Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy (MaREI) - Book Chapters
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Item The Hare and the tortoise: Metaphorical lessons around sustainability(Routledge, 2021-07-30) McGookin, Connor; Ó Gallachóir, Brian P.; Byrne, Edmond P.This chapter examines the Aesop’s fable of the hare and the tortoise, its companion classical Roman proverb “festina lente”, and the role that the moral of this story may have in informing contemporary narratives around sustainability. In doing this, four narratives are examined. The first is that of environmentalism as a social movement. This looks at the roots of the contemporary environmental movement since the 1960s, which despite some early promise and (speedy) successes, ultimately left many disappointed in the pervading context of an ever-increasing consumerist society. The second narrative compares climate change experts, who have consistently advocated for acting now and fast, but find that action is held back by overarching socio-economic forces of neo-classical economics, which favour either the status quo or very gradual behavioural change, or profess faith in an ultimate reliance on techno-optimistic “solutions”. The third narrative considers niche activities versus mainstreaming and seeks to demonstrate that though isolated niche initiatives can have their value in demonstrating what works, or doesn’t, it is only through mainstreaming of transformational practices, which necessarily requires more patience and takes longer, that ultimately whole systemic change can occur. Finally, a fourth narrative uses the metaphor of evolving human civilisation as a maturing process; heretofore we’ve acted like children and adolescents, rebelling against old (pre-modern) wisdom, in our need to move fast and party (on cheap energy), but we are now at a stage where we need to metaphorically grow up, get wise, and slow down. To conclude, it is noted that sustainability is not a sprint but a marathon, as with the natural flow of evolution, in which a slow and steady progress (of iteratively learning, making mistakes, and relearning, all as a function of context) may in many respects work for the better.Item Impacts of tourism on coastal areas(Cambridge University Press, 2022-11-14) Smith, Timothy F.; Elrick-Barr, Carmen E.; Thomsen, Dana C.; Celliers, Louis; Le Tissier, Martin; Australian Government; Australian Research CouncilThe socioeconomics of the Anthropocene are exposing coastal regions to multiple pressures, including climate change hazards, resource degradation, urban development, and inequality. Tourism is often raised as either a panacea to, or exacerbator of, such threats to ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods. To better understand the impacts of tourism on coastal areas, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched for the top-100 cited papers on coastal tourism. Web of Science suggested ‘highly cited’ papers were also included to allow for more recent high impact papers. Of the papers retrieved, forty-four focused on the impacts of tourism. Social/cultural and environmental impacts were viewed as mostly negative, while economic impacts were viewed as mostly positive but only of actual benefit to a few. In addition, when compared with recent whole-of-sector reviews and reports it was evident that coastal tourism is increasingly a global enterprise dominated by large corporations that leverage various interests across local to transnational scales. Through this global enterprise, even the positive economic benefits identified were overshadowed by a broader system of land and property development fuelling local wealth inequity and furthering the interests of offshore beneficiaries. Only two highly cited papers discussed tourism within a broader context of integrated coastal zone management, suggesting that tourism is mostly assessed as a discrete sector within the coastal zone and peripheral to other coastal management considerations or the global tourism sector as a whole. The findings have relevance to the holistic management of coasts, coastal tourism, and the achievement of sustainable development goals in a way that considers the increasing threats from coastal hazards, resource extraction and urbanisation, as well as the pervasive impacts of international business systems from local to global scales.Item Introduction: Can the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and Agenda 2030 provide a path towards societal resilience?(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Flood, Stephen; Jerez Columbié, Yairen; Le Tissier, Martin; O'Dwyer, BarryThe Global Risk Report 2021 highlights the portfolio of risks that may reshape the world in the coming years (WEF, The Global Risks Report 2021 (16th ed.). ISBN: 978-2-940631-24-7. http://wef.ch/risks2021, 2021). Although the global portfolio of risks is dominated by the existential crisis of climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic presents an immediate experience of how risk can upend and disrupt our societies and economies. It has highlighted existing global inequalities and demonstrated the scope and scale of cascading socio-ecological impacts. The impacts of climate change on global communities will likely dwarf the disruption brought on by the pandemic, with impacts being more diffuse and pervasive over a longer time frame. The chapter sets out the nature of the climate change problem and the potential value in integrating the agendas of Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals to increase societal resilience. It then describes the scope of the book under its three sections: Best practice approaches; Irish case studies; International case studies. Lessons learned are then presented from the studies set out within the volume, followed by challenges and potential solutions to realising the ambition of resilience. Finally, a set of overarching conclusions are drawn.Item Why does making connections through resilience indicators matter?(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Le Tissier, Martin; Whyte, HesterThe year 2015 saw the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Paris Agreement. These landmark UN agreements both characterise and present the opportunity for developing integrated responses and coherence to the challenges bridging development, humanitarian, climate and disaster risk reduction areas. This chapter will provide examples of experiences and best practices from the international arena that identify how approaches to SDGs, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Management (DRM), and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) are juxtaposed, and the policy instruments currently in place that address SDG, DRR and CCA activities and actions. The text will consider opportunities for developing a concept of resilience that integrates SDG, DRR and CCA frameworks in response to global challenges, thereby constituting a development continuum instead of a series of independent and isolated phenomena. It will also identify and characterise opportunities for synergies across the different domains for community and sector vulnerability at local, national and international scales through integrated reporting across agreements.Item Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and development: A case study in Northern Ireland(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Burns, Cathy; Flood, Stephen; O'Dwyer, BarryThis study outlines the adaptation planning journey undertaken by Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) in Northern Ireland and reflects how the prevailing policy context and level of organisational adaptive capacity create the conditions for mainstreaming climate adaptation into planning and development. This chapter explores the potential of local government in Northern Ireland to integrate local authority policy drivers such as disaster risk reduction (DRR), emergency planning, risk and assurance, and community resilience. The ability to communicate risks and solutions was identified as an important consideration when undertaking adaptation planning, particularly when discussing the adaptation planning process and securing input or support from colleagues. Moreover, a significant amount of engagement was required with local government agencies to increase understanding of the relevance of climate change and DRR. Embedding DRR and climate change adaptation (CCA) within local authority policy and planning can enable a greater understanding of specific risks to local governments and act as a catalyst for further action.