Brownfield regeneration in Europe: Identifying stakeholder perceptions,concerns, attitudes and information needs

Brownfield areas are a major concern in Europe because they are often extensive, persistent in time and compromise stakeholders’ interests. Moreover, due to their complex nature, from the decision-making point of view, the regeneration of brownfields is a challenging problem requiring the involvement of the whole range of stakeholders. Many studies, projects and organisations have recognised the importance of stakeholder involvement and have promoted public participation. However, comprehensive studies providing an overview of stakeholders’ perceptions, concerns, attitudes and information needs when dealing with brownfield regeneration are still missing.This paper presents and discusses a participatory methodology applied to stakeholders from five European countries to fill this research gap, to develop a system to support the categorisation of the needed information and to support the understanding of which typology of information is the most relevant for specific categories of stakeholders also in relation with their concerns.The engagement process consists of five phases: (i) planning and preparatory work, (ii) identification of stakeholder categories, (iii) engagement activities (e.g. focus groups and workshops), (iv) submission of a questionnaire and (v) provision of feedback to the involved stakeholders.Thanks to this process, appropriate stakeholders have been identified as well as their perceptions, concerns, attitudes and information needs. Stakeholders’ perceptions proved to be different according to the country: German and Italian stakeholders perceive brownfields as complex systems, where several issues need to be addressed, while Romanian stakeholders consider contamination as almost the only issue to be addressed; Czech and Polish stakeholders address an intermediate number of issues. Attitudes and concerns seemed to be quite similar between countries. As far as information needs are concerned, similarities between some groups of stakeholders have been noticed: site owners and problem holders are primarily interested in information on planning and financing, while authorities and services providers are interested in more technical aspects like investigation, planning and risk assessment. Some outstanding outcomes emerged from the scientific community and research group, which showed an interest for remediation strategies and options and socio-economic aspects.The research outcomes allowed to create a knowledge base for the future development of tailored and customised approaches and tools for stakeholders working in the brownfield regeneration field.     

Stakeholder planning of the institutionalization of the volunteer farmer-trainer approach in dairy producer organizations in Kenya: key steps and supporting mechanisms*

The effectiveness of community-based extension approaches has been widely documented, however their sustainability remains weak. Institutionalization has been proposed as a way of achieving sustainability. This paper shares experiences of the learning and planning phase of the institutionalization of the volunteer farmer-trainer (VFT) approach in three dairy producer organizations (POs) in Kenya. The paper builds a detailed understanding of the key steps and social processes involved and the wider lessons that might be learned regarding institutionalization in the context of local institutions such POs. We draw on data from key informant interviews, focus groups discussions and workshops. The first phase of the process which spanned one year involved engagements with stakeholders at different levels; from VFTs, dairy cooperative management, government extension and local NGOs. The process involved awareness creation, joint learning at the individual, group and organization level, a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis of producer organizations and identifying opportunities for harnessing resources for support functions. We highlight the important supporting social and institutional processes that are required for this to happen. These include getting acceptance and support from key stakeholders, developing a shared understanding, stakeholder ownership of the process, commitment from top leadership of POs and institutional structures to support the process. For the process to be actualized, we discuss mechanisms that need to be put in place.     

Stakeholder engagement in water policy: Lessons from peri-urban irrigation

In highly urbanised Australia many cities and towns demand may have exceeded existing water supply. In peri-urban areas this can lead to conflict over access to supplies with priority often given to urban users. In an effort to resolve potential conflicts, water management planning often seeks to engage ‘community stakeholders’ in an attempt to produce a ‘harmonised’ strategic plan. In this paper we focus on the process of developing one such plan for sustainable water management in a peri-urban area with complex and conflicting stakeholder interests. We subject data from a series of planning meetings and ‘stakeholder’ workshops to a critical review and analysis against the project's stated aims for this stage of the process of: engaging key stakeholders, developing a common vision, and deciding research priorities. We conclude that the approach was unable to achieve these strategic outcomes. In discussion we explore how this analysis reflects barriers in the engagement process, which highlight more general concerns about this widely accepted model for stakeholder engagement in resource issues.     

