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ABSTRACT: In the final decades of the nineteenth century, concern was building about the status of migratory bird populations in North America. In this literature review, we describe how that concern led to a landmark conservation agreement in 1916, between the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) to conserve migratory birds shared by Canada and the United States. Drawing on published literature and our personal experience, we describe how subsequent enabling acts in both countries gave rise to efforts to better estimate population sizes and distributions, assess harvest rates and demographic impacts, design and fund landscape‐level habitat conservation initiatives, and organize necessary political and regulatory processes. Executing these steps required large‐scale thinking, unprecedented regional and international cooperation, ingenuity, and a commitment to scientific rigor and adaptive management. We applaud the conservation efforts begun 100 years ago with the Migratory Bird Treaty Convention. The agreement helped build the field of wildlife ecology and conservation in the twentieth century but only partially prepares us for the ecological and social challenges ahead. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal erosion is an emotive issue with deeply held views that are often resistant to consensual approaches to identify mutually acceptable solutions. Using the village of Happisburgh on the East Anglian coast in England as a case study, this research analyses how the issue of coastal erosion has been framed and whether the presence of different frames acts as a barrier to building consensus between stakeholders. The study uses Frame Theory and Cultural Theory to understand how the UK Government and the Coastal Concern Action Group (CCAG), a local pressure group based in Happisburgh, communicate and perceive the issue of coastal erosion. Additionally, the study explores whether the different ways of understanding coastal erosion resonate within the community itself. A multi-method approach was used (policy discourse and media frame analysis) to identify the dominant framings of coastal erosion. The resonance of these frames was tested within the community of Happisburgh through a questionnaire with follow-up focus groups. The study revealed that the Government discourse of coastal erosion shares many of the characteristics associated with Cultural Theory's hierarchical worldview. Conversely, CCAG's discourse can be likened to the egalitarian position. The community of Happisburgh was found to strongly agree with the discourse that is representative of an egalitarian worldview. Furthermore, there was an increased uniformity of views regarding coastal erosion compared with attitudes towards nature more generally. The study concludes that different framings act as a barrier to building consensus. Efforts should be made to develop governance solutions to tackle the explicit disagreements (revealed in this study) whilst acknowledging the more implicit origins of these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to understand the scope for comparative lesson-drawing on national-level climate mitigation policy has acquired added significance due to the current impasse in international-level governance. Greater policy learning or lesson-drawing among peers at the national level could, to an extent, foster meaningful developments by overcoming generalised international apathy and inaction. In this respect, we analyse the features of one significant example of national climate policy in order to examine the scope for lesson-drawing, thereby setting out a normative research agenda. The UK Climate Change Act 2008 remains one of the few examples of legally enshrined national mitigation legislation and hence provides a relevant, but surprisingly under-researched, source of learning for policy-makers worldwide. By analysing its development, critical features and implementation, this article shows that-despite criticism of the sustainability and implementation effectiveness of the Act-some aspects of the policy could provide lessons for other states, and hence are potentially transferable extraterritorially, although lesson-drawing itself is conditional on contextual constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the increase in natural disaster losses, policy-makers, practitioners, and members of the research community around the world are seeking effective and efficient means of overcoming or minimising them. Although various theoretical constructs are beneficial to understanding the disaster phenomenon and the means of minimising losses, the disaster risk management process becomes less effective if theory and practice are set apart from one another. Consequently, this paper seeks to establish a relationship between two theoretical constructs, 'disaster risk reduction (DRR)' and 'vulnerability reduction', and to develop a holistic approach to DRR with particular reference to improving its applicability in practical settings. It is based on a literature review and on an overall understanding gained through two case studies of post-disaster infrastructure reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka and three expert interviews in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Government has committed itself to releasing a 'policy framework' for the Arctic in 2013. This decision was taken in response to the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry undertaken by the Environmental Audit Committee in 2012. The timing is significant, coming amid broader debates about whether the UK needs an Arctic Strategy. The Government insists that a 'policy framework' is not the same as a 'strategy', yet the decision to prepare such a document still signals a departure from the status quo. This commentary considers what the Government means by a 'policy framework', how this differs from a 'strategy', and why such a document is needed now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enforcement undertakings have recently been added to the Environment Agency's list of mechanisms available for the enforcement of certain environmental offences. An enforcement undertaking is a written agreement between the regulator and the offender in which the offender proposes