Barriers to Blogging

I have now reached the end of the IEM Blog series and the question has been raised, how much interest in IEM have I managed to stimulate through blogging? Part of this task was to make a summary of the comments made by people who read my blog and cared to share with me their thoughts. I was fortunate to recieve a small number of comments, however, I must confess they were from my mother and brother... and I had to e-mail them the link to my blog. So it would appear on the surface, that blogging on IEM has not been so successful... or has it? I have some reflections on this myself but first, in the style of 'Cairns', I will share some thoughts with you on the "Barriers to Blogging", hopefully in much less than 24 bullet points!

1. The problem with searching. As my colleagues have already highlighted, if you enter a google search for "IEM" you will discover several thousand results and will only by chance come across mine or any other persons blog on IEM. Google searching for a particular blog in nigh on impossible. You have to have the link really to accurately locate a blog.

2. Oversaturation of Blogging. In the course of history in the virtual age, blogging is not really a new thing. Anyone can create a blog on any topic they like and post it onto the world wide web. There have even been movies made about high profile blogs ("Julie and Julia") that recieved widespread attention and following. My little IEM blog is likely to just get lost in the mix.

3. The Narcissistic Nature of Human Beings. People like to connect with other human beings... but almost entirely on aspects that they percieve as being alike. Read any Facebook page and it is the almost mundane, everyday 'status updates' that gain a wider amount of comment and attention. Write something like "Abbie Bull is sick of doing the housework and looking forward to a glass of wine" and you will get half a dozen plus comments within 24hrs as an expression of solidarity, quote some famous lines from a movie like "Take me to bed or lose me forever" and someone is sure to pick up with "show me the way home honey!", write something philosophical and you will be lucky if you get an "Eh?" in reply.

4. The Internet as an Entertainment Medium. The internet is fast becoming an excellent medium for research and inquiry, but it is more commonly associated with providing a source of entertainment and social networking. I personally try to limit how much time I spend browsing through my Facebook page, sending personal messages from my hotmail account or flicking through celebrity gossip pages on msn and 'Cleo' online. But I do still do it. And enjoy it. I rarely buy 'womens mags' and almost never watch the 'E Channel', but in order to get my superficial fix of recreational celebrity voyerism, the internet is my preferred drug.

5. Is IEM just not that interesting? In the world of blogging, one must ask the hard questions. The lack of interest in my blog begs the question, is IEM just not that interesting? To be fair, the answer is entirely subjective. To "Ken" and "Roy", IEM is super-duper stimulating and exciting. I personally have found the course to be one of my favourites and have learned a great deal out of the readings and discussions. But to the general public - how does it rate? There are different levels of interest, and these can be dependent on circumstances and timing. As suggested earlier, the internet is often a source of entertainment. A person may be interested in IEM when faced with a difficult environmental problem to solve or when attending a public meeting, but when they are relaxing at home, with a coffee and a muffin, perhaps their interest flicks momentarily to the results of the NRL final.

6. Technical Issues. This is my first time blogging and I chose this site without much consideration. Each blog site appears to be slightly different in configuration and application. I still sometimes get lost in navigating my way round my profile and finding the blog or post I wish to review or update. I have not yet worked out how to put captions on my pictures - but happy all the same I managed to get them in there. In order to comment on my blog, I have discovered you need to have a gmail account first, so you need to take the time to set up a profile. This takes time and adds to the complexity of the task when someone may just want to share a few fleeting comments.

So was it a success?

Again the hard questions must be asked, was this blog a success? This is difficult to evaluate because the goal of the blog was never really clearly defined. There were definately clear parameters given. I had to write at least 9 blogs with 3 covering theoretical material, 5 covering contemporary 'news' issues and all drawing on the various aspects of IEM. Previous year groups have written a diary instead, so I can only assume that the aspect of sharing my thoughts with the world is a new phenomena. The fact that not very many people, other than my friends as family read my blog, perhaps indicates that due to the above barriers that I mentioned earlier, raising the profile of IEM through blogging is not going to be the success story of 2010. However, without even thinking on it too hard, there are a number of positive outcomes that I see as being significant.

1. I enjoyed it. The idea of creating a blog was quite novel. I have never written a blog nor felt compelled to, but of any assignment I have completed for my Masters so far, I have enjoyed this one the most. I could cast aside the usual contraints of academia and write with a little flair and expression. I may even consider writing another blog, for my own enjoyment and personal development.

2. I am more passionate about environmental issues. Although I could previously say that I was 'very interested' in the management of environmental issues and pursuing this as a career, this blog has allowed me to pursue topics of interest, and within certain parameters, say how I felt on the matter. In doing so, I discovered I was much more passionate about certain areas that I had realised before. This has given me more direction and resolution in my chosen career path.

3. I learned something! Writing the blog required me to review literature and lecture notes to support the case studies. In order to have something to write about I needed to research facts and data on my chosen case studies. Whilst they don't look like much, each blog was around 2000 words, so 9 mini essays amounts to at least some learning. IEM provided me a framework to look at issues from a new angle and develop solutions.

