A causa primeira de nossa crise ambiental resulta de uma desconexão histórica entre natureza e civilização. O estado de nossas cidades tem raízes profundas nesta desconexão e a solução dos problemas urbanos requer uma ecologia das cidades, por onde a integração deve ocorrer de forma harmoniosa. Os mais recentes avanços em ecologia urbana introduzem os conceitos de resiliência, por onde o comando e controle são substituídos por uma gestão flexível, mais sensível à lógica inerente ao funcionamento de ecossistemas. As mais recentes tendências na busca por um urbanismo sustentável abrangem aspectos distintos que, pela perspectiva da resiliência, devem ser integrados. Por um lado, temos a necessidade de humanizar a cidade, por outro, a necessidade de integra-las aos ecossistemas naturais. A integração se realiza quando o desenvolvimento de uma comunidade sustentável se insere num contexto urbano onde natureza é infraestrutura, isto é, prestadora de serviços ecossistêmicos. Na geografia de São Paulo a hidrografia é a base física a partir da qual o sistema de infraestrutura verde deve se constituir. Adotamos a bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Água Preta, no bairro da Pompéia, como estudo de caso. A recuperação e naturalização do córrego implica na implementação de seu parque fluvial. Um urbanismo ecologicamente orientado, nas bordas deste parque, deve diluir a rigidez da fronteira entre parque e tecido urbano, de modo a possibilitar uma maior fluência dos processos naturais e humanos na totalidade do sistema. Neste processo, arquitetura e paisagem se fundem. / The first cause of our environmental crisis results from a historical disconnect between nature and civilization. The state of our cities has deep roots in this disconnect and the solution of urban problems requires a city ecology, where integration must occur in a harmonious way. The latest advances in urban ecology introduce the concepts of resilience, where command and control are replaced by flexible management, more sensitive to the logic inherent in the functioning of ecosystems. The latest trends in the quest for sustainable urbanism cover distinct aspects that, from the perspective of resilience, must be integrated. On the one hand, we need to humanize the city, on the other hand, the need to integrate them into natural ecosystems. The integration takes place when the development of a sustainable community is inserted in an urban context where nature is infrastructure, that is, provider of ecosystem services. In the geography of São Paulo hydrography is the physical base from which the green infrastructure system must be constituted. We adopted the water basin of Água Preta Stream, in the district of Pompéia, as a case study. The recovery and naturalization of the stream implies in the implementation of its river park. An ecologically oriented urbanism, on the edges of this park, should dilute the rigidity of the border between park and urban fabric, in order to allow a greater flow of natural and human processes throughout the system. In this process, architecture and landscape merge.

In Portland Jamaica, smallholding farmers are facing major challenges in terms of economic uncertainty and climate change. This study is analyzing a project which aims at increasing farmers ability to adapt to climate change. The objective of the project is to introduce the pineapple variety MD2 for smallholder farmers in Portland Jamaica. The main objective of this study is to investigate which aspects of the project that could increase or decrease buffering capability in the context of social-ecological resilience. The study is conducted during a minor field study during eight weeks in Portland, Jamaica. Data was collected through observation on farms together with semi-structured interviews with farmers and initiators of the project. The results have been analyzed through the theory of social-ecological resilience (Danhofer et al, 2011). Even though there are many aspects which could influence buffering capability, the study outlines some aspects of the implementation of the pineapple variety MD2 that could increase or decrease farmers buffering capability. Aspects which could increase buffering capability are; generating an alternative income and providing and introducing beneficial farming practices which could limit soil erosion on hillside land. Aspects which are threatening to decrease farmers buffering capability are; lack of knowledge and previous experience of the crop variety, usage of chemical means of control and lack of inputs of organic material.