Sustainability indicators,alternative strategies and trade-offs in peasant agroecosystems: analysing 15 case studies from Latin America

In view of the urgent need to improve agroecosystem sustainability, several efforts have been made to evaluate the effect of alternative strategies on key environmental and socioeconomic variables at the farm, community and regional levels. Most peasant farmers manage complex and diverse agroecosystems, and constantly adapt management strategies with multiple aims. A sustainability evaluation framework for peasant systems has been applied in over 40 case studies in Latin America, from which 15 were analysed, focusing on the choice of indicators, the effect of alternative strategies on agroecosystem sustainability and the trade-offs involved. Common indicators include yields, income, agrodiversity and external input dependence. Alternative strategies include crop/product diversification and soil conservation practices. Yields, income and agrodiversity improved in most cases, but in some cases the establishment costs increased external input use. Trade-offs observed include improved performance of a subsystem (i.e. crops) vs. decreased one in others (livestock, forestry) and increases in productivity vs. decreases in stability, resilience and reliability. The difficulty of assessing systems in transition towards alternative management was acknowledged by some evaluation teams. Applying the framework to such a variety of cases allowed making the sustainability concept operational, promoted alternative strategies and generated knowledge on agroecosystem processes among stakeholders.     

Agricultural intensification: food insecurity to income security in a mid-hill watershed of Nepal

A shift from cultivating cereal crops towards vegetables and other cash crops has evolved through the process of agricultural intensification in the hills of the Himalayan region. Agricultural intensification has attracted the attention of researchers in Nepalese agriculture due to its potential impacts on the environment and socio-economic status of farmers. Nevertheless, socio-economic drivers of agricultural intensification are as yet poorly studied in the Himalayan region. Farmers' perceptions of the effects of agricultural intensification on society and the environment are analysed in the Ansikhola watershed of Kavre district, Nepal. Before the onset of agricultural intensification, food sufficiency was the primary measure of the economic condition of farmers. However, in recent years agricultural income and profits have become key socio-economic measures. This study reveals that intensive agricultural practices shifted need-based cereal farming to market-oriented vegetable-based production systems, thereby improving socio-economic conditions for farmers. Positive changes in wealth and social status, migration from rural to urban areas, and shift in social division of labour are other important impacts.     

Canadian consumer acceptance of gene-edited versus genetically modified potatoes: A choice experiment approach

In 2016, second-generation genetically modified (GM) potatoes were approved for production and sale in Canada. In this study, we analyze how consumer acceptance of GM potatoes may be affected by various factors, including the trait introduced (i.e., the product benefits), the type of breeding technology used, and the developer of the potato using any technology. We conduct an online survey and use a stated choice experiment to collect data on consumer acceptance of GM and other potatoes in Canada. Random utility models are used to analyze the economic value consumers place on the various attributes of the potatoes. Our results show that consumers are willing to pay more for a health attribute (reduced acrylamide produced when potatoes are fried) and an environmental attribute. Respondents in general need to face discounted prices to buy potatoes created by either gene editing or GM (either transgenic or cisgenic/intragenic) technologies. However, consumers are in general more accepting of the gene editing technology than the GM technologies. Our results also show that government is the most preferred developer of the potatoes, regardless of technology. Results from this study can help guide public and private management of the introduction of new foods when the products are developed with unpopular technologies.     

Agricultural decline and sustainable development on mountain areas in Greece: Sustainability assessment of future scenarios

Agricultural decline may pose an important threat to mountain biodiversity but it also constitutes a driving force of socio-economic transformation. The aim of this study is to investigate the implications of alternative agricultural policy scenarios on the sustainable development of Greek mountain areas using a case study approach (Zagori region, Greece). Two agricultural policy scenarios were explored and assessed against a list of sustainability objectives. Causal relationships among drivers of changes and sustainability objectives were explored using Network Analysis. Our analysis has shown that agricultural liberalisation is expected to have devastating effects on the development of the area and it was strongly opposed as an alternative future by the local stakeholders. The analysis of the driver's causal relationship has also revealed that in order to ensure the sustainable development of the area it is necessary to sustain low input extensive farming, to promote mild tourism development and to enhance the operational efficiency of the National Park. Moreover, in order to reconcile agricultural decline, biodiversity and sustainable development, policy-management recommendations must be drawn at multiple administrative levels and complementary policy interventions within and between levels are required. It is thus, important that EU agricultural policies are complemented by national-regional interventions in order to regulate the fragile balance between agriculture and tourism. Finally, this study has shown that the combination of scenario analysis and sustainability assessment can provide an efficient tool to inform management strategies for sustainable development.     

