Nudging Toward a Healthy Natural Environment: How Behavioral Change Research Can Inform Conservation

As the world's human population has surpassed 7 billion, few places on the globe escape the pervasive impact of our species. Human behavior constitutes the primary threat to the world's biodiversity both directly, via harvesting of living natural resources, and indirectly, as a result of habitat destruction, pollution, the introduction of invasive species, and climate change. While traditional policy tools, such as regulations, taxes, and subsidies, have been successful in achieving many conservation gains, continued environmental degradation has spurred interest in new "soft policy" approaches based on social and behavioral science that encourage the voluntary adoption of individual behaviors supportive of sustainable resource use. This paper synthesizes foundational knowledge from psychology and behavioral economics, and other applied fields like public health, to develop recommendations for incorporating behavioral change interventions in promotion of the health and wellbeing of natural ecosystems. We identify five "areas of influence" that provide opportunities for promoting pro-environmental behavior: attitudes, agency, emotions, social norms, and environmental or decision context. We discuss the ways in which these areas of influence might be utilized by conservation practitioners and provide a framework within an adaptive management structure for the implementation and evaluation of behavioral-change interventions targeted at individuals

Building criminal accountability at the global level: the ICC and its discontents

With the negotiation of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), we all believed we had entered a new age: an age of unheralded peace and security, of justice, of an end to impunity; an age of accountability.  At the time we believed the statute to be the biggest advance for peace and security through the rule of law since the United Nations Charter of 1945.&nbsp

The effects of diluted bitumen (dilbit) exposure during embryonic development on the future swimming performance and metabolic and ionic recovery post-exercise in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Expansions in the transportation of diluted bitumen (dilbit) products in coastal regions of British Columbia potentially increase the risk of exposure of early life stage (ELS) Pacific salmon by both acute as well as sublethal effects. The objective of present study was to investigate the effects of dilbit exposure (from the embryonic to swim-up sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) on their swimming performance and exercise recovery at later life stages (juveniles). Embryos were exposed to 4 concentrations (0, 13.7, 34.7 and 124.5 μg/L total PAH [TPAH]) of the dissolved fraction of Cold Lake Winter Blend dilbit immediately following fertilization until swim-up. The mortality of embryos and alevins were recorded through the exposure period, and at the end of the exposure, a subset of individuals from each treatment group were tested for the burst swimming speed (Uburst). Remaining fish were reared separately for 8 months under non-exposure conditions. Subsets of fish were subsequently tested for Uburst after 1, 3, 6, and 8 months in uncontaminated water. At 8 months, subsets of the survivors were re-exposed to same concentrations of dilbit for 24h, 96h, or 14 d, then again tested for Uburst and exercise recovery. Plasma osmolality, [cortisol], [glucose], [lactate], [Na+], [Cl-], white muscle [glycogen] and [triglyceride] were measured pre- and post- swimming. Dilbit exposure during embryonic development decreased fish’s Uburst, but no prolonged effects on Uburst, metabolic or ionic recovery were found after 8 months under non-exposure conditions. Fish that received re-exposures exhibited reduced Uburst and slower recovery from exhaustive exercise. Significant alterations were observed in plasma ion concentrations and biochemical measures in re-exposed individuals, which may underlie the reductions in physiological performance. These results indicate that embryonic exposures may exacerbate effects if fish are exposed again at a later life stage

Farmers Markets, Local Food Systems and the Social Economy: A Thematic Literature Review

The first section outlines some of the many definitions given to the FM. Key themes will be identified. Following this, a brief discussion of the market concept, the history of selling in public spaces as well as a brief look at FM in other places around the world will help situate FM as a part of history and current times as well as touch on their existence as a global phenomena. Section two seeks to outline the investment in Farmers Markets; more specifically, public and private contributions to the things farmers markets need most: access to land and buildings, infrastructure, administration. Furthermore, this section seeks to explore what role the farmers/vendors themselves have in this investment and whether or not it is a grassroots or top down approach to the procurement of the necessary operating resources. In addition, some insight into which group is driving this investment, producers or consumers, will be presented. Section three examines key themes emerging from the literature around FM. These themes help situate the benefits and challenges of the FM structure in relation to producers, consumers, communities, municipalities, food safety and small business. Section four offers a brief look at the third sector, the social economy and explores the emergence of FM within the context of a social economic development initiative. The chapter continues on to define community food systems and offers a look at the role of FM working with strong CFS. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for future research to explore the role of FM in driving CFS. Section five examines the FM in specific settings; in British Colombia and Alberta. The origins, structures, functions and other related features are explored. Section six offers reflections on what has not been written about in the current literature; such things as the ambiguity of employing social capital as means to map and measure the social benefits of FM, debates about FM as features of agro tourism, the urban phenomena of direct marketing as well as the limited accessibility of local agricultural products.Alternative food systems, often drawing heavily on local and ‘embedded’ markets, have emerged as a response to the dissipating connection between food systems and ecological systems brought about by the globalization trend. These alternatives seek to re-establish direct links between producers and consumers and to re-establish some control over a food system that has become distant and anonymous. This literature review examines the role of farmers markets in these alternative food systems as discussed in the literature. It is one component of a wider research initiative on farmers markets conducted by the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA).BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; University of Alberta ; Simon Fraser Universit