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1
Birchall, Stephen Jeffrey. "Organizational Involvement in Carbon Mitigation: The New Zealand Public Sector." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Accounting and Information Systems, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7684.
Full textAbstract:
Introduction:
New Zealand (NZ) ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, committing to prudent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. In an effort to promote public sector carbon management, in 2004, Clark’s Labour-led Government funded local government membership in ICLEI’s Communities for Climate Protection - NZ (CCP-NZ) programme. In 2007, the same Government, in tandem with efforts to price carbon and develop an Emissions Trading Scheme, through the Carbon Neutral Public Service (CNPS) programme, sought to move the core public sector towards carbon neutrality (Clark, 2007c). In 2008, the NZ government changed from a Labour-led to a National-led Government, and this resulted in a shift in its carbon emission mitigation strategy, including the termination of the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes.
Purpose:
The research has two central objectives: First, to determine why NZ’s newly elected National -led Government cancelled the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes; and, second, to determine whether despite the discontinuation of these two programmes and in the absence of Government support, will NZ government organizations continue to strive for carbon emission reductions and neutrality.
Approach:
This empirical research is investigative and probing, and comprises a series of semi-structured interviews with senior managers responsible for the delivery of the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes within their respective organization. The architects of each programme (e.g. the NZ Prime Minister and CEO of ICLEI/ Director of ICLEI Oceania) are also investigated in order to glean insight into the rationale for the ultimate termination of these two programmes. Fieldwork is informed by publicly available information that provides insight into Government’s rationale for creating and discontinuing the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes.
Narrative analysis and termination theory serve as the primary methodological tools for this study, providing insight into meaning, interpretation and individual experience as it relates to the dismantling of the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes.
Findings:
This study finds that though economic constraints and programmatic inefficiencies may have played a contributing role, political ideology is the primary rationale for the termination of the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes.
With the ideological shift towards strong neoliberal market environmentalism, Government support for initiatives like the CNPS and the CCP-NZ programmes has declined markedly, with the desire to demonstrate leadership in this area in complete retreat. Ultimately, notwithstanding the desire of some government organizations to continue with programme objectives, albeit with less priority, NZ public sector organizational resolve towards these goals has weakened.
2
Schofield, Simon anthony. "The law of climate change mitigation in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Law, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10347.
Full textAbstract:
As the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change, the law has a crucial role to play in supporting mitigation solutions. Starting with the common law's potential for the development of a climate change tort in New Zealand, this thesis analyses the applicability of New Zealand's environmental land use planning law before turning to how an New Zealand emissions unit under the Climate Change Response Act 2002 will work in theory and practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis argues that the operation of corporations to drive these reductions as well as the development of renewable electricity from water, geothermal, wind and marine resources will require an integrated approach to sustainability. It explains that the transition from fossil fuels which can be owned to fugacious renewable resources which are incapable of ownership until capture requires reconsideration of the nature of property. Energy efficiency and conservation in addition to sequestration which reduce greenhouse gas emissions expose opportunities and problems associated with disaggregating property law rights. It concludes that New Zealand law must keep sight of the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through all levels of society, namely, climate change mitigation.
3
Loza-Balbuena, Isabel. "Potential of the New Zealand Forest Sector to Mitigate Climate Change." Thesis, University of Canterbury. School of Forestry, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2019.
Full textAbstract:
New Zealand is both an Annex I Party to the UNFCCC, and an Annex B country of the
Kyoto Protocol. By ratifying the latter, NZ has committed to reduce greenhouse gas
emission to 1990 levels. The country should take domestic actions and can also use any of
the Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms. Afforestation and reforestation on low carbon
density land has been recognised as a carbon sink and hence a possible mitigation option
for climate change. The current situation for New Zealand is that at least over the first
commitment period (2008-2012) the country is in deficit, because emissions have
continued to grow over the 1990 level, there is an increase in the deforestation rate and
lower rates of new planting.
The objective of this study is to analyse the potential of the New Zealand forest sector as an
integrated system to mitigate climate change. It also analyses the impact of different
mechanisms on potential area of new land planting, management of stands, and the supply,
allocation, and demand of wood, and wood products.
The New Zealand forest industry carbon balance (i.e net atmospheric exchange minus
emissions) is modelled for different national estate scenarios, log allocation of harvested
volume and residues used for bioenergy. The net present value of these scenarios is
estimated and the economic viability assessed. The level of incentives needed to increase
the returns to an economically viable level is estimated in term of carbon unit value ($/tC).
Moreover the land use economics at a project level (land market value vs land expectation
value) is assessed. Incentives needed in monetary terms and carbon value are also
estimated. The implications of discounting carbon benefits are discussed.
It was found that the carbon balance of the whole industry should be analysed for policy
development on climate change mitigation options. New planting, longer rotation ages,
avoiding deforestation, and allocating additional harvested volume to sawmills showed
positive impact to the atmosphere. New planting appeared to be not economically viable,
thus incentives are needed. It is acknowledged that, there are emissions from the sector that
were not included, and that data and models used need further research to improve the accuracy of the results. Moreover, assumptions on the economic issues and an analysis of
simultaneous implementation of more than one mitigation option would also improve the
results.
4
Phillips, Lara. "The Drivers for Divergence: Exploring Variation in New Zealand Organisational Responses to Climate Change." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geography, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5006.
Full textAbstract:
For many years, the development of an Emissions Trading Scheme to mitigate against climate change has been one of the most controversial political issues in New Zealand, particularly since the obligation for emission reduction is placed on some of New Zealand‘s most productive organisations. This thesis explores the variation in corporate responses to climate change and searches for the underlying drivers which motivate and/or inhibit action. A sample of organisations obligated to reduce emissions under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme was selected, and interviews were conducted with senior managers with designated responsibility for the issue. A narrative analysis of interview transcripts was used as the methodology.
The Bansal and Roth (2000) Model of Corporate Ecological Responsiveness was selected as a framework to consider the motivating logics (including competitiveness, legitimacy, and social responsibility) emerging from the narratives, and insights from other theoretical models applied. In some cases, the findings were explained in ways anticipated by the literature. But in other cases, the results diverged from expected outcomes. Competitiveness was the most commonly attributed motivation influencing corporate responses to climate change, followed by legitimation seeking and, least frequently, social responsibility. However, it was clear that most responses, and actions, were informed by mixed motives, rendering the Bansal and Roth model insufficient for capturing the complexity of organisational motivations underlying their responses to environmental issues.
