Net reductions or spatiotemporal displacement of intentional wildfires in response to arrests? : evidence from Spain

Research to date has not examined how the impacts of arrests manifest across space and time in environmental crimes. We evaluate whether arrests reduce or merely spatiotemporally displace intentional illegal outdoor firesetting. Using municipality-level daily wildfire count data from Galicia, Spain, from 1999 to 2014, we develop daily spatiotemporal ignition count models of agricultural, non-agricultural and total intentional illegal wildfires as functions of spatiotemporally lagged arrests, the election cycle, seasonal and day indicators, meteorological factors and socioeconomic variables. We find evidence that arrests reduce future intentional illegal fires across space in subsequent time periods.This research was partly funded by Project ECO2017–89274-R MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UES

The ability of regional coordination and policy integration to produce coherent marine management : Implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the North-East Atlantic

The transboundary nature of the marine environment requires concerted actions among neighbouring countries to improve its quality in an effective way. Coordination at international level is particularly important during the implementation of environmental policies aimed at reducing the widespread pressures derived from activities, such as shipping and fishing. The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to protect and improve the status of a wide range of ecosystem components with a regional focus, promoting cooperation among countries and integration with other environmental policies. In 2014, the European Commission assessed the level of adequacy, consistency and coherence achieved by Member States during the implementation of the first phase of the MSFD and hence this paper focuses on the cross-border coherence and coordination within one marine region in order to achieve the goals of the Directive. In particular, it identifies and analyses the main differences among the results of the implementation of the first phase of the MSFD across the North-East Atlantic region. This analysis shows that, in general, the use of existing data, methodologies and targets from related environmental policies corresponds to the higher levels of coherence among countries while a limited use of such policies produces less coherence. This suggests that the European Commission, Regional Seas Conventions and Member States should work together to identify the real connection between the MSFD and other policies to make a proper use of existing data and approaches and to harmonise different policy objectives. In particular, the review shows what might be termed a 'paradox of coherence' amongst Member States where coherence of action has to be achieved within a European policy of subsidiarity, the act of Member States having control over the way they implement framework directives. This can be regarded as a fundamental flaw in having a 'Framework Directive' instead of the greater control in a 'Directive

Iberian Peninsula October 2017 wildfires : Burned area and population exposure in Galicia (NW of Spain)

In October 2017, an extreme wildfire outbreak in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula burned thousands of hectares, resulting in human deaths and important economic damage. This paper provides a first comprehensive assessment of the exposure of the local communities in the Spanish region of Galicia, where forestlands routinely experience fire outbreaks, as the one that occurred in 14th, 15th and 16th October with more than two hundred fire incidents. We delimitate the wildfire perimeters, characterize the area burned in regards to vegetation characteristics, evaluate the affected wildland-urban interface (WUI), and quantify the population and buildings exposed to wildfires. The burned area was found to be unevenly distributed, concentrated in the south of the region, and in municipalities with nearly half of their lands under WUI. This resulted in a high level of exposure in the affected lands. We estimated that 51 communities were inside fire perimeters. Moreover, 873 communities with more than 87,000 people residing on them, were at a close distance of less than 1 km away. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding extreme wildfire events and their potential impacts which can guide how best communities can respond to them. The high number of population exposed to the studied event shows the necessity of integrating land-use planning with wildfire risk prevention and preparedness

Evaluación de la información sobre ocupación del suelo en España para estimar la superficie forestal en Galicia

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Exploring fishers’ perceptions of index insurance and coral reef health in the context of climate-driven changes in extreme events

Climate-change-driven storminess and extreme events are increasingly challenging fishers in tropical island countries. Weather-based index insurance is an emerging tool that can assist fishing communities in their recovery and adaptation to such events. In these regions, coral reefs support valuable fisheries and also provide coastal protection during extreme events. Surveying 80 fishers in Grenada, this exploratory study examined fishers’ perceptions of index insurance in the context of their experiences of extreme events. We also explore perceptions of reef health and its’ connections to fishing outcomes and coastal protection, given the indirect role this plays in supporting fishers’ resilience through associated fisheries and storm protection. Most fishers viewed extreme events as a severe risk to their livelihoods, affecting their ability to make future plans. Fishers comprehended the links between improved reef health and positive impacts on fishing (higher catches and incomes). Several challenges regarding index insurance were raised, which centred on themes of flexibility, affordability, inclusivity, and accessibility. These could pose barriers to fishers and undermine demand for or participation in such schemes. As such, research, design, and implementation of future index insurance schemes should consider issues raised by fishers to ensure that provision is equitable and improve uptake

Integrating invasive species policies across ornamental horticulture supply-chains to prevent plant invasions

