Geography and Environmental Management

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Geography and Environmental Management.

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3D GIS Modelling of Road and Building Material Stocks: A Case Study of Grenada
(University of Waterloo, 2022-05-24) Ye, Lingfei
Recent years have witnessed significant material stock accumulation within built environments, resulting in substantial environmental issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions, toxic or harmful wastes, resource scarcity, and land use conflicts. Quantitative analysis of in-use material stocks is important for assessing resource appropriation, improving the socio-economic metabolism model, and enhancing adaptive capacity to climate change. This research presents a bottom-up GIS spatial approach for modelling in-use road and building material stocks in Grenada, a small island state. LiDAR data were applied to the estimation of building heights and building stocks to improve current material stock accounting approaches. A 3D web-based application was developed to visualize material stocks in 3D building models and to enhance the understanding of the spatial distribution of material stocks. In addition, a comparative review was conducted to compare the methodological approach, results, and conclusions of this study with previous material stock studies in Grenada. Results of this study indicate that in 2015, 4,375 kilo tonnes (40.96 t/capita) of materials were stocked within Grenada road networks, which were about one-third of that accumulated in buildings and accounted for a large share (24%) of total material stocks. Aggregates stocked within road networks occupied the largest proportion of stocks, contributing to 55% of total aggregate stocks. The considerable amount of road stocks supports the important role of materials stocked in non-building infrastructure in the context of small island states. A large proportion of road stocks were accumulated in the low-lying coastal areas, which are highly vulnerable to sea level rise. It is predicted that a sea level rise of 2.0 m would cause the majority of road stocks (over 18,187 tonnes) along the coastline of St. George’s Harbour to be inundated. In terms of building material stocks, this study combined GIS footprint data with LiDAR elevation data to obtain the building height for each building, finding that compared with height assumptions based on occupancy classes, LiDAR-derived height estimates were closer to ground truth heights and could better represent the heterogeneity among buildings. The study for the sample site of Grenada (St. George’s) demonstrates that using the inaccurate class-based height assumptions resulted in about 4.8% of overestimation in building stock estimates compared to using LiDAR-derived heights. The most discrepancy was found in concrete since concrete is the main material used in building construction. 3D building models in CityGML format and a 3D WebGIS application built on top of ArcGIS API for JavaScript were developed for Grenada integrating material stocks with the 3D city model. These 3D products can provide policy makers and practitioners with a new perspective and additional insights into material stocks and enable the public to access proprietary GIS data and material stock information through a user-friendly interface. This research serves as a pilot for assessing a novel methodology for estimating building and non-building material stocks in the context of small island states. The methodological approaches and results detailed in this research can further aid small island states in better assessing resource appropriation and evaluating their adaptive capacity to climate change.
3D Reconstruction of 138 KV Power-lines from Airborne LiDAR Data
(University of Waterloo, 2014-02-20) Xiang, Qing
Due to infrequent and imprecise maintenance inspection in power-line corridors, accidents can be caused by interferences, for instance, surrounding trees. Transmission power-line inspection conventionally relies on the participation of ground personnel and airborne camera to patrol power-lines, and is limited by intensive labour, and difficult working conditions and management. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has proven a powerful tool to overcome these limitations to enable more efficient inspection. Active airborne LiDAR systems directly capture the 3D information of power infrastructure and surrounding objects. This study aims at building a semi-automatic 3D reconstruction workflow for power-lines extracted from airborne LiDAR data of 138 kV transmission line corridors (500 m by 340 m) in Nanaimo, BC, Canada. The proposed workflow consists of three components: detection, extraction, and fitting. The power-lines are automatically detected with regular geometric shape using a set of algorithms, including density-based filtering, Hough transform and concatenating algorithm. The complete power-lines are then extracted using a rectangular searching technique. Finally, the 3D power-lines are reconstructed through fitting by a hyperbolic cosine function and least-squares fitting. A case study is carried out to evaluate the proposed workflow for hazard tree detection in the corridor. The results obtained demonstrate that power-lines can be reconstructed in 3D, which are useful in detection of hazard trees to support power-line corridor management.
Abiotic controls of fine sediment on the form and mobility of phosphorus in a gravel-bed river during low flow
(University of Waterloo, 2018-06-18) Watt, Caitlin
Landscape scale disturbance in forested source water regions can accelerate the transfer of fine sediment and associated phosphorus (P) to receiving streams and degrade water quality in downstream environments for human and ecosystem use. The abiotic controls of deposited riverbed and suspended fine sediment on the form and mobility of P were examined in an oligotrophic gravel-bed river undergoing cumulative downstream sediment pressures from disturbance (e.g., harvesting, wildfire and sewage effluent) in Alberta, Canada. The spatial distribution of particulate P forms (NAIP, AP, OP) and major element composition were assessed across six study sites in the Crowsnest River that receive tributary inputs from watersheds that have experienced a range of landscape disturbance types. Pore-water soluble reactive P (SRP) concentration profiles within the gravel-bed were measured with pore-water peepers. Diffusive fluxes from the sediment to the water column were related to landscape disturbances, substrate properties, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and fine sediment sorption characteristics. A series of batch experiments were conducted to determine the Equilibrium Phosphate Concentration (EPC0) and evaluate the potential of fine sediment to influence P concentrations in the overlying water column. Results of the study demonstrated varying sensitivities to landscape disturbances due to the heterogeneous nature of gravel-bed substrate and morphology. Macro- to micro-scale processes influenced the form and mobility of P, however fine sediments in the riverbed irrespective of landscape disturbance demonstrated the potential of the riverbed to release SRP to the water column. Sewage inputs had the greatest impact on SRP fluxes from the riverbed and bioavailability of P in suspended sediments. The most bioavailable form of particulate P (NAIP) was associated with metal oxide and organic carbon coatings on sediment. Lower dissolved oxygen concentrations are likely responsible for driving the release of P from redox sensitive metals. Bioavailable particulate P and the release of SRP can influence in-stream water quality and ecological communities, and over longer time scales can propagate effects downstream to reservoirs and impact drinking water supplies. This thesis provides new knowledge regarding the impacts of both landscape disturbance and site-specific abiotic processes that influence the form and mobility of P in a gravel-bed river during the biologically sensitive period of summer low flow.
Abiotic Stresses to Vegetation Re-establishment in a Cutover Bog Contaminated with Seawater
(University of Waterloo, 2006) Montemayor, Marilou B.
Part of a cutover bog in Pokesudie Island, New Brunswick, Canada was contaminated with seawater and was still largely devoid of vegetation 5 years after the event and was consequently chosen for study. The study area consisted of rectangular fields with cambered surface that sloped down (2%) to the drainage ditches on both sides. Across this slope zones were created: Up-, Mid- and Low- areas on either side of the centerline of fields. Two field experiments were conducted to determine abiotic stresses to plant re-establishment in terms of hydrology and peat characteristics along this cambered surface. The general objective was to identify microsites or zones that could be suitable to the introduction of wetland halophytes Juncus balticus Willd. and Spartina pectinata Link obtained from nearby salt marshes.

