CORE Organic Defra-UK Country Report

This report was provided by Defra to support the work of the partners to the Core Organic ERANET. Its focus is the Defra Organic Farming and Food R&D programme. Other public bodies in England and Wales can support R&D relevant to the organic sector. In addition, the developed administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland support some relevant R&D within wider R&D programmes. Therefore this report should not be regarded as a complete account of all UK R&D relevant to the organic sector. Until the mid 1980s, organic farming R&D in the UK was led by the private sector, notably the Soil Association (founded in 1946), the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA, founded in 1954) and the Elm Farm Research Centre (EFRC, founded in 1981). In 1985/86 the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF, now DEFRA- The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs) commissioned a report on the development of the organic sector. This resulted in the establishment of UKROFS (UK Register of Organic Food Standards) an executive non-departmental public body. ACOS (The Advisory Committee on Organic Standards) superseded UKROFS and advises Ministers on matters related to organic standards. A subcommittee of ACOS provides advice to Defra on organic R&D issues and priorities. Since 1991, MAFF and now Defra has funded an organic farming research and development programme to support the development and delivery of Government policies on organic farming. Over the last decade, expenditure on organic farming R&D in this dedicated Defra programme has increased and currently stands at around 3 million Euros per annum. In 2002, the Action Plan to Develop Organic Food and Farming in England was published by Defra in response to the report of the Policy Commission on sustainable farming and food led by Sir Don Curry, which recommended the development of a strategy for organic food production addressing all parts of the food chain. The Plan was reviewed by the Organic Action Plan Group and a review document Action Plan to Develop Organic Food and Farming in England - Two Years On was published in August 2004. The strategic objective of the Defra R&D programme is to inform the development of its policies and to further the development of the sector in line with the public goods that the sector protects and enhances. Specific scientific objectives drive research on the methods, costs and benefits of conversion; identifying sound methods of production and processing, identifying and overcoming the main barriers to commercial organic production; environmental impact of organic farming; other issues relevant to the organic sector. The aim of the programme is to deliver knowledge to improve organic farming methods and the performance of the organic sector. It also provides scientific evidence for policy makers and aids delivery of the organic action plan. Research undertaken includes assessment of agronomic and economic performance, investigations into technical barriers to production and appraisal of the impact of organic farming on the environment. The research supports policy development and decision-making, and helps inform those considering conversion to organic methods and those already using such methods

Urban and river flooding: Comparison of flood risk management approaches in the UK and China and an assessment of future knowledge needs

Increased urbanisation, economic growth, and long-term climate variability have made both the UK and China more susceptible to urban and river flooding, putting people and property at increased risk. This paper presents a review of the current flooding challenges that are affecting the UK and China and the actions that each country is undertaking to tackle these problems. Particular emphases in this paper are laid on (1) learning from previous flooding events in the UK and China, and (2) which management methodologies are commonly used to reduce flood risk. The paper concludes with a strategic research plan suggested by the authors, together with proposed ways to overcome identified knowledge gaps in flood management. Recommendations briefly comprise the engagement of all stakeholders to ensure a proactive approach to land use planning, early warning systems, and water-sensitive urban design or redesign through more effective policy, multi-level flood models, and data driven models of water quantity and quality

Going to waste? The potential impacts on nature conservation and cultural heritage from resource recovery on former mineral extraction sites in England and Wales

Scarcity of mineral supplies globally means that there is an international effort to examine the potential to extract resources from mine wastes. Such sites are often perceived as degraded and of little value. However, many sites are protected for their ecological, geological or historical significance. This paper examines the scale of the association between these designations and former mineral extraction sites in England and Wales. Around 69,000 mines (44%) are co-located with some form of designation; ranging from 27% of sand and gravel quarries in Wales to 84% of metal mines in England. Some designations are coincidental to mining and may benefit from resource recovery combined with remediation activities, others exist due to previous mining activities and may be adversely affected. This creates a tension in the long-term management of former mineral extraction, which should be considered when assessing the potential for, and desirability of, resource recovery