4. Some people did find it interesting. Although they may be my friends and family, some people did find my blog interesting. I don't have documented evidence of this, but work collegues, friends and family have read my blog, and if not commented on it, have commented to me on particular issues. So the discussions are being had. The issues are being considered.

You may be at this point wondering what the gratuitous pictures of god-like men are doing on this post. Well I guess I was making an attempt at being ironic. I think it is important to keep things in perspective. Despite the pressing need to address the serious issues that we face in the world today such as global poverty, catastrophic environmental events and allocation of scare resources there is still going to be an overwhelming interest in the superficial. To be fair, we are only human and tend to become very boring and uninteresting when we dwell on serious issues all the time. There is a time and place for everything.

Do I think that IEM is important? Yes of course I do. Did I very much enjoy searching for the images to post on my blog this time round? I most certainly did! Would I prefer to be the significant other of one of these fine specimens of masculinity over pursuing my career goals? Not on your life.

So I ask the question again, was the blog a success? You be the judge.

Management of the Christchurch Earthquake 2010: A Review of the Response and Recovery Efforts

Many posts ago, I commented on the array of extreme natural events that appeared to be sweeping across the globe within a seemingly short time frame. In particular, I commented in detail on the issues faced by Pakistan after the devastating floods they experienced and highlighted how a natural disaster could be exacerbated by a nations’ incapacity to orchestrate appropriate disaster-response. I did consider at the time, how an event of similar magnitude and proportion might be managed in a more prosperous country. Little did I know that only a few weeks later, I would personally experience such an example. Be careful what you wish for.
The Canterbury earthquake hit in the early hours of the 4th of September. My own experience of the quake was fairly minor. There was no damage to the house, barely anything broke and I was more excited than concerned about the tremor. My military flatmate was called into Civil Defence Head Quarters early on Saturday morning as the 3rd Land Force Group Liaison Officer. He suggested, when leaving the house, that he would be home by lunch. As the morning progressed, I began receiving hourly updates from my friend. A picture began to unfurl that this event was more severe than we had originally anticipated. Once the power came back on in the afternoon, I could then observe the media reports and was able to better comprehend the scale of destruction. More than a month later, we are still experiencing significant aftershocks and the reconstruction continues. Many have been badly affected physically, financially and psychologically. However, compared to the situation in Pakistan after a similar period of time, well, there is no comparison.

I have decided to review the disaster response and recovery effort for the Canterbury earthquake with the objective to highlight how the effects of an extreme natural event can be experienced in a completely different (or less severe way) when the appropriate management frameworks are in place and, to varying extent, are integrated.

The Initial Response
The initial response was enacted according to emergency response plans drafted previously. According to a personal account from the military liaison officer to the Civil Defence Response Group (CDRG) the atmosphere in the HQ the morning after the quake was calm and well organised, even with the senior manager of the CDMG overseas at the time, leaving the second in command to lead the response. A state of emergency was declared around 10am on the 4th September in Christchurch as well as Selwyn District and Waimakariri District. The National Crisis Management Centre in Wellington was activated along with emergency operation centres in outlying areas such as Timaru. Initial support measures included the opening of three community centres, the imposition of a city cordon and associated city curfew, inspection of quake damaged buildings by urban search and rescue specialists as well as structural engineers, restoration of basic utilities and general clean up. The official utility support agencies such as Orion, were co-ordinated at a regional level along with many welfare support agencies such as the Salvation Army, St Johns Ambulance and the Red Cross. There was a presence of appropriate leadership displayed by Mayor Bob Parker and Prime Minister John Key ensuring that they made face to face contact with staff and citizens on the ground. This reflected in the public support shown by residents with polls showing 94% of citizens thought that Civil Defence had performed well and 90% saying that council staff had. The media also played a prominent role becoming an important source of information for affected residents and concerned citizens in other areas.
Magnitude of Earthquake: 7.1
Harm to Humans: two people seriously injured, one by a collapsing chimney and a second by flying glass. One person died of a heart attack suffered during the quake, although this could not be directly linked to the earthquake.

How the situation may have been made worse:
Some of this comes down to luck. Many people said that if the earthquake had occurred just a few hours earlier, central city would have been packed with boozed town goers posing a situation for potential carnage. If it had happened during the day, again many of those older buildings that were worst affected in central city might have take some lives with them.
However, a significant amount of praise must go to the Canterbury Civil Defence team who appeared to be well prepared and maintained a high level of command and control throughout the emergency response period. Welfare support mechanisms were put in place fairly rapidly and law and order was maintained. Credit has also been attributed to New Zealand strict building codes that ensured that many newer buildings at least were better able to withstand the shock.
Had Christchurch been less fortunate, there may have been significant delays in restoring basic utilities. Many people complained during the earthquake about losing running water for days and having to use portaloos in the street. The irony is that for many people in developing countries, they might go their whole lives without access to safe running water or a flushing toilet, so hardships are all relative I guess. There were longer delays in some isolated areas although it appeared that even private sector operators responsible for repairing pipelines and drainage systems were genuinely concerned about performing their duties as quickly as possible. I recall one man almost in tears when addressing a community that had been without running water for days, pledging that he would do all that he could to restore their basic needs.