基于动态过程导向的马铃薯种植适宜性时空精细化评价研究

目的 为优化我国冷凉区作物种植结构布局,选择我国东北黑龙江、吉林和内蒙古冷凉地区为研究区,基于动态过程导向的马铃薯种植适宜性时空精细化评价方法,开展典型马铃薯早熟、中晚熟品种种植适宜性研究。方法 文章根据马铃薯干重与生育时间函数关系获取以每天为评价基本单元的纵向加权精细化赋值,基于随机森林方法获取横向环境指标精细化加权值,生成马铃薯种植适宜性评价结果图;应用马铃薯空间实际种植点及DSSAT-SUBSTOR-Potato模型模拟马铃薯单产,对适宜性评价结果进行交叉验证。结果 （1）早熟品种费乌瑞它的种植适宜区集中于大兴安岭林区与平原交界的缓冲地带,而马铃薯中晚熟品种延薯四号适宜区分布在平原、林区与平原交界处。无论是费乌瑞它或是延薯四号,其在牡丹江林前耕地区域的适宜性普遍不高,但是在牡丹江周围的平原耕地适宜性较好。（2）基于动态过程导向的马铃薯种植适宜性时空精细化评价方法与模型评价方法有关早熟品种的评价结果较为一致,重合度超过70%;在生长期较长的中晚熟品种的适宜区评价中,由于权重和生长期差异导致评价结果出现不同,尤其在低适宜区差异更加明显,重合度低于40%。结论 由此可知,应用不同方法评价作物种植适宜性时,不同的品种可能获取不同的结论。     

Is spatial planning a collaborative learning process? A case study from a rural–urban gradient in Sweden

International and national policies stress the importance of spatial planning for the long-term sustainability of regions. This paper identifies the extent to which the spatial planning in a Swedish region can be characterised as a collaborative learning process. By combining qualitative interviews and systems thinking methods we analysed the main attributes of public-led spatial (i.e. comprehensive) planning in nine municipalities representing a steep urban–rural gradient in the Bergslagen region of Central Sweden. We show that the attributes of strategic spatial planning needed for collaborative learning were absent or undeveloped. All studied municipalities experienced challenges in coordinating complex issues regarding long-term planning to steer territorial development and help to solve conflicts among competing interests. Stakeholder participation was identified as a basic condition for social learning in planning. Together with stakeholders we identified the causal structure behind stakeholder participation in municipal planning processes, including main drivers and feedback loops. We conclude that there is a need for arenas allowing and promoting stakeholder activity, participation and inclusion that combines both bottom-up and top-down approaches, and where evidence-based collaborative learning can occur.     

Integrating preferences and social values for ecosystem services in local ecological management: A framework applied in Xiaojiang Basin Yunnan province,China

Previous works have made great progress in mapping and assessing ecosystem services (ES) that are directed toward exploring various aspects of ecological changes and economic values. These preferences, however, may neglect the important role of people who are the direct beneficiaries in this ecosystem. Therefore, including these stakeholders in ES assessment identifies their relations and perceptions between ecosystem services and society. In order to quantify and map these relations and perceptions, we designed and implemented an analytical framework based on the Public Participatory Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method to explore local stakeholders’ (Farmers, Government managers/Experts, and Company employees) similarities and differences in recognition of preferences and social values for ecosystem services in a typical Karst basin. Our results showed that remarkable differences appeared in preferences for ES across three groups. Farmers gave more preferences to provisioning services, Government managers/Experts to regulating and cultural services, and Company employees’ preferences were individualized. The spatial distributions and relations of social values for ES also showed great differentials. Provisioning services were always related to specific natural conditions, regulating services to forests, and cultural services to specific locations around tourism localities, forest, and wetland parks. The three stakeholder groups perceived more synergies than tradeoffs between the different ecosystem services. Landscape beauty was the most influential service in Farmers’ and Company employees’ perceptions, while Local climate change regulation was the most influential service in those of Government managers/Experts. The local stakeholders’ surveys can improve the enthusiasm of the local people to participate in environmental management and provide more socio-ecological information to help the managers alleviate the conflicts among different stakeholders.     