Factors of influence, particularly issue salience of consumers, played an important role in determining similarities and divergence of response to climate change issues. Where there were synergies between the factors, it encouraged proactive organisational actions. The results showed a range in managerial attitudes and organisational responses to climate change, in relation to risks and opportunities. Some results suggested that organisations respond in similar ways to climate change based on a convergence of institutional pressures, whereas in other cases organisations seemed to be driven to seek a competitive advantage in being as different as legitimately possible, leading to a divergence in responses. This research revealed that political and market uncertainties were seen as a barrier to corporate response. Where synergies existed between economic, institutional and market forces, it was attractive for firms to innovate and differentiate. Overall, the insights gained from this study may provide a greater understanding of the concerns of the business community towards climate change and what conditions will be most conductive to encouraging corporate climate change action.
5
Pugh, Jeremy Mark. "The late Quaternary environmental history of the Lake Heron basin, Mid Canterbury, New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geological Sciences, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1766.
Full textAbstract:
The Lake Heron basin is an intermontane basin located approximately 30 kms west of Mount Hutt. Sediments within the basin are derived from a glacier that passed through the Lake Stream Valley from the upper Rakaia Valley. The lack of major drainage in the south part of the basin has increased the preservation potential of glacial phenomena. The area provides opportunities for detailed glacial geomorphology, sedimentology and micropaleontogical work, from which a very high-resolution study on climate change spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) through to the present was able to be reconstructed. The geomorphology reveals a complex glacial history spanning multiple glaciations. The Pyramid and Dogs Hill Advance are undated but possibly relate to the Waimaungan and Waimean glaciations. The Emily Formation (EM), previously thought to be MIS 4 (Mabin, 1984), was dated using Be10 to c. 25 ka B.P. The EM was largest advance of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Ice during the LGM was at least 150m thicker than previously thought, as indicated by relatively young ages of high elevation moraines. Numerous moraine ridges and kame terraces show a continuous recession from LGM limits, and, supported by decreasing Be10 ages for other LGM moraines, it seems ice retreat was punctuated by minor glacial readvances and still-stands. These may be associated with decadal-scale climate variations, such as the PDO or early ENSO-like systems. There are relatively little sedimentological exposures in the area other than those on the shores of Lake Heron. The sediment at this location demonstrates the nature of glacial and paraglacial sedimentation during the later stages of ice retreat. They show that ice fronts oscillated across several hundred metres before retreating into Lake Heron proper. Vegetation change at Staces Tarn (1200m asl) indicates climate amelioration in the early Holocene. The late glacial vegetation cover of herb and small shrubs was replaced by a low, montane forest about 7,000 yrs B.P, approximately at the time of the regional thermal maxima. From 7,000 and 1,400 yrs B.P, temperatures slowly declined, and grasses slowly moved back onto the site, although the montane forest was still the dominant vegetation. Fires were frequent in the area extending back at least 6,000 years B.P. The largest fire, about 5,300 yrs B.P, caused major forest disruption. But full recovered occurred within about 500 years. Beech forest appears at the site about 3,300 yrs B.P and becomes the dominant forest cover about 1,400 yrs B.P. Cooler, cloudier winters and disturbance by fire promoted the expansion of beech forest at the expense of the previous low, montane forest. Both the increased frequency of fire events and late Holocene beech spread may be linked to ENSO-related variations in rainfall. The youngest zone is characterised by both a dramatic decline in beech forest and an increase in grasses, possibly representing human activity in the area.
6
Lewin, Joanna Alice. "Global Environmental Change and the Politics of Sustainable Consumption in New Zealand." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2787.
Full textAbstract:
Consumption has emerged as a pivotal concept in environmental sustainability debates. Since the 1992 Earth Summit, there has been an increasing focus on the role that consumption and consumer lifestyles play in global environmental change. Agenda 21 called on countries to promote more 'sustainable consumption' patterns and lifestyles. Despite these recommendations, there are significant political and ideological challenges to implementing effective sustainable consumption policies at a global and national level. This thesis explores the politics of sustainable consumption in New Zealand. Using critical discourse analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine consumers, I employ post-structural and cultural geography theories to unpack the problematic nature of sustainable consumption. In particular, I examine dominant environmental and consumption discourses to explore why barriers to sustainable consumption exist. It is important to examine these issues from a socio-cultural perspective, as the dominant hegemonic discourses relating to the environment and sustainability shape both policy responses and public understandings of environmental change and sustainability issues. Prevailing policy responses to environmental change in New Zealand construct the 'environmental problem' in narrowly scientific and economic terms. Concern has centred on 'managing' carbon emissions, rather than addressing the underlying drivers of environmental degradation which lie in current political-economic structures and consumption levels. As such, environmental policy has been embedded within an ecological modernisation discourse which links sustainability with notions of 'progress' and efficiency. Under this discourse, the consumer has been repositioned as an important 'political' agent responsible for fostering sustainable consumption and environmental care. Through largely non-political and non-regulatory measures, consumers have been encouraged to reduce their 'carbon footprints' by considering the environmental impacts of their daily personal consumption habits. This approach has individualised and depoliticised environmental issues, obscured the complexities of personal consumption and sustainability, and left limited options for participation in processes of change.
7
Sung, Sally Ki-Youn. "Responding to Climate Change: A Carbon Tax or an Emissions Trading Scheme? A New Zealand Perspective." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Accountinig and Information Systems, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6934.
Full textAbstract:
Consequences of global warming and climate change issues have become more apparent over the last several decades. Heat waves, floods, tornados and storms are not just natural disasters occurring elsewhere, but they are now serious environmental catastrophes threatening New Zealand (NZ) and nearby countries as a result of continously escalating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, the Kyoto Protocol was prepared for countries to work collaborately to provide a solution through encourging countries to commit themselves to reducing their individual share of the total GHG emissions. To date, NZ has gone through several phases of modification – introducing and revising two distinctive climate change policies (a Carbon Tax and an Emissions Trading Scheme [ETS]) as a tool to reduce GHG in NZ. These attempts to address climate change, coupled with the question raised by McDonald (Irish Times, 2009) doubting the actual effect of a tax on behaviour-change, provide an extensive basis for a case study in a NZ context involving an evaluation of the effectiveness of these regimes on incentivising behaviour-change to reduce and stablise the level of GHG emissions.
In an attempt to answer the research question and conduct a case study in a NZ context, a triangulation approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research methods was undertaken. Statistical data analysis was conducted as a quantitative method to analyse and compare numerical changes 'with‘ and 'without‘ the existence of climate change policies. To enhance the results obtained from the quantitative research, qualitative information was also collected by interviewing politicians directly related to the introduction, implementation and the review process of the climate change policies in a semi-structured manner.