Subsequent Arrangements.

Institutional Arrangements:
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) took a prominent leadership role. They quickly established a temporary cell on the ground floor to deal with the surge of resource management enquiries anticipated during this period. Their website contained an extensive quantity of information on their websites including PDF fact sheets and links to other important websites such as the Department of Building and Housing. The information was easily obtainable and regularly updated.
One of the most prominent areas that highlighted some fragmentation was the management of heritage buildings. Although the CCC insisted that heritage building could not be demolished until approved through due process, there were concerns that some were demolish without appropriate approval. In addition, there were concerns in the community, particularly from the point of view from some prominent architects that inappropriate decisions were being made regarding heritage management. There have been a number of public meetings subsequently to address these issues and government funding allocated to restoration.

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has been responsible for the assessment for insurance purposed. I received a personal account from a Masterton Builder working as an assessor for EQC how he had perceived their operation. On initial impression it appeared that the EQC had planned thoroughly for small scale events and anticipated only minor damage. Many of their standing procedures and plans were not able cope well with the mobilisation required for a large scale event. There were also unrealistic expectations that assessors would be able to complete higher number of assessments per day than what was possible in reality. However, as process wore on procedures were amended and improved.
The EQC covers domestic residents with private insurance only and so does not cover businesses. Their payout is limited to the first $100 000 for any individual claim with the remaining amount covered by the private insurance company. There is a still a great deal of work to be done in this area and too soon to tell how effective they have been.

Integrated Legislative Framework
It was not long (ten days in fact) before the Government drafted and passed the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010. The Act provided an Order in Council giving additional powers to government. It grants exemption from, or may modify, or extend any provision of any enactment. It basically allows Government to ignore almost any statute or law if required to expedite the Canterbury earthquake recovery process. The Act also established a Recovery Commission consisting of seven people including the CCC Mayor, the Selwyn DC Mayor and the Waimakariri Mayor.

Links between initial response and long-term opportunities.
Experts commented that although the initial response has progressed reasonably well, there are some concerns over linking immediate response to longer term recovery. There has been a tendency to try to restore the city back to how it was before the earthquake. However, some experts are urging planners to use the reconstruction process as an opportunity to make improvements.

There are many aspects of the Canterbury Earthquake response and recovery effort that has been integrated. Integrated legislation, regulations, policy and plans have all contributed significantly to the effective coordination and strategic reduction. There is significant scope to use an integrated approach to link long-term goals to reconstruction efforts being conducted now. An emphasis on greater participation and consultation should assist to further integrate the process where previously, due to time constraints it was not possible. It will also be important to revisit problem definition and goal setting stages, as we move from the short and medium term into the long term. Up until this point in time, there has been significant support from central government and a high level of integration between levels of Government. It is predicted that the window of opportunity to secure national level support will soon pass, as other events distract decision-makers and alter priorities. A robust and integrated approach needs to be developed now to ensure that the momentum is not lost and progress continues to be made.

Inappropriate IEM Joke:

What did the Samoan Tsunami say to the Canterbury Earthquake?

...Nothing. It just waved.

An IEM Approach for Small Scale Wind Generated Electricity

Recently I was involved in a group project to investigate how an IEM approach might be used to develop small scale wind generated electricity in New Zealand. The project was given as a brief and contained some comments that had been published in a Press article regarding Christchurch City Councils discouraging District Plan rules. Some of the comments made in the article by a wind turbine company owner were:

"This is the type of thing that the council should be encouraging ... it's a natural resource, and a good way to save money on power."

"Every other council in New Zealand is proactive on this, but not Christchurch,"

"the resource consent requirement is cost-prohibitive"

Our group set about to investigate these claims as well as deliver on the following specified tasks:

· A review of the potential for small scale wind generated electricity to contribute to sustainable outcomes
· A review of environmental, health and other issues associated with small scale wind generated electricity
· A review of the policy and institutional arrangements around management of small scale wind energy projects
· Develop an IEM approach to the future management of small scale wind energy projects within the urban and peri-urban environments with the focus on the Christchurch and Selwyn areas.

Following the IEM process flow diagram we commenced problem definition. This involved a number of methods to further define and understand the problem. We undertook extensive literature reviews of books, journal articles, dissertations, theses and internet sources largely from Government sponsored websites. In addition, we contacted a wide range of subject matter experts including engineers, turbine manufacturers, scientists, environmental group representatives, business owners and users to gain an understanding of the technical nature of wind generated technology, but also of the differing perpectives available.