In the first experiment, cylindrical J. balticus sods were transplanted into the Up- and Low- areas, at 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 d of incubation (in May 2005) with measurements made on the Outer and Inner annular sod sections, replicated over 4 blocks. Moisture (% dry weight basis (dwb)) reached maximum values 1 day after transplantation, 84±0. 05 for Outer and 103±0. 07 for Inner sod section. Salinity (dS m^-1) in sods due to ingress of sodium (Na⁺ ) and chloride (Cl^-) reached values of the surrounding peat 3 days after transplantation, 3. 52±1. 06 for Inner sod section and 4. 11±0. 99 for Outer sod section in Up-areas, and 1. 76±0. 24 for Inner sod section and 2. 57±0. 28 for Outer sod section in Low-areas. Maximum decrease in pH was at 5 days after transplantation, in Outer sod section in the Up-areas (from 5. 89 to 4. 88±0. 14) which was much higher than the pH range of 3-4 of the surrounding peat. This was due to the buffering capacity of calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) in sods which did not change in concentration after 20 days of incubation. Therefore, Inner sod sections were less affected by the surrounding peat compared to the Outer sod sections, suggesting that a larger sod volume may alleviate stressful conditions for a longer time at transplantation and consequently allow greater time for adaptation.

In the second experiment, J. balticus and S. pectinata were transplanted on the 3 Locations Up-, Mid- and Low- areas, replicated over 10 blocks; and peat characteristics were measured at Depths 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 cm 5 times during the study period May-August 2005. Survival of J. balticus was poorest (27. 5±8. 3 %) in the Low-areas compared to 68. 5±8. 9 % in the Up- and 58. 5±8. 7% in the Mid- areas. S. pectinata survival was very good at all Locations (89±5. 3, 91. 6±3. 1 and 84. 2±4. 4 for Up-, Mid- and Low- areas, respectively) having better adaptation to early season waterlogged conditions. Waterlogged conditions resulted from a perched water table during the early part of the growing season (May-June) and were alleviated only upon the complete thaw of the frozen peat layer on 8 July. Thereafter, important changes in hydrology and peat characteristics occurred: water table depths decreased from -8. 5±1. 7 and -1. 6±1. 2 cm on 26 May, to -51. 5±2. 5 and -40. 7±2. 4 cm by 9 August in Up- and Low-areas, respectively; redox potentials at 12 cm depth increased from 26 June (190. 9±8, 175±10. 8 and 109. 2±29. 4 mV) to 9 August (282. 8±8, 302. 8±14. 3 and 312. 3±29. 6 mV) in the Up-, Mid- and Low-areas, respectively which showed that anaerobic conditions were maintained throughout the study period; decreased moisture content from 1256. 8±61. 9, 1667. 4±126. 3 and 1728. 6±153 on 30 May, to 851. 7±21. 2, 874. 6±47 and 1008. 2±57. 5 % dwb on 25 July) which caused increased dry bulk density (from 0. 07±0. 002, 0. 06±0. 003 and 0. 07±0. 01 to 0. 09±0. 003, 0. 09±0. 005 and 0. 08±0. 004) in the Up-, Mid- and Low-areas, respectively; and increased electrical conductivity (salinity) especially on the 0-5cm surface (from 1. 9±0. 13, 1. 8±0. 31 and 1. 5±0. 29 to 18±1. 9, 17. 5±1. 1 and 12. 2±1 dS m^-1) which also caused decreased pH (from 3. 5±0. 04, 3. 5±0. 08 and 3. 6±0. 01 to 2. 85±0. 04, 2. 85±0. 01 and 2. 9±0. 03) in the Up-, Mid- and Low-areas, respectively. Therefore, spring flooding followed by high surface salinity in summer precludes plant establishment by seeding and explains the current lack of spontaneous revegetation. Waterlogged conditions were of greater magnitude and duration at lower elevation areas unfavourable to J. balticus survival but salinity levels were high in the Up- and Mid-areas.

In the subsequent part of the second experiment, plants of J. balticus and S. pectinata grown in the study area and those collected from marshes were divided into above- and below- ground parts and accumulation of salt ions in plant tissues were determined to understand the species' salt-tolerance mechanism, as well as the accumulation of potentially toxic levels of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn). Both plant species had similar accumulations (mmol kg^-1 dry wt,) of Na⁺ (474. 3±41 and 468. 3±31. 7, respectively) and Cl^- (314. 9±21. 9 and 310. 5±27. 5, respectively) in the above-ground parts but differed in how they managed Na⁺. J. balticus accumulated more Na⁺ in below-ground parts (659. 3±88. 7) and had limited transport to the above-ground parts, while S. pectinata accumulated and excreted Na⁺ in the above-ground parts and had less accumulation in the below-ground parts (397. 4±25. 1). S. pectinata maintained (313. 1±23. 8 in marsh vs. 292. 4±26. 2 in bog) and J. balticus increased (84. 2±1. 2 in marsh vs. 531. 2±38. 6 in bog) K⁺-selectivity in the shoots, a key requirement for survival in saline conditions. Compared with their respective marsh plants, S. pectinata had more salinity-tolerance than J. balticus primarily through its maintenance of Ca²⁺ (21. 5±1. 7 in marsh vs. 35. 6±3. 8 in bog) compared to a decrease in J. balticus (144. 7±12. 5 in marsh vs. 41±3. 7 in bog). Furthermore, Fe and Mn uptake in both species decreased but reached critical Fe-deficiency levels (1. 1±0. 1 mmol kg^-1 dry wt,) only in S. pectinata grown in drier areas.

It is concluded that local conditions of waterlogging (especially in lower elevation areas) and high salinity and low pH (notably in the upper elevation areas) were favourable to the survival of S. pectinata in all areas and J. balticus only in upper elevation areas. Sod transplanting may alleviate the acidity problem and depending on sod volume may delay the effects of harsh conditions of the cutover bog. However, long-term survival and growth of both species in drier areas may be constrained by deficiency in calcium in J. balticus and iron in S. pectinata.