The results of this study reinforced the need for regulations and policies to reduce and maintain the level of GHG emissions. Statistical data analysis proved that the existence of climate change policies results in lower level of GHG emissions. The interviewees also perceived that some sort of policy is definitely required to regulate the level of emissions, although whether the current, National-led Government‘s modfied-ETS is the 'right' approach is still uncertain. However, the majority of interviewees agreed that the type of tool does not matter, as long as it is correctly-designed to reflect the necessary policies to influence the decision making process of individuals and businesses, and ultimately change their behaviour as a result. However, in order to maintain NZ‘s relationship with other countries, it is preferable to retain its ETS regime until other countries decide to do otherwise.
8
Johnson, Danielle Emma, and Danielle Emma Johnson. "Towards an Understanding of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation in the Kaipara Catchment of Aotearoa New Zealand." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626396.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis presents a critical examination of climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the northern Kaipara Catchment of Aotearoa New Zealand. I suggest that in order for all communities in the Kaipara to adapt successfully to climate change, adaptation policies must attend to climate change vulnerability as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Using a political ecology framework, I show that a range of communities in the Kaipara have become vulnerable to harm associated with climate change because of the effects of marginalization. Because communities have been alienated from land, are restricted in their ability to exert sovereignty or control over land management, experience exclusion from environmental decision-making, and live with limited financial means, services, and infrastructure, they can experience heightened levels of exposure and sensitivity to climatic hazards, and have reduced capacity to adapt to changing conditions.
9
Becken, Susanne. "Energy use in the New Zealand tourism sector." Phd thesis, Lincoln University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/440.
Full textAbstract:
Energy use associated with tourism has rarely been studied, despite a potentially considerable contribution to global or national energy demand and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions. In New Zealand, tourism constitutes an increasingly important economic sector that is supported by the Government to induce further economic growth. At the same time New Zealand is facing the challenge of reducing currently increasing fossil fuel combustion and carbon dioxide emissions. As a response, this study investigated the contribution tourism makes to energy use in New Zealand. In particular it has examined the role of the three main tourism subsectors (transport, accommodation, and attractions/activities), and different domestic and international 'tourist types'. Seven separate data analyses provided inputs for building a model based on 'tourist types' from which energy use in the New Zealand tourism sector could be estimated. Tourism was found to contribute at least 5.6% to national energy demand, which is larger than its 4.9% contribution to GDP in 2000. Transport, in particular domestic air and car travel, was identified as the dominant energy consumer. Within the accommodation sub-sector, hotels are the largest energy consumers, both in total and on a per visitor-night basis. Of the three sub-sectors, attractions and activities contribute least to energy use, however, activities such as scenic flights or boat cruises were recognised as being energy intensive. As a result of larger visitor volumes, domestic tourists contribute more to energy consumption than international tourists. Domestic and international tourists types differ in their energy consumption patterns, for example measured as energy use per travel day. Tourist types that rely on air travel are the most energy intensive ones, for example the domestic 'long air business' travellers or the international 'coach tourists'. The importance of international tourists' energy use will increase, given current growth rates. There are many options to decrease energy use of the tourism sector, with the most effective ones being within the energy intensive transport sub-sector. Increasing vehicle efficiencies and decreasing travel distances appear to be the most promising measures. This study argues that energy use depends largely on tourists' travel behaviour. Changing behaviour is possible but is postulated to be very difficult, and further research is needed to better understand tourists' motivations, expectations and decision-making. Only then, can strategies be developed and implemented to alter travel behaviours to better balance energy use, other environmental impacts and economic yield. Such a balance is a crucial consideration in the search for more sustainable forms of tourism.
10
Cradock-Henry, Nicholas Andrew. "Farm-level vulnerability to climate change in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, in the context of multiple stressors." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geography, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6564.
Full textAbstract:
Climate change research is undergoing a monumental shift, from an almost exclusive focus on mitigation, and the reduction of greenhouse gases, to adaptation, and identifying the ways in which nations, communities and sectors might best respond to the reality of a changing climate. Vulnerability assessments are now being employed to identify the conditions to which socio ecological systems are exposed-sensitive and their capacity to adapt. Work has been conducted across a range of geographical locations and systems as diverse as healthcare and mining. There are however, few examples of analyses incorporating an assessment of the multiple climatic and non-climatic stressors to which agricultural producers are exposed.
This thesis examines farm-level vulnerability to climate change of agricultural producers from the Eastern Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The study area has a diverse agricultural economy, founded upon pastoral farming (dairy and drystock) and kiwifruit. This dependence on agricultural production, and the likely influence of expected changes in climatic conditions in the future provided a unique setting in which to develop a place-based case study exploring vulnerability to future climatic variability and change. Using a mixed methods approach, including semi-structured interviews and temporal analogues, a conceptual framework of farm-level vulnerability was developed and applied. The application of the framework was conducted through an empirical study that relied on engagement with and insights from producers who identified current exposure-sensitivity and adaptive capacity. It is shown that pastoral farmers and kiwifruit growers are exposed-sensitive to a range of climatic and non-climatic conditions that affect production, yields and farm income and returns. It demonstrates that producers have in turn, developed a range of short- and long-term adaptive strategies in order to better manage climatic conditions. It shows that these responses are varied, and are not made in response to climatic conditions alone, illustrating the need to consider other, multiple stimuli. An assessment of future vulnerability is presented, based on the empirical work and the identification of those drivers of vulnerability that are likely to be of concern and that will shape the capacity of farmers and growers to respond to climatic variability and change.
The thesis as a whole not only provides a place-based case study on the vulnerability of farmers and kiwifruit growers in eastern New Zealand, but also demonstrates the need to engage with producers in order to develop an understanding of the complex ways in which climatic conditions interact with non-climatic stimuli beyond the farm-gate to influence vulnerability to climatic variability and change, both now and in the future.
11
Burge, Philip Ian. "A Record of Environmental and Climatic Change from the West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, using Beetle Fossils." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geological Sciences, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1381.