to undertake particular actions in relation to the relevant non-compliant activity. This article examines the use of enforcement undertakings by the Environment Agency, arguing that the undertakings have significant regulatory implications and give rise to a series of possible problems. Notwithstanding this, the article concludes that enforcement undertakings possess a number of potentially positive features, making them a useful alternative to existing enforcement mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The individual has been cast as both the source of and solution to many contemporary environmental problems. Although some individuals may display concern for the environment, actions are undertaken within a societal context that is often ambivalent to environmental issues. To 'become green', therefore, individuals have to negotiate a range of trade-offs between their environmental aspirations and the realities of life in a developed, consumer-based society. This paper draws on extensive field work at one site at which individuals have explicitly sought to manage these trade-offs - the Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales, UK. It argues that two distinct strategies are adopted to manage the tensions involved in becoming green: a 'strategy of segregation'- where professional practices are separated from personal actions to establish balance, if not consistency, in everyday life; and a 'strategy of alignment'- where (unsuccessful) attempts are made to unify personal and professional practices in line with environmental ideals. This paper outlines how the inability of these strategies to fully reconcile the tensions involved in becoming green has led to a 'politics of pragmatism' within environmental practice. It argues that this politics offers a way forward for contemporary environmentalism, both within 'ecotopian' spaces such as the Centre for Alternative Technology, but also in more mainstream spaces where the majority live their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the notion of environmental citizenship in examining how black and minority ethnic groups (BME) in Britain talk about environmental 'rights' alongside environmental responsibilities. This broader discursive context leads us to engage with two interpretations of sustainability promoting different policy and planning agendas-the environmental sustainability and just sustainability policy agendas-in understanding the multiple spaces of identity, power and agency in which BME communities respond to environmental issues in institutional and daily life. We conducted ten semi-structured interviews with community key informants and ten focus groups with African-Caribbean or Indian communities. We identified four environmental responsibility discourses in the participants' talk, that were variously defined by issues of trust, social equity, off-loading of responsibility and government intervention and that served to shift environmental responsibility away from the individual onto 'institutional others'. We conclude by suggesting policy implications for the environmental and sustainability policy and planning community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines efforts to reconcile capitalist and ecological values, focusing in particular on the instruments and ideologies that pervade the United Kingdom's developing renewable energy sector. In keeping with neoliberal models of economic knowledge and practice, renewable energy instruments target the motivations of individuals by using incentive programs to reach environmental policy goals. The argument focuses especially on the way newly implemented market devices shape and represent the motivations of energy producers, suppliers, and traders. The centerpiece of the U.K. government's initiative is the creation of an artificial market in renewability, bought and sold as a virtual commodity. Although the realities of economic motivation complicate the practical implementation of the renewable market, these are represented as isolated and self-interested 'exchanges' by market devices, providing policymakers and their critics with partial yet authoritative accounts of renewable policy, premised on narrow and contested assumptions about economic motivation and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flooding of property by runoff from agricultural fields is an increasing problem in Europe. In two areas, southern England and central Belgium, the frequency of cases is high and relatively good databases exist. We examine the role of institutional memory in the success and failure to deal with muddy flooding. There appear to be four reasons for memory failure: inadequate transfer of information to the relevant people; lack of a legislative framework, particularly in the UK; a shortage of trained personnel; and institutional difficulties in dealing with an interdisciplinary problem. A successful institutional framework requires national or regional-level legislation and funding; support for expert groups at the local level; availability of information on successful projects; a system of information dissemination to stakeholders; and active implementation of legislation by regulatory bodies. We suggest that a successful project involving cooperation between municipalities in the Melsterbeek catchment, Flanders, offers a model for action in other areas. Existing projects, such as the Catchment Sensitive Farming scheme in the UK, could learn from this success in Flanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two different proposals for a political basis for a low carbon transformation in Britain have been put forward in recent years by the Miliband brothers. In 2006, David Miliband argued for a new 'environmental contract' between state and citizens, in the spirit of the post-war social contract. Last year Ed Miliband proposed a 'politics of the common good'. The historical sociology of citizenship suggests that the environmental contract approach will not work, mainly because of the pure public bad nature of the climate nature and the politics that flow from this. The 'common good' approach is more promising, but to make any headway, will have to tackle the strengthening of materialism and populism over the last generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The conservation of biodiversity depends upon both policy and regulatory frameworks. Here, we identify priority policy developments that would support conservation in the UK in the light of technological developments, changes in knowledge or environmental change. 