Aboriginal Participation in Tourism Planning in British Columbia
(University of Waterloo, 2010-07-22T19:00:55Z) McKenna, Sarah
Tourism has been identified as a strategy for Indigenous communities worldwide to adopt in order to stimulate economic and social development. The goal of this research was to evaluate Aboriginal participation in tourism and the role it plays in economic and social development of Aboriginal communities. This research also addressed Aboriginal participation within the context of a mega-event, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The need for this research came from the common acceptance that tourism can be an effective development strategy for Aboriginal communities. However existing literature is often case-specific with limited research focusing on Canada. Additionally, limited research had addressed Aboriginal participation in Olympic planning and hosting. The goal of this research was met by examining Aboriginal tourism development in British Columbia (BC), Canada, ultimately addressing the aforementioned gaps in the literature. This research used a qualitative approach to investigate Aboriginal participation in tourism planning in British Columbia, Canada. The objectives guiding this research are as follows: (1) To identify the types of involvement; (2) To evaluate the extent of involvement; (3) To explore the relationship between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal tourism-related businesses, associations and institutions; and (4) To identify the significance of Aboriginal tourism to the Aboriginal community, British Columbia and Canada. The findings of this research indicate that although Aboriginal tourism in BC has evolved considerably in recent years to establish a place in Non-Aboriginal tourism, it requires more support to grow the sector. As well, the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia (AtBC) appears to be guiding the future of the sector through the continued implementation of the ‘Blueprint Strategy’. This research revealed that there are still considerable barriers that inhibit Aboriginal participation in tourism. Until these barriers are addressed, an increase in Aboriginal participation in tourism, particularly in ownership and management capacities, is limited. Participants reported that Aboriginal involvement in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase Canada’s Aboriginal culture on an international stage. It also highlighted the collaborative relationships between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal. Participants also reported that tourism could help increase cross-cultural understanding, while diversifying Aboriginal communities. Future research should be directed towards understanding the effects of increased Aboriginal participation in tourism; the role tourism can play in capacity building; and finally, the economic contributions Aboriginal tourism can make to the tourism sector. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that BC has been able to encourage and support Aboriginal participation in tourism. Although there is much opportunity to grow the sector and increase participation in ownership and management capacities, the Aboriginal tourism sector is currently being guided towards a successful future. There are many Aboriginal tourism successes happening in BC that could be used as models for other regions in Canada and around the world.
Access roads impact enzyme activities in boreal forested peatlands
(Elsevier, 2019-02-15) Saraswati, Saraswati; Parsons, Christopher T.; Strack, Maria
We investigated the impacts of resource access roads on soil enzyme activities in contrasting forested boreal peatlands (bog and fen). In August 2016, a total of 72 peat samples were collected from twelve 20 m long transects perpendicular to access roads, with a further six samples collected from undisturbed reference areas. Sampling locations represent a range in three variables associated with roads: 1) side of the road (upstream/downstream), 2) distance to a culvert (longitudinal; <2 and >20 m), and 3) distance from the road (lateral; 2, 6, and 20 m). Phenol oxidase and hydrolase (glucosidase, sulfatase, xylosidase, glucosaminidase, and phosphatase) enzyme activities were determined for each sample, in addition to water table depth, phenolic concentration, pH, and peat temperature. The average hydrolase activities in the fen were ~four times higher than in the bog. At the bog, the water table depth, phenolic concentration, pH and the activities of phenol oxidase, sulfatase, glucosidase, xylosidase and glucosaminidase were all significantly influenced by one or more road associated factors. The highest enzyme activities in the bog occurred on the downstream side of the road at plots located far from the culvert. In contrast, the flow of water in the fen was not perpendicular to the road. Consequently, no significant variations in water table depth, phenolic concentration, pH or enzyme activity were found with respect to road associated factors. Results indicate that road crossings in boreal peatlands can indirectly alter enzyme activities, likely as part of a causal chain following changes to hydrology and redox conditions. Two of six investigated enzymes had significantly higher activities in the road disturbed areas compared to undisturbed areas, suggesting ultimately that roads may enhance organic matter decomposition rates. However, adequate hydrologic connections through culverts and road construction parallel to the water flow can minimize the road-induced impacts.
The Accessibility of the Jamaican and Aruban All-Inclusive Resorts
(University of Waterloo, 2012-12-19T17:33:21Z) Hano, Katarzyna
An impairment is an attribute of an individual whereas the extent to which it is a disability is influenced strongly by the environment in which they operate which is a product of society. This research focuses on people with physical impairments in the belief that improvements in accessibility for them will decrease the disabling effects of their impairments and improve accessibility for all. A social rather than a medical approach to impairments is adopted. This approach focuses on the abilities of people with impairments and stresses that limitations are placed upon them as a result of the attitudes and actions of the broader society, of which they are a part, the majority of which is comprised of able-bodied people. Thus, this thesis examines the physical barriers experienced by physically impaired individuals and the attitudes held towards them by service providers. The concepts of universal design and barrier-free design are reviewed and used to formulate a comprehensive checklist which is used to measure and compare the state of accessibility of selected resorts in the Caribbean. This checklist is simple to administer and can be used by non-experts. It can also be used to inventory other structures in addition to resorts. The availability of such a tool will enable researchers and facility managers to record information systematically on touristic and other sites. Jamaican and Aruban all-inclusive resorts are examined to obtain a better understanding of the accessibility provisions at all-inclusive resorts for physically disabled individuals. This study is the first to examine all-inclusive resorts for their accessibility. The researcher conducted facility inventories and interviews with staff and guests at three facilities in the Caribbean in order to obtain an understanding of the physical accessibility of the resorts, the staff’s attitudes towards physically impaired guests, as well as guests’ reflections on the treatment of physically impaired individuals by staff. The results show that physical accessibility in the resorts was mixed but that staff attitudes are generally positive. The Accessibility and Attitudinal Barriers Model (AABM) is used to examine the four main areas which need to be improved in order to make traveling for physically disabled persons a pleasure and not a problem. These are accommodation, transportation, recreation activities and staff attitudes. The current research has extended the application of the model both by applying it to all-inclusive resorts and also by incorporating different kinds of information, including that collected by the check list discussed above. This has extended the application of the model and has provided greater understanding of the role of the different sectors of the model in contributing to accessible tourism. Through defining the group under discussion and explaining their difficulties, and examining the barriers that they experience and related policies, the thesis outlines the steps that already have been taken and that need to be taken to make traveling for pleasure available to all individuals. The creation of more accessible tourism establishments could help to remove doubts concerning whether or not impaired tourists travel and whether or not the number of such travelers is increasing. Often, there is a belief that few impaired individuals travel due to financial constraints and this is one of the main reasons why accessibility has not been a priority. It can be argued that, since there are few accessibility provisions for the impaired in tourism establishments, few impaired people travel. Once this barrier is eliminated, it would be more clear whether it is finances that restrict impaired tourists from traveling or whether it is the inaccessible nature of the physical space which leads them to stay home.
