The costs of beekeeping for pollination services in the UK? An explorative study

Honey bees are a key managed pollination service resource in crop agriculture, providing flexible, highly generalist and resilient pollination service delivery to a broad range of UK crops. Despite their potential economic impacts, there is little information on the actual costs involved in providing pollination services experienced by UK beekeepers. Utilizing an online survey of UK beekeepers, this study examines the full economic costs of providing pollination services to crops in the UK, as well as examining the differences in costs experienced by different beekeepers. The findings indicate that <10% of respondent beekeepers, mainly professionals, actively provide pollination services to crops, and rarely receive payment for this in field crops. In apple orchards, where beekeepers most often receive payments, the benefits to the orchard are estimated at 86–149 times the payments received by beekeepers. Although exploratory, the findings highlight the need for wider collection of information on beekeeping costs and several key knowledge gaps that could influence future development of the UK bee farming industry

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

Structuring an Integrated Air Quality Monitoring Network in Large Urban Areas – Discussing the Purpose, Criteria and Deployment Strategy

Air pollution in large urban areas has become a serious issue due to its negative impacts on human health, building materials, biodiversity and urban ecosystems in both developed and less-wealthy nations. In most large urban areas, especially in developed countries air quality monitoring networks (AQMN) have been established that provide air quality (AQ) data for various purposes, e.g., to monitor regulatory compliance and to assess the effectiveness of control strategies. However, the criteria of structuring the network are currently defined by single questions rather than attempting to create a network to serve multiple functions. Here we propose a methodology supported by numerical, conceptual and GIS frameworks for structuring AQMN using social, environmental and economic indicators as a case study in Sheffield, UK. The main factors used for air quality monitoring station (AQMS) selection are population-weighted pollution concentration (PWPC) and weighted spatial variability (WSV) incorporating population density (social indicator), pollution levels and spatial variability of air pollutant concentrations (environmental indicator). Total number of sensors is decided on the basis of budget (economic indicator), whereas the number of sensors deployed in each output area is proportional to WSV. The purpose of AQ monitoring and its role in determining the location of AQMS is analysed. Furthermore, the existing AQMN is analysed and an alternative proposed following a formal procedure. In contrast to traditional networks, which are structured based on a single AQ monitoring approach, the proposed AQMN has several layers of sensors: Reference sensors recommended by EU and DEFRA, low-cost sensors (LCS) (AQMesh and Envirowatch E-MOTEs) and IoT (Internet of Things) sensors. The core aim is to structure an integrated AQMN in urban areas, which will lead to the collection of AQ data with high spatiotemporal resolution. The use of LCS in the proposed network provides a cheaper option for setting up a purpose-designed network for greater spatial coverage, especially in low- and middle-income countries

Scenario-based sustainable water management and urban regeneration

Copyright © ICE PublishingDeployable output (source availability) from water resources in north west England is predicted to decrease over the next 25 years. Alternative supply management strategies are planned to help avoid a deficit in the supply–demand balance within the region but have yet to be considered in detail. This paper assesses the contribution of such an alternative supply strategy at local level on the water resource supply–demand balance at regional level based on a proposed urban regeneration site in north west England. Various water conservation and reuse measures are investigated considering local and regional conditions and constraints. Four future scenarios are presented and used to describe how the future might be (rather than how it will be), to allow an assessment to be made of how current ‘sustainable solutions’ might cope whatever the future holds. The analysis determines the solution contributions under each future and indicates that some strategies will deliver their full intended benefits under scenarios least expected but most needed. It is recommended that to help reduce the regional supply–demand deficit and maximise system resilience to future change, a wide range of water demand management measures should be incorporated on this and other sites

Small businesses and flood impacts: The case of the 2009 flood event in Cockermouth