Full textAbstract:
Fossil beetle based palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are presented from the Westport region, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand for the last glacial cycle. They include the longest continuous fossil beetle record from New Zealand, covering 16,000 years over the OIS 3/OIS 2 transition. Early last glacial (OIS 4) and mid- Holocene (OIS 1) reconstructions are also presented. The assumptions underlying fossil beetle research in New Zealand are tested indicating beetles are suitable proxies for reconstructing palaeotemperature and palaeoprecipitation. This thesis provides the first quantitative estimates of temperature and precipitation from the Westport region for the last glacial. Reconstructed temperatures indicate stadial cooling was seasonal. Maximum cooling was ca. 5℃ in winter and ca. 2-3℃ in summer. Winter cooling is consistent with previous quantitative estimates from New Zealand. Mean annual precipitation decreased a maximum 35-40% during stadials. Temperatures and precipitation varied during OIS 3/2 indicating multiple possible drivers for glaciation. A glacial advance ca. 34-28ka BP correlates with ca. 5℃ winter cooling and ca. 40% less precipitation, which supports temperature driven glaciation whereas a glacial advance ca. 24-22ka BP correlates with ca. 3℃ winter cooling and precipitation similar to present, which supports precipitation forced glaciation. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of stadial vegetation from the Westport region indicate lowland Nothofagus fusca-type forest during OIS 4 and a forest-grassland mosaic during OIS 3/2. These records contrast with pollen-based reconstructions of a treeless landscape in Westport during stadials but are consistent with quantitative estimates of stadial cooling. A shift of reproductive strategy in arboreal vegetation may explain the lack of tree pollen in stadial pollen records. This is significant for our understanding of glacial palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology as pollen records may not accurately represent stadial vegetation.
12
Hughes, Matthew William. "Late Quaternary Landscape Evolution and Environmental Change in Charwell Basin, South Island, New Zealand." Phd thesis, Lincoln University. Agriculture and Life Sciences Division, 2008. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20080214.132530/.
Full textAbstract:
Charwell Basin is a 6 km-wide structural depression situated at the boundary between the axial ranges and faulted and folded Marlborough Fault Zone of north-eastern South Island, New Zealand. The basin contains the piedmont reach of the Charwell River, and a series of late Quaternary loess-mantled alluvial terraces and terrace remnants that have been uplifted and translocated from their sediment source due to strike-slip motion along the Hope Fault which bounds the basin to its immediate north. The aim of this study was to provide an interdisciplinary, integrated and holistic analysis of late Quaternary landscape evolution and environmental change in Charwell Basin using terrain analysis, loess stratigraphy, soil chemistry and paleoecological data. The study contributes new understanding of New Zealand landscape and ecosystem responses to regional and global climatic change extending to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, and shows that climatically-forced shifts in biogeomorphic processes play a significant role in lowland landscape evolution.
Morphometric analysis of alluvial terraces and terrace remnants of increasing age demonstrated geomorphic evolution through time, with a decrease in extent of original planar terrace tread morphology and an increase in frequency of steeper slopes and convexo-concave land elements. Paleotopographic analysis of a >150 ka terrace mantled by up to three loess sheets revealed multiple episodes of alluvial aggradation and degradation and, subsequent to river abandonment, gully incision prior to and coeval with loess accumulation. Spatial heterogeneity in loess sheet preservation showed a complex history of loess accumulation and erosion. A critical profile curvature range of -0.005 to -0.014 (d2z/dx2, m-1) for loess erosion derived from a model parameterised in different ways successfully predicted loess occurrence on adjacent slope elements, but incorrectly predicted loess occurrence on an older terrace remnant from which all loess has been eroded. Future analyses incorporating planform curvature, regolith erosivity and other landform parameters may improve identification of thresholds controlling loess occurrence in Charwell Basin and in other South Island landscapes.
A loess chronostratigraphic framework was developed for, and pedogenic phases identified in, the three loess sheets mantling the >150 ka terrace. Except for one age, infrared-stimulated luminescence dates from both an upbuilding interfluve loess exposure and colluvial gully infill underestimated loess age with respect to the widespread Kawakawa/Oruanui Tephra (KOT; 27,097 ± 957 cal. yr BP), highlighting the need for improvements in the methodology. Onset of loess sheet 1 accumulation started at ca. 50 ka, with a break at ca. 27 ka corresponding to the extended Last Glacial Maximum (eLGM) interstadial identified elsewhere in New Zealand. Loess accumulation through MIS 3 indicates a regional loess flux, and that glaciation was not a necessary condition for loess generation in South Island. Loess accumulation and local alluvial aggradation are decoupled: the youngest aggradation event only covers ~12 kyr of the period of loess sheet 1 accumulation. Older local aggradation episodes could not be the source because their associated terraces are mantled by loess sheet 1. In the absence of numerical ages, the timing of L2 and L3 accumulation is inferred on the basis of an offshore clastic sediment record. The upbuilding phase of loess sheet 2 occurred in late MIS 5a/MIS 4, and loess sheet 3 accumulated in two phases in MIS 5b and late MIS 6.
Biogenic silica data were used to reconstruct broad shifts in vegetation and changes in gully soil saturation status. During interglacial/interstadial periods (MIS 1, early MIS 3, MIS 5) Nothofagus¬-dominated forest covered the area in association with Microlaena spp grasses. Lowering of treeline altitude during glacial/stadial periods (MIS 2, MIS 3, MIS 5b, late MIS 6) led to reduction in forest cover and a mosaic of shrubs and Chionochloa spp, Festuca spp and Poa spp tussock grasses. Comparison of interfluve and gully records showed spatial heterogeneity in vegetation cover possibly related to environmental gradients of exposure or soil moisture. A post-KOT peak in gully tree phytoliths corresponds to the eLGM interstadial, and a shift to grass-dominated vegetation occurred during the LGM sensu stricto. Diatoms indicated the site became considerably wetter from ca. 36 ka, with peak wetness at ca. 30, 25 and 21 ka, possibly due to reduced evapotranspiration and/or increased precipitation from a combination of strengthened westerly winds and increased cloudiness, or strengthened southerly flow and increased precipitation. Human influence after ca. 750 yr BP led to re-establishment of grassland in the area, which deposited phytoliths mixed to 30 cm depth in the soil.
A coupled gully colluvial infilling/vegetation record showed that sediment flux during the late Pleistocene was ~0.0019 m3 m-1 yr-1 under a shrubland/grassland mosaic, and Holocene sediment flux was ~0.0034 m3 m-1 yr-1 under forest. This increase of 60% through the last glacial-interglacial transition resulted from increased bioturbation and down-slope soil transport via root growth and treethrow, which formed a biomantle as evidenced by slope redistribution of the KOT. These results contrast with sediment transport rates and processes hypothesised to occur contemporaneously in adjacent mountain catchments. This suggests that intraregional biogeomorphic processes can differ significantly depending on topography and geological substrate, with different landscapes responding in unique ways to the same climate shifts. Analysis of Quaternary terrestrial landscape evolution in non-glaciated mountainous and lowland areas must therefore consider spatial and temporal heterogeneity in sediment fluxes and underlying transport processes.
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Howard-Williams, Rowan. "Representations of the Environment on New Zealand Television." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Social and Political Sciences, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2687.