Activating Values to Enhance e-Participation in Environmental Decision-making
(University of Waterloo, 2019-07-26) Philpot, Simone
A participatory modeling approach is designed to connect citizens and decision-makers during the selection of the most appropriate alternative solution to an environmental project based on user values systems. First, a novel approach to supporting values-based decision-making is proposed in which values activation is prompted using visual feedback and interactive modules in a software program. Next, the design parameters for a prototype software program called P2P-DSS are presented. P2P-DSS is designed in the style of an online survey, with the added capacity to activate values and provide a shared online space connecting individuals with a survey builder. In this thesis, P2P-DSS is proposed, designed, and then applied to a real-world example in environmental project evaluation. A formal decision-maker with a professional role in the evaluation of an aggregate mining application used P2P-DSS to build a model of the decision from their own perspective. Fifteen volunteers then used P2P-DSS to learn about the issue, provide their individual input in the form of ranked preferences for potential outcomes, and examine the role that values play in their own assessment of the project and the perspective of the model builder. P2P-DSS records every interaction with the software program and participants completed a post-task survey to assess aspects of the system’s performance from their perspective. By analyzing both revealed and stated preferences from the formal decision-maker and public participants, the capacity for the P2P-DSS technique to translate some of the known benefits of values-based thinking into a participatory online platform is indicated. This thesis then addresses the challenge of translating data collected from individuals into collective preference rankings that are useful for decision-makers. With reference to the aggregate mining example, participant input is aggregated using a Modified Borda Count technique. Thus, while values activation is facilitated in this study on an individual basis, the resulting input can be analyzed as group utilities, the possible implications of this information are examined in depth. Finally, a novel data set emerges from this research with implications for decision-making, communications, and conflict management. That is, a model builder calibrates a model by connecting specific values with option choices. Participants can then register a ‘values protest’ by using interactive software tools in P2P-DSS to challenge the values connections calibrated by the model builder. Values protests have implications for the preferences input by the participant and are stored by P2P-DSS as a data point. Next, analysis is conducted to isolate potential points of conflict based on emergent patterns in those protests. This new dataset reveals aspects of the decision context for which different groups do not have a shared understanding of how their decision-making is driven by their underlying values. Gaining insight into the roots of values-based conflicts can be useful for conflict prediction and management, strategic decision-making, and the fine tuning of communications by stakeholder groups. This dissertation examines the boundaries and opportunities for values-based participatory modeling. Specifically, through the design and testing of P2P-DSS this work operationalizes the theory of values activation, thereby expanding the reach of values-based decision-making in online settings. Moreover, by testing protocols to aggregate values-based preferences collected at the individual level into group utility rankings, the P2P-DSS approach is prepared to make contributions for group decision-making. Finally, a new type of data, values protests, is generated and discussed, demonstrating how it can be harnessed to understand and contribute to the management of values conflicts in issues of public interest. Finally, while presenting a novel approach to environmental research, this work also demonstrates that some of the perceived limitations of values research, that are discussed in this thesis, deserve reassessment, as the interactive capacity of software programs opens new avenues to expand the reach of values-based decision-making.
Adaptive Capacity, Collaboration, and Adaptive Governance: The Galapagos small-scale fishing sector
(University of Waterloo, 2023-01-19) Cáceres, Renato
Over the last decades, employing adaptive capacity and vulnerability terms to indicate forms of achieving more sustainable goals, particularly in the management of natural resources, has become increasingly frequent. While this has led to a boost in policy-making discourses and guidelines for governing complex social-ecological systems, it is essential to recognize that the broad and indistinct use of such concepts has given rise to multiple interpretations, forms of application, and, therefore, diverse policy-making solutions. Considering that the realities of complex social-ecological systems are place-specific, this dissertation provides some clarifications on vulnerability and adaptive capacity. It suggests strategies and actions that might help practitioners and policymakers to interpret and operationalize the terms, enabling them to move from conceptualizations to practice in distinct contexts, as well as build adaptive capacity and enhance the resilience of complex social–ecological systems. This dissertation highlights that bolstering the capacity of a system of interest to adapt depends partly on its ability to explore location-specific conditions that enable it to anticipate and respond proactively to diverse shocks, recover and take advantage of new opportunities (Folke et al. 2002b; Engle 2011; Whitney et al. 2017; Cinner et al. 2018). This capacity depends primarily on factors such as the system’s technological, behavioural, financial, institutional, and informational resources (Adger 2003b; Burton 2003; Smit and Wandel 2006). This dissertation recognizes that an analysis of the forms of governance and collaboration networks, as well as their linkages, is critical in determining adaptive capacity and resilience when addressing the vulnerabilities of a social–ecological system in the short and long term (Wandel and Marchildon 2010; Pittman et al. 2015). Therefore, it explores ways of building adaptive capacity and enhancing common-pool resource governance’s resilience in light of diverse, adverse, internal and external drivers of change, such as climate change, novel pandemics, and institutional fragmentations, using qualitative and social network approaches. Today, many multidimensional issues cross human-made administrative and political borders, making it increasingly difficult to govern common-pool resources such as small-scale fisheries. Addressing countless simultaneous and sudden social-ecological interactions requires the collaboration, support and involvement of actors and stakeholders from various areas, geographical scales, and administrative levels. The adverse effects of COVID-19 and climate change are likely the most recent and perhaps the most explicit and vivid examples worldwide of how sudden external drivers of change can rapidly affect livelihoods and alter the socio-economic dynamics in complex social–ecological systems from one day to another, pushing them into more profound social and economic crisis. Thus, a society that might face the adverse effects of new drivers of change derived from novel pandemics, climate change, or globalization requires approaches and strategies that will enable decision-makers and policymakers to act during unexpected and rapid changes. In this regard, this dissertation examines polycentric approaches to governance, including linkages (partnerships) spanning multiple scales and levels, from global to local, that rely on formal and informal networks to create the correct links at the correct time to face climate-related factors of change and non-climate-related drivers of change that generate vulnerability in complex social–ecological systems. Since governance often represents the different structures by which societies share power and are platforms to define collective and individual actions (Kooiman 2003a; Lautze et al. 2011), this dissertation explores the Galapagos small-scale fishing governance system, a crucial socio-economic sector for diverse coastal communities and food security in the Galapagos Islands. This archipelago is widely recognized in conservation for incorporating the islands that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution but whose high levels of endemism have indirectly hampered research efforts to focus mainly on the biophysical features of the islands and disregarded social sciences as forms of building adaptive capacity. My doctoral research examines forms of addressing context-specific vulnerabilities and building adaptive capacity through a social science perspective to fill this gap. In doing so, this dissertation aims to 1) assess how vulnerability assessments and decision-making planning tools can be applied to increase adaptive capacity at the local scale in the face of multiple drivers of change; 2) explore the role of collaboration and social networks in building adaptive capacity in the Galapagos small-scale fishing sector; 3) improve the collaboration network of the Galapagos small-scale governance system in light of multiple drivers of change.
