Integrated assessment of biological invasions

An assessment of the consequences of biological invasions and of the measures taken against must be at the base of each social decision in this field. Three forms of uncertainty can be distinguished that make such a decision difficult to take: (1) factual uncertainty, which encompasses not only risk, but also unknown probabilities of known consequences, and unknown consequences, (2) individual uncertainty, i.e. insecurity about the values to consider, and about the form how to consider them, and (3) social actor uncertainty, i.e. uncertainty about the social actors to consider and how to do it. This paper furnishes axiomatic reflections about the difficulties of assessments integrating these three uncertainties. Using this analytical separation, it restructures two main assessment techniques, and herewith shows the main differences between cost-benefit-analysis and multi-criteria decision aid in supporting public decisions about biological invasions. It is shown that the main difference between cost-benefit-analysis, the classical economic decision support, and multi-criteria decision analysis is less its mono- vs. multi-criteria approach, but its facility to be embedded in a social decision context. With multicriteria decision aid it is more facile to lay open the uncertainties in all three dimensions and to make them an explicit topic for public discourse. Therefore, it seems more suitable as an assessment method for biological invasions. --Biodiversity,Multi-criteria analysis,Uncertainty,Integrated Assessment,Biological Invasion,Cost-benefit analysis

Re-conceptualising sustainable development on the basis of the capability approach: A model and its difficulties

This paper sketches a re-conceptualisation of sustainable development (SD) on the basis of the capability approach (CA). The notion sustainable development was developed as a compromise in a political process and has been re-interpreted (some say: diluted) again and again in the last 20 years. When modelling the notion through the lenses of the capability approach, difficulties occur that are at the core of SD and of CA or that are due to their combination. Our paper shows why it is not that easy to replace needs in the Brundtland definition of SD with capabilities. In our model, the differences between systemic and individual levels become clear and herewith the necessity to include both when dealing with issues of SD. The most salient difficulties relate to the multidimensionality and dynamics on both levels. Confronted to these difficulties, demanding individuals to consciously choose sustainable actions seems to be heroic. We propose two ways to alleviate the cognitive and moral burden on individuals by concentrating on the natural environment and by introducing collective institutions. Both alleviations are far from evident, though; this concerns their justification as well as their operationalization. --capability approach,sustainable development,systemic level,collective institutions,dynamics

Ecosystem effects on well-being: More than just "benefits"? Looking at ecosystem services through the capability approach

Conceptual discussions on the impacts of ecosystem services (ESS) on human well-being have largely been boiled down to limits and applications of their monetisation. Therefore, in practice, the use of the ESS concept has been to a large extent boiled down to payment-for-ecosystem-services schemes. In this paper we argue that the human well-being dimension of the ESS concept has to be revisited since it is more diverse than the widely cited notion of benefits (MA, 2005). To tackle this issue, we examine the ESS concept through the lens of the capability approach, which offers a pluralistic framework for well-being as an alternative to mainstream utilitarian or monetary perspectives. We argue that ESS can effectively be viewed as contributing - in different ways - to people's multidimensional capability sets, i.e. their freedoms to lead a life they have reason to value. Such a view allows us to go beyond currently prevailing utilitarianism in analysing effects of ecosystems on human well-being, thus contributing with a new perspective to the current discourse on the use of the ESS concept. --

Economic evaluation of biological invasions: A survey

Invasive species are one of the main reasons for the loss of biodiversity. Therefore, national strategies are developed to deal with biological invasions. Economic evaluation as a tool of policy advice has to take into account three challenges: (1) reflecting ecological knowledge, which is characterised by high uncertainty, (2) taking into account the political framework shaped by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and (3) being methodologically sound, e.g. considering all types of values and avoiding general flaws. In this paper we survey and critically analyse economic studies on biological invasions. We test with an evaluation grid whether the studies meet the challenges. We analysed 23 studies generally and 10 in more detail in order to assess their suitability as a policy advice and their methodical quality. As a result we note three main gaps: (1) current studies mostly have methodological shortcomings compared to their theoretical basis; (2) they do not take into account the politically formulated needs of the CBD; and (3) they hardly reflect the high degree of uncertainty associated with biological invasions. --Biological invasions,economic evaluation,policy advice,Convention on Biological Diversity

Multi-level governance of natural resources: tools and processes for water and biodiversity governance in Europe - a European research and training network

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The capability approach to intergenerational justice: A survey