In order to set goals and to know where we wanted to be, we took the time to define sustainable outcomes. This was an important aspect of our process and one that can too easily be taken for granted. It was noted that in a large number of government policy documents, sustainability is often poorly defined and follows the very cliche format adopted by the Burndtland report.

In pursuit of clear goal definition we adopted The Natural Step approach and devised the following definition:

A sustainable electricity sector is one that:

1. Eliminates our contribution to the progressive build-up of substances extracted
from the Earth's crust and involves:
· an electricity system dominated by renewable or low emissions sources
where alternative clean energy source play key roles, lowering New Zealand’s
carbon footprint.
· distributed generation and technology advances enable consumers to
manage their energy costs and support energy security.

2. Eliminates our contribution to the progressive build-up of chemicals and
compounds produced by society and involves:
· all materials used in the production and maintenance of electricity generating
technology can either be reused, recycled or returned to its natural state.
· no harmful substances or chemicals used in the production of or maintenance
of electricity generating technology.

3. Eliminates our contribution to the progressive physical degradation and
destruction of nature and natural processes and involves:
· avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment

4. Eliminates our contribution to conditions that undermine people’s capacity to
meet their basic human needs and involves:
· a robust, reliable and efficiently run electricity grid meets their electricity
needs
· All New Zealanders have uninhibited access to clean sources of energy and
distributed generation technologies that are commonly affordable.

In order to identify the pressure points we needed to conduct an analysis of the status quo. In doing so we reviewed the potential for small scale wind turbines to contribute to the sustainable outcomes as identified, the environmental effects of small scale wind turnbines as well as the legislative framework around the management.

Potential for small scale wind turbines to contribute to sustainable outcomes:

Determined by a range of factors some of which enhance, whilst others inhibit.
Optimal use of New Zealand’s abundant wind resource must be employed through clever siting and flexible regulation regarding configuration.

Legislation and policy should be drafted in a way that enables small scale wind turbine technology to flourish.

Comparatively high cost of small scale wind turbines and government imposed transaction costs inhibits potential.

There are currently no government imposed economic incentives to stimulate or
encourage the use of small scale wind technology either.

Environmental, Health and other Effects

There are a wide variety of issues associated with small scale wind energy generation including:

Environmental (ecological, visual, emissons, electromagnetic inteference)

Health (noise, vibration, human safety)

Social (public acceptance, attitude, energy security)

Due to the variance reported in the severity of these impacts it is difficult to determine conclusively which are significant and many of the effects of large scale wind projects have not been tested at a small scale level.

Policy and Insitutional Arrangements

The the policy and institutional arrangements relating to small scale wind energy were found to be fragmented and lacking strong direction.

Central and local government policies have all indicated renewable energy is desirable but there is still a lack of recognition the district plans.

A National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Generation has been prepared but not approved which may be the result of current economic conditions and changing government interests.

Options

From here we now progressed on to the next stage in the IEM process to draft four options that could potentially address the environmental and administrative/management issues described above.

These options were:

1. Do nothing - remain with the status quo.

2. A 'top down' central government led approach involving a strong NPS.

3. A 'bottom up' approach involving an advisory group.

4. An enabling approach use as many incentives and enabling mechanisms as thought reasonable to facilitate the instigation of small scale wind turbines.

The options were each evaluated against a set of criteria developed in a similar way to the criteria developed in an earlier post of this blog. As mentioned previously, a criteria is not an exhaustive list of IEM attributes but as a useful tool to assess how integrated an approach is. The criteria we used for this project was:

1. Clear problem and goal definition.
2. A coordinated and enabling legislative framework.
3. Inclusion of a variety of stakeholders and forms of information.
4. Interagency coordination and appropriate leadership.
5. Modes of conflict resolution.
6. Monitoring, evaluation and adjustment.
7. Future Focused and Strategic.

To facilitate the evaluation process we used a matrix to assess the options against the criteria. Each option was rated using a five star scale - five being excellent and strongly meets the criteria, one star being poor and fails to meet the criteria. The resulting table was as follows:

As the table shows, the status quo was vastly inferior and no alternate option came out on top. However, through this process we were able to identify which elements contributed most to greater integration. We decided to propose a recommended course of action that eliminated the weakness and drew on the strenghts of the draft options.

The final recommended option involved a number of mechanisms including a national policy statement and a New Zealand Standard taken from Option 2. Problem definition was addressed through an inclusive process which was intended to inform a coordinated national policy framework. The establishment of an advisory group was retained from Option 3 in order to take into account local views and appropriately informing local government and their district plans. To encourage the enhanced use of small scale wind turbines economic
incentives, inspired by Option 4.