2. A team of seven representatives from governmental organizations, 17 from non-governmental organizations and six academics provided an assessment of the priority issues. The representatives consulted widely and identified a long-list of 117 issues. 3. Following voting and discussion during a 2-day meeting, these were reduced to a final list of 25 issues and their potential policy options and research needs were identified. Many of the policies related to recent changes in approaches to conservation, such as increased interest in ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change and landscape ecology. 4. We anticipate that this paper will be useful for policy makers, nature conservation delivery agencies, the research community and conservation policy advocates. 5. Although many of the options have global significance, we suggest that other countries consider an equivalent exercise. We recommend that such an exercise be carried out in the UK at regular intervals, say every 5 years, to explore how biodiversity conservation can best be supported by linked policy development and research in a changing world. 6. Synthesis and applications. Opportunities for policy development were prioritized and for each of the top 25 we identified the current context, policy options and research questions. These largely addressed new issues relating to developing topics such as ecosystem services, landscape planning and nanotechnology. We envisage that this will largely be used by researchers wishing to make a contribution to potential policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the environmental knowledge of small-scale rural landholders and comments on the implications of this for environmental policy. The paper draws on conceptualisations of knowledge as ‘know what’, ‘know why’, ‘know how’ and ‘know who’, recognises a distinction between tacit and codified environmental knowledges and highlights the need to consider the politics of knowledge surrounding environmental issues. Both quantitative and qualitative data are reported, and are derived from structured interviews with 30 small-scale landholders who were participants in a nature and landscape conservation initiative – the Landscape Heritage Scheme – within South Devon, England. These data are used to explore the place of environmental concerns within the land management objectives of respondents; the nature and extent of their environmental knowledge; how a range of factors alongside their environmental knowledge shaped the environmental practices of respondents; and the politics of knowledge associated with the Landscape Heritage Scheme. The paper suggests that small-scale landholders should be of interest to environmental policy, prioritising environmental objectives in their land management, being relatively knowledgeable about the environment and highly responsive to environmental advice and financial incentives that support environmental management. A case is made for developing research in this area, given ongoing processes of rural demographic change and the rising importance within this of an increasingly diverse landholding population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As environmental justice concerns become more widely embedded in environmental organizations and policymaking, and increasingly the focus of academic study, the gender dimension dissolves into an exclusive focus on race/ethnicity and class/income. While grassroots campaigning activities were often dominated by women, in the more institutionalized activities of organizations dominated by salaried professionals, gender inequality is neglected as a vector of environmental injustice, and addressing this inequality is not considered a strategy for redress. This paper explores some of the reasons why this may be so, which include a lack of visibility of gendered environmental injustice; professional campaigning organizations which are themselves gender blind; institutions at a range of scales which are still structured by gender (as well as class and race) inequalities; and an intellectual academy which continues to marginalize the study of gender—and women's—inequality. The authors draw on experience of environmental activism, participant observation, and other qualitative research into the gendering of environmental activity, to first explore the constructions of scale to see how this might limit a gender-fair approach to environmental justice. Following this, the practice of “gender mainstreaming” in environmental organizations and institutions will be examined, demonstrating how this is limited in scope and fails to impact on the gendering of environmental injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How genuine is the Conservative party's rediscovery of the environment? Would a Conservative government led by David Cameron implement a wide-ranging and progressive environmental policy? This article explores why Cameron has embraced the environment so enthusiastically when Conservative governments have had a poor record of environmental protection and the Conservative party has traditionally shown little interest in the issue. It assesses the impact of Cameron's strategy both on his own party and on the wider world of environmental politics and it evaluates the continuing commitment of the Conservatives to the issue by assessing what kind of policies a future Conservative government might implement. Although Cameron remains committed to the issue and he has already had a positive impact on Labour government policy, he has not yet convinced his party or its supporters, so a future Conservative government would probably represent continuity rather than significant change in environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Horizon scanning is an essential tool for environmental scientists if they are to contribute to the evidence base for Government, its agencies and other decision makers to devise and implement environmental policies. The implication of not foreseeing issues that are foreseeable is illustrated by the contentious responses to genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops in the UK, and by challenges surrounding biofuels, foot and mouth disease, avian influenza and climate change. 