Establishing a conceptual framework for a sustainable water ethic

Water ethics is an area of research that is still in its infancy and as such there is a real need to provide the basis of a framework which can capture not only the philosophical underpinnings of a sustainable water ethic but also accommodate the significant research already undertaken in a variety of other fields. To date a majority of the work on water ethics has focused on purely economic or environmental concerns and there is a real need to broaden our outlook in developing a more ethical relationship to water. This paper explores a number of general policy approaches to water management in an effort to determine how our moral values and principles might inform and impact upon our practical deliberation and action in this field. I argue that a contractualist approach to ethics might best provide the framework for using reasoned agreement to determine our ethical values and thus lead us closer to the development of a sustainable water ethic. A revised version of this paper has been accepted for publication by The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability

In a changing world, climate adaptation researchers play a key role in addressing risk and ethical responsibilities.

The uncertainties related to climate science present some unique challenges for policymakers and researchers alike. Drawing on lessons from the health care domain, where there are established mechanisms and processes in place for managing risk, Justine Lacey, Mark Howden and Chris Cvitanovic look at ways researchers can proactively support decision-makers. Could a similar ethics system to the one used by frontline medical professionals be implemented by climate scientists to enhance decision-making

Power, perspective, and privilege: The challenge of translating stakeholder theory from business management to environmental and natural resource management

Stakeholder analysis and engagement is a central tenet for understanding and solving sustainability challenges, and is applied widely in environmental and natural resource management (ENRM). The practice in ENRM follows translation of stakeholder theory from its origins in business management to the sustainability sector. In this analytical essay we explore key concepts in ENRM research and practice to examine complexities that have accompanied this translation to ENRM. In particular, we consider the centrality of stakeholders’ landscape perspectives in defining their stake in ENRM issues, and through this lens examine the limitations that are inherent in the classic ‘hub-and-spoke’ model of stakeholder analysis that is the theoretical underpinning for ENRM stakeholder analysis and engagement practice. We argue that unlike the traditional business context where both power and perspective are centred on the business entity that then defines other stakeholders in reference to itself, in ENRM, stakeholder relations are centred on an ENRM issue, typically a landscape or the implications of policy change on a landscape. As a consequence, decision-making power is decentred onto one of several stakeholders; often a government or other high power entity, implicitly conferring privilege to those powerful stakeholders’ landscape perspectives over those held by low power stakeholders. We conclude with priorities for foregrounding power and explicating landscape perspectives to identify privilege in ENRM. We direct these insights especially to those ENRM actors who have the dual roles of adjudicator and privileged stakeholder such that they do not inadvertently perpetuate power imbalances through the privilege of aligning their decision-making power with their landscape perspectives

How environmental values influence trust and beliefs about societal oversight and need for regulation of the Australian cattle industry

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Livestock grazing covers half of Australia and vast areas of global terrestrial ecosystems. The sustainability of the beef cattle industries are being scrutinised amid ongoing environmental concerns. In response, industry discourse has identified public trust as critical to avoiding reactive environmental regulation. However, public perceptions of the cattle industry's sustainability performance and trust are largely unknown and speculative. We present the first model of public attitudes toward the Australian cattle industry (n = 2913). Our results reveal that societal perceptions of the industry's environmental performance strongly predict trust in the industry. However, trust only weakly predicts a perceived right for societal oversight and has only an indirect relationship on need for environmental regulation. Environmental values influence perceptions of industry performance and the perceived right for societal oversight. We conclude that effective industry governance must be values literate and recognise that strong environmental performance is critical for public trust. Public trust is high but does not translate to support for a relaxed regulatory environment.This research was funded by the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland and CSIRO's Responsible Innovation Future Science Platform. The research was not funded by the Australian cattle industry, although TF has PhD scholarship funding from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) for an unrelated research project

KLB , encoding β‐Klotho, is mutated in patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare genetic form of isolated gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency caused by mutations in > 30 genes. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) is the most frequently mutated gene in CHH and is implicated in GnRH neuron development and maintenance. We note that a CHH FGFR1 mutation (p.L342S) decreases signaling of the metabolic regulator FGF21 by impairing the association of FGFR1 with β‐Klotho (KLB), the obligate co‐receptor for FGF21. We thus hypothesized that the metabolic FGF21/KLB/FGFR1 pathway is involved in CHH. Genetic screening of 334 CHH patients identified seven heterozygous loss‐of‐function KLB mutations in 13 patients (4%). Most patients with KLB mutations (9/13) exhibited metabolic defects. In mice, lack of Klb led to delayed puberty, altered estrous cyclicity, and subfertility due to a hypothalamic defect associated with inability of GnRH neurons to release GnRH in response to FGF21. Peripheral FGF21 administration could indeed reach GnRH neurons through circumventricular organs in the hypothalamus. We conclude that FGF21/KLB/FGFR1 signaling plays an essential role in GnRH biology, potentially linking metabolism with reproduction

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Water ethics: Incorporating equity in water management

In Australia, water management has been described as one of the major natural resource management issues facing our rural industries, regional communities and our unique environment. Within this context, water ethics has emerged as a research area of great significance. However to date, the majority of research has clustered around environmental and economic themes and forays into the ethical management of water have been, for the most part, limited to a deliberative focus on the establishment of property rights and effective water pricing mechanisms. These narrow approaches fail to recognise the diversity and plurality of our water values or to adequately address broader values such as social justice and equity. For example, in the realm of water justice there are a myriad of competing equity claims. Water is highly valued for a range of uses but competition for the resource can create divisions among the community of users. Moreover some parts of the communityare denied adequate access to water. This type of social exclusion can occur in a variety of ways, but for many, exclusion means they are denied basic choices about water due to a lack of ability to participate in decision making processes. Such equity claims cannot be readily solved by utilitarian formulas which seek to apply a simple metric to determine the highest economic value. Rather there are multiple values and realities which must be addressed ncluding the social and institutional frameworks surrounding water governance. This paper aims to briefly outline the broader range of ethical and philosophical underpinnings relating to water management that exist both within environmental and economic concerns but also beyond them

The ethics of regional water planning: planning and management of water resources in a growth region

Abstract Providing water infrastructure in times of accelerating climate change presents interesting new problems. Expanding demands must be met or managed in contexts of increasingly constrained sources of supply, raising ethical questions of equity and participation. Loss of agricultural land and natural habitats, the coastal impacts of desalination plants and concerns over re-use of waste water must be weighed with demand management issues of water rationing, pricing mechanisms and inducing behaviour change. This case study examines how these factors impact on infrastructure planning in South East Queensland, Australia: a region with one of the developed world’s most rapidly growing populations, which has recently experienced the most severe drought in its recorded history. Proposals to match forecast demands and potential supplies for water over a 20 year period are reviewed by applying ethical principles to evaluate practical plans to meet the water needs of the region’s activities and settlements