Rob Tinch

Iodine sprl

To foster strong connections between knowledge and policy action, science–policy interfaces, and the information they produce and exchange, need to be credible, relevant and legitimate. Though this is widely accepted, there has been less emphasis on the problem of trade-offs between these attributes, and how the trade-offs manifest themselves in pr...

Very little work has been done to identify and characterise the goods and services of the sea, and even less for the deep sea. We present a first categorisation and synthesis of deep-sea ecosystem goods and services, and review the current state of human knowledge about these services, the possible methods of their valuation, and possible steps for...

To address the pressing problems associated with biodiversity loss, changes in awareness and behaviour are required from decision makers in all sectors. Science-policy interfaces (SPIs) have the potential to play an important role, and to achieve this effectively, there is a need to understand better the ways in which existing SPIs strive for effec...

In Integrated Assessment modelling of climate change impacts and adaptation, there are two main uses for measures of capacity to adapt to climate change. The first is to represent the capacity for proactive adaptation: this can be termed adaptive capacity. The second is to represent the capacity for reactive or instantaneous coping: this can be ter...

A better, more effective dialogue is needed between biodiversity science and policy to underpin the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity. Many initiatives exist to improve communication, but these largely conform to a ‘linear’ or technocratic model of communication in which scientific “facts” are transmitted directly to policy advisers...

In a paper in this journal entitled “Fear and loathing of the deep sea: why don't people care about the deep sea?”, Jamieson et al. (2020) pose this question and answer it with many interesting perspectives from psychology, ocean literacy and philosophy. However, there is an inherent assumption in the question they ask that people do not care about...

Deep-sea ecosystems are facing degradation which could have severe consequences for biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal populations. Ecosystem restoration as a natural based solution has been regarded as a useful means to recover ecosystems. The study provides a social cost-benefit analysis for a proposed project to restore the Dohrn Canyon...

This study tests the stability of environmental preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) values using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) across three countries pre and post the peak of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. A DCE examining the public's preferences for alternative environmental management plans on the high seas, in the area of the...

There is increasing interest in the use of economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services for a wide variety of purposes. These include relatively familiar uses in project appraisal and more novel applications in advocacy, performance tracking and accounting in public and private settings. Decision makers who use valuation information need to u...

Science-policy interface organizations and initiatives (SPIORG) are a key component of environmental governance designed to make links between science and society. However, the science­policy interface literature lacks a structured approach to explaining the impacts of context on and by these initiatives. To better understand these impacts on and i...

This study uses document analysis and interviews to explore how the use of arguments for biodiversity and ecosystem services has evolved in recent years in the water industry in England and Wales, with a focus on investments in catchment management programmes. Changes to land management practices within catchment areas can lead to improved water qu...

Making a strong case for biodiversity protection is central to meeting the biodiversity targets in international agreements such as the CBD and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Effective arguments are needed to convince diverse actors that protection is worthwhile, and can play a crucial role in closing the implementation gap between...

This Editorial to the BESAFE special issue introduces the project and its approach and case studies. The BESAFE (EC 7th Framework programme) project investigated how the effectiveness of different types of arguments for biodiversity conservation depends on the context in which they are used. Our results show that tailoring of argumentation to audie...

This report examines the particular contribution of single-use consumer items to marine litter. In beach surveys, these items are very prevalent and include bottle tops and caps, bottles, cans, food containers, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, sanitary products and balloons, among other identifiable items. The small size, colour and durability of the...

Environmental valuation is grounded in expected utility theory. Coupled with the ecosystem services framework, it provides a quantitative model of how aspects of the natural world influence human well-being. Like any model, the important issue is not whether it is ‘right’ or ‘true’, but rather whether it is ‘useful’. There are diverse possible uses...

This paper explores management challenges in relation to human impacts on cold water corals (CWC) in Norway. CWC are a slow growing organism about which there is uncertainty regarding distribution and values. We discuss area closures to protect this environmental public good against destructive fishing practices. Focus groups were combined with que...

The Convention on Biological Diversity's national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) are major mechanisms for mainstreaming biodiversity into national policies. This article examines whether and how the NBSAPs contribute to mainstreaming biodiversity across policy sectors in Finland in order to halt biodiversity loss. We have develop...

Addressing climate change vulnerability requires an understanding of both the level of climate impacts and the capacity of the exposed population to cope. This study developed a methodology for allowing users to explore vulnerability to changes in ecosystem services as a result of climatic and socio-economic changes. It focuses on the vulnerability...

IntroductionAlthough many impacts of climate change are difficult to discern due to successful adaptation and the influence of non-climatic drivers, the effects of climate change, particularly temperature rises, in various socio-economic systems have been increasingly documented (Parry 2007). Even if atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations...