黑龙江省马铃薯的比较优势分析

文章采用定性分析和定量分析相结合的方法,客观地评价了黑龙江省马铃薯的比较优势。通过与全国其他马铃薯主产省份的横向比较,与黑龙江省其他4种主要粮食作物的横向比较和1991～2006年黑龙江省马铃薯比较优势的纵向比较发现,黑龙江省马铃薯具有综合比较优势和生产效率优势,不具有生产规模优势,综合比较优势有所减弱,主要原因是生产效率优势减弱。黑龙江省马铃薯具有生产经验、自然条件、土地资源、加工规模和技术等方面的优势,应该大力发展马铃薯产业,扩大马铃薯的生产规模,提高马铃薯的生产效率,培育黑龙江省马铃薯的竞争优势。     

Consumer willingness to pay for genetically modified food in Kenya

Genetically modified (GM) crops are popular in many regions of the world, but their deployment in Africa is hindered by safety concerns and regulatory issues, although the continent is in dire need of boosting its food production. Although consumers' acceptance of GM food has been analyzed in many continents, no such studies have been conducted in Africa. Therefore, a survey of 604 consumers was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2003, to gauge consumers' awareness of GM crops, their willingness to pay (WTP) for GM food, and the factors that influence their WTP. Consumers' knowledge of GM crops was limited and only 38% of the 604 respondents were aware of GM crops. People in higher education and income groups were more aware than others. Regardless, people were generally appreciative of the technology, and a large majority (68%) would be willing to buy GM maize meal at the same price as their favorite brand. Consumers were, however, concerned about possible side effects, especially on the environment and biodiversity. WTP was estimated using a double‐bounded dichotomous choice model, and the mean WTP was found to be 13.8% higher than the average price of non‐GM maize meal. Perceptions of health risk, and ethical and equity concerns had a negative influence on the likelihood of purchasing GM maize meal, whereas trust in government to ensure food quality had a positive influence on WTP. People with at least some secondary education and those in the high‐income category were more likely to purchase GM maize meal at the same price. The study concludes that, because awareness is still low, appropriate communications are needed to involve the consumer in the debate. Consumers' acceptance in this study was high, but the research needs to be expanded to rural areas, where most consumers live, and other survey methods need to be explored.     

中国马铃薯农户种植意愿及其空间差异

目的 探究不同区域农户马铃薯种植意愿的影响因素及其差别,能够提高农户种植马铃薯的能动性与积极性,为马铃薯主粮化进程提供决策参考。方法 文章基于1 261个农户样本调研,运用条件价值评估法和多元回归模型,从农户个体禀赋、生产经营、社会资源、市场认知、政策需求五个方面对农户支付与受偿意愿进行分析,在此基础上探讨影响马铃薯种植意愿的主要因素,再比较分析典型产区马铃薯种植影响因素。结果 马铃薯农户种植受偿意愿均值为4 069.5元/hm²,支付意愿均值为724.5元/hm²;马铃薯农户种植意愿受各项成本收益、农户受教育程度、家庭收入、社会资源、市场信息认知及政府补贴的影响较大;北方种植因素受规模和利润率的主导,南方更多受到家庭生产经营特征的综合影响。结论 个体决策影响群体决策,群体决策影响整体马铃薯种植空间格局变化。区域内农户采取基于种植约束、成本收益和政策支持的种植方案选择,通过有限区域范围的无限趋同决策,产生不同程度的种植集聚、产业集聚和市场集聚,进而影响马铃薯种植空间格局变化。     

我国马铃薯全要素生产率比较及空间集聚研究

[目的]马铃薯主粮化已成为我国第四次主粮革命的新趋势,我国马铃薯产业具有良好的产能基础,种植面积和总产量均居全球第一,但单产低于世界平均水平,且产业发展面临诸如加工能力低、经营模式落后、产业布局不合理的现实问题,为实现我国主粮多元化需要加快马铃薯产业转型升级。[方法]文章运用DEA-Malmquist指数测度2011—2016年我国马铃薯16个主产区的生产效率和全要素生产率水平,利用Moran's I分析全要素生产率变化的空间自相关性及动态变化。[结果]马铃薯产业整体技术效率偏低且区域发展水平不均衡;逐渐从技术进步转变到更加注重提高技术效率且主导因素存在区域性差异;形成了自成一体的"新区"、南北连通的"西区"和强强联手的"北区"三大集聚区。[结论]马铃薯产业区域性明显,打破地理界线跨地区发展是未来产业发展的方向,最后从技术效率提升、区域产业布局、市场对接等方面对我国马铃薯产业优化调整提出了对策建议。     

Regulators’ and stakeholders’ perspectives in a framework for bioenergy development