Defining sustainable transport in rural tourism: experiences from the New Forest

Transport policy agendas have long sought to bring about more sustainable transport at tourism destinations. While there are examples of successes, it remains unclear what inroads have been made towards creating a sustainable transport future. Policy directions have evolved over a number of years and in many tourism destination contexts it is far from clear what a desirable transport future looks like. When translated to implementation, the aims of initiatives can be unclear and baseline measures inconsistent, making success difficult to judge. This paper analyses how sustainable travel has been implemented in practice at a destination level. The focus is rural tourism and data are derived from a specific case, the New Forest National Park, UK, where a wide range of transport initiatives have been implemented since the Park’s designation in 2005. The study adopts a social practice theory perspective. Data are derived from a visitor survey, interviews and observations. It finds there is scope to improve sustainable transport provision at destinations through understanding visitor practices, but limited scope to influence meanings associated with visitor travel and travel skills. Policy meets the needs of some visitors more than others

Local Air Quality Management policy and practice in the UK: The case for greater Public Health integration and engagement

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The UK's Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime is designed to protect people's health from the ill-effects of air pollution, but it is failing to achieve its full potential. The Public Health aspects of, perspectives on, and integration and engagement in, LAQM have been poorly considered to date. This critical literature review assessed LAQM-related strengths and limitations in order to explore how Public Health, through greater integration and engagement, can add value to the regime.'Structure' and 'process' weaknesses were identified, including: A poorly defined Public Health role, a narrowly-scoped prescribed process, risk assessment uncertainties, ineffective communications, shallow evaluations and disconnected policies. Separately and cumulatively, these have hindered Public Health integration in LAQM policy and practice and stunted the regime's evolution. Engaging Public Health in LAQM future design and delivery can help solve these problems, by improving risk assessments and raising awareness of air pollution and other health-influencing relationships, targeting action in high-need areas, coordinating air pollution mitigation and health improvement interventions, and connecting different policy areas.Increasing Public Health integration and engagement in LAQM can enhance the existing regime. Acting now is timely from both LAQM and Public Health perspectives. This review's findings should be used to inform debates and decisions around the future development of Local Air Quality Management arrangements both in the UK and beyond

Carbon and cost critical elements of buildings : a comparative analysis of two office buildings

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to identify and compare cost and carbon critical elements of two office buildings and to propose an early design stage cost and carbon control strategy to achieve an optimum balance between building Capital Cost (CC) and Embodied Carbon (EC). Design/methodology/approach: Case study approach was employed to identify cost and carbon critical elements of two office buildings as it allows an in-depth and holistic investigation. Elemental estimates of CC and EC were prepared from BoQs of the two office buildings by obtaining rates from the UK Building Blackbook. Pareto Principle (80:20 rule) was used to identify carbon and cost critical elements of the two buildings and the significance hierarchies of building elements were compared. Findings: Substructure, Frame and Services were identified as both carbon and cost critical elements responsible for more than 70% of the total CC and EC in both buildings. Stairs and Ramps, Internal Doors and Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment were identified to be the least carbon and cost significant elements contributing less than 2% of total CC and EC in both buildings. The hierarchy of cost and carbon significance varies between buildings due to the difference in the specification and design. Originality/value: The increasing significance of dual currency (cost and carbon) demands cost and carbon management during the early stages of project. Hence, this paper suggests that focusing on carbon and cost intensive building elements is a way forward to keep both cost and carbon under control during the early stages of projects. Keywords: Carbon Hotspots, Capital Cost, Cost Hotspots, Embodied Carbon, Office Buildings

Modelling the impacts of agricultural management practices on river water quality in Eastern England

Agricultural diffuse water pollution remains a notable global pressure on water quality, posing risks to aquatic ecosystems, human health and water resources and as a result legislation has been introduced in many parts of the world to protect water bodies. Due to their efficiency and cost-effectiveness, water quality models have been increasingly applied to catchments as Decision Support Tools (DSTs) to identify mitigation options that can be introduced to reduce agricultural diffuse water pollution and improve water quality. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the River Wensum catchment in eastern England with the aim of quantifying the long-term impacts of potential changes to agricultural management practices on river water quality. Calibration and validation were successfully performed at a daily time-step against observations of discharge, nitrate and total phosphorus obtained from high-frequency water quality monitoring within the Blackwater sub-catchment, covering an area of 19.6 km2. A variety of mitigation options were identified and modelled, both singly and in combination, and their long-term effects on nitrate and total phosphorus losses were quantified together with the 95% uncertainty range of model predictions. Results showed that introducing a red clover cover crop to the crop rotation scheme applied within the catchment reduced nitrate losses by 19.6%. Buffer strips of 2 m and 6 m width represented the most effective options to reduce total phosphorus losses, achieving reductions of 12.2% and 16.9%, respectively. This is one of the first studies to quantify the impacts of agricultural mitigation options on long-term water quality for nitrate and total phosphorus at a daily resolution, in addition to providing an estimate of the uncertainties of those impacts. The results highlighted the need to consider multiple pollutants, the degree of uncertainty associated with model predictions and the risk of unintended pollutant impacts when evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation options, and showed that high-frequency water quality datasets can be applied to robustly calibrate water quality models, creating DSTs that are more effective and reliable

