Global Change Abstracts The Swiss Contribution - SCNAT

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192 Global Change Abstracts – The Swiss Contribution | Human Dimensions respondents to a survey conducted in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. Factor analysis, used to condense these interrelated problems into a few dimensions, identified two overriding threats: the first being to socioeconomic security, and the second to the physical environment. Threats to socioeconomic security explained 76.6% of the variance in the rating of environmental and socioeconomic problems facing Nairobi, with very high factor loadings from corruption, unemployment, crime, street children, garbage, transport, poverty, pollution of Nairobi River, HIV/ AIDS and immorality/promiscuity. Threats to the physical and living environment explained 22.2% of the variance in the rating of environmental and socioeconomic problems facing Nairobi. We were led to conclude that the respondents did not perceive climate change as being a significant problem in Nairobi. The global concern about climate change appeared like a mere drop in the oceanic context pervaded by problems of poverty, unemployment, crime and corruption, etc. which Nairobi faces, as does Kenya as a whole. Our conclusion is partially reflected in the priorities of the Kenyan government, which focus on poverty alleviation, the fight against crime and graft, improved access to education, and on addressing health problems; it also poses a challenge to the climate change community to find ways to making interventions relevant to local socioeconomic reality facing a developing country city like Nairobi. There may be a need to reconsider ‘whose reality counts’ (borrowing from Robert Chambers, Whose reality counts? Putting the first last, Intermediate Technology Publications, London, p 122, 1997) in addressing climate change: should protracted Kyoto protocol negotiations be given priority or should a long lasting solution be sought to socioeconomic problems facing developing world cities such as Nairobi? We recommend that the ongoing efforts at integrating climate risk management, as components of climate-sensitive sustainable development, be studied in many settings, with a focus on the developing world which is the most vulnerable, in order to inform decision-making and development of intervention measures. Climatic Change, 2007, V85, N3-4, DEC, pp 271-284. 08.1-406 The future of the Swiss Alps: A participatory sustainability assessment of agricultural and landscape scenarios Soliva R Switzerland Agriculture, Soil Sciences , Social Sciences , Ecology In the Swiss Alps, as in other European Alpine regions, agricultural decline is leading to land abandonment and natural reforestation, which may have wider implications for a sustainable development of these areas. A sustainability assessment of three scenarios involving discussions with a local stakeholder group was performed as part of a case study in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The first scenario, called “liberalisation”, assumed withdrawal of all agricultural support. A second scenario, called “biodiversity”, assumed full replacement of agricultural support by biodiversity payments. These two scenarios were compared with a “trend” scenario, i.e., continuation of current trends. The liberalisation scenario was found to have the most negative consequences on livelihoods as well as social and environmental aspects, and it was completely rejected by the local stakeholder group. The trend scenario was best received, although it does not substantially contribute to sustainable development. The biodiversity scenario was the most controversial scenario, with positive environmental outcomes but negative cultural and social consequences. Using scenarios in a participatory sustainability assessment was found helpful both as a research technique and for stimulating a debate about the future of European mountain areas. Gaia Ecological Perspectives For Science and Society, 2007, V16, N2, pp 122-129. 08.1-407 Output and abatement effects of allocation readjustment in permit trade Sterner T, Müller A Sweden, USA, Switzerland Economics , Political Sciences , International Relations In permit trading systems, free initial allocation is common practice. A recent example is the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). We investigate effects of different free allocation schemes on incentives and identify significant perverse effects on abatement and output employing a simple multi- period model. Firms have incentives for strategic action if allocation in one period depends on their actions in previous ones and thus can be influenced by them. These findings play a major role where trading schemes become increasingly popular as environmental or resource use policy instruments. This is of particular relevance in the EU- ETS where the current period is a trial-period before the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. Finally, this paper fills a gap in the literature by establishing a consistent terminology for initial allocation. Climatic Change, 2008, V86, N1-2, JAN, pp 33-49.
Global Change Abstracts – The Swiss Contribution | Human Dimensions 08.1-408 Does the current Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) deliver its sustainable development claim? An analysis of officially registered CDM projects Sutter C, Parreno J C Switzerland Economics , Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences This article presents an analytical framework for analyzing Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in terms of their contribution to employment generation, equal distribution of CDM returns, and improvement of local air quality. It assesses 16 officially registered CDM projects with regard to whether they fulfill the two objectives required by the Kyoto Protocol: greenhouse gas emission reductions and contribution to sustainable development in the host country. While a large part (72%) of the total portfolio’s expected Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are likely to represent real and measurable emission reductions, less than 1% are likely to contribute significantly to sustainable development in the host country. According to our analysis, there are currently no UNFCCC registered CDM projects that are likely to fulfill the Kyoto Protocol’s twofold objective of simultaneously delivering greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and contributing to sustainable development. Climatic Change, 2007, V84, N1, SEP, pp 75-90. 08.1-409 Technology in climate policy and climate models - Introduction Thalmann P Switzerland Modelling , Instruments & Instrumentation , Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences , Political Sciences Energy Policy, 2007, V35, N11, NOV, pp 5263-5266. 08.1-410 Perceptions and evaluations of biosphere reserves by local residents in Switzerland and Ukraine Wallner A, Bauer N, Hunziker M Switzerland Social Sciences , Ecology In a cross-cultural study perceptions of local people living in the surroundings of biosphere reserves in Switzerland and Ukraine were examined using the method of qualitative interviews. In the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch in Switzerland people stated that they hoped for a better regional economic development due to the existence of the biosphere reserve. However, at the same time 193 people feared further restrictions regarding landuse. In the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve located in Transcarpathia/Ukraine people tended to connect certain conditions - such as the high price for wood - directly to the existence of the biosphere reserve, when in fact these conditions and the biosphere reserve were separate, parallel developments. In both case studies three key-categories influencing local residents’ perceptions and evaluations of biosphere reserves could be identified. These categories are (1) the economic situation, (2) the history of nature protection, and (3) the power balance between the involved stakeholders. Paying close attention to those three categories will help planners and managers of protected areas to better understand the reasoning of local residents for or against a biosphere reserve in their area. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2007, V83, N2-3, NOV 19, pp 104-114. 08.1-411 The concept of sustainable development - consequences for social theory. Research desiderata and a proposal for a research strategy in social geography Zierhofer W Switzerland Economics , Social Sciences The concept of sustainable development - consequences for social theory. Research desiderata and a proposal for a research strategy in social geography According to the mainstream of modern social sciences, nature and environment are opposed to the social and not regarded as part of the disciplinary object field. This view is profoundly challenged by the regulative idea of sustainable development, since it urges reconciliation of ecological, economic and social demands. This paper discusses the state of the art of integrating nature, environment or the biophysical world into the basics of social theory. It shows further that so far the relations between society and environment have so far not been sufficiently conceptualized on the level of collective or aggregated interactions, and thus the macro-level of social theory. In respect of this research desideratum, the paper presents a research strategy, which sets out from the concept of “ecological regimes”. Erdkunde, 2007, V61, N3, JUL-SEP, pp 239-247.
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