Full textAbstract:
This study is an analysis of environmental content on New Zealand-produced television. As a society, we are facing unprecedented environmental challenges. Television is an important source of environmental knowledge (Shanahan, 1993). It is important, then, to investigate what television is saying about the environment to gain an understanding of how this might shape public attitudes and action.
A content analysis was undertaken of 140 hours of television programming, across all genres, from four channels. A coding schedule was developed to identify environmental content on television. This gave information on the prevalence and common topics of environmental content, its relationship to other themes on television, and who is responsible for speaking about the environment. This was followed by a qualitative analysis of environmental content and its place within the narrative context of programmes.
The study found that television's attention to the environment is relatively infrequent, with a diverse range of issues and perspectives. Most television narratives focused on a human-centred world, with the environment portrayed as something that was not of direct relevance to daily life. While these portrayals were almost always positive towards the environment, they were frequently linked to consumerist values and were generally supportive of the social and political status quo. An exception to this was the channel Māori TV, where environmental issues were linked to traditional cultural knowledge and the natural world was of more relevance to everyday life. Overall, the prevailing commercial paradigm of television works against the dissemination of important environmental knowledge.
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Storey, Liza Preethy. "Effects of climate and land use change on invasive species a case study of Tradescantia fluminensis (Vell.) in New Zealand /." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2634.
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Climate change, land use change and invasive species are transforming global biodiversity at multiple scales. Projections are for threats to biodiversity from these global changes to continue into the future, with varied and discernible distribution changes for many species. Concomitantly, these global changes will interact with each other to further exacerbate the problem, as exemplified in this study. In New Zealand, climate change is expected to affect landscapes, fragmented and disturbed by land use change, further increasing the potential invasibility of these landscapes for a suite of existing and emerging invasive species. This thesis is concerned with the combined effects of climate and land use changes on the spatial distribution of the sub-tropical invasive plant, Tradescantia fluminensis (Vell.). The contribution of this thesis is to undertake an integrated assessment of the distribution change for this species in New Zealand. On the basis that climatic variables affect species distribution at larger scales, while land use, habitat, disturbance and dispersal mechanisms affect distribution at smaller scales, two separate analyses were undertaken. At the national scale BioCLIM and the Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) were implemented using the variables: minimum temperature (July-August), MTminJ-A, and annual water deficit (November-February). At the landscape scale, only ENFA was implemented, using the variables: MTminJ-A, ECOSAT riparian classes (habitat) and proximity to roads, urban areas and streams (disturbance and dispersal sources). Three scenarios of climate change (CCSR B1-Low, CSIRO9 A1B-Mid and HadCM A1FI-High) and two scenarios of land use change (SmartGrowth and Buildout) were developed to the year 2050, using the CLIMPACTS Open Framework Modelling System and Geographic Information Systems, GIS, techniques respectively. The baseline species distribution model was extrapolated in ENFA, using the 2050 scenarios. Changes to potential threat from this species to protected areas at the landscape level were assessed spatially at the landscape level. This approach and its results are novel for this species. At the national scale the results for the modelling show that climate change will increase the potential habitat suitability of Tradescantia under all combined scenarios of CCSR, CSIRO9 and HadCM for mean minimum temperature (July-August), MTminJ-A and Annual Water Deficit, AWD. At the case study landscape, in the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga also the modelling results showed that climate change and land use changes will increase the suitability for Tradescantia by 2050. The 'core' or highest suitability areas increase under all future scenarios. At the national level core suitability increased by about 13% for the CCSR:B1-Low and CSIRO9:A1B-Mid and 22% for HadCM:A1FI-High combined scenario on the North Island. On the South Island, core areas increased by a much lower margin - 1.4%, 2.3% and 2.9% for CCSR:B1-Low, CSIRO9:A1B-Mid and HadCM:A1FI-High combined scenarios respectively. At the landscape level core areas increased by 5%, 8% and 21% for the CCSR:B1-Low+SmartGrowth, Darlam:A1b-Mid+SmartGrwoth and HadCM:A1FI-High+Build-out combined scenarios, respectively. This is true also for the Protected areas within the case study landscape, and indicate that the increasing if Tradescantia is able to track both climate and land use change through its dispersal and migration within the landscape 9 primarily in the inland and upland direction), then is will pose a greater risk to native habitats than at present. Integrated assessments and the outputs they produce are essential to exploring anticipated changes (through scenario-building) and in understanding the change spatial context and magnitude of projected changes from the combined effects of climate and land use changes into the future and need to be integrated into biodiversity-biosecurity management at multiple scales.
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Hughes, Matthew W. "Late Quaternary landscape evolution and environmental change in Charwell Basin, South Island, New Zealand." Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/305.