Through the rigourous and comprehensive process provided by the IEM literature, we were able to draft an approach that has greater potential to increase the proportion of electricity generated by renewable sources and make optimal use of New Zealand’s wind resource through distributed generation of electricity. Although there are a number of areas where we might have improved our outcomes, I believe, had we not used the IEM framework, we would have struggled to scratch the surface of this intricate and complex problem and we would have developed an inappropriate and far inferior responce to the one we were able to draft in this project. A practical and valuable learning experience, that could really only be enhanced by an opportunity to actually implement a plan.

IEM In Action: Fiordland Marine Guardians

So far we have looked at individual environmental problems and suggested an IEM approach to addressing that problem. But surely IEM is not a new concept. The literature review in the previous post shows that there has been a considerable amount of research conducted in this area, so where are the examples? This post looks at the example of Fiordland Marine Guardians and their IEM approach to addressing the environmental concerns of one of the most acclaimed landscapes in New Zealand, Fiordland.



Who are they?

The Guardians of Fiordland were formed in 1995, when local community members became concerned about the increasing impact and demand on the Fiordland Marine Area from competing use in the area. The group formed with representatives from environmental groups, tourism operators, commercial and recreational fishers, scientists and tangata whenua. They saw a requirement to improve environmental management in the area and developed an integrated approach to dealing with it. Also known as 'Fiordland Marine Guardans' (FMG), they are now a statutory body established by the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Management Act 2005.

What was/is integrated about it?

Firstly the involvement of a wide variety of key stakeholders was significant. The various community based stakeholders worked in conjunction with the regional council, Environment Southland (ES), the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) and the Department of Conservation (DoC). For a reason undisclosed, they did not involve the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.

The group establish a long-term, strategic approach from the outset through the formulation of a vision:

"That the quality of Fiordland's marine environment and fisheries, including the wider fishery experience, be maintained or improved for future generations to use and enjoy"

From there, they were able to develop a Fiordland Marine Conservation Strategy (the Strategy), which was published in 2003.

The Strategy was comprehesive and involved problem definition and goal setting in its drafting. In order to develop the information contained in the document, FMG had to undertake further consultation with the Fiordland community and integrate a wide array of both scientific and common knowledge. This process also developed consensus and agreement for the proposals and initiative contained in the strategy. Stakeholder groups were prepared to relinquish some benefits they previously enjoyed, in order to achieve the greater goal of sustainable management of the Fiordland Marine Area. It was coordinating as it prioritised issues and guided users and stakeholders to work towards common goals.

There is now integration of public policy and legislation too. After the Strategy was finalised to was presented ot the Minister of Fisheris and the Minister for the Environment. To review the strategy the Government formed an additional investigative group, which consisted of various central and regional government representatives to work along side FMG and to devise a programme of implementation. Not only did the Government accept the strategy and support it's implementation, they undertook an ammendment of fisheries regulations and non-commercial harvesting. Their ammendments excluded commercial fishing from large areas of the internal waters of Fiordland. They also conducted a range of other non-legislative measures. FMG now provide advice and make recommendations to agencies and Ministers with matters pertaining to the Biosecurity Act 1993, Environment Act 1986, Fisheries Act 1996; Marine Reserves Act 1971 and the Resource Management Act 1991.

The FMG approach also involves monitoring and evaluation of environmental outcomes. They have an active Monitoring Plan and current research projects underway are: Blue Cod Closure Research, Baseline Biodiversity Survey, Biosecurity Risk Assessment, Milford Port Survey, Catch/Diary Survey and FMA User Survey.

What are their ongoing goals?

FMG are now well established and here to stay. In addition to the extensive research projects under their monitoring plan they also have implementation plans including biosecurity, communication and education, compliance and monitoring.

They see their role as continuing as follows:
· Facilitation and promotion of integrated management of the Fiordland Marine Area
· Obtaining, sharing and monitoring information on the state of the Fiordland Marine Area
· Assisting management agencies to: prepare and disseminate information about the
Fiordland Marine Area, including educational material
· Monitoring the state of the marine environment and biological diversity in the Fiordland
Marine Area
· Planning for the enforcement of, and compliance with, the management of the Fiordland
Marine Area
· Reviewing the effectiveness of the management of the Fiordland Marine Area

The Fiordlands Marine Guardians' approach is a fairly good example showing how a bottom-up, community management model can be highly integrated to achieve sustainable environmental outcomes and ensure protection of one of the worlds unique marine environments.

