Environmental Research Institute - Book Chapters

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    Compensation duties
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2023-02-28) Mintz-Woo, Kian
    While mitigation and adaptation will help to protect us from climate change, there are harms that are beyond our ability to adapt. Some of these harms, which may have been instigated from historical emissions, plausibly give rise to duties of compensation. This chapter discusses several principles that have been discussed about how to divide climate duties â the polluter pays principle, the beneficiary pays principle, the ability to pay principle, and a new one, the polluter pays, then receives principle. The chapter introduces several challenges to these principles from the literature, before discussing which policies and institutions might be relevant to compensation, whether internationally (e.g., the Green Climate Fund) or intergenerationally (e.g., Broome and Foley's World Climate Bank). It also describes some recent successful climate cases that require both the Dutch government and a private firm to act in accordance with climate targets to avoid potential rights violations. Finally, it discusses one of the most important international concepts with respect to compensation: the Loss & Damage pillar of climate policy.
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    Enhancing integration of disaster risk and climate change adaptation into Irish emergency planning
    (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) Medway, Peter; Flood, Stephen; Cubie, Dug; Le Tissier, Martin
    This chapter critically assesses the integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction with a special focus on the Irish policy and governance context. The chapter first presents a comprehensive overview of the Irish policy environment for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction including its current level of integration. Analysis of alignment with global and regional drivers of integration is then considered. Next, drawing on empirical research conducted with multidisciplinary experts across the Republic of Ireland, the chapter employs the SHIELD model, developed by the EU-funded ESPREssO project, which outlines six pathways to enhance integration across the domains of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The pathways comprise of sharing knowledge, harmonising capacities, institutionalising coordination, engaging stakeholders, leveraging investments and developing communication. Findings of stakeholder focus groups and survey responses highlight the challenges and opportunities for impactful integration between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Ireland from a practitioner perspective across the six SHIELD pathways. Finally, conclusions from the study indicate the importance of governance, management and coordination of systems for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; the sequencing of policy-making, planning and research; and the significance of specificity in relation to use of the six SHIELD pathways.
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    Private groundwater supply management as a response to flooding events: Perceptions of Irish well owners
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2021-03-31) de Andrade, Luisa A.; McDowell, Cillian P.; O'Dwyer, Jean; O'Neill, Eoin; Mooney, Simon; Hynds, Paul D.
    Over 720,000 people in the Republic of Ireland rely on private groundwater resources (i.e. private wells) for daily consumption, and as these extractions are unregulated, users are solely responsible for managing/mitigating contamination risks to their supplies. However, low levels of exposure to appropriate guidance on well water protection and ongoing maintenance are not uncommon, particularly regarding responses to sporadic environmental threats, such as significant flooding. Despite this, very little is known regarding the factors leading to (or inhibiting) preparedness among groundwater-reliant individuals in the context of health threats triggered by flooding events. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to bridge this knowledge gap and explore current behaviours, knowledge, risk perception, and experience relating to this issue in the Irish context. This was attempted via a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including a nation-wide online survey with 405 Irish well owners and six localized focus group meetings. Results show the need to go beyond knowledge-based interventions, and use socio-hydrogeological and/or socio-epidemiological approaches to target risk perception and potential structural constraints as a mean to turn protective intentions into protective actions when dealing with adverse effects of sporadic natural events, particularly in a changing climate.
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    Education and training for maritime spatial planners
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2019-01-24) Calado, Helena; Fonseca, Catarina; Ansong, Joseph Onwona; Frias, Manuel; Vergílio, Marta; European Regional Development Fund; European Social Fund; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
    The practice of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) has developed substantially during the last decade, calling for more qualified professionals. Education, training, and growth capacity for MSP, however, are (still) some of the less addressed themes in MSP forums and specific learning materials, such as textbooks and practice manuals. Some teaching initiatives have nevertheless arisen at the postgraduate level for training new and specialised practitioners in the MSP field. A quick overview of such initiatives will help answer some questions concerning the path to follow for MSP education and training. This chapter presents an exploratory diagnosis based on a discussion of the basic skills needed to achieve successful professional practice. What skills are expected from a maritime spatial planner? Is a specific background required to become a maritime spatial planner? How should such professionals be trained? These questions are discussed using the visions and insights of consultants, maritime sectors, policymakers, scientists, and teachers of MSP, with experience in countries where MSP processes are already in place.
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    Stakeholder processes in Marine Spatial Planning: Ambitions and realities from the European Atlantic experience
    (Springer International Publishing, 2019-01-24) Twomey, Sarah; O'Mahony, Cathal; Science Foundation Ireland
    Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) requires the participation of various stakeholders representing the multiple sectors operating in any given planning area. At a theoretical level, early and effective stakeholder participation is a fundamental aspect of MSP; it is also a legal requirement under a host of international and European instruments. This chapter explores the real-life challenges associated with delivering multi-sector participatory MSP processes. Insights and practical recommendations are drawn from five case studies from Europe's Atlantic sea basin including a research-based civil-society-led transboundary MSP pilot project, and four statutory initiatives from EU Member States on the island of Ireland and the Iberian coast. Various degrees of disconnect are identified between the conceptual underpinnings of MSP theory and the reality of recent stakeholder processes.