A vulnerability framework to protect coastal social ecological systems

Due to a long and beneficial legacy, human settlement and development is particularly concentrated in coastal zones and this concentration is expected to continue and increase in the future. Coastal dwelling, however, also entails risks from both anthropogenic and natural hazards and interactions between these. A spatially explicit ecosystem services framework combined with a vulnerability framework is used to explore human relations with the coast and to assess current and future capacities to ensure benefits of coastal migration and to address the risks that these areas pose. The spatial characteristics of some fundamental benefits — transport and settlement, fisheries and waste assimilation — of coastal dwelling and their associated environmental costs are first analysed using modern and historical examples. A variety of spatial characteristics describing human use patterns are then identified. On this basis, the implications of the variety of spatial scales in benefits and costs for effective governance are discussed with reference to historical and current marine and coastal management practice. Our analysis will attempt to demonstrate that incorporating ecosystem services in environmental management may provide a useful tool in the application of ecosystem-based management

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and development: A case study in Northern Ireland

This study outlines the adaptation planning journey undertaken by Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) in Northern Ireland and reflects how the prevailing policy context and level of organisational adaptive capacity create the conditions for mainstreaming climate adaptation into planning and development. This chapter explores the potential of local government in Northern Ireland to integrate local authority policy drivers such as disaster risk reduction (DRR), emergency planning, risk and assurance, and community resilience. The ability to communicate risks and solutions was identified as an important consideration when undertaking adaptation planning, particularly when discussing the adaptation planning process and securing input or support from colleagues. Moreover, a significant amount of engagement was required with local government agencies to increase understanding of the relevance of climate change and DRR. Embedding DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) within local authority policy and planning can enable a greater understanding of specific risks to local governments and act as a catalyst for further action

Creating Resilient Futures - Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction, Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change Adaptation Agendas

Examines a coherence building opportunity between Climate Change Adaptation, the Sustainable Development Goals and Disaster Risk Reduction agendas. Considers opportunities to address global challenges in the context of developing resilience as an integrated development continuum instead of through independent and siloed agendas

Introduction: Can the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and Agenda 2030 provide a path towards societal resilience?

The Global Risk Report 2021 highlights the portfolio of risks that may reshape the world in the coming years (WEF, The Global Risks Report 2021 (16th ed.). ISBN: 978-2-940631-24-7. http://wef.ch/risks2021, 2021). Although the global portfolio of risks is dominated by the existential crisis of climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic presents an immediate experience of how risk can upend and disrupt our societies and economies. It has highlighted existing global inequalities and demonstrated the scope and scale of cascading socio-ecological impacts. The impacts of climate change on global communities will likely dwarf the disruption brought on by the pandemic, with impacts being more diffuse and pervasive over a longer time frame. The chapter sets out the nature of the climate change problem and the potential value in integrating the agendas of Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals to increase societal resilience. It then describes the scope of the book under its three sections: Best practice approaches; Irish case studies; International case studies. Lessons learned are then presented from the studies set out within the volume, followed by challenges and potential solutions to realising the ambition of resilience. Finally, a set of overarching conclusions are drawn

Investigation of an elevated sands unit at Tralispean Bay, South-West Ireland – potential high-energy marine event

A sequence of high elevation sands containing both broken and whole marine shells, as well as many mega-sized, raft-shaped boulders (1-3m across) has been discovered at Tralispean Bay, West Cork, Ireland. Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), ground surveying and differential GPS (dGPS) show that the sediments cover an area of c.0.75ha, reaching a maximum height of c.+18.5m ODM, with interconnected pockets of sand varying in thickness of up to 1m. Coring, lithostratigraphic study, granulometry, organics loss-on-ignition and carbonate content analyses, together with examination of micro- and macrofossils, indicate that the shelly sands were deposited rapidly, under high energy conditions. Informal interviews with local residents, as well as the extent of the sands, suggest that the deposit is not the result of human actions. Elevations reached by the sediments, the presence of mega-boulders, and other indicators make it unlikely that these sediments arose from storm activity. It is possible that they have been deposited as the result of a tsunami. The radiocarbon (AMS) date obtained places the age of such an event at 1465 AD (Cal BP 485). At present, no clear historical record has been identified of any tsunami impacts affecting the south coast of Ireland other than the Lisbon earthquake of 1755

Microfinance regulation and social sustainability of microfinance institutions: the case of Nigeria and Zambia