2. A total of 35 representatives from organizations involved in environmental policy, academia, scientific journalism and horizon scanning were asked to use wide consultation to identify the future novel or step changes in threats to, and opportunities for, biodiversity that might arise in the UK up to 2050, but that had not been important in the recent past. At least 452 people were consulted. 3. Cases for 195 submitted issues were distributed to all participants for comments and additions. All issues were scored (probability, hazard, novelty and overall score) prior to a 2-day workshop. Shortlisting to 41 issues and then the final 25 issues, together with refinement of these issues, took place at the workshop during another two rounds of discussion and scoring. 4. We provide summaries of the 25 shortlisted issues and outline the research needs. 5. We suggest that horizon scanning incorporating wide consultation with providers and users of environmental science is used by environmental policy makers and researchers. This can be used to identify gaps in knowledge and policy, and to identify future key issues for biodiversity, including those arising from outside the domains of ecology and biodiversity. 6. Synthesis and applications. Horizon scanning can be used by environmental policy makers and researchers to identify gaps in knowledge and policy. Drawing on the experience, expertise and research of policy advisors, academics and journalists, this exercise helps set the agenda for policy, practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a curious disjunction between the Labour Government's international actions and its domestic policy. Although Tony Blair did much to promote the climate change agenda on the international stage, domestically, with carbon emissions rising again, the Government will fail to meet its target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010. This article examines the weaknesses in the Labour Government's domestic record and assesses the significance of the recent transformation of climate change politics. Several obstacles to the design and delivery of more effective policies are identified, which can be categorised as either problems of ‘environmental politics’ or ‘environmental governance’. It is argued that the recent politicisation of climate change has overcome some of these obstacles - albeit temporarily - but whether the pressure for further policy measures can be sustained, with a long-term impact on environmental governance, remains uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journalistic norm of ‘balanced’ reporting (giving roughly equal coverage to both sides in any significant dispute) is recognised as both useful and problematic in communicating emerging scientific consensus on human attribution for global climate change. Analysis of the practice of this norm in United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) newspaper coverage of climate science between 2003 and 2006 shows a significant divergence from scientific consensus in the US in 2003–4, followed by a decline in 2005–6, but no major divergence in UK reporting. These findings inform ongoing considerations about the spatially-differentiated media terms and conditions through which current and future climate policy is negotiated and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Evidence-based policy requires researchers to provide the answers to ecological questions that are of interest to policy makers. To find out what those questions are in the UK, representatives from 28 organizations involved in policy, together with scientists from 10 academic institutions, were asked to generate a list of questions from their organizations. 2. During a 2-day workshop the initial list of 1003 questions generated from consulting at least 654 policy makers and academics was used as a basis for generating a short list of 100 questions of significant policy relevance. Short-listing was decided on the basis of the preferences of the representatives from the policy-led organizations. 3. The areas covered included most major issues of environmental concern in the UK, including agriculture, marine fisheries, climate change, ecosystem function and land management. 4. The most striking outcome was the preference for general questions rather than narrow ones. The reason is that policy is driven by broad issues rather than specific ones. In contrast, scientists are frequently best equipped to answer specific questions. This means that it may be necessary to extract the underpinning specific question before researchers can proceed. 5. Synthesis and applications. Greater communication between policy makers and scientists is required in order to ensure that applied ecologists are dealing with issues in a way that can feed into policy. It is particularly important that applied ecologists emphasize the generic value of their work wherever possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK reviewed its National Sustainable Development Strategy during 2003 and 2004, and produced a new strategy — the third for the UK — in March 2005. Having established that the main weakness of the previous strategy was in its delivery, the review and the resulting new strategy set out to put a much stronger emphasis on delivery mechanisms. In support of this, the process included more participative ways for those involved in delivering to contribute their views and ideas, including web-based dialogue, participative events and seminars, and community level discussions. The key points for the success of the project were the involvement of stakeholders; project management of the process; a marketing and communications strategy; cross-departmental governance; and involvement of an external challenge function (fulfilled in the UK by the Sustainable Development Commission). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the issue of green accounting for agriculture in Great Britain. Results of five green accounting exercises in British agriculture; Green accounts and sustainability; Open economy and trade; Definition of sectors and impact categories of natural capital; Time horizon; Empirical issues; Policy issues.

