Investigating public preferences for tropical biodiversity amongst distant beneficiaries: developing the application of stated preference techniques

Imperial Users onl

Testing the theoretical consistency of stated preferences for tropical wildlife conservation

In this paper, we report the results of an online choice experiment designed to test the theoretical consistency of stated preferences for a complex predominantly non-use good. Our case study concerns the values held by UK residents for the conservation of wildlife in the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania, part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. Theoretical consistency is assessed through tests of value sensitivity to the scope of the scheme, ordering effects and (more unusually) the presence of substitutes. Critically, we find that 'substitution effects' may account for apparent insensitivity to scope. We also find some evidence that preferences are invariant to the presentation order. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating information about substitutes into the valuation process since welfare estimates may otherwise be overstated

Measuring recovery from extreme weather events

A lack of national targets and data to measure recovery from extreme and/or repeated climate-related events has been identified as an area of ‘high concern’ in the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) assessments of the Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP). This study investigates international approaches to assessing recovery from extreme weather events, the data sources underpinning them, and their applicability to Scotland. It identifies eight examples of monitoring frameworks of potential relevance to Scotland, and uses learning from these frameworks to set out the building blocks for Scottish monitoring system and suggest possible indicators

Co-producing UK climate change adaptation policy: An analysis of the 2012 and 2017 UK Climate Change Risk Assessments

This paper explores the use and perceived usefulness of the 2012 and 2017 United Kingdom Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) reports to identify potential areas of improvement for UK adaptation policy. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders and analysed each CCRA in the context of objective, audience, budget, frame, key findings, dissemination, and how they informed policy. We found that stakeholders used the CCRA in three main ways: (i) to make a business case for their work; (ii) to shape direction of policy or work; and (iii) practical applications. Our findings suggest that the way in which both CCRAs have been operationalized are symptomatic of the UK state reinforcing scientific reductionism in adaptation assessments for policymaking. Recommendations from interviews for future CCRAs included (i) adopting more innovative methodological approaches, (ii) developing more effective mechanisms for operationalisation of the CCRAs, and (iii) improving communication of the CCRAs, their risks and recommendations. This would enable better alignment with user needs and more robust inclusive decision-making processes in the assessment of future UK climate risks and impacts. We discuss how a new framework is needed in which evidence assessments such as the CCRA can be further developed utilising methods of co-production

Informing UK governance of resilience to climate risks: improving the local evidence-base

International assessments of evidence on climate change (e.g. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC) or national climate change risk assessments (e.g. UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, CCRA) do not offer a sufficiently granular perspective on climate impacts to adequately inform governance of resilience to climate risks at the local level. Using an analysis of UK decision-makers managing and responding to heatwaves and flood risks, this paper argues how more robust local evidence is needed to inform decision-making regarding adaptation options for enhancing local resilience. We identify evidence gaps and issues relating to local climate change impacts, including sources and quality of evidence used, adequacy and accessibility of evidence available, ill-communicated evidence and conflicting or misused evidence. A lack of appreciation regarding how scientific evidence and personal judgement can mutually enhance the quality of decision-making underpins all of these gaps. Additionally, we find that the majority of evidence currently used is reductively based upon socio-economic and physical characteristics of climate risks. We argue that a step change is needed in local climate resilience that moves beyond current physical and socio-economic risk characterisation to a more inclusive co-constitution of social and politically defined climate risks at the local scale that are better aligned with the local impacts felt and needs of stakeholders

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Investigating public preferences for tropical biodiversity amongst distant beneficiaries : developing the application of stated preference techniques

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Services Valuation for Policy and Management

Understanding the economic value of nature and the services it provides to humanity has become increasingly important. In this paper we review the progress to date on both the necessary conceptual framework and empirical valuation studies required to bolster decision support systems targeted at integrated coastal zone management goals. We first review definitions of ecosystem services. We then highlight and discuss the importance of: spatial explicitness; marginal changes; double-counting; non-linearities; and threshold effects. Finally, using UK case studies on managed coastal realignment, we highlight the usefulness of an ecosystem services sequential decision support system to environmental valuation and policy assessment

Valuation of the historic environment: The scope for using economic valuation evidence in the appraisal of heritage-related projects

In this paper we consider the question, 'What is the the scope for using results of economic valuation studies in the appraisal and assessment of heritage-related projects and programmes?' This entails assessing the potential role and scope of 'value transfer', which is an approach to economic valuation that uses results of previous valuation studies (for example, travel cost or stated preference studies) in the appraisal of projects and programmes. A distinct appeal of value transfer is its expediency and value for money properties in relation to commissioning original valuation studies, which can enable greater use of economic values within decision making. Its potential role in the appraisal of heritage assets depends on whether it is deemed a reliable approach to economic valuation, and whether there is a sufficient body of economic valuation literature concerning the heritage sector. Correspondingly, we examine: (i) the applicability of economic valuation to the historic environment; (ii) the basis for value transfer; and (iii) the literature pertaining to the valuation of the historic environment. We also develop a case study, which demonstrates the use of value transfer in a heritage context. Overall there currently appears to be limited scope for value transfer applications in heritage-related appraisal and evaluation exercises. This is in part due to the heterogeneity and complexity of heritage assets. However, a more fundamental constraining factor is the current extent of heritage valuation literature; only 30 valuation studies were identified relating to the historic environment. We recommend that future work focuses on developing a database of valuation studies relating to the heritage sector, and on establishing a broader base of high-quality original heritage-related economic valuation studies. Moreover, where value transfer is applied in an appraisal and evaluation context to heritage assets, much emphasis should be placed on satisfying the criteria for identifying suitable valuation evidence from existing studies