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Charwell Basin is a 6 km-wide structural depression situated at the boundary between the axial ranges and faulted and folded Marlborough Fault Zone of north-eastern South Island, New Zealand. The basin contains the piedmont reach of the Charwell River, and a series of late Quaternary loess-mantled alluvial terraces and terrace remnants that have been uplifted and translocated from their sediment source due to strike-slip motion along the Hope Fault which bounds the basin to its immediate north. The aim of this study was to provide an interdisciplinary, integrated and holistic analysis of late Quaternary landscape evolution and environmental change in Charwell Basin using terrain analysis, loess stratigraphy, soil chemistry and paleoecological data. The study contributes new understanding of New Zealand landscape and ecosystem responses to regional and global climatic change extending to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, and shows that climatically-forced shifts in biogeomorphic processes play a significant role in lowland landscape evolution. Morphometric analysis of alluvial terraces and terrace remnants of increasing age demonstrated geomorphic evolution through time, with a decrease in extent of original planar terrace tread morphology and an increase in frequency of steeper slopes and convexo-concave land elements. Paleotopographic analysis of a >150 ka terrace mantled by up to three loess sheets revealed multiple episodes of alluvial aggradation and degradation and, subsequent to river abandonment, gully incision prior to and coeval with loess accumulation. Spatial heterogeneity in loess sheet preservation showed a complex history of loess accumulation and erosion. A critical profile curvature range of -0.005 to -0.014 (d²z/dx², m⁻¹) for loess erosion derived from a model parameterised in different ways successfully predicted loess occurrence on adjacent slope elements, but incorrectly predicted loess occurrence on an older terrace remnant from which all loess has been eroded. Future analyses incorporating planform curvature, regolith erosivity and other landform parameters may improve identification of thresholds controlling loess occurrence in Charwell Basin and in other South Island landscapes. A loess chronostratigraphic framework was developed for, and pedogenic phases identified in, the three loess sheets mantling the >150 ka terrace. Except for one age, infrared-stimulated luminescence dates from both an upbuilding interfluve loess exposure and colluvial gully infill underestimated loess age with respect to the widespread Kawakawa/Oruanui Tephra (KOT; 27,097 ± 957 cal. yr BP), highlighting the need for improvements in the methodology. Onset of loess sheet 1 accumulation started at ca. 50 ka, with a break at ca. 27 ka corresponding to the extended Last Glacial Maximum (eLGM) interstadial identified elsewhere in New Zealand. Loess accumulation through MIS 3 indicates a regional loess flux, and that glaciation was not a necessary condition for loess generation in South Island. Loess accumulation and local alluvial aggradation are decoupled: the youngest aggradation event only covers ~12 kyr of the period of loess sheet 1 accumulation. Older local aggradation episodes could not be the source because their associated terraces are mantled by loess sheet 1. In the absence of numerical ages, the timing of L2 and L3 accumulation is inferred on the basis of an offshore clastic sediment record. The upbuilding phase of loess sheet 2 occurred in late MIS 5a/MIS 4, and loess sheet 3 accumulated in two phases in MIS 5b and late MIS 6. Biogenic silica data were used to reconstruct broad shifts in vegetation and changes in gully soil saturation status. During interglacial/interstadial periods (MIS 1, early MIS 3, MIS 5) Nothofagus-dominated forest covered the area in association with Microlaena spp grasses. Lowering of treeline altitude during glacial/stadial periods (MIS 2, MIS 3, MIS 5b, late MIS 6) led to reduction in forest cover and a mosaic of shrubs and Chionochloa spp, Festuca spp and Poa spp tussock grasses. Comparison of interfluve and gully records showed spatial heterogeneity in vegetation cover possibly related to environmental gradients of exposure or soil moisture. A post-KOT peak in gully tree phytoliths corresponds to the eLGM interstadial, and a shift to grass-dominated vegetation occurred during the LGM sensu stricto. Diatoms indicated the site became considerably wetter from ca. 36 ka, with peak wetness at ca. 30, 25 and 21 ka, possibly due to reduced evapotranspiration and/or increased precipitation from a combination of strengthened westerly winds and increased cloudiness, or strengthened southerly flow and increased precipitation. Human influence after ca. 750 yr BP led to re-establishment of grassland in the area, which deposited phytoliths mixed to 30 cm depth in the soil. A coupled gully colluvial infilling/vegetation record showed that sediment flux during the late Pleistocene was ~0.0019 m³ m⁻¹ yr⁻¹ under a shrubland/grassland mosaic, and Holocene sediment flux was ~0.0034 m³ m⁻¹ yr⁻¹ under forest. This increase of 60% through the last glacial-interglacial transition resulted from increased bioturbation and down-slope soil transport via root growth and treethrow, which formed a biomantle as evidenced by slope redistribution of the KOT. These results contrast with sediment transport rates and processes hypothesised to occur contemporaneously in adjacent mountain catchments. This suggests that intraregional biogeomorphic processes can differ significantly depending on topography and geological substrate, with different landscapes responding in unique ways to the same climate shifts. Analysis of Quaternary terrestrial landscape evolution in non-glaciated mountainous and lowland areas must therefore consider spatial and temporal heterogeneity in sediment fluxes and underlying transport processes.
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Gawith, David. "Estimating the adaptation deficit : an empirical analysis of the constraints on climate change adaptation in agriculture." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/274921.
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Agricultural adaptation to climate change is often simulated by changes in land use over time. Land use is commonly optimised in economic models, which rests on the neoclassical economic assumption of rational choice among farmers. A wealth of experimental and empirical evidence demonstrates that rational choice can be a poor approximation of human decision making. Models simulating adaptation by optimising producers’ behaviour are in effect simulating adaptive potential. Much evidence demonstrates that adaptive potential does not necessarily translate into adaptation. This investigation focuses on the ways by which farmers’ real-world adaptive behaviours depart from those assumed by the dominant economic models of agricultural responses to climate change. These departures are characterised as adaptation constraints, and they are assessed through an empirical case study of adaptive behaviours in the Hikurangi catchment, New Zealand. Data are collected using a mixed methodology comprising an extensive survey of rural decision making, to which this study contributes, and a suite of semi-structured interviews. The interviews give an understanding of the origins and processes of adaptation constraints, while the surveys provide information about the extent to which they impact adaptive propensity. These adaptation constraints are then formalised as mathematical rules and written into an existing agent-based model of land use change, which is substantially modified for the purposes of this study. Different combinations of constraints are then tested in order to produce estimates of their economic impacts. The constraints on adaptation are found to significantly reduce profits relative to a specification that assumes rational choice among farmers. This is understood to be the first empirically derived estimate of the extent of the adaptation deficit. The size of the deficit identified in this study implies that current economic models are likely to significantly underestimate the costs of adaptation to climate change, the benefits of climate change mitigation, and the residual loss and damage climate change will cause.
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Whittaker, Thomas Edward. "High-Resolution Speleothem-Based Palaeoclimate Records From New Zealand Reveal Robust Teleconnection To North Atlantic During MIS 1-4." The University of Waikato, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2575.