More information can be viewed at: http://www.fmg.org.nz/index.php?p=home

Developing an IEM Criteria

So far we have been learning a bit about the diversity and complexity of environmental problems. We have looked at three different real life problems that could be addressed using an IEM approach and we have considered two theoretical perspectives, first on problem framing and then on IEM according to Buhrs, 2009. However, I feel that although some IEM approaches have been discusssed, IEM still needs to be more clearly defined. This post will set about attempting to make the aspects of IEM clearer by developing an IEM criteria from some of the prominent literature.
As we learned earlier, Bardwell (1991) tackles IEM from the very beginning with problem framing. She argues that both cognitive psychology and conflict management offer useful perspectives on problem framing that can assist with addressing even the most complex issues. Defining the problem effectively and properly understanding it is an essential stage of the problem-solving process. It also has a huge influence over what strategies are adopted later on in the process to address the issue. Her argument here is that being able to problem frame will enable people to overcome barriers to action and increase the likelihood of developing successful solutions.
Cairns (1991) talks more about barriers, but first he defines IEM as:
“proactive or preventative measures that maintain the environment in good condition for a variety of long-range sustainable uses”. He is certain about the benefits of IEM insisting that they are obvious and asserts an IEM approach should be adopted to prevent environmental collapse. Other characteristics of IEM discussed by Cairns include coordinated control of all human activities, being able to achieve broad objectives both long-term and short-term, holistic approach, less emphasis on experts and an abandonment of the frontier mentality of ‘man against nature’. He advocates a management strategy focused on early warning and continual surveillance to intervene before issues escalate.
Bührs (1995) recognises that even the various approaches to IEM are not integrated and constructs a matrix to review them. The vertical axis consists of the environmental elements and the horizontal axis (the management axis) contains IEM approaches under three categories: (1) integrated interpretation efforts (knowledge, information and interpretations of the environment), (2) institutional integration (organisations, rules and procedures); and (3) policy integration. He goes on to argue that these integration efforts require still further co-ordination for effective implementation and builds a more encompassing framework for IEM. He provides guidance on implementation under three headings. The first is thinking politically. This recognises the people aspect of initiating collective action and change. People must be engaged through consultation, participation and collective deliberation and the process must be open, participatory and inclusive. The second heading is thinking analytically and laterally. This means recognising the spectrum of interpretations and explanations to problems and being able to identify the connections between various components. It is intended to develop a comprehensive understanding of issues and a more robust collective effort. The final heading is thinking practically and strategically. This is intended to focus efforts on ‘pressure points’ that can be influenced to produce significant effects and to avoid trying to do more than what is feasible.
In the conclusion Bührs 2009, he provides a concise definition of Environmental Integration as "the integration of an environmental dimension into all spheres of human thinking, decision-making, interaction, action and behaviour".
Cicin-Sain and Knecht (1998) make their approach from an ecological perspective. They establish five clear criteria for integration: (1) inter-sectoral integration, (2) inter-governmental,(3) spatial integration, (4) science integration; and (5) international integration.
Born and Sonzogni (1995) present a relatively simple conceptual framework for IEM. They identify four principal dimensions: (1) comprehensive, (2) inter-connective, (3) strategic and (4) interactive/coordinative. Comprehensive is taken to mean including all the biophysical, chemical and human parts of the ecosystem. Inter-connective is about addressing linkages between different components. Strategic is taken to mean a reductive or filtering process; meant to make planning more adaptive and anticipatory. Finally, interactive/coordinative is described as a process of bargaining and negotiation to achieve mutually desired objectives.
Antunes and Santos (1999) argue that IEM is a process that is required to achieve certain tasks being: (1) problem identification and assessment, (2) develop scenarios for possible environmental change, (3) sets priorities and goals (4) establishes measure and management instruments, (5) evaluation of policy performance; and (6) stakeholder involvement. They also remind us that the environmental problem is an important one and becoming increasingly urgent. Therefore, although integrated approaches need to have a long-term horizon they also need to set intermediary goals and install a sence of urgency.

From the above literature review criteria is now established by drawing together the conceptual threads that overlap, interlink and complement. Below are the seven criteria identified:

(1) Good problem framing, prioritisation and goal setting. This criterion draws strongly on Bardwells’ (1991) work on problem framing. It also brings in the concepts on the subject discussed by Antunes and Santos (1999).
(2) Long-range, future focused and sustainable in approach in order to be predictive, proactive and preventative to anticipate issues and explore possible responses to scenarios before they develop. These concepts are discussed primarily by Cairns (1991) but are also alluded to by Bührs (1995) and Born and Sonzogni (1995).
(3) Practical, strategic and co-ordinating. The interpretation of this criterion is the one provided by Bührs (1995) which means using pressure points to make effective change. Born and Sonzogni (1995) also apply this reductive interpretation. The co-ordinating aspect draws on Kay and Alder (2005) and again from Born and Sonzogni (1995).
(4) Integration of policy and institutions. This criterion combines several concepts discussed by Bührs (1995, 2009) and several by Cicin-Sain and Knecht (1998).
(5) Integration of knowledge and perspectives whilst being analytical and interconnected. This criterion has been developed from Bührs (1995) and Bührs (2009) as well as Cicin-Sain and Knecht (1998). Parts of it also relate to Born and Sonzogni (1995) conceptual framework and Bardwells’ (1991) attention to cognitive psychology.
(6) Participative, consultative, inclusive approach with stakeholder involvement. This criterion is based partially on Bührs (1995) think political concept, but also Antunes and Santos (1999) IEM tasks as well as Born and Sonzogni (1995) attention to bargaining and negotiation. Bardwells’ (1991) attention to conflict resolution also links in here.
(7) Measurement and evaluation of performance. This is mainly discussed by Antunes and Santos (1999) but is considered particularly important to be one of the criteria.