In this study, ten bioenergy crop rotations (corn, corn-stover, sorghum, soybean, corn-soybean, corn-soybean-canola, corn-stover-soybean, miscanthus, switchgrass, and sorghum-soybean) were selected based on local stakeholder (economically motivated) and regulator (environmentally motivated) preferences. These crops were implemented on diverse landscapes (agricultural, marginal, and agricultural plus marginal lands) one at time for 17 years using a SWAT model of the Saginaw River Watershed in Michigan. The bioenergy crops were evaluated based on 100 percent, 50 percent, and zero percent weight assigned to both stakeholders’ and regulators’ preferences using analytic hierarchy process (AHP), an optimization and decision-making technique that aims to satisfy multiple conflicting objectives. The corn-soybean-canola rotation was selected in all landscapes based on economic benefits (stakeholders’ preferences). Meanwhile, perennial grasses (miscanthus and switchgrass) were selected based on environmental benefits (regulators’ preferences), because they maintain permanent cover, require fewer inputs than traditional row crops, and are less management intensive. When implementing bioenergy crops on marginal lands, pollution generation greatly increased at the field level, indicating that these lands are likely not viable for bioenergy crop production to meet potential future renewable energy demand.     

Approaches to identifying stakeholders in environmental management: Insights from practitioners to go beyond the ‘usual suspects’

Stakeholder analysis and engagement processes are recognised as essential in environmental and natural resources management (ENRM). Underpinning these processes is the identification of stakeholders, an often tacit process which finds the practitioner responsible for stakeholder analysis or engagement sifting through all of society to determine who is awarded stakeholder status for the given project or issue. While the ENRM literature provides guidance for stakeholder analysis and engagement, there has not been the same level of examination of the practical approaches to—and assumptions underlying—stakeholder identification by practitioners working in the field. This research extends on the ENRM stakeholder analysis and engagement literature by exploring the approaches to identification as used by ENRM practitioners. Semi-structured interviews (n = 20) were conducted with ENRM practitioners, leading to the classification of eight approaches to stakeholder identification. These approaches are discussed as the ‘art’ and ‘science’ of stakeholder identification. Practitioners’ conceptualisations of the terms stakeholder, community, and the citizenry are discussed, and differences in understandings of these critical terms are outlined based on the broad domain of ENRM in which the practitioner is operating (land use change versus agricultural extension or community engagement). The social structures of relevance to stakeholder identification (individual, social constituency, group, organisation) are presented, and practitioners’ perspectives on the role of groups are discussed. Through explicating the approaches to identification of stakeholders, this research offers new perspectives on a significant element of ENRM. These insights provide greater clarity on the practices which shape stakeholder analysis and engagement in ENRM, and highlight the importance of acknowledging the privileged position of the practitioner in deciding who is awarded stakeholder status in a project or issue.     

Is Bt Cotton a Pro‐Poor Technology? A Review and Critique of the Empirical Record

Policy makers, journalists and other commentators have hailed genetically modified (GM) crops as a ‘pro‐poor’ success in the developing world. Their confidence appears to be justified by the encouraging conclusions reached by academic studies on the performance and impacts of GM crops, which seem to provide convincing evidence of substantial benefits for smallholders in developing countries. However, a detailed, critical examination of studies on transgenic, insect‐resistant cotton in China, India and South Africa demonstrates that the technology's impacts have been evaluated and represented in selective and misleading ways. The performance and impacts of GM crops have in fact been highly variable, socio‐economically differentiated and contingent on a range of agronomic, socio‐economic and institutional factors. The shortcomings of the GM crop‐impacts literature have done a disservice to public and policy debates about GM crops in international development and impeded the development of sound, evidence‐based policy.     

A participatory assessment of agro-ecosystem sustainability in Abesard,Iran

Participatory approaches have emerged in developing countries as an integrated and holistic system approach for assessing the agro-ecosystem sustainability. The aim is to integrate and apply knowledge about natural and social aspects of agro-ecosystems, taking into account their long-term, uncertain and non-linear relationships. The purpose of the study described in this paper was to assess the sustainability of the agro-ecosystem of Abesard in Tehran Province. A participatory landscape/lifescape appraisal (PLLA) method was used within an agro-ecological framework to assess the farmers’ sense of agricultural sustainability based on different categories of sustainability (better-off, average and poor). Results indicated that a majority of farmers think of sustainability solely as an economic issue, followed by sustainability being a combination of ecological and social concerns. Regarding the indicators of sustainability, results revealed that for farmers in the poor group, resilience and stability were critical criteria, whereas for better-off farmers, stability, reliability and resilience were generally important. However, the average group of the farmers was placed between the two groups. Overall, it was concluded that the economic status of households has an influence on the sustainability of their agro-ecosystems and that improvement of their economic situation promotes agricultural sustainability. It could also be concluded that PLLA has the potential to integrate socio-economic (lifescape) and environmental (landscape) dimensions for analysing the sustainability of agro-ecosystems.