An Adaptive Ecosystem Approach to Rehabillitation and Management of the Cooum River Environmental System in Chennai, India
(University of Waterloo, 2000) Bunch, Martin J.
This research investigates the application of an adaptive ecosystem approach to the problem of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. The Cooum River is an extremely polluted urban stream that flows into the Bay of Bengal through the heart of Chennai, India's fourth largest metropolis. During the dry (non-monsoon) season, the upper reaches of the river are dry and flow in the river may be attributed primarily to the production of sewage by the city's population. The river is essentially a foul-smelling open sewer. Complexity of the problem is due as much to human factors (population growth, poverty, uncontrolled urban development, jurisdictional conflicts, modes of behaviour of the citizenry, and institutional culture) as to physical characteristics of the system (flat topography, tidal action, blockage of the river mouth by sand bar formation, and monsoon flooding). Uncertainty in the situation is both structural (regarding main processes and activities in the system and the nature of relationships among the various actors and elements), and parametric (having to do with scarcity, poor quality and restricted access to data). This work has drawn upon methods and techniques of Adaptive Environmental Management and Soft Systems Methodology to operate the ecosystem approach and address the problem. Specifically, this has involved a series of workshops which have brought together planners, researchers, NGOs, and other stakeholders in a participatory process oriented toward problem definition, system identification and conceptualization, determination of objectives for management, and the generation and exploration of management interventions. In addition, a central component of the program has been the development of a loosely-coupled GIS, environmental simulation model, and a decision support module. This is based upon a framework provided by participants in the first workshop in the series, and operationalizes a common understanding of the system. In addition to generating new insight into the nature of the problem situation, the research has provided a potentially useful tool to planners, managers and researchers in Chennai in the form of a GIS database and decision support system (DSS). Aside from the tool itself, it was found that the process of developing a conceptual model, and attempting to represent this in the DSS has made a significant contribution to understanding of the Cooum system. In particular, this process forced assumptions to be stated explicitly and publically, highlighted areas of uncertainty and led to new understanding in participants' conception of the problem situation. The program of research also provided a much needed forum for open debate and exchange of information which was removed from the restrictive institutional culture of government departments.
Addressing groundwater over-extraction in India: assessments, monitoring methods and interventions
(University of Waterloo, 2022-08-19) Hora, Tejasvi
Groundwater is a vast distributed source of water that is critical for meeting the demands of various socio-environmental systems globally. However, the management of groundwater resources has proven to be challenging with groundwater depletion being observed in many regions globally. As the country with the highest groundwater extraction (and depletion) rates in the world, India is currently at the forefront of this problem where national food security and the livelihoods of millions of households have grown to become dependent on the over-exploitation of groundwater resources. This dissertation consists of three studies to support the broad goal of addressing groundwater overexploitation in India. Specifically, these studies aim to improve understanding on: (1) assessments of stress on regional groundwater resources, (2) identification of groundwater depletion hotspots using monitoring data, and (3) the potential of rain-water harvesting systems as interventions to increase groundwater supplies. The goal of the first study was to understand the effects of incorporating environmental considerations into large-scale groundwater assessments. Assessments of regional groundwater stress (measured here as the ratio of annual groundwater usage to renewable groundwater supply) are important for setting policy targets and guiding interventions. However, the threshold of yearly groundwater supply that is considered available for human use (especially in relation to environmental water demands) remains poorly defined at the regional-scale. In this study, groundwater extraction thresholds were estimated by scaling yearly groundwater recharge volumes based on different local and global environmental considerations. Focusing on India, district-scale groundwater use thresholds were developed based on: (a) no environmental considerations ('baseline'), (b) water requirements of 'local' groundwater-dependent ecosystems, (c) 'global' considerations using the current planetary boundary framework, and (d) a 'mixed' approach that is informed by both local and global considerations, but where a national groundwater use budget is disaggregated (top-down) to estimate thresholds based on current district-level extraction rates. This was followed by an assessment of how hotspots related to groundwater stress (i.e. regions where groundwater extraction rates exceed estimated thresholds) change in each scenario. Compared to the baseline (where 26% of the districts were considered over-stressed in India), it was found that accounting for local environmental flow requirements results in 36% districts being classified as over-stressed with a groundwater stress hotspot emerging in Southern India. Under the global and mixed scenarios, results showed that nearly 70% of districts (where currently >801 million people live) are classified as over-stressed given current groundwater extraction rates. However, the effort required from over-stressed districts to stay within derived groundwater use thresholds in the mixed scenario (median groundwater stress = 143%) was found to be lower than the global scenario (median groundwater stress = 203%). Overall, the results from this analysis suggest that incorporating environmental considerations would significantly decrease the volume of groundwater resources available for human use in India (173-312 km3/year; compared to 399 km3/year in the baseline). The aim of the second study was to improve how groundwater depletion hotspots are identified using monitoring data. Numerous recent studies have highlighted groundwater recovery in Southern India due to increasing rainfall rates and political interventions. However, these estimates of increasing groundwater storage trends obtained using hydrological data sources (monitoring wells, GRACE satellite) were found to be incongruent with reports of well failures from non-hydrological data sources (like census data and news articles). Results from this study revealed that previous trend estimates relying on monitoring well data were skewed by the presence of a survivor bias, where dry or defunct wells were excluded from trend analyses due to missing data. Upon further investigation, the timing of missing data and the location of wells with missing data were found to be strongly correlated with metrics of climate stress (i.e. dry periods) and groundwater irrigation intensity, which was indicative of a systemic exclusion. Two alternative metrics that better accounted for information from dry and defunct wells were developed to help augment analysis relying on water level measurement from monitoring wells. An assessment based on these metrics revealed increasing groundwater depletion rates in Southern India between 1996-2016. In the third study, the potential of rain-water harvesting systems (RWH or tanks) as an intervention to increase groundwater supplies and provide farmers with an alternative source of water was assessed in Southern India. Agricultural rain-water harvesting (RWH) structures remain a promising intervention for improving water availability for small-holder farmers in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. However, the feedback between RWH systems and the surrounding aquifer remains poorly understood in regions like Southern India where these structures are nestled within a landscape of intense groundwater development. In this study, a conceptual hydrological model was developed to answer fundamental questions about how RWH structures impact groundwater availability for irrigation, and in turn how groundwater irrigation impacts the outflow fluxes from RWH structures. Model simulations highlighted that agricultural RWH structures were able to increase groundwater availability in the surrounding area. However, these impacts were meaningful (in meeting agricultural water demands) under only a narrow spectrum of landscape and climate conditions. Specifically, the impact of tanks was found to decline significantly during drought spells or when the beneficiaries of tank-induced groundwater recharge were poorly regulated. Alternatively, results showed that groundwater irrigation in the surrounding aquifer positively impacted the efficiency of output fluxes from the RWH structures by reducing the percentage of evapotranspiration losses and increasing groundwater recharge, however, this came at the cost of reduced water available for surface irrigation. This study provides crucial information to understand the potential of RWH structures in contemporary small-holder dominated agricultural systems. Overall, the results from this dissertation provide critical insights to support science-based decision-making to minimize environmental impacts of anthropogenic groundwater use, improve monitoring of regional groundwater resources, and better evaluate interventions aimed at increasing (ground)water availability. These insights can aid current efforts to improve groundwater management in India.