The politically influential idea of sustainable development is closely tied to the concept of inter- and intragenerational justice without clarifying these concepts and their relationship. In developing an account of human development, the capability approach conceptualizes parts of intragenerational justice, but not intergenerational justice. After explaining briefly our motivation by establishing the link to sustainable development, this paper aims to close the gap in two steps: first, it clarifies elements of a universal theory of justice. Second, it examines how well the CA can take up these elements before drafting how this would translate back to the political context of sustainable development. --

WP3: participation in the multi-level governance of European water and biodiversity - a review of case studies

Participation is said to improve decisions on environmental conflicts. When investigating 16 case studies of participatory processes in European Water and Biodiversity Governance, which necessarily is multi-level, the picture becomes blurred: many different forms of participation can be observed, only few of them are well-defined and well organised; most of them are dominated by ad-hoc decisions on whom to include, how to close debates, and how to deal with uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. While nearly all of these processes could be improved by a more conscious and careful setting, the application blueprints will necessarily remain out of scope. Natural, cultural and institutional contingencies make each case special and often unique and the multi-level characteristic of European governance of natural resources adds an additional layer of complexity on how to organise participation. The empirical account of whether deliberation can deliver what it promises in theory is still incomplete. --

Exploring a nature-related conflict from a capability perspective

Using the capability approach, we analyse a recent conflict around nature conservation in the city of Leipzig, Germany. Following its concept of flood protection, a state authority felled thousands of trees in a highly popular nature protection area, which culminated in public protests and lawsuits against the state authority. This analysis has a twofold aim: (1) to better understand the conflict at hand, and (2) to explore the advantages and limitations of using the capability approach for addressing such a nature-related conflict involving collective actors. Our analysis of the actors’ positions and interplay between them goes along the lines of the capability approach and gives insight into the conflict from a freedoms perspective. We use qualitative research methods to examine the case, relying upon semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders as well as a document analysis. The capability approach offers a freedom-agency lens and proves to be helpful in analysing the conflict; however, to understand the case better, certain process-specific variables absent from a typical capability formation framework have to be considered as well.Wir benutzen den Capability- (Verwirklichungschancen-)Ansatz, um einen kürzlichen Naturschutzkonflikt in der Stadt Leipzig zu analysieren. Hier ließ eine staatliche Verwaltung im Rahmen ihres Konzepts von Hochwasserschutz Tausende Bäume in einem sehr beliebten Schutzgebiet fällen, was Proteste von Bürgern und Naturschutzverbänden auslöste. Unsere Analyse hat ein doppeltes Ziel: Wir wollen sowohl den Konflikt als auch die Vorzüge und Grenzen des Capability-Ansatzes besser verstehen, einen solchen naturbezogenen Konflikt mit kollektiven Akteuren anzugehen. Unsere Analyse der Akteurspositionen und –zusammenhänge vollziehen wir demzufolge an der Struktur des Capability-Ansatzes, was Einblick in den Konflikt aus einer freiheitsbetonenden Perspektive verschafft. Wir benutzen qualitative Forschungsmethoden um den Fall zu untersuchen, genauer gesagt: halbstrukturierte Interviews mit zentralen Stakeholdern wie auch eine Dokumentenanalyse. Der Capability-Ansatz bietet einen Blickwinkel, der Freiheit und menschliches Handeln in den Mittelpunkt stellt und sich als fruchtbar bei der Analyse des Konflikts erweist. Um alle wesentlichen Aspekte erfassen zu können, müssen jedoch weitere Variablen hinzugefügt werden, die typischerweise bei Capability-Analysen fehlen

Towards a governance of sustainability transitions: giving place to individuals

Policies for sustainability transitions necessarily have three main characteristics: they are prescriptive with regard to dynamic societal processes, linked to the normativity of sustainable development, and are able to interlink both the societal and the individual levels. Taking transition management as a starting point, the paper elaborates that it cannot well address the second and third characteristic. We therefore suggest complementing transition management approaches with the individualistic capability approach and the more structural practice theory. We suggest a heuristic combination that places individuals back into the study of sustainability transitions and show with three suggestions how this might change research on and for transitions. Firstly, we propose to assess sustainability on individual, niche, and regime level; Secondly, we show that the crucial learning processes occurring in the transition processes can be better understood when interrelating the three levels; Finally, we elaborate that the governance of sustainability transitions necessarily has – at the same time – to foster free spaces for experimentation and to select those niches that are conducive to more instead of less sustainability

WP2: Assessing multi-level activities in water and biodiversity governance. Report

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