The concepts of ecosystem services and human welfare provide strong integrative frameworks that can be used to inform marine policy and management decisions that support sustainable development. A theoretical framework has been developed and applied to create a model for UK seas to measure changes in final ecosystem services, in terms of human welf...

According to this study, the benefi ts that fl ow from Natura 2000 are of the order of €200 to 300 billion/year. It is estimated that there are between 1.2 to 2.2 billion visitor days to Natura 2000 sites each year, generating recreational benefi ts worth between €5 and €9 billion per annum. Therefore, investing in Natura 2000 makes sense and is di...

Using a range of different methods including extensive reviews, workshops and an electronic conference, 70 key research recommendations and 12 priority research needs to integrate the ecosystem services approach into biodiversity conservation policy and funding were identified by a cross-disciplinary group of over 100 scientists and 50 stakeholders...

Environmental Futures Limited 29 June 2006 This report has been prepared for 'Coastal Futures'; a project led by the RSPB, sponsored by Defra through HM Treasury's Invest to Save Programme, and carried out in partnership with the Environment Agency, English Nature, and Defra. Note on authors: Laure Ledoux stopped working for Environmental Futures L...

SUMMARY Climate change may affect important environmental components of holiday destinations, which might have repercussions for tourism-dependent economies. This study documents the importance of environmental attributes in determining the choice and holiday enjoyment of tourists visiting Bonaire and Barbados, twoCaribbeanislandswithmarkedlydiffer...

Environmental regulation of industrial activity is generally believed to have a negative impact on the industry. Recent literature has suggested, however, that reducing industrial waste outputs can, in some circumstances, result in a 'win-win', or at least 'win-draw', scenario for industry and the environment. The viability of using the abatement c...

Despite the importance of Ugandan wetlands in sustaining rural livelihoods, widespread drainage and habitat degradation has occurred. In this paper, we examine the important factors contributing to unsustainable levels of resource use and habitat destruction around Lake Bunyonyi in southwest Uganda. The results indicate that, despite apprehension a...

Wetlands in Uganda have undergone considerable decline over the last thirty years as a result of clearance for agriculture and over-use of wetland resources. In this paper we examine the effects of papyrus harvesting and swamp reclamation on the net present value of papyrus swamps fringing Lake Bunyonyi in southwest Uganda. The value of harvested p...

Mexico City suffers from increasing problems of poor water supply. We show that service conditions are highly heterogeneous across three large areas of the city, and that these conditions are significantly associated with household income in those areas. A contingent valuation survey is used to investigate households' ability and willingness to pay...

Trawl fishing is now regularly used throughout the world as a method of catching bottom dwelling marine organisms. To ensure that trawl fishing continues in a sustainable manner it is essential to understand the potential impacts of this activity on all components of the environment, and hence on the provision of all other goods and services. Befor...

The UK Environment Agency is obliged to meet the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for copper in the Humber estuary, and as a result considerable investment has been made to reduce copper discharges to the estuary. Despite this reduction, the copper concentration in the Humber still occasionally exceeds the EQS of 5μg/1. To ensure the reduction...

Abstract Many exploited fish stocks experience unexpected and large fluctuations as a consequence,of climatic variability. It seems ,therefore inappropriate to manage ,these stocks by applying principles based on equilibrium,assumptions. This study aims to establish a classification or typology of fish stocks to enable,suitable management,approache...

Transport externalities are among the most important environmental problems affecting quality of life in Europe. Forecasts suggest that past environmental improvements may now be rolled back by traffic growth, and current traffic trends are not sustainable. The theory of environmental policy proposes pricing external costs at their marginal social...

Fishing is one of the world’s most important industries, directly employing almost 200 million people (FAO, 1993). About 19% of total human consumption of animal protein is provided directly by fish (Botsford et al. 1997), and fish meal for feeding poultry and pigs is increasingly used in the industrialised nations. Catches of the small shoaling pe...

"The benefits and risks of any particular GM crop depend on the interactions of its ecological functions and natural history with the agroecosystem and ecosystems within which it is embedded. These evolutionary and ecological factors must be considered when assessing GM crops. We argue that the assessment of GM crops should be broadened to include...

Transport externalities are among the most important environmental problems affecting problems affecting quality of life in Europe. Current forecasts suggest that the environmental improvements of the past may now be rolled back by traffic growth, and current traffic trends are not sustainable. The theory of environmental policy proposes marginal s...

"Humanity's transformation of the Earth has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases, thereby altering Earth's climate. The drivers and the potential consequences of climate change are interwoven with a huge variety of biogeophysical and human-caused processes that complicate the analysis of policies designed to mitigate and adapt to climate...

Climate change may affect important environmental components of holiday destinations, which may have repercussions for tourism-dependent economies. Changes in snow cover seasonality, increased frequency of heat waves, coral bleaching events linked to increased sea surface temperature, and reduction of beach size as a result of sea-level rise are so...