1.Ornamental horticulture is the primary pathway for invasive alien plant introductions. We critically appraise published evidence on the effectiveness of four policy instruments that tackle invasions along the horticulture supply chain: pre-border import restrictions, post-border bans, industry codes of conduct and consumer education. 2.Effective pre-border interventions rely on rigorous risk assessment and high industry compliance. Post-border sales bans become progressively less effective when alien species become widespread in a region. 3.A lack of independent performance evaluation and of public disclosure, limits the uptake and effectiveness of voluntary codes of conduct and discourages shifts in consumer preference away from invasive alien species. 4.Policy implications. Closing the plant invasion pathway associated with ornamental horticulture requires government-industry agreements to fund effective pre- and post-border weed risk assessments that can be subsequently supported by widely adopted, as well as verifiable, industry codes of conduct. This will ensure producers and consumers make informed choices in the face of better targeted public education addressing plant invasions

Understanding farmers preferences towards insurance schemes that promote biosecurity best management practices

Plant pest and disease outbreaks, which occur with increasing frequency and intensity, cause catastrophic losses and threaten food security in many areas around the world. These impacts are expected to be exacerbated by climate change. Tackling this challenge requires mechanisms that ensure the financial security of farmers while incentivizing private biosecurity efforts to prevent future outbreaks. This study explored crop producers’ preferences for a subsidized insurance scheme as an instrument to manage novel biotic risks. Specifically, we developed a choice experiment to evaluate Spanish growers’ willingness to pay for a crop insurance product that promotes compliance with best biosecurity management practices. Our results show that while growers are willing to pay more for high coverage products that increase the resilience of crops to potential catastrophic outbreaks, there is neither a strong demand for nor widespread availability of such tools. Farmers required reductions in premiums before undertaking risk prevention measures; they are more willing to pay for schemes that link their eligibility to access to ad hoc funds in the eventuality of a catastrophic outbreak than they are to purchase insurance. Our findings also suggest that Spanish growers prefer expanding the eligible risks covered by insurance and envisage a role for insurance in offering biosecurity protection

Modelling the effectiveness of collaborative schemes for disease and pest outbreak prevention

Preventing disease outbreaks has widespread benefits that are dependent on the actions of many agents but can be undermined by the inaction of others. This paper explores whether a voluntary biosecurity-related assurance scheme can be an effective mechanism for curbing the risks of animal and plant pests and diseases. The decision to engage in such schemes is modelled using a coalition game where agents consider both direct costs of infection and regional outbreak costs like trade bans and movement restrictions. We find that government needs to support the scheme through incentives that reduce members’ outbreak costs like pre-agreed outbreak compensation or preferential regulatory treatment. Assurance schemes could provide significant improvements in biosecurity if membership is high; but without government incentives, stable coalitions are either small or ineffective at improving biosecurity. Government support can lead to large coalitions and robust improvement in overall biosecurity, with the optimal level of support being the smallest incentive that leads to a stable grand coalition. Policies that focus on either monetary or non-monetary incentives can lead to more robust improvements in biosecurity. In particular, targeting regional outbreak costs to members like movement restrictions leads to improved biosecurity for all levels of support

Spatial patterns of social vulnerability in relation to wildfire risk and wildland-urban interface presence

Wildfires have greater impacts on socially vulnerable communities. Identifying these vulnerable communities and enhance understanding of what influences their susceptibility to wildfires can guide the design of spatially targeted strategies in preparedness, mitigation plans, and adaptation strategies. Moreover, special attention should be given to those locations with high wildfire risk and higher social vulnerability. This paper investigates the heterogeneous spatial coincidence of social vulnerability with wildfire risk in Galicia (Spain) at the municipal level. Results show that socioeconomic status, social dependent population, and household unit characteristics are the dimensions that contribute the most to social vulnerability. In general, municipalities with the highest proportion of their area under the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) have low social vulnerability. In fact, locations with high social vulnerability and high fire risk are spatially concentrated in the south and are low-density populated communities, often in remote locations and with elderly population. We also mapped few exceptions where we detected high WUI presence in hotspot areas. Our findings can serve local authorities as a basis for wildfire planning that accounts for the spatial distribution of the most vulnerable communities and for the development of programs that tackle the determinants of the socially vulnerability inequalities across the territory

Alien Futures Horizon Scanning dataset

<p>The data are the result of the Alien Futures Horizon Scanning project.  They were collected through an open online survey  (EnglishSurveyFinal.pdf) to poll specialists and stakeholders from around the world as to their opinion on the three most important issues that may affect the future global and local management of biological invasions in the next 20 to 50 years both globally and at their respective local working level.</p> <p>The dataset also contains the categorisation of these issues into topics conducted by the Alien Futures team and presented in:</p> <p>Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Boivin, T., Essl, F., Groom, Q. J., Harrison, L., Touza, J. M., Bayliss, H. (2018): Alien Futures: what is on the horizon for biological invasions?. <em>Diversity & Distributions </em>DOI:10.1111/ddi.12755</p> <p> </p