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Growth rates, δ18O and δ13C of five stalagmites from the west coasts of North and South Islands, New Zealand, provide records of millennial-scale climate variability over the last ~75 kyr. Thirty-five uranium-series ages were used to provide the chronology. δ18O of stalagmite calcite was influenced by changes in moisture source region, temperature and both δ18O and δ13C primarily display a negative relationship with rainfall. To assist interpretation of climatic signals δ18O profiles were adjusted for the ice-volume effect. Changes in these proxies reflect changes in the strength of the circumpolar westerly circulation and the frequency of southwesterly flow across New Zealand. MIS 4 was a period of wet and cool climate lasting from 67.7 to 61.3 kyr B.P., expressed in the stalagmites by an interval of strongly negative isotope ratios and increased growth rate. This contrasts with less negative δ18O and δ13C, and slow growth, interpreted as dry and cold climate, during much of MIS 2. This difference between MIS 2 and MIS 4 provides an explanation for why glacial moraines in the Southern Alps of MIS 4 age lie beyond those deposited during the last glacial maximum (MIS 2). Heinrich events, with the exception of H0 (the Younger Dryas), are interpreted from high-resolution South Island stalagmite HW05-3, from Hollywood Cave, West Coast, as times of wetter and cooler climate. Minima in δ18O and δ13C (wet periods) occurred at 67.7-61.0, 56-55, 50.5-47.5, 40-39, 30.5-29, 25.5-24.3 and 16.1-15. kyr B.P. matching Heinrich events H6-H1 (including H5a) respectively. This demonstrates a robust teleconnection between events in the North Atlantic and New Zealand climate. Minima in δ18O also occurred at similar times in less well-dated North Island stalagmite RK05-3 from Ruakuri Cave, Waitomo. Speleothems from low-latitudes have revealed that Heinrich events forced southerly displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This caused steepening of the temperature gradient across mid-southern latitudes, increased westerly circulation and resulted in wet conditions on the west coast of both islands. Immediately following H1 in the HW05-3 stable isotope profiles is another excursion to more negative isotopic values, suggesting wet and cold climate, lasting from 14.6 to 13.0 kyr B.P. Such a climate on the West Coast at this time has been previously suggested from glacier advance (e.g. Waiho Loop moraine) and decreased abundance of tall trees on the landscape. This event occurred too early to be a response to H0, but is synchronous with a return to cool climate in Antarctica. Thus West Coast climate appears to have been sensitive to changes in Antarctica as well as the North Atlantic. Isotopic minima (wet and cool climate) in South Island stalagmite GT05-5, which formed during the Holocene, first occurred 4.6 kyr B.P. This began a series of four oscillations in isotope ratios, the last terminating when the stalagmite was collected (2006). Onset of these oscillations is associated with initiation of ice advance in the Southern Alps, and beginning of the Neoglacial. The last oscillation displays enriched isotope ratios lasting from 1.2 to 0.8 kyr B.P. succeeded by depleted ratios lasting until 0.15 kyr B.P., mirroring the Medieval Climate Optimum and Little Ice Age, respectively, of European palaeoclimate records.
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Hartshorn, Nikki. "The impact of participating in an activity programme (10,000 steps @ work lite programme) on dietary change : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/908.
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High levels of diet related chronic disease in New Zealand has lead to the development of health promotion programmes. The work place is an important venue to implement health promotion programmes to encourage staff to make healthy lifestyle choices. The aim of this research is to examine if a physical activity programme may be a ‘gateway’ to other positive behavioral changes such as healthy eating and/or cutting down smoking. This research introduces a health promotion programme to employees at a call centre. The intervention involved 3 groups: the health promotion group (HPG), which received both the physical activity programme (10,000 steps @ work ‘lite’ programme) plus nutritional information; the nutritional group (NG), which received only the nutritional information and the control group (CG), which did not take part in the intervention. The impact of the nutritional seminars with or without the exercise programme was measured by the participants’ reported fruit, vegetable, snack consumption and transtheoretical stages of change for exercise, fruit and vegetable intake, healthy snacking and smoking. A questionnaire was used to collect data retrospectively. The health promotion group (HPG) made positive changes in all behaviours unlike the nutritional group (NG) and the control group (CG). This provides some support for the hypothesis that physical exercise may act as a ‘gateway’ to other positive behavioural changes.
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McColl, Samuel Thomas. "Paraglacial Rockslope Stability." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Department of Geological Sciences, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7331.
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The aim of this research was to study the relationship between rock slope stability and glacial processes. An in-depth analysis of our current understanding of how glaciated rock slopes develop instability and movement during deglaciation is presented; this shows that understanding is incomplete without an appreciation of the variable mechanical behaviour of glacier ice. In this thesis, I argue that:
(1) The ductile behaviour of ice at low strain rates allows movement of rock slopes buttressed by ice. Field evidence and simple force models are used to explore rate of movement of ice-contact slopes and the conditions under which they evolve. The results indicate that large rockslides can move and deform glacial ice at rates of 10-2 to 102 m-yr. This implies that ice-contact slope movement may be important for slope evolution and the erosion and entrainment processes of glaciers; and
(2) the elastic strength of glacier ice at the high strain rates associated with seismic shaking enables ice to modify the response of the surrounding rock to seismic shaking. To explore this, numerical analyses of the interaction between glacial erosion, glacier mass, topography, and earthquake shaking intensity are undertaken. Shaking of mountains of variable shape and with different levels of ice inundation is simulated using FLAC 6.0. The results suggest that complete inundation by ice can significantly reduce shaking intensity. This, in combination with glacial steepening of slopes, may make recently deglaciated slopes more prone to coseismic failure.
In the final chapter of the thesis, I present a conceptual model of the evolution of slope stability during stages of glaciation and deglaciation. The model incorporates the ideas presented in the thesis. I then offer recommendations for how our understanding of these processes can be further advanced.
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Winter-Billington, Alexandra. "The hydrological system and climate of Brewster Glacier, Tititea Mt Aspiring National Park, Southern Alps, Aotearoa New Zealand, in the context of climate change : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physical Geography /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/670.
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Affeld, Kathrin. "Spatial complexity and microclimatic responses of epiphyte communities and their invertebrate fauna in the canopy of northern rata (Metrosideros robusta A. Cunn.: Myrtaceae) on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/771.
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Rain forest canopies are renowned for their very high biodiversity and the critical role they play in key ecological processes and their influence on global climate. Despite that New Zealand supports one of the most diverse and extensive epiphyte flora of any temperate forest system, few studies have investigated epiphyte communities and their invertebrate fauna along with factors that influence their distribution and composition. This thesis represents the first comprehensive study of entire epiphyte communities and their resident invertebrate fauna in the canopy of New Zealand’s indigenous forests. The aim of this study was to determine spatial patterns of epiphyte and invertebrate species richness, abundance and community composition in relation to abiotic variables, and in particular, the responses of these communities to elevated temperature and rainfall. This study was carried out in coastal lowland podocarp-broadleaved forests at two sites on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Samples from 120 mat-forming epiphyte assemblages located on inner canopy branches of 40 northern rata (Metrosideros robusta) trees were studied to characterise the component flora and fauna. Additionally, biomass, branch and tree characteristics and community responses to treatments designed to elevate temperature and rainfall to simulate predicted climate change were measured. This investigation revealed astonishing diversity and functional complexity of epiphyte and invertebrate life in this ecosystem. The 30.6 kg (dry weight) of epiphyte material collected contained a total of 567 species, 170 epiphyte and 397 invertebrate (excluding immature specimens and mites) species, including at least 10 species new to science and many undescribed species Epiphyte communities were found to be dominated by non-vascular plants (80 % of the total species richness), particularly liverworts and invertebrate communities were dominated with respect to abundance (~ 80 % of the total individuals) by Acari, Collembola and Hymenoptera (primarily ants) and functionally by scavengers and ants. Epiphyte and invertebrate communities were highly variable with respect to spatial patterning of species richness, abundance and composition across sites, among trees within sites and among branches within trees. Overall, a highly significant proportion, > 75 %, of the variance could be attributed to differences at the branch level, but these differences could not be explained by the environmental factors measured. There were no consistent relationships between the spatial pattern of epiphytes and invertebrates, or between vascular and non-vascular plants. However, there were significant positive correlations between epiphyte biomass and invertebrate species richness (r = 0.472; p < 0.0001) and abundance (r = -0.395; p < 0.0001), as well as non-living epiphyte biomass and scavenger species richness (r = 0.4; p < 0.0001). Microclimatic measurements taken on epiphyte mats were also highly variable with respect to temperature and relative humidity at similar physical locations within the same tree as well as across trees within sites. There was also considerable variation in the intensity and frequency of climatic extremes, although potentially harmful climatic conditions were experienced by all the epiphyte mats for which weather variables were measured. Negative correlations existed between both epiphyte and invertebrate community composition and increased temperatures expressed as cumulative degree days above 5˚C. However, variability was such that there was no direct evidence that increased temperature and rainfall treatments had an effect on invertebrate species richness, abundance or diversity. Northern rata host trees harbour an astonishingly diverse and complex canopy flora and fauna that is characterised by high spatial variability. Such variability highlights that to determine species distribution and community dynamics in canopy habitats in response to disturbance caused either by climate change or invasive species the structure of entire communities at different taxonomic and spatial scales, along with their responses to microclimatic factors, need to be studied. If such complexities are not taken into account, inappropriate interpretation may result in poor decisions concerning the conservation status, vulnerability and subsequent management of such unique ecosystems.