Despite considerable expansion in the scope and function of the state with respect to environmental protection, the world’s biological diversity and ecosystem services continue to deteriorate. Finding ways to better govern human-nature relations in cities is an important part of addressing this decline. The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential of social-ecological resilience to inform urban governance in theory and practice, through a focus on strategic spatial planning. Resilience has become an increasingly important urban policy discourse and much hope is placed in its potential to improve urban governance. However, there is an acknowledged gap between social-ecological resilience as an ideal and the ability to govern towards it in practice. At the time this doctoral research commenced there had been no engagement with social-ecological resilience in the planning theory literature and minimal engagement by empirical planning research. It is to this gap the thesis contributes. Social-ecological resilience scholarship is found to offer planning theory a partly new way of understanding complex human-nature relations. This is relevant to calls by planning theorists for more attention to matters of substance, including ecological processes. With respect to practice, planners see potential for social-ecological resilience to critically inform strategic spatial planning, including through the framing of problems, tools for analysis/synthesis and governance options. There are also however, lessons for social-ecological resilience scholarship that emerge from the detailed empirical research which suggests that attention to the politics of the everyday activities of administrators, elected officials, planning officials, conservationists and citizens operating within the so-called ‘mangle of practice’ is critical to explaining the gap between the ideal of governing for urban resilience, and what happens in practice. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

No description available.

This paper considers the contribution of urban agriculture to the local food system and the role of the city council in this system. Using an interdisciplinary mixed method approach, the study explores local stakeholders’ perspectives of these aspects in the city of Bristol, UK. The findings were viewed through the lenses of two conceptual frameworks, resilience and social justice. The results reveal that urban agriculture increases resilience through building community, maintaining a diverse food supply network, and strengthening adaptability by retaining the knowledge and skills to produce food. Urban agriculture also supports social justice, by providing access to healthy food, promoting equality and inclusion, and encouraging healthier living through education. Furthermore, the results indicate that the city council can increase resilience and support social justice in the local food system through four key interventions; their procurement policy, urban planning, assisting urban agriculture initiatives, and developing a holistic urban food policy. In conclusion, urban agriculture is regarded as more than a form of food production because local stakeholders use it to support a broad range of social objectives. Developing an urban food policy is the shared responsibility of the city council as well as private and voluntary sector actors. Resilience and social justice are advocated as normative goals of the food system, and can be used as frameworks to guide the complex process of urban food system reform.

A causa primeira de nossa crise ambiental resulta de uma desconexão histórica entre natureza e civilização. O estado de nossas cidades tem raízes profundas nesta desconexão e a solução dos problemas urbanos requer uma ecologia das cidades, por onde a integração deve ocorrer de forma harmoniosa. Os mais recentes avanços em ecologia urbana introduzem os conceitos de resiliência, por onde o comando e controle são substituídos por uma gestão flexível, mais sensível à lógica inerente ao funcionamento de ecossistemas. As mais recentes tendências na busca por um urbanismo sustentável abrangem aspectos distintos que, pela perspectiva da resiliência, devem ser integrados. Por um lado, temos a necessidade de humanizar a cidade, por outro, a necessidade de integra-las aos ecossistemas naturais. A integração se realiza quando o desenvolvimento de uma comunidade sustentável se insere num contexto urbano onde natureza é infraestrutura, isto é, prestadora de serviços ecossistêmicos. Na geografia de São Paulo a hidrografia é a base física a partir da qual o sistema de infraestrutura verde deve se constituir. Adotamos a bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Água Preta, no bairro da Pompéia, como estudo de caso. A recuperação e naturalização do córrego implica na implementação de seu parque fluvial. Um urbanismo ecologicamente orientado, nas bordas deste parque, deve diluir a rigidez da fronteira entre parque e tecido urbano, de modo a possibilitar uma maior fluência dos processos naturais e humanos na totalidade do sistema. Neste processo, arquitetura e paisagem se fundem. / The first cause of our environmental crisis results from a historical disconnect between nature and civilization. The state of our cities has deep roots in this disconnect and the solution of urban problems requires a city ecology, where integration must occur in a harmonious way. The latest advances in urban ecology introduce the concepts of resilience, where command and control are replaced by flexible management, more sensitive to the logic inherent in the functioning of ecosystems. The latest trends in the quest for sustainable urbanism cover distinct aspects that, from the perspective of resilience, must be integrated. On the one hand, we need to humanize the city, on the other hand, the need to integrate them into natural ecosystems. The integration takes place when the development of a sustainable community is inserted in an urban context where nature is infrastructure, that is, provider of ecosystem services. In the geography of São Paulo hydrography is the physical base from which the green infrastructure system must be constituted. We adopted the water basin of Água Preta Stream, in the district of Pompéia, as a case study. The recovery and naturalization of the stream implies in the implementation of its river park. An ecologically oriented urbanism, on the edges of this park, should dilute the rigidity of the border between park and urban fabric, in order to allow a greater flow of natural and human processes throughout the system. In this process, architecture and landscape merge.