The criteria is by no means exhaustive. There is no one solution to IEM and there are always other ways of defining or describing an integrated approach. However, the building of a criteria is a valuable process to go through as it encourages significant consideration and thought into what are the key elements of Integrated Environmental Management and how greater integration can be achieved. IEM is not just a philosophical exercise, it is a process designed to achieve sustainable outcomes. In the words of Barbies' other half Ken, "I'm interested in outputs!". So this criteria, can be used to develop a new approach or to improve an exisiting approach to be more integrated and to achieve better environmental outcomes for all. A process for developing an IEM approach can be outlines below:

With the criteria and framework developed, the path to integrated environmental management should now be much clearer.

Environmental Integration according to Buhrs

In this post, I will investigate what Environmental Integration Management (IEM) means by considerering the recent literature provided by Ton Buhrs, of Lincoln University. Chapter 1 of Buhrs' book "Environmental Integration: Our Common Challenge" (2009), endeavours to make sence of Environmental Integration.
Buhrs sets out to first to define what environmental integration is all about by identifying it's key aspects. Following this, he presents a framework for classifying forms of environmental integration, partially to make sence of the tools and mechanisms that are used to achieve integration, but also to identify some of the strengths and shortcomings of the various forms of integration.
Buhrs states that Environmental Integration is a challenge that humans face, rather than a problem for the environment itself, and to achieve integration is for all people to integrate environmental concerns into their thinking, knowledge, awareness, actions and behaviour. Some may view this as utopianism, but Buhrs views it as necessity. It is true that already many people frequently bring environmental concerns into their daily affairs and decision-making processes, but this is not sufficiently widespread and many do not do so consistently.
Buhrs identifies two forms of Environmental Integration: internal and external. By 'external' he means what needs to be integrated, such as the pieces of a puzzle and by 'internal' he means the way in which those pieces are coherently brought together by some common framework that ensures individuals act in ways that are mutually consistent. Buhrs acknowedges that his contemporaries, such as Laffery and Hovden, discuss related concepts under the classifications 'vertical' and 'horizontal' environmental policy integration, although he argues that these labels may imply certain interpretations that differ from what the author intended. He believes that 'internal' and 'external' more closely reflect the nature of the challenges.
Buhrs thinks that governments are our most important agents for instigating collective action and by that he doesn't mean through a totalitarian regime but by strengthening democracy. It should be noted that values and interests being balanced off against each other is not integration, but the merely the common practice of bargaining and politics. He argues that environmental rationality is a social construction, not an objective truth.
Buhrs identifies three management dimensions to environmental integration: (1) cognitive (ideas/views/assumptions), (2) policy (decisions, choices, actions) and (3) institutional (rules and organisations). He draws parallels with these management dimensions to the three aspects of sustainable development: 'environment', 'economic' and 'social', overlap with 'ecological', 'resource' and 'human environment'. Distinguishing between these concepts can be a muddy affair, however, finding definitions is necessary to avoid being lost in all encompassing notions, that become excessively broad and eventually meaningless. Buhrs discussion of these terms leads to the formation of a distinct classification system shown in the digram below, in an attempt to make sence of the forms and approaches used under various labels. Under this classificiation system he is able to form six categories: (1) cognitive-external, (2) cognitive-internal, (3) policy-external, (4) policy-internal, (5) institutional-external, and (6) institutional-internal. Once the framework has been established, the various tools or mechanisms can be assigned to the relevant category.
(1) Cognitive-external: Is about processes, means and mechanisms. It involves the greening of non-environmental knowledge or knowledge frameworks that guide human actions that impact on the environment. The types of mechanisms used in this category are environmental impact assessment, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment and environmental education. (2) Cognitive-internal: Provides a framework, of various forms, to provide guidance on what needs to be integrated. The kinds of frameworks that have been adopted include sustainable development, ecosystems theory and ecological modernisation. (3) Policy-external: Involves the inclusion of environmental principles, knowledge and objectives into non-environmental policies. So it may involve the greening of economic, agriculture or transport policies. Some examples that governments have used to promote policy-external integration is through strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and voluntary agreements. (4) Policy-internal: Is the development of an overarching framework to ensure consistency between policies that potentially impact on the environment. The most prominent example of policy-internal integration is green-planning. Green planning is designed to be a comprehensive, integrated and long-term framework to co-ordinate environmental efforts across a range of sectors. (5) Institutional-external: Is about the greening of a full range of non-environmental instituions that includes universities, research institutes, the media, corporations and the state. Institutions are both formal and informal and include constitutions, organisations, conventions and processes. Institutional integration will influence the effectiveness of cognitive and policy external integration efforts. Examples of institutional-internal integration include environmental management systems, gree accounting and environmental reporting. (6) Institutional-internal: Buhrs describes this category as "efforts towards creating greater coherence and consistency in environmental management by the (re)design, introduction or reform of overarching institutions". Examples of this category are the adoption of the polluter pays principle and the establishment of agencies with a mandate to advance environmental integration.
In his conclusion Buhrs provides a concise definition of Environmental Integration as "the integration of an environmental dimension into all spheres of human thinking, decision-making, interaction, action and behaviour". He argues that both internal and external integration are essential for Environmental Integration to work and although changes must be made at the individual level, it ultimately requires collective deliberation and action.