Advancements in Road Lane Mapping: Comparative Analysis of Deep Learning-based Semantic Segmentation Methods Using Aerial Imagery
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-01) Liu, Xuanchen (Willow)
The rapid advancement of autonomous vehicles (AVs) underscores the necessity for high-definition (HD) maps, with road lane information being crucial for their navigation. The widespread use of Earth observation data, including aerial imagery, provides invaluable resources for constructing these maps. However, to fully exploit the potential of aerial imagery for HD road map creation, it is essential to leverage the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies. Conversely, the domain of remote sensing has not yet fully explored the development of specialized models for road lane extraction, an area where the field of computer vision has made significant progress with the introduction of advanced semantic segmentation models. This research undertakes a comprehensive comparative analysis of twelve deep learning-based semantic segmentation models, specifically to measure their skill in road lane marking extraction, with a special emphasis on a novel dataset characterized by partially labeled instances. This investigation aims to examine the models' performance when applied to scenarios with minimal labeled data, examining their efficiency, accuracy, and ability to adapt under conditions of limited annotation and transfer learning. The outcome of this study highlights the distinct advantage of Transformer-based models over their Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) counterparts in the context of extracting road lanes from aerial imagery. Remarkably, within the state-of-the-art models, such as Segmenting Transformers (SegFormer), Shifted Window (Swin) Transformer, and Twins Scaled Vision Transformer (Twins-SVT) exhibit superior performance. The empirical results on the Waterloo Urban Scene dataset mark substantial progress, with mean Intersection over Union (IoU) scores ranging from 33.56% to 76.11%, precision from 64.33% to 77.44%, recall from 66.0% to 98.96%, and F1 scores from 44.34% to 85.35%. These findings underscore the benefits of model pretraining and the distinctive attributes of the dataset in strengthening the effectiveness of models for HD road map development, announcing new possibilities in the advancement of autonomous vehicle navigation systems.
After the Surge: Tourism as a Disaster Recovery Strategy in Tacloban, the Philippines
(University of Waterloo, 2024-09-04) Mohni, Celina
This thesis presents a comprehensive examination of the role of tourism in disaster recovery, specifically focusing on Tacloban’s response to Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Employing case study methodology, this study delves into the dynamics of tourism development post-disaster, highlighting both organic growth and structured initiatives facilitated by local government and tourism bodies. The findings reveal that the influx of aid workers and disaster tourists played a pivotal role in the economic resurgence of Tacloban, transforming the city into a tourist attraction itself as well as a regional gateway for tourism. This unexpected shift not only bolstered immediate post-disaster economic stability but also laid the groundwork for sustainable economic development. The thesis underscores the dual role of tourism in providing immediate economic relief and fostering long-term economic growth, facilitated by strategic planning and policy-making. Key recommendations from the study emphasize the importance of preparedness in leveraging tourism for disaster recovery, suggesting the implementation of strategic frameworks to manage and maximize the benefits of tourism post-disaster. The research contributes to the broader discourse on disaster recovery and tourism, advocating for further studies to explore the potential of tourism in diverse post-disaster settings globally.
The Agency of Infrastructure: A Critical Acquisition Framework for Understanding Infrastructure Development within Inequitable Societies
(University of Waterloo, 2014-01-23) Gartner, Candice Marie
Infrastructure development is a topic that has occupied a noble niche within development thinking since the middle of the twentieth century. However, despite over half a century of research concerning infrastructure development processes, structurally-oriented development theories continue to dominate infrastructure development research and praxis. Critically informed approaches to development, which acknowledge the integral role of place, power, and agency to infrastructure research, have yet to make a noticeable mark within infrastructure development policymaking. A review of the multidisciplinary infrastructure and development literature reveals a clear emphasis on structurally-oriented processes of infrastructure provision, and an insufficient understanding of agency-oriented, place-specific processes of infrastructure access, particularly within the context of inequitable societies. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to critically examine infrastructure development processes based on the lived experiences of marginalized populations and to integrate such experiences into the construction of infrastructure knowledge. This dissertation is a compilation of three manuscripts and three additional chapters (the introduction, methodology, and conclusion). The first of these manuscripts, entitled The Science and Politics of Infrastructure Research, is a conceptual paper that critically explores the intersection of infrastructure and development literature. Herein I describe three perspectives, the technocratic, interventionist, and critical perspectives, that articulate the different ways that infrastructure is valued among multiple actors involved in the production of infrastructure knowledge. Among these perspectives, I contend that technocratic and interventionist perspectives have occupied a dominant position with respect to informing infrastructure development policy and praxis throughout the twentieth century. I question whether such dominance is the product of superior scientific rigor or the politicized process of knowledge production. Towards the goal of giving greater prominence to the critical perspective, and in effort to offer a systematic way forward from this post-development critique, I propose the Critical Acquisition Framework. The framework is designed to facilitate an agency-oriented understanding of infrastructure development processes from the perspectives of marginalized groups. Inspired by critical-social theory and capability analyses, the Critical Acquisition Framework helps to understand how marginalized groups deploy their existing capability sets to access infrastructure via multiple overlapping institutions. In addition, the framework helps to envision alternative agency-oriented scenarios of infrastructure access. In essence, the framework demonstrates how the acquisition process influences the capability sets and therefore agency and power of marginalized groups. The framework can be used to assess whether infrastructure ‘develops’ according to emic perspectives, or whether infrastructure reifies inequitable power relations. The research is informed by a critical methodological approach and mixed-methods research design. To investigate infrastructure access through the experiences of marginalized groups, the empirical aspect of this research is based on two instrumental case studies located in the northern highlands of Peru. The first case study and second manuscript is entitled: Women’s Acquisition of Domestic Water Services in the District of Cajamarca, Peru. Three impoverished women’s groups, representing rural, peri-urban, and urban locales are analysed, based on the women’s experiences of accessing water through their respective institutions of domestic water provision. Overall, the findings illustrate how marginalized groups exercise agency, as well as the limits to their agency in accessing domestic water services. Considerable variations are found in the quality of domestic water institutions that play a deciding role in women’s experiences of access. The findings also suggest that inefficient institutions may be perpetuated as such in order to maintain the powerful positions of dominant groups involved in domestic water provision. The second case study and third manuscript, is entitled Access for Whom and to What? A Critical Acquisition Framework for Understanding Rural Experiences of Multiple Accessibilities. This paper examines the iterative process through which vendors working within an informal market district repeatedly deploy their multiple capability sets to navigate multiple overlapping institutions that regulate comprehensive access to rural transportation and other privatized infrastructures. Three sub-processes of rural accessibility are investigated: transportation access, market access, and infrastructure access. The findings reveal the complexity of rural accessibility, and suggest that failures of infrastructure access may be attributed to inequitable institutions that regulate the acquisition process. The instrumental case studies have been used to help inform, test, and refine the Critical Acquisition Framework. In doing so, this research has achieved its aim to integrate the experiences of marginalized populations in the construction of infrastructure development knowledge. This research offers a new way of understanding an old problem of infrastructure development. Positioning the notions of agency, power, and place as central tenets of infrastructure development analyses, not only complements the existing body of infrastructure knowledge, but can also lend to a more equitable process of infrastructure development within inequitable societies.