This study examines the effect of regulations on microfinance institutions in Nigeria and Zambia by focusing on the post-regulation experiences and reflections of the microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their regulators. Based on in-depth interviews with the Central Banks as regulators, MFI managers, practitioners and apex microfinance associations, the study finds that regulations in both countries have managed to professionalize the sector, but their effectiveness in augmenting the centrality of social goals to microfinance and MFIs remains doubtful. The poorly designed regulations are not only undermining social goals but also sending wrong signals to would be social investors, with implications for the social image of the industry. The study further finds that regulations have neither speeded the emergence of sustainable MFIs (especially in Zambia) nor accelerated the sectors’ outreach to the poor and the financially excluded. Additionally, considerable levels of political interference and poor regulation have led to unintended consequences to the sector, further frustrating the ultimate goal of extending financial services to the poor. These findings have policy and practical implications for how microfinance engages with the regulatory logic and continues to serve those at the bottom of the pyramid

Innovative methods of community engagement: towards a low carbon climate resilient future

The proceedings of the Innovative Methods of Community Engagement: Toward a Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Future workshop have been developed by the Imagining2050 team in UCC and the Secretariat to the National Dialogue on Climate Action (NDCA). The NDCA also funded the workshop running costs. The proceedings offer a set of recommendations and insights into leveraging different community engagement approaches and methodologies in the area of climate action. They draw from interdisciplinary knowledge and experiences of researchers for identifying, mobilizing and mediating communities. The work presented below derives from a workshop held in the Environmental Research Institute in UCC on the 17th January 2019. These proceedings are complementary to an earlier workshop also funded by the NDCA and run by MaREI in UCC, titled ‘How do we Engage Communities in Climate Action? – Practical Learnings from the Coal Face’. The earlier workshop looked more closely at community development groups and other non-statutory organizations doing work in the area of climate change

Telling the story of sewer fatbergs using creative approaches

SCI:COM, Dublin, Ireland, 3 December 2019The word ‘fatberg’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015 and is defined as ‘a very large mass of solid waste in a sewerage system, consisting especially of congealed fat and personal hygiene products that have been flushed down toilets’. While the occurrence of fatbergs is a global problem, it is particularly prevalent in the UK with about 300,000 sewer blockages every year, costing about £100 million. A key approach to addressing the issue is to raise awareness among the public and business community in order to reduce the amount of fat, oil and grease (FOG) and sanitary items such as wet wipes that are discharged into the sewer. Engagement by water utilities or companies such as SwiftComply typically takes place directly with food service establishments while public events are also organised. Fatbergs have been highlighted many times in the media, most notably the Whitechapel fatberg, which was found in London in 2017, weighing 130 tonnes (equivalent to 19 African elephants) and measuring 250 metres in length (as long as two football pitches). The research results from Barry Orr (a.k.a. Captain FOG) on so-called ‘flushable’ wet wipes gained widespread publicity and the “Your Turn” FOG cup is effective for residents. Creative approaches have also been used to get the message across. Nathan T. Wright created a ‘Fatberg’ character for an illustrated book ‘Adventures of Fatberg’; this highlighted how fatbergs could be converted into biofuels. Tom Curran (a.k.a. Dr. Fatberg) performed a stand-up comedy set at Bright Club Dublin, which is available on YouTube. More recently, Nathan T. Wright created a follow on comic book ‘Attack of the Fatbergs’ in collaboration with SwiftComply; it is a tale of time travel with ‘Fatberg’, ‘Captain FOG’, ‘Dr. Fatberg’ and ‘Dr. Sophie Quinn’ trying to save Christmas from the menace of fatbergs. There appears to be significant interest in all these initiatives

Drinking patterns and the distribution of alcohol-related harms in Ireland: evidence for the prevention paradox.

Background: According to the prevention paradox, the majority of alcohol-related harms in the population occur among low-to-moderate risk drinkers, simply because they are more numerous in the population, although high-risk drinkers have a higher individual risk of experiencing alcohol-related harms. In this study we explored the prevention paradox in the Irish population by comparing alcohol-dependent drinkers (high-risk) to low-risk drinkers and non-dependent drinkers who engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED). Methods: Data were generated from the 2013 National Alcohol Diary Survey (NADS), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of Irish adults aged 18–75. Data were available for 4338 drinkers. Respondents dependent on alcohol (as measured by DSM-IV criteria), respondents who engaged in monthly HED or occasional HED (1–11 times a year) and low-risk drinkers were compared for distribution of eight alcohol-related harms. Results: Respondents who were dependent on alcohol had a greater individual risk of experiencing each harm (p < .0001). The majority of the harms in the population were accounted for by drinkers who were not dependent on alcohol. Together, monthly and occasional HED drinkers accounted for 62% of all drinkers, consumed 70% of alcohol and accounted for 59% of alcohol-related harms. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the majority of alcohol consumption and related harms in the Irish population are accounted for by low- and moderate-risk drinkers, and specifically by those who engage in heavy episodic drinking. A population-based approach to reducing alcohol-related harm is most appropriate in the Irish context. Immediate implementation of the measures in the Public Health (Alcohol) Act (2018) is necessary to reduce alcohol-related harm in Ireland