In line with the tenets of sustainable development, environmental policy has privileged action at the local level. This paper explores how the local has been manifested in practice, drawing upon an extensive qualitative study of biodiversity action planning in Birmingham, UK, undertaken between 1999 and 2002. Analysis highlights the embedded and geographically uneven character of the process, and a number of local path dependencies are identified that act to both constrain and enable the process. It is concluded that environmental policy tends to accept the positive rhetoric of local action rather uncritically. In practice, the local is manifested in a number of different ways, with highly heterogeneous effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the White Paper issued by Great Britain's government in reply to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report 'Energy--the changing climate.' Scientific rationale for the proposed 60 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions; Allocation of emission rights to nations on a per capita basis; Urgency of challenge; Government action through research; Scenarios for 2050.

Discusses the challenge of addressing the problem of climate change in Great Britain. Basis for international action provided by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol; Great Britain's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; Principles guiding Britain's approach to international change climate negotiations; Cost of action; Role of technology.

Examines the role of Great Britain and the European Union in the climate change. Paradoxes and contradictions on the role of EU in climate change; Europeans' skepticism over the United States proposals at Kyoto for international flexibility; Emergence of Great Britain as a leading force within Europe in climate policy; Great Britain's development of its policy to address greenhouse gas emissions.

This paper argues that the possible shift towards conservation-oriented attitudes of farmers through agri-environmental scheme participation should be seen as a key indicator for assessing the 'effectiveness' of agri-environmental policy. Through the analysis of two agri-environmental schemes in the UK, the FSA and Countryside Stewardship schemes, the study suggests that schemes attract different types of farmers and have different results with regard to shifting farmers' attitudes towards conservation. The paper concludes that there is little evidence yet that the FSA scheme is contributing to changes in farmers' attitudes towards conservation, largely because the scheme is aimed at maintenance rather than change. The Countryside Stewardship scheme, meanwhile, generally enrols more conservation-oriented farmers and also shows greater potential for shifting farmers' attitudes, mainly because it is aimed at enhancement of wildlife habitats which often require farmers to change farm management practices. Results indicate that future policies should put more emphasis on scheme monitoring and farmer environmental education in order to help move farmers along the conservation spectrum. In the FSA scheme, management agreement tiers that require more substantial changes to farm management practices towards conservation-oriented farming should be made compulsory in order to ensure that farmers are not only 'reacting' to schemes, but that also help farmers re-think their environmental management practices. The Countryside Stewardship scheme should be further expanded because of its appeal to conservation-oriented farmers and the resulting potential for sustainable environmental conservation of the countryside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reveals the failure of seven major British departments to include sustainable development in their 1998 Public Service Agreements (PSA) Quality of life indicators; Agency in charge of environmental issues; Relationship between PSA and the indicators.

Considers what influence international environmental law has had on some of the courts in Great Britain. Relationship between international law and national law; Application of international environmental law by the courts; Details on its environmental law and policy; Conclusion.

In October 1972, the heads of government of the European Economic Community, now popularly known as the European Community (EC), declared an intent to adopt an environmental policy to complement its other areas of activity. The "six" countries comprising the EC evolved into "nine" with the accession of Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland. Since formal accession on January 01, 1973, Great Britain has often found this an uneasy union, not least in the field of environmental policy. From the outset, it was clear that reconciling the environmental "policy style" of Great Britain with the evolving EC approach to environmental protection would be difficult. This has certainly been the case in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Within any discussion of the interaction between Britain and the EC, EIA legislation merits special consideration for it provides evidence of an evolving relationship.

Focuses on the need for cross-sectoral involvement from Great Britain's different government agencies in establishing an environmental reform policy. Conservative Party's promise of a cross-sectoral environment agency; Prime Minister John Major's intention to create a combined environmental agency; Existence of substantial divisiveness in the government.

The 2008 Climate Change Act and 'adaptation reporting power' afforded to the UK Government have generated demand for information on future climate risks. The UK Climate Projections 2009 ( UKCP09) are the latest generation of national climate change scenarios. This Commentary reflects on the enduring scientific and political contribution of UKCP09 as evidenced by academic literature, adaptation reports and media perspectives. It is contested that the more explicit treatment of uncertainty by the UKCP09 projections compared with the predecessor ( UKCIP02) was a significant step forward. User unfamiliarity with the probabilistic format can be managed through support and guidance, so the complexity of UKCP09 need not be limiting. Some may question the value added by climate modelling (and downscaling) to adaptation planning given present fiscal retrenchment. However, the benefit of UKCP09 could be greater than expected, especially if new ways of responding to climate uncertainty emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues related to animal health and environment protection raised by David Miliband, Secretary of State at the Department for environment, food and rural affairs, Great Britain, during an address to farmers in Stoneleigh on July 3, 2006. Miliband assured that the government will help farmers by providing funds to adopt innovative methods in animal farming and regulation that promote animal health would be passed.

Focuses on the five-year strategy of the British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Emphasis of the plan on environmental protection and agriculture; Provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy; Policy on agricultural subsidies.