Agrarian transition and peri-urban land use change in a mid-sized city of Vietnam
(University of Waterloo, 2007-08-23T12:52:45Z) Van, Ngoc Truc Phuong
In developing countries, land management, government intervention in peri-urban land, and the striking decline of agricultural land have all affected farmers’ livelihoods and the capacity of locally supplied food for ever-growing cities. A growing body of literature has focused on the exploration of these issues in rural areas, which are believed to be the backbone of the national agriculture economy, and in peri-urban areas of large cities, which have experienced extreme changes during recent decades. But the issues are also relevant to peri-urban mid-sized cities where urbanization is in a different phase compared to the above areas. This study examines the main changes underway in the agrarian transition of peri-urban areas of Vinh city, a mid-sized city in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. Vinh was chosen given its unique position in transforming from a mid-sized to a large city. This study explores the dynamics of agricultural production, and the role of the Vinh government in mediating urbanization and its impacts on farmers’ livelihoods. In order to attain the objectives, interviews with local leaders, and a survey with farmers were conducted, and a GIS database was also developed. The findings regarding agricultural production in the case study demonstrate that this mid-sized city, in the early phase of development, manifests itself as a duplicate of larger cities, escalating the threat of food accessibility from local sources. Duplication is in the sense that the peri-urban population in Vinh still depends largely on agriculture with a shift to commercial agriculture with higher value products despite the shrinkage of agricultural land. Agricultural production primarily uses manual family labor, and traditional products are substantially subsistent. Compared to larger cities, post-production activities (including processing, packaging, marketing, and delivery) and the organization of the agrofood supply chain in Vinh are underdeveloped due to minimum support from local and outside agencies. The case study confirms that as general trend in developing countries, Vietnam’s land policies favor the expropriation of agricultural land for industrialization and modernization. The findings also demonstrate the heterogeneity of land administration in Vietnam, structured from the ‘bottom-up’ mechanism, through which Vinh’s local authorities have the prerogative to not issue land use right certificates of agricultural land despite the national policy. This has occurred in order to control land markets to satisfy the city’s goal of transforming to an independent municipality. The situation is perpetuated by the absence of agricultural land legislations in a peri-urban context while contemporary legislation has been developed to address the rural areas because of their importance in the national agriculture economy. This is an issue for land management in Vietnam as well as in other developing countries. Finally, the findings on land expropriation in the peri-urban areas of Vinh city also confirm that direct government intervention through land expropriation in developing countries, with low compensation and lack of alternative vocational training, undermines farmers’ livelihoods and threatens the local food supply.
The Agricultural Community and its Contribution to Collaborative Environmental Problem-Solving
(University of Waterloo, 2014-05-23) Simpson, Hugh Charles
Collaboration has been proposed as an inclusive forum for bringing together state and non-state stakeholders to deliberate and negotiate solutions to complex environmental problems. A key aspect of collaborative approaches is the potential to help stakeholders share and integrate expert science and local knowledge with their beliefs and values. This process creates a vernacular knowledge that is necessary to address the quasi-scientific characteristics of complex environmental problems. Stakeholder networks have an important role in collaborative processes, and the creation and sharing of knowledge. The manner in which stakeholder networks form, function, and contribute to the creation and sharing of knowledge, both internally and externally, is not well understood from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. The purpose of this research is to provide insight concerning this gap in the literature by addressing three research objectives: (1) to develop a conceptual framework for evaluating the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge by a stakeholder network within collaborative problem-solving processes; (2) to use the conceptual framework to evaluate the contribution of stakeholder networks to the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge in an actual example of a collaborative problem-solving processes; and (3) to develop recommendations for the design of collaborative problem-solving processes in order to facilitate the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge using stakeholder networks. A case study was used to evaluate a multi-stakeholder problem-solving process that has involved stakeholder network representatives at the watershed and provincial scales in Ontario, Canada. This was undertaken through an extensive literature review, and the analysis of data collected through participant observation, survey questionnaire, and a review of publicly available documents using a mixed methods research approach. The research focused on the evaluation of the formation and function of an agri-environmental network composed of representatives from key provincial farm organizations and the provincial agricultural ministry. This research seeks to provide insight concerning the role of stakeholder networks in the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge within collaborative problem-solving processes, and provide insights for both theoretical and practical applications of collaborative approaches to problem-solving. This addresses questions in the literature regarding the effectiveness of stakeholder networks to contribute knowledge to problem-solving within forums that are intended to be collaborative in nature, but may also include elements of a regulatory approach. Further, this agri-environmental network has supported the development and function of a diverse group of farm community representatives involved in a prescribed environmental problem-solving process. The research demonstrates that this network has been effective in contributing to the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge in a coordinated fashion at the local and provincial scale. This responds to questions in the literature concerning how stakeholder networks communicate and cooperate across different scales and administrative, physiographic and political boundaries. The study also provides recommendations for practice concerning the selection of community representatives, the creation of vernacular knowledge, and the promotion of stakeholder network involvement as part of collaborative approaches to problem-solving. Although the research results are situated in an Ontario context, the results of the study can be applied in other jurisdictions where stakeholder networks exist or may emerge to participate in collaborative approaches to environmental problem-solving.