Valuing air transportation and sustainability from a public perspective: Evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States

AbstractOne issue with air transportation and sustainability is that although aviation could be considered economically and socially sustainable, it does generate environmental concerns. The aim of this paper is to examine public attitudes towards air transportation and sustainability, in order to determine how individuals value sustainability in relation to air travel. This empirical paper is based on two large survey data sets, one from the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom and one from the East Coast of the United States. After an initial review of relevant literature and policy, a range of attitudinal statements from the surveys are examined. These statements cover the economic and social benefits of air transportation, the contribution of air travel to climate change, and environmental responses. The analysis demonstrates the high value individuals put on the economic and social sustainability aspects of air transportation. Although many acknowledge aviation's contribution to climate change, few are willing to respond in terms of paying more to offset the negative environmental effects of aviation or to fly less. When analysing the value of sustainability by population sub-group, flight frequency and gender are highlighted as key variables in terms of environmental attitudes

A conceptual framework for negotiating public involvement in municipal waste management decision-making in the UK

The technical expertise that politicians relied on in the past to produce cost-effective and environmentally sound solutions no longer provides sufficient justification to approve waste facilities. Local authorities need to find more effective ways to involve stakeholders and communities in decision-making since public acceptance of municipal waste facilities is integral to delivering effective waste strategies. This paper presents findings from a research project that explored attitudes towards greater levels of public involvement in UK waste management decision-making. The study addressed questions of perception, interests, the decision context, the means of engagement and the necessary resources and capacity for adopting a participatory decision process. Adopting a mixed methods approach, the research produced an empirical framework for negotiating the mode and level of public involvement in waste management decision-making. The framework captures and builds on theories of public involvement and the experiences of practitioners, and offers guidance for integrating analysis and deliberation with public groups in different waste management decision contexts. Principles in the framework operate on the premise that the decision about ‘more’ and ‘better’ forms of public involvement can be negotiated, based on the nature of the waste problem and wider social context of decision-making. The collection of opinions from the wide range of stakeholders involved in the study has produced new insights for the design of public engagement processes that are context-dependent and ‘fit-for-purpose’; these suggest a need for greater inclusivity in the case of contentious technologies and high levels of uncertainty regarding decision outcomes

Heat pipe based municipal waste treatment unit for home energy recovery

A heat pipe based pyrolysis chamber has been developed and tested as an efficient, cost effective and space saving municipal waste treatment unit. The performance of the chamber was evaluated based on the temperature distributions inside the chamber, its electricity consumption and the chemical characteristics of the final pyrolysis products (bio-chars and pyro-oils) obtained from the process and validated by three test runs. In all the three tests, the type of waste treated was municipal waste obtained from households. In addition, special cases of challenging waste configurations, such as mixed domestic plastics and PVC are reported. The chemical analysis of the pyrolysis and the ash residues from the municipal solid waste showed no toxic elements in their composition. The main component of the char was calcium, the fluid oil obtained from the initial stages of pyrolysis had a similar composition to that of water, while the dense oil produced during the final stage of the process showed traces of iron and a potential composition match to commercial additive oils. The chemical analysis of the chars and ash obtained from the mixed domestic waste showed no toxicity for the mixed plastic char but a potential toxicity of the PVC char due to the existence of lead and chlorine. Calculations regarding the coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pipe based pyrolysis unit indicated that the COP decreased with the increase of moisture content of the waste stream. For 0% moisture content in the waste stream the COP of the unit was 9.4 and the carbon footprint of the unit was 0.0782 kg CO2e per kg of treatment. On the other hand, for a maximum moisture content of 100% the COP was 0.53 and the CO2 emissions were 0.3873 kg CO2e per kg of treatment