Bardwell's Basics

So far, we have looked at several very different examples where an Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) approach might provide some improvements to the situation. The case studies show the diversity and complexity of environmental problems. It may be appropriate to turn now to some of the academic literature on the subject. Lisa Bardwell tackles IEM from the very beginning - problem framing. She has a PhD from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and links human psychology to solving environmental problems. In "Problem-Framing: A Perspective on Environmental Problem-Solving" (1991), Bardwell argues that cognitive psychology and conflict management offer perspectives on problem solving that can assist people with addressing even the most complex issues.
Bardwell identifies that environmental problems are "complex, plagued with uncertainty and extremely political" and claims that often people are so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the issues that they become too confused and frustrated to actually take any action. To overcome these challenges, she gets inside the inner workings of the human brain to understand just how we solve problems. Bardwell argues that people have a limited capacity for information. She states that humans can typically process only "5 +/- 2" (or 3-7) packets of information at a time. She also talks about how people construct cognitive maps to help them organise and interpret information. These human limitations result in inadequate problem-solving tendencies that lead to solving the wrong problem, solving a solution, framing a problem so it can't be solved or trying to get agreement on a solution before there is agreement on the problem. Therefore, defining the problem effectively and understanding it is an essential stage of the problem-solving process and has a huge influence over what strategies are adopted later on in the process to address the issue. Bardwell goes on to discuss studies that have shown more effective problem solvers spend more time on problem definition and have better mental models or cognitive maps to draw on and work through the problem.
Bardwell takes this line of argument as a basis to offer some ideas on how to problem-solve more effectively using perspectives from both cognitive psychology and conflict management. She recommends staving off solutions, in favour of spending more time on a detailed problem definition. This can also be known as positional stances in conflict management. Bardwell suggests limiting information but to be wary of over-simplification of issues or encouraging advocacy. She also suggests choosing a level to manage the information and identifying the links between levels. Bardwell encourages the personalisation of environmental problems and here highlights the NIMBY responce. She argues that more tangible results will arise from issues that have clear links established to peoples personal situation. Bardwell suggests that imagery is needed to influence how we think about environmental problems and to inspire success. Finally, she argues that people need to develop a metacognition through an awareness of their own problem-solving process. She argues people should consciously adopt strategies to improve their problem solving abilities.
There is scope here to reflect on how these lessons might be applied to the three previous examples we have discussed. In the case of Lake Horowhenua, on the surface it appears the cause of the pollution is obvious. Why then has the community failed to initiate an action plan to restoring it. Have they really done their problem definition in a way that promotes community involvement? Have they rushed through the problem analysis to formulating solutions, assuming the issues were obvious and therefore forced stakeholders into positional stances? The article broadcast on TV and online does not provide the full information required to fully analyse these possibilities, however, it is likely that some or all of these pitfalls may be the reason why resolution has not yet been found.
Turning now to the Rolleston land-swap, it appears that the problem analysis process has not gained sufficient buy-in from local residents. Even if the council is convinced that the land-swap they have devised is the best solution, they have not managed to persuade others. Perhaps this is a good reminder that environmental problems involve people and cannot be solved with technical solutions alone. Part of the problem definition process is defining the problem from the perspective of all the stakeholders. An expert planner, no matter how technically proficient, cannot produce the best solution using only their professional knowledge. Community values, preferences, experiences and opinions need to be incorporated.
Finally, the post-diaster reconstruction planning in Pakistan. Problem-definition will play a huge part in this complex and tenuous situation. Unfortunately, pressure to find solutions to pressing humanitarian concerns may cause the problem analysis phase to be rushed and may need to be revisited. Perhaps there is an aspect highlighted here that Bardwells article did not draw out, that problem solving is not a linear process. There is requirement for the problem definition stage to be reviewed as the situation progresses. In post-disaster planning the circumstances are volatile and will quickly change in nature. Planning must deal with short-term emergency relief as well as plan for long term recovery. In co-ordinating such planning, the links between short-term and long-term issues must be made to ensure that immediate solutions do not aggrevate larger issues later down the track. Relocating displaced people, for example, may cause resource conflict in their allocated homes. Clearing away waste water, mud and debris may risk the spread of contaminants.
Bardwell's article definately provides plenty of material for reflection and discussion and provides an excellent basis to commence further investigation on IEM topics.