Flooding can have a devastating impact on businesses, especially on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who may be unprepared and vulnerable to the range of both direct and indirect impacts. SMEs may tend to focus on the direct tangible impacts of flooding, limiting their ability to realise the true costs of flooding. Greater understanding of the impacts of flooding is likely to contribute towards increased uptake of flood protection measures by SMEs, particularly during post-flood property reinstatement. This study sought to investigate the full range of impacts experienced by SMEs located in Cockermouth following the floods of 2009. The findings of a questionnaire survey of SMEs revealed that businesses not directly affected by the flooding experienced a range of impacts and that short-term impacts were given a higher significance. A strong correlation was observed between direct, physical flood impacts and post-flood costs of insurance. Significant increases in the costs of property insurance and excesses were noted, meaning that SMEs will be exposed to increased losses in the event of a future flood event. The findings from the research will enable policy makers and professional bodies to make informed decisions to improve the status of advice given to SMEs. The study also adds weight to the case for SMEs to consider investing in property-level flood risk adaptation measures, especially during the post flood reinstatement process

Association of low-level inorganic arsenic exposure from rice with age-standardized mortality risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in England and Wales

Adverse health outcomes, including death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), arising from chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) are well documented. Consumption of rice is a major iAs exposure route for over 3 billion people, however, there is still a lack of epidemiological evidence demonstrating the association between iAs exposure from rice intake and CVD risks. We explored this potential association through an ecological study using data at local authority level across England and Wales. Local authority level daily per capita iAs exposure from rice (E-iAsing,rice) was estimated using ethnicity as a proxy for class of rice consumption. A series of linear and non-linear models were applied to estimate the association between E-iAsing,rice and CVD age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), using Akaike's Information Criterion as the principle model selection criterion. When adjusted for significant confounders, notably smoking prevalence, education level, employment rate, overweight percentage, PM2.5, female percentage and medical and care establishments, the preferred non-linear model indicated that CVD risks increased with iAs exposure from rice at exposures above 0.3 μg/person/day. Also, the best-fitted linear model indicated that CVD ASMR in the highest quartile of iAs exposure (0.375–2.71 μg/person/day) was 1.06 (1.02, 1.11; p-trend <0.001) times higher than that in the lowest quartile (<0.265 μg/person/day). Notwithstanding the well-known limitations of ecological studies, this study further suggests exposure to iAs, including from rice intake, as a potentially important confounder for studies of the factors controlling CVD risks

Forest regeneration on European sheep pasture is an economically viable climate change mitigation strategy

Livestock production uses 37% of land globally and is responsible for 15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Yet livestock farmers across Europe receive billions of dollars in annual subsidies to support their livelihoods. This study evaluates whether diverting European subsidies into the restoration of trees on abandoned farmland represents a cost-effective negative-emissions strategy for mitigating climate change. Focusing on sheep farming in the United Kingdom, and on natural regeneration and planted native forests, we show that, without subsidies, sheep farming is not profitable when farmers are paid for their labour. Despite the much lower productivity of upland farms, upland and lowland farms are financially comparable per hectare. Conversion to 'carbon forests' is possible via natural regeneration when close to existing trees, which are seed sources. This strategy is financially viable without subsidies, meeting the net present value of poorly performing sheep farming at a competitive $4/tCO2eq. If tree planting is required to establish forests, then ~$55/tCO2eq is needed to break-even, making it uneconomical under current carbon market prices without financial aid to cover establishment costs. However, this break-even price is lower than the theoretical social value of carbon ($68/tCO2eq), which represents the economic cost of CO2 emissions to society. The viability of land-use conversion without subsidies therefore depends on low farm performance, strong likelihood of natural regeneration, and high carbon-market price, plus overcoming potential trade-offs between the cultural and social values placed on pastoral livestock systems and climate change mitigation. The morality of subsidising farming practices that cause high greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, whilst spending billions annually on protecting forest carbon in less developed nations to slow climate change is questionable

Of embodied emissions and inequality: rethinking energy consumption

This paper situates concepts of energy consumption within the context of growing research on embodied emissions. Using the UK as a case study I unpack the global socio-economic and ecological inequalities inherent in the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions on a territorial basis under the international climate change framework. In so doing, I problematise questions of distribution, allocation and responsibility with regards to the pressing need to reduce global GHG emissions and the consumption that generates them. I challenge the disproportionate emphasis that energy policy places on supply as opposed to demand, as well as its overriding focus on the national scale. Consequently I argue that any low carbon transition, in addition to a technological process, is also a geographical one that will involve the reconfiguration of "current spatial patterns of economic and social activity" (Bridge et al., 2013:331), as well as relationships both within countries and regions and between them