Agriculture and Tourism Development: The Case of St. Kitts
(University of Waterloo, 2014-05-23) Jenkins, Rae-Gean
In 2005, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis officially closed the sugar industry, ending mono-crop agriculture and opening a space for a new chosen economic driver, tourism. Newly available lands, an agricultural- based workforce and a push into tourism led to this research examining the state of agricultural tourism development in a transitioning region. Interviews with key public and private sector personnel, coupled with an evaluation of official policies and plans, were used in this qualitative case study to explore the state of agricultural tourism development (opportunities and barriers) and the role that stakeholders play in its creation. This research not only found common geographic and technical barriers but also endemic mental and behavioural characteristics of the local populace, which hinder agricultural development and, by extension, agricultural tourism. Negative attitudes towards agriculture and a lack of entrepreneurial spirit pervade, which hampers agricultural tourism development. Hence, this research shows that local attitudes towards agriculture play an important role in successfully diversifying agriculture via tourism. Many studies focus on the addition of tourism to an agricultural product without first ensuring the successful production of agricultural products themselves so that agricultural tourism can develop. Hence, this research asserts the need for the agricultural industry to upgrade its products to meet expected tourism standards before moving into agricultural tourism. Additionally, for the successful development of agricultural tourism, there needs to be a focused and sustained plan aimed at changing the mindset of the local populace towards agriculture and entrepreneurship, coupled with the government providing a facilitative environment conducive to developing agricultural tourism.
Alternative Food Networks and Rural Development Initiatives in China: Characterization, Contestations and Interactions
(University of Waterloo, 2015-01-08) Si, Zhenzhong
Agrifood studies have examined the alternativeness, embeddedness and ‘transformative potential’ of various alternative food networks (AFNs) in developed market economies from sociological and geographical perspectives. Meanwhile, rural development studies have identified the critical roles of AFNs in the emergence of a new rural development paradigm. However, a puzzle that remains to be solved is to determine to what extent the alternative values and practices of AFNs will be transferred to developing nations where the sociopolitical context is rapidly changing and to determine how AFNs coevolve with rural development initiatives. To solve this puzzle, this dissertation probes into AFNs in China to examine their complicated relationship with grassroots rural development initiatives. Data for this analysis were collected from in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in various AFNs; visits to ecological farms and food companies; information obtained from attending organic expos, workshops, and academic conferences; observations of online blog posts and discussions; and secondary sources including news reports and media coverage. The dissertation employs two main analytical approaches—case studies and discourse analysis—to synthesize and interrogate the qualitative data. The key findings of the study are as follows. First, the alternativeness of AFNs in China is uneven and varies among different elements of alternativeness. The state is a key player in tempering the contested nature of AFNs. Second, the New Rural Reconstruction Movement as a critical grassroots rural development initiative not only adopts AFNs as critical tools for promoting its rural development agenda but also functions as a hub for the convergence of various alternative food initiatives in China. The dissertation concludes that the relationship between alternative food and rural development initiatives can be reciprocal, although the synergies between them face various challenges in the specific socio-political context of China. This study contributes to the literature by unveiling a set of AFNs that are introduced by, and co-evolved with, rural development initiatives. It bridges the discussion on the convergence of AFNs and the scholarship of rural development paradigms.
Alternative Food Networks with Chinese Characteristics
(University of Waterloo, 2014-09-18) Schumilas, Theresa
Scholars studying Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have struggled with the question of whether these initiatives are a type of entertainment for a few middle class consumers, or the part of a political struggle to configure new food system relations. My response is that in China, AFNs are both. This research provides an empirically grounded theoretical analysis of AFNs, or assemblages of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, buying clubs and ecological farmers’ markets, forming in China’s industrialized regions. AFNs in the global north have emerged in liberal capitalist democracies with industrialized food systems characterized by private land ownership, declining small farm sectors, consolidated farm to retail chains, predominance of supermarket retail, standards and laws to safeguard food safety and an active civil society sector. The Chinese context sits in contrast with its unique version of ‘capitalism with social characteristics’, a commons approach to land ownership, predominance of smallholder agriculture and traditional marketing chains, a commitment to domestic food security, nascent food safety legislation and a civil society with limited autonomy from an authoritarian state that keeps shifting the terrain of what is permitted. In this landscape, new food procurement relations that I consider AFNs, have emerged in response to the loss of the peasantry and its traditions, environmental crises perpetuated by productivist agriculture policies, and a persistent ‘food safety crisis’. These nascent food networks manifest contradictory characteristics. I argue that instead of fitting into the ‘either or’ categories of conventional and alternative food systems, China’s AFNs need be seen as hybrid systems. This research explores 19 AFN cases (CSA farms, farmers’ markets and buying clubs) using interviews, site visits, surveys and blog monitoring. It explores these networks using four ‘lenses’. First, I examine the capitalist and other-than-capitalist relations in these AFN using a post-capitalist diverse economies framework. I reveal diverse economic relations in China’s AFNs where capitalist and non-capitalist relations co-exist and where the persistence of the peasantry, de-peasantization and re-peasantization processes all occur simultaneously. Second, I examine the ecological relations in these networks. I argue that in the context of productivism associated with strong domestic food security policies, these AFNs demonstrate a mixture of traditional and modern production methods. Further, reacting to a widespread distrust of state-led organic and ecological agriculture institutions, producers and consumers in these networks are forging bottom-up alternatives and constructing their own meaning of ecological and organic through reflexive civic process. Third, I look at the interpersonal relations in these networks and the degree to which they are relations characterized by trust and reconnections between producers and consumers. I examine how re-building trust in the context of China’s ‘food safety crisis’ proves difficult in these AFNs. Using care ethics theory, I reveal how these AFNs can be seen as ‘windows’ through which people can glimpse different kinds of reconnections and care ethics, that for many result in hybrid producer-consumer identities that complicate market based notions of people who buy and people who supply food. Finally, I look at the political relations in these networks and consider they degree to which they can be understood as transformative. I argue that these AFNs are beginning to create a space ‘beyond the market’ to fill a civil society void and influence broader food system issues and policies. In the context of the pervasive uncertainty of an authoritarian state, China’s AFNs are developing a repertoire of subtle and often covert ‘everyday resistance’ strategies to challenge hegemony. Beyond being ‘simply’ sites of material transactions, these AFNs can be seen as ‘portals’ through which people can connect to trans-global food justice movements that have no official presence in China. Individualist responses of consumption and collective responses of citizens are being transgressed and we can understand AFNs as hybrids of market based initiatives and civil society movements.
Amplifying “Keep It in the Ground” First-Movers: Toward a Comparative Framework
(Society & Natural Resources, 2020-06-17) Carter, Angela V.; McKenzie, Janetta
This article offers a framework for analyzing and extending the recent wave of national “keep it in the ground” (KIIG) bans on fossil fuel exploration and production. We situate this discussion in new theoretical work on decarbonization acceleration and then present an overview of KIIG movement and policy development. Next, drawing on the burgeoning supply side climate policy literature, we outline major barriers to constraining fossil fuel development, then focus on identifying conditions most conducive for KIIG policy. These include locally-rooted campaigns, the development of a pro-KIIG constituency that is horizontally dense and vertically integrated, resonant message framing, and support by well-placed norm entrepreneurs. We argue that early national efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground demark a critical juncture in global climate policy. Understanding the trajectory of these bans is a first step in extending these initiatives as part of the pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050.

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