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Vallot, Damien. "Le récit corallien : production, diffusion et cadrage des récits d'action publique de la disparition des Etats atolliens entre Tuvalu, Kiribati et la Nouvelle Zélande." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015BORD0465/document.
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Depuis la prise en compte croissante du changement climatique, denombreux commentateurs ont commencé à raconter une histoire : celle des petitsÉtats insulaires du Pacifique sud, entièrement constitués d’atolls, qui risquent dedisparaître en raison de l’élévation du niveau marin. Nous considérons que cettehistoire est un « récit d’action publique » destiné à attirer l’attention et à convaincreles décideurs politiques d’agir pour empêcher la réalisation du problème ou luitrouver une solution. Ces « récits de la disparition » présentent deux particularités :ils ne sont associés à aucune politique publique déjà mise en oeuvre et ils sontmobilisés par des acteurs variés issus des milieux politiques et de la société civile.À partir de la littérature sur l’analyse cognitive des politiques publiques et plusparticulièrement l’analyse des récits de politiques publiques, cette thèse se proposed’étudier la production, la diffusion et les cadrages de ces récits de la disparition àl’aide de méthodes mixtes associant une démarche qualitative d’enquête avec laréalisation d’une analyse statistique textuelleIn the last 40 years, climate change has been increasingly taken intoaccount. Various observers have started to tell a story: the story of small Pacific atollisland states that might disappear beneath the rising seas. The argument developedin this thesis is that this story is a "public action narative" which aims at drawingattention towards those states and at inciting policy makers to prevent the risk or tofind a solution. Those "sinking island States narratives" display two particularcharacteristics: they are not linked to an existing policy and they are used by variousactors from the political sphere and the civil society.Building on the policy narratives literature, this thesis aims at analysing theproduction, the dissemination and the framing of the sinking island states narratives.It is based on mixed methods and combines a qualitative framework and a statisticalanalysis of textual data
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Kirk, Nicholas Allan. "Children of the market? : the impact of neoloberalism on children's attitudes to climate change mitigation : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science [at the University of Canterbury] /." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1039.
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Zhang, Baisen. "Modelling community productivity, species abundance and richness in a naturalised pasture ecosystem : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1610.
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This study focuses on modelling community productivity, species abundance and richness, and the impact of climate change and alternative phosphorous fertiliser application strategies on pasture productivity by integration of decision tree and regression modelling approaches with a geographical information system (GIS) in a naturalised hill-pasture ecosystem in the North Island, New Zealand, using data derived from research conducted on hill-pastures over the last several decades. The results indicated that the decision tree models had a high predictive capability and clearly revealed the relative importance of environmental and management factors in influencing community productivity, species abundance and richness. Spring rainfall was the most significant factor influencing annual pasture productivity in the North Island, while hill slope was the most significant factor influencing spring and winter pasture productivity. Annual P fertiliser input and autumn rainfall were the most significant factors influencing summer and autumn pasture productivity, respectively. For species functional group abundance, soil Olsen P was the most significant factor influencing the relative abundance of low fertility tolerance grasses (LFTG) and moss, while soil bulk density, slope and annual P fertiliser input were the most significant factors influencing the relative abundance of legume, high fertility response grasses (HFRG) and flatweeds, respectively. Legume abundance was the most significant factor influencing species richness in the hill-pasture. Species richness increased with an increase in legume abundance and showed a tendency for a hump-shaped response. Grazing animal species also had a significant effect on species richness; pasture grazed by sheep had more species than pasture grazed by cattle. Climate change scenarios of temperature increases of 1-2 °C and rainfall changes of -20% to +20% would have a great impact (-46.2% to +51.9%) on pasture production in the North Island. Pasture in areas with relatively low rainfall had a higher response to increased P fertiliser input than pastures in areas with a relatively high rainfall. In conclusion, the integration of a GIS with decision tree and regression models in this study provided an approach for effective predictive modelling of community productivity, species abundance and richness in the hill-pasture. This modelling approach can also be used as a tool in pasture management such as in assessing the impact of climate change and alternative fertiliser management on pasture production.
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Dempster, Benjamin Paul. "Climate calculus : does realist theory explain the Howard Government's decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/725.
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Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions has the potential to cause widespread damage to the environment. As scientific and political consensus converged on the necessity to take action, a large number of countries negotiated the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, with the goal of limiting these emissions. Australia under the Howard Government initially played an important part in these negotiations, but refused to ratify the Protocol. The government cited the lack of binding targets on developing countries and the potential for harm to the Australian economy as the reasons it rejected the agreement. International relations theory studies large-scale political forces and analyses their interplay in the global political system. Realism is a model of international relations that views countries as self-interested, security-driven bodies that exist in a state of international anarchy. This study examines whether realist theory offers a satisfactory explanation for the Howard Government’s decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The study focuses on six realist ideas and examines the evidence for each. Based on thematic analysis of textual data taken from official political archives and newspapers from 1998–2004, it suggests that realist theory does provide an adequate explanation of the Howard Government’s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol.