Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Environmental justice – Australia – Case studies'

The study analyses the Western Australian mining regulatory framework of environmental compliance. Through the case studies of Yeelirrie uranium mining approval, and Collie coal mining, it identifies a dichotomy (Acts of Parliament and State Agreements) of mining legislation and multi-agency approach challenging effective environmental protection. Grounded in sustainability and social sciences approaches, the thesis draws from expert interviews to identify weaknesses and best practices. It makes recommendations for strengthening the implementation of the mining regulatory framework.

An antinomy is a contradiction between a principle and its opposite, where there is a compelling case for accepting both. This thesis adopts the antinomy of local-state government in Australia as its central conceptual theme, describing it with the following defensible, but contradictory principles that:¶ · Australian local governments are statutory agencies of Australia’s state governments, with no power or authority beyond that which is ascribed to them by the states (the outside-in principle); and¶ · Local governments in Australia are independent agencies whose authority and interests transcend their regulatory powers by nature of their attachment to their local area (the inside-out principle).¶ The central conceptual theme of the antinomy of local-state government shapes the overall thesis, as well as providing the focus for its introduction and conclusion. The thesis induces elements of the antinomy and structures much of its discussion around these key issues. It does not try to prove or resolve the antinomy. Instead the thesis uses the concept to explore and develop its second complex theme - the practical and applied experience of Australian local governments (LGs) as they attempt to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes. The great bulk of the substantive work presented in the thesis focuses on descriptions and analyses of LGs’ environmental work and the contexts within which they do it. The thesis contends that the local-state antinomy underpins many problems facing Australian LGs as they attempt to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes. Four research questions are addressed. They are:¶ · How can Australian LG capacity to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes be understood?¶ · Within this capacity, what are the environmental outcomes now being achieved by Australian LGs?¶ · How can Australian local government extend its capacity to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes? And¶ · What are the implications of the local-state antinomy on Australian LG capacity to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes?¶ This thesis reviews literature on Australian LG, LG environmental work, and the methods that are appropriate in investigating these questions. The overall thesis uses scientific, grounded theory and action research methods and draws on ideas from symbolic interactionism. Parts of the thesis also use environmental risk assessment, gap analysis techniques, case study and comparative analysis. The goal of generating grounded theories led to a strong focus on the development and exploration of analytical categories and the relationships between them. One such category summarises the relationship between LG and state government (SG), whereby LGs are identified as the inside sphere of government, while the SG is one of several outside spheres. Environmental efforts that impact between the spheres are described in relation to their source and impact, using this terminology, so that inside-out initiatives are driven by LGs but impact more broadly, and outside-in initiatives are driven by states but impact on local areas.¶ Two extensive studies are presented, each stemming primarily from one side of the local-state antinomy. The first is a quantitative, statewide study of local (and state) government implementation of the Queensland Environmental Protection Act. That process is considered a predominantly outside-in environmental initiative, in that LG interest and authority for that work stem directly from a SG statute. For simplicity, this is referred to as an outside-in study. That study involved the development and application of the Comparative Environmental Risk Assessment Method, that enabled the assessment of the environmental and other outcomes from the Queensland legislation.¶ The outside-in study is complimented by comparative case studies that mostly reflect inside-out environmental initiatives as they are defined and described by LGs. Again, this required the development of innovative research methods, specifically a comparative case study method. 34 case studies gathered from different types of LGs across Australia are presented, each representing an attempt by LG to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes.¶ In answer to the research questions, LG capacity to deliver environmental outcomes can be understood when the antinomy is examined through the research methods and analytical categories developed and presented here. LGs are delivering significant beneficial environmental outcomes, both as agents of SGs and through their own initiatives. Improving LG capacity to deliver environmental outcomes primarily requires a respect for LG perspectives, and for LG priorities, which inherently include a focus on their own local areas. State governments can build effective partnerships between the spheres and enhance LG environmental capacity by recognising and supporting LG’s own priorities, while assisting their engagement with broader strategic objectives.

The energy sector faces sustainability challenges that are re-working the established patterns of energy supply, distribution and consumption (Anderson et al. 2008; Haas et al. 2008; Stern 2008; Shove and Walker 2010). Amidst these challenges, socio-technical energy transitions frameworks have evolved that focus on transitions towards decarbonised, sustainable energy systems (Bridge et al. 2013). However, the ‘socio-‘ or social is typically missing as we confront climate and energy risks in a moral vacuum (Sovacool et al. 2016). The energy justice framework provides a structure to think about such energy dilemmas. However, the full extent and diversity of justice implications within the energy system have been neglected. Thus, borrowing from and advancing the framework this research explores how energy justice is being articulated with attention to three emergent areas of growth, the themes of: (1) time, (2) systems component and (3) actor. It does so through a case study of nuclear energy, which was chosen because of its points of enquiry with regards to these three areas of growth, and its historical and on-going importance in the UK energy mix. Using results from 36 semi-structured interviews with non-governmental organisations and policy actors across two case studies representative of the nuclear energy stages of energy production and of waste storage, disposal and reprocessing – the Hinkley Point and Sellafield nuclear complexes – this research presents new insights within each of these previously identified areas of development. It offers the contributions of (1) facility lifecycles, (2) systems approaches and (3) the question of ‘justice by whom?' and concludes that the energy justice framework can aid energy decision-making in a way that not only mitigates the environmental impacts of energy via socio-technical change, but also does so in an ethically defensible, socially just, way.

This study aims to explore the possibility of environmental justice as social consensus and an institutional framework to reduce socioeconomic differences in natural disaster vulnerability through a case study of flood risk management in Johnson Creek, Portland, Oregon. First, by analyzing institutions, policies, and currently ongoing flood mitigation projects, this study investigates how federal and local governments are addressing and responding to current flood problems. Second, through flood expert surveys and GIS spatial analysis, this study examines various factors that contribute to communities' susceptibility to flood risks, and whether there exist spatial differences between physically and socioeconomically vulnerable communities within the Johnson Creek area. Lastly, this study conducted comparative analysis of perceptions using Q-methodology to explore the diverse range of meanings and understandings that flood experts and urban practitioners construct in relation to the dilemmas of environmental justice in flood mitigation practice. The findings of this study indicate that institutional blind spots and barriers in natural disaster mitigation policy and planning can be generated by flood experts' and urban practitioners' different understandings of vulnerability, different interpretations of human rights, and different perspectives on the extent of institutional responsibility to assist socioeconomically vulnerable populations.

The focus of this study was to explore and expand capabilities, sustainability and gender justice in Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects (SMTs) in teacher education curriculum practices as a process of Education for Sustainable Development in two case studies in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The study begins by discussing gender and science education discourse, locating it within Education for Sustainable Development discourse. Through this nexus, the study was able to explore gender and sustainability responsiveness of the curriculum practices of teacher educators in Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects; scrutinise underlying mechanisms that affect (promote or constrain) gender and sustainability responsive curriculum practices; and understand if and how teacher education curriculum practices consider the functionings and capabilities of females in relation to increased socio-ecological risk in a Southern African context. Influenced by a curriculum transformation commitment, an expansive learning phase was conducted to promote gender and sustainability responsive pedagogies in teacher education curriculum practices. As shown in the study, the expansive learning processes resulted in (re)conceptualising the curriculum practices (object), analysis of contradictions and developing new ways of doing work. Drawing from the sensitising concepts of dialectics, reflexivity and agency, the study worked with the three theoretical approaches of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), feminist theory and capabilities theory. The capability and feminist lenses were used in the exploration of gender and sustainability responsiveness in science teacher education curriculum practices. CHAT, through its associated methodology of Developmental Work Research, offered the opportunity for researcher and participants in this study to come together to question and analyse curriculum practices and model new ways of doing work. Case study research was used in two case studies of teacher education curriculum practices in Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects, one in Zimbabwe and one in South Africa. Each case study is constituted with a networked activity system. The study used in-depth and focus group interviews and document analysis to explore gender and sustainability responsiveness in curriculum practices and to generate mirror data. Inductive and abductive modes of inference, and Critical Discourse Analysis were used to analyse data. This data was then used in Change Laboratory Workshops, where double stimulation and focus group discussions contributed to the expansive learning process. Findings from the exploration phase of the study revealed that most teacher educators in the two case studies had some basic levels of gender sensitivity, meaning that they had ability to perceive existing gender inequalities as it applies only to gender disaggregated data especially when it comes to enrolment and retention. However, there was no institutionalised pedagogic device in place in both case studies aimed at equipping future teachers with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to promote aspects of capabilities (well-being achievement, wellbeing freedom, agency achievement and agency freedom) for girls in Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects. Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects teacher educators' curriculum practices were gender neutral, but in a gendered environment. This was a pedagogical tension that was visible in both case studies. On the other hand, socio-ecological issues, in cases where they were incorporated into the curriculum, were incorporated in a gender blind or gender neutral manner. Social ecological concerns such as climate change were treated as if they were not gendered both in their impact and in their mitigation and adaptation. It emerged that causal mechanisms shaping this situation were of a socio-political nature: there exist cultural differences between students and teacher educators; patriarchal ideology and hegemony; as well as other interfering binaries such as race and class. Other curriculum related constraints, though embedded in the socio-cultural-political nexus, include: rigid and content heavy curriculum, coupled with students who come into the system with inadequate content knowledge; and philosophy informing pedagogy namely scientism, with associated instrumentalist and functionalist tenets. All these led to contradictions between pedagogical practices with those expected by the Education for Sustainable Development framework. The study contributes in-depth insight into science teacher education curriculum development. By locating the study at the nexus of gender and Science, Mathematics and Technical subjects within the Education for Sustainable Development discourse, using the ontological lenses of feminist and capabilities, it was possible to interrogate aspects of quality and relevance of the science teacher education curriculum. The study also provides insight into participatory research and learning processes especially within the context of policy and curriculum development. It provides empirical evidence of mobilising reflexivity amongst both policy makers and policy implementers towards building human agency in policy translation for a curriculum transformation that is critical for responding to contemporary socio-ecological risks.
Microsoft� Word 2010
Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

Climate change has emerged as one of the most significant issues facing the world. This research endeavored to uncover and describe the lived experience of Portland, Oregon residents in relation to the substantive issue of climate change. The specific purpose of this research was to gain a better understanding of the ways that Portland residents conceive of and communicate about climate change. Utilizing semi-structured phenomenological interviews, particular attention was paid to the culture of Portland residents, their lived experience and how the issue of climate change manifests itself in their everyday experiences. In addition, this particular phenomenological inquiry incorporated elements of auto ethnography by positioning the researcher`s experiences, imagination and intellect at the center of the research endeavor. Multiple themes emerged from the in-depth, descriptive interviews that helped to reveal the structure or essence of the participant`s experience(s). A single meta-theme was identified and informed by contemporary theories such as Cosmopolitanism and the Environmental Justice Paradigm.

When it comes to the topic of environmental sustainability, most of us will readily agree that we face a litany of local and global environmental threats in the twenty-first century. As such, we would largely agree that the need to address climate change and other issues is urgent. Where this agreement tends to end, however, is on the question of whether this urgency is so great that we need not address issues of inequality and environmental justice when organizing sustainability efforts. Some are convinced that, because sustainability efforts are "saving the world for everyone", so to speak, issues of environmental justice are secondary at best. On the other hand, "just sustainability" advocates argue that no such effort is truly sustainable unless it considers winners and losers from the onset. I will argue the latter and demonstrate the potential consequences of a sustainability effort that has failed thus far at engaging those who might benefit most from involvement. This study is an exploration of the City Soil Network (CSN), a community garden organization comprised of seventeen garden sites throughout Portland, Oregon. Thirteen of these sites are in Northeast Portland, an area with a history of racial and ethnic discrimination and both inequalities and boundaries that prevail across the same lines today. A significant number of these residents are food insecure or at risk of becoming food insecure. Furthermore, recent gentrification in Northeast Portland has disproportionately displaced African Americans and members of other historically marginalized communities. As such, these groups tend to view recent neighborhood changes as a new variation on a decades old theme of injustice. Previous research suggests that community gardens can play a role in addressing all of these problems to some degree. However, this body of research has yet to explicitly analyze the relationship between local historical context, gentrification, the conflicting rhetorics of environmental sustainability and environmental justice and outcomes for community garden organizations. This case study includes content analysis of organizational publications, participant observation from four of the CSN's garden sites in Northeast Portland. It also includes interviews with eleven members of the CSN, representing all three levels of involvement with the organization, and six interviews with representatives of community organizations that serve Northeast Portland in some capacity. This study finds that the CSN largely consists of members of a preexisting community of sustainable agriculture enthusiasts. As such, those involved tend not to live near their garden site(s) and are distinct in a number of ways from the diverse neighborhoods that surround many of the CSN's garden sites. The organization has made very few neighborhood-level outreach efforts thus far, and those that have been made have largely been unsuccessful. Understandings expressed by both groups of interviewees help to explain why this has been the case. They also compel me to introduce the potentially adverse impact of gentrification on understandings of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions into the just sustainability debate; we need to consider that unjust sustainability can be the result of not only a lack of concern for inequality, but also a simple lack of awareness of it. Interviewees also provide suggestions for how the CSN or other community garden organizations might be more successful in appealing to marginalized communities.

The world is facing a global waste crisis due to half of the waste produced not being collected, treated or safely disposed of. Waste not managed in a proper way causes air and water pollution and has negative health and social impacts on people living or working close to the waste. Alt- hough evidence shows that implementing gender approaches improves environmental issues, and the majority of waste pickers are women, few organisations focused on waste management are implementing gender mainstreaming into their work. This case study examines gender main- streaming within the organisation Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) in relation to environmental issues. WIEGO is an international organisation working to increase the voice, visibility and validity of the working poor, with a special emphasis on women, with a core project that supports cooperative waste picker women in Brazil. The study was conducted through two interviews on local and international level and the analysis of 20 documents describing WIEGO and its work. The theories and concepts of gender mainstreaming, intersectionality, Feminist Political Ecology and Environmental Justice were used to analyse the results. The study showed that WIEGO was implementing gender mainstreaming in their opera- tive work, in the policy framework and in the waste picker projects in Brazil which has resulted in physical and emotional improvements for WIEGO employees internationally and waste pick- ers in Brazil. <<<
Världen står inför en global avfallshanteringskris där hälften av allt avfall som produceras inte insamlas, hanteras eller kasseras på ett säkert sätt. Avfall som inte hanteras säkert skapar luft- och vattenföroreningar och har negativa hälsosamma och sociala effekter för människor som lever eller arbetar nära avfallet. Trots att forskning visar att genusperspektiv förbättrar miljö- problem, och att majoriteten av avfallshanterare är kvinnor, fokuserar få organisationer som hanterar avfall på ”gender mainstreaming” i sitt arbete. Denna fallstudie undersöker ”gender mainstreaming” i organisationen Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) i relation till miljöproblem. WIEGO är en internationell organisation som arbetar med att öka inflytandet, synligheten och validiteten hos fattiga arbetande, med ett särskilt fokus på kvinnor, med ett kärnprogram som stöttar kooperativ av avfallshanterande kvinnor i Brasi- lien. Studien genomfördes med två intervjuer på lokal och internationell nivå och analys av 20 dokument som beskriver WIEGO och dess arbete. Teorierna och koncepten ”gender mainstrea- ming”, intersektionalitet, Feministisk Politisk Ekologi och miljörättvisa användes för att analy- sera resultaten. Studien visar att WIEGO använder sig av ”gender mainstreaming” i sitt opera- tiva arbete, i sitt policyramverk och i avfallshanteringsprojekten i Brasilien, vilket resulterat it fysiska och emotionella förbättringar för WIEGOs internationellt anställda och för de avfalls- hanterande kvinnorna i Brasilien.

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

The thesis is about environmental values that we encounter in our everyday life. The thesis also talks about environmental justice dialogues and tensions that play in Bangladesh. The thesis, in the first place, explores how an environmental planning and resource management approach causes a particular type of environmental injustice; i.e., non-recognition of access to the decision making process of local ethnic communities, which identifies them as adivasi meaning indigenous, poses a threat to their livelihood and culture, and obstructs the process of environmental protection in Bangladesh.
The existing theories of environmental justice and four case studies conducted in Bangladesh have been used to interrogate the research findings. I argue, along with Low and Gleeson (1998) that for environmental justice, recognition of environmental needs for every entity as an ingredient of human dignity should be basis of the planning process. The research findings also suggest that , at all levels of decisions, fair access to decision, information and justice for all entities should be an integral part of environmental planning and resource management.
The thesis explores avenues for fair access to justice, meaning redress and remedy of environmental injustice, in the context of Bangladesh. I argue that capillaries of justice such as Salish, a process and institution for public interest negotiation (PIN) embedded in Bangladesh culture, can be reinvented. In addition, access to information should be a prerequisite for meaningful deliberation at all levels of decision making and dispute resolving processes.

Title page, abstract and table of contents only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library.
Australia is one of the few countries to have legislative provisions for EIA monitoring and auditing, yet monitoring and auditing remain weak or neglected within the EIA process. This study identifies four major areas for analysis and evaluation of current procedures and practices of EIA monitoring and auditing in three Australian jurisdictions: institutional arrangements; public accountablity, transparency and community involvement; approaches and techniques; and resources and capacity. Case studies involving EIA projects and surveys and interviews with EIA practitioners were conducted in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales.
http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1283764
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2007

Australia is one of the few countries to have legislative provisions for EIA monitoring and auditing, yet monitoring and auditing remain weak or neglected within the EIA process. This study identifies four major areas for analysis and evaluation of current procedures and practices of EIA monitoring and auditing in three Australian jurisdictions: institutional arrangements; public accountablity, transparency and community involvement; approaches and techniques; and resources and capacity. Case studies involving EIA projects and surveys and interviews with EIA practitioners were conducted in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2007

This research project is predominantly aimed at improving our understanding of interest group behaviour. Assessments about 'group interest' and decisions about group engagement in the Australian greenhouse policy network provide a useful opportunity to pursue this research aim. As an empirical contribution to the study of interest groups and policy networks, this research is atypical in a few ways. First, while most of the literature concentrates on the role of interest groups and policy networks in explaining policy outcomes, this study focuses on understanding group behaviour. Second, while the literature concerns itself heavily with group-government relationships, the focus here is on group decision-making about network engagementrelationships with government are addressed only to the extent that they impact on these decisions. Third, while most interest group research assumes that groups know and pursue their interests, or that behaviour reveals group preferences, this research does neither. Instead there is a strong emphasis on what forces shape and change perceptions of group interest and no assumption that groups necessarily pursue those perceived interests. These differences necessarily mean that this work does not deal heavily with some of the main preoccupations in the literature-like why groups mobilise and whether they are good for society. Instead, light is shone on aspects of interest groups and policy networks which are acknowledged as important but receive relatively little attention. Alongside the primary objective--to make the empirical contribution to the literature-the aim here is also to contribute to a greater understanding of the history of greenhouse policy development in Australia. This is seen as being valuable in its own right and it addresses widespread curiosity about why business groups with an apparent interest in climate change policy have responded so differently in the Australian context The result is seven case studies which examine the greenhouse responses of a diverse range of business interest groups that have been active in, or judged relevant to the Australian greenhouse policy network. The case studies rely heavily on analysis of interviews conducted with 56 people drawn both from the case groups and from a broad cross-section of other important players in the greenhouse policy network. As a study of the wider policy network, this work is arguably unprecedented in scope. Those interviewed include party leaders, cabinet ministers, advisors and departmental secretaries spanning the Hawke, Keating and Howard federal governments. Past and present leaders of industry associations, think tanks, environmental organisations, along with academics, and journalists were also interviewed with all sides of the debate represented. The results presented here aim to make an commensurate contribution to our knowledge of both interest group behaviour and greenhouse policy development in Australia.

Bibliography: leaves 172-182.
viii, 183 leaves, [96] p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
Proposes that there are fundamental and inadequately recognised differences between architectural practice and the basis of much design advice about environmental issues in house design. Concludes by discussing the implications of these differences for understanding how environmental issues are currently addressed in house design in Australia.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Architecture, 2000

An antinomy is a contradiction between a principle and its opposite, where there is a compelling case for accepting both. This thesis adopts the antinomy of local-state government in Australia as its central conceptual theme, describing it with the following defensible, but contradictory principles that: · Australian local governments are statutory agencies of Australia’s state governments, with no power or authority beyond that which is ascribed to them by the states (the outside-in principle); and · Local governments in Australia are independent agencies whose authority and interests transcend their regulatory powers by nature of their attachment to their local area (the inside-out principle). ¶ The central conceptual theme of the antinomy of local-state government shapes the overall thesis, as well as providing the focus for its introduction and conclusion. The thesis induces elements of the antinomy and structures much of its discussion around these key issues. It does not try to prove or resolve the antinomy. Instead the thesis uses the concept to explore and develop its second complex theme - the practical and applied experience of Australian local governments (LGs) as they attempt to deliver beneficial environmental outcomes. ¶ ...

A comprehensive and rigid analysis of Chinese investment in Australia for the past four decades is an under-researched topic, though there had been sporadic treatments of this subject matter from the perspective of single institutions in economics, politics, and culture. The neoliberalism era marked a honeymoon between China and Australia, which boosted the Chinese investments in Australia, marked by the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement and the ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ Agreement, signed by the Victorian Government and the Chinese Development and Reform Commission. Recent years witnessed a deterioration of the Australia and China relationships and the “tit-for-tat” strategies and racism movements which discourage the Chinese investments in Australia. This study has developed a conceptual framework consisting of economic, political, cultural and institutional factors that may explain the Australian government’s decision of rejecting certain Chinese investments in recent years. Case studies were employed to illustrate the application of the conceptual framework. The findings suggest that the conceptual framework can be utilized to explain why the Australian government rejected certain Chinese investments. This research aims to analyze the determinants of Australia Government’s rejection of Chinese investment in Australia. Case studies in the field of the Australian mining sector, agriculture and agribusiness, and infrastructure unveil that political distrust towards Chinese investment in Australia is a major source of refusing Chinese investment. This led to continuous reduction of Chinese investment in Australia since 2016. Such political distrust which works against the national interest of the respective countries, may also drive the decline of Chinese investment in Australia. This research contributes to the literature by examining the factors which lead to the Australian Government’s decision to reject certain Chinese investments based on in depth analysis of case studies. This will be useful for understanding how to enlarge shared interest for policymakers, businessmen and academic researchers.

abstract: Following harsh economic and political reforms in the 1990s, Peru became a model of a neoliberal state based on natural resource extraction. Since then social and environmental conflicts between local communities and the extractive industry, particularly mining corporations, have multiplied resulting in violent clashes and a shared perception that the state is not guaranteeing people's rights. At the crossroads of the struggle between mining corporations and local communities lay different ways of living and relating to nature. This research concerns water conflict in an urban mining setting. More precisely, this research critically analyzes water conflict in the city of Arequipa as a backdrop for revealing what water injustices look like on the ground. With one million inhabitants, Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru. Arequipa is also home to the third largest copper mine in Peru. On June 2006, social organizations and political authorities marched in protest of the copper mine's acquisition of additional water rights and its use of a tax exemption program. In the aftermath of large protests, the conflict was resolved through a multi-actor negotiation in which the mine became, through a public-private partnership, co-provider of urban water services. Through a unique interdisciplinary theoretical approach and grounded on ethnographic methods I attempt to expose the complexity of water injustice in this particular case. My theoretical framework is based on three large fields of study, that of post-colonial studies, political ecology and critical studies of law. By mapping state-society-nature power relations, analyzing structures of oppression and unpacking the meaning of water rights, my research unveils serious water injustices. My first research finding points to the existence of a racist and classist system that excludes poor and marginal people from water services and from accessing the city. Second, although there are different social and cultural interpretations of water rights, some interpretations hold more power and become hegemonic. Water injustice, in this regard manifests by the rise in power of the economic view of water rights. Finally, neoliberal reforms prioritizing development based on the extractive industries and the commodification of nature are conducive to water injustices.
Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Justice Studies 2012

Unless subjected to skeptical and conscious scrutiny, environmentally-friendly ocean energy technologies can become “Trojan machines of social inequity” due to the subtle re-organizing influences of technologies on culture and the society. Environmental laws that promote or regulate ocean energy technologies can act as “Trojan legal regimes” in the absence of a framework for assessing and anticipating their adverse impacts on social justice. “Environmental justice” is inadequate for this task, so an alternative framework is proposed: ecological social justice, drawn from the Third World’s perspective of sustainable development as equitable sharing. Though overshadowed by the prevalent notion of sustainable development as limits to growth, a review of international environmental law shows that the ideas of equitable sharing have persisted, underpinning demands for more equitable distribution of resources and environmental amenities, greater public participation in decision-making, and special attention in favor of specified social groups. Beginning with the critiques of environmental justice and then drawing upon a substantivist view of the role of the Economy as an ecological link between Society and Nature, a sketch of ecological social justice is drawn. The assessment of whether specific legal regimes or their implementation promote or hinder social justice revolve around three focal points: distribution, recognition, and participation, and pay special attention to the role of culture and power in society. The assessment also incorporates and emphasizes the ‘local’ conception of social justice in order to remain true to its ‘ecological’ character. To demonstrate, the paper conducts detailed case studies of the Philippines. The 1987 Constitution established a right to environment as a result of the historical evolution of a constitutional policy of promoting social justice, This caused Philippine environmental and ocean resource laws to incorporate provisions that promote ecological social justice. Analysis of Philippine ocean environment and energy laws and two internationally-recognized ocean energy projects reveals insights into how even the most environmentally-friendly but complex technologies can lead to domination and oppression, and how guiding ideals of equitable sharing at the local levels can lead to more socially-just solutions.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 575-607) Pt. A. Ecological cityscapes: theory & practice -- pt. B. Urban ecology Australia &ecopolis: ecocity projects in South Australia -- pt. C. Towards a theoretical synthesis of ecopolis About creating and maintaining 'ecological cities' and the necessary conditions for making ecocities. Sets the creation of human settlement in an ecological context and demonstrates through case study analyses that practical approaches to urbanism can be made within a theory of city-making grounded in principles of direct democracy and cooperative community processes.

The abundant and cost effective nature of coal as an energy source is reflected in forecasts of strong growth in global demand for coal, particularly from the non-OECD countries of China and India. New South Wales (NSW), with its abundant coal resources, is well placed to provide coal resources to meet this growth in demand through expansion of existing coal mines and the development of new mines. However, this would have a range of potential environmental, social and cultural impacts and would require Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979. Standard EIA encompasses a range of technical studies to assess the biophysical impacts of projects but provides no theoretical or practical framework for weighing up positive and negative impacts to determine if a project should proceed or not. The application of neoclassical welfare economics through benefit cost analysis (BCA) can remedy the deficiencies of standard EIA and aid in more efficient decision-making. This is particularly the case where nonmarket valuation methods are used to estimate the welfare effects of environmental, social and cultural impacts. Nevertheless, historically BCA and nonmarket valuation have rarely been undertaken as part of the NSW EIA process. This thesis addresses the significant gap that exists in converting the conceptually developed techniques of BCA and nonmarket valuation to practical application in the policy realm. It does this through the application of BCA, including nonmarket valuation, to a sequence of coal mining case studies over an 18 month time frame in a real policy setting. It finds choice modelling (CM) to be the preferred approach for the valuation of multiple impacts and mutually exclusive policy options. The thesis demonstrates that the community hold significant positive values for reducing the impacts of coal mining on streams, Aboriginal heritage, upland swamps, native vegetation and rural villages. The CM case studies also show that community welfare would be significantly reduced by any proposals that decrease the length of time that the mines provide employment. Social and cultural attributes are therefore relevant attributes for inclusion in CM studies of coal mining proposals. The thesis also provides evidence that the community holds positive economic values for the provision of biodiversity offsets, through planting and protection of vegetation in the landscape. Integration of the CM results into BCA demonstrates how nonmarket valuation can enhance the role of BCA as a tool for decision-making. While CM has a number of strengths over other nonmarket valuation methods, its application can also be associated with a number of methodological issues, particularly around the framing of the questionnaire. A number of attribute framing issues in the application of CM are examined. Split sample analysis in the CM applications is used to examine the impact of including additional policy relevant attributes in choice set design, providing cumulative impact information instead of project specific impact information and using different temporal payment vehicles. The nonlinearity of the attribute representing employment provided by the case study mines, is also investigated.

by Wong Wing Kwan.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-172).
Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese.
by Wong Wing Kwan.
ABSTRACT --- p.ii
ABSTRACT (in Chinese) --- p.iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.v
LIST OF TABLES --- p.xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS --- p.xii
LIST OF APPENDIXES --- p.xiii
Chapter 1/ --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Research Impetus --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Central Research Problem --- p.2
Chapter 1.3 --- Research Significance --- p.4
Chapter 1.4 --- Organization of This Thesis --- p.6
Chapter 2/ --- ON ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION -- THE THEORETICAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT --- p.9
Chapter 2.1 --- The Environmental Crisis --- p.9
Chapter 2.11 --- The dominating perspective --- p.10
Chapter 2.12 --- Problems overlooked --- p.11
Chapter 2.13 --- Environmental problems as problems of social injustice --- p.14
Chapter 2.14 --- Locating the power relations --- p.15
Chapter 2.141 --- The dominating definition of life quality --- p.15
Chapter 2.142 --- The global economic order--- a platform of power asymmetry --- p.17
Chapter 2.143 --- "Global development agenda--- ""catching-up"" as the basis for sustainability" --- p.18
Chapter 2.2 --- Environmental Education: A Critique of the Established Views --- p.22
Chapter 2.21 --- Seeking definitions --- p.23
Chapter 2.22 --- "From definition to practice- the split of mind, body and heart" --- p.24
Chapter 2.23 --- The domination of mainstream science and technologyin environmental education --- p.27
Chapter 2.3 --- Environmental Education in the Form of Empowerment --- p.30
Chapter 2.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.37
Chapter 3/ --- ON ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION -- THE LOCAL CONTEXT --- p.38
Chapter 3.1 --- Environmental Agenda in Hong Kong --- p.38
Chapter 3.11 --- Role of the government --- p.38
Chapter 3.12 --- Role of private corporations --- p.42
Chapter 3.13 --- Role of green groups --- p.44
Chapter 3.14 --- Role of scientists and experts --- p.47
Chapter 3.15 --- Dangerous liaisons --- p.48
Chapter 3.2 --- Environmental Education in Hong Kong - An Overview --- p.49
Chapter 3.21 --- Environmental education targeted at public awareness --- p.50
Chapter 3.22 --- Environmental education in formal schooling --- p.52
Chapter 3.23 --- Local researches on environmental awareness and environmental education --- p.53
Chapter 3.3 --- Chapter Summary --- p.55
Chapter 4/ --- RESEARCH DESIGN --- p.58
Chapter 4.1 --- Research Design --- p.58
Chapter 4.11 --- The nature of critical qualitative research --- p.58
Chapter 4.12 --- The nature of case-study --- p.60
Chapter 4.13 --- Selection of cases --- p.61
Chapter 4.2 --- Case Profiles --- p.63
Chapter 4.21 --- Tim Po Primary School --- p.63
Chapter 4.22 --- Sing Tak Primary School --- p.64
Chapter 4.23 --- Fung Lan Primary School --- p.65
Chapter 4.3 --- Data Collection --- p.67
Chapter 4.31 --- Written and printed texts --- p.68
Chapter 4.32 --- Interviews --- p.69
Chapter 4.33 --- Observation --- p.72
Chapter 4.34 --- Research validity and data triangulation --- p.74
Chapter 4.4 --- Data Recording and Analysis --- p.75
Chapter 4.41 --- Data recording --- p.75
Chapter 4.42 --- Data analysis --- p.75
Chapter 4.5 --- Research Limitations --- p.77
Chapter 4.6 --- Chapter Summary --- p.79
Chapter 5/ --- INSIDE STORIES -- ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS --- p.80
Chapter 5.1 --- The Case of Tim Po Primary School (TPS) --- p.80
Chapter 5.11 --- Environmental education in formal curriculum --- p.80
Chapter 5.12 --- Environmental Education in informal curriculum --- p.90
Chapter 5.2 --- The Case of Sing Tak Primary School (STS) --- p.92
Chapter 5.21 --- Environmental education in formal curriculum --- p.92
Chapter 5.22 --- Environmental education in informal curriculum --- p.94
Chapter 5.3 --- The case of Fung Lan School (FLS) --- p.100
Chapter 5.31 --- Environmental education in formal curriculum --- p.100
Chapter 5.32 --- Environmental education in informal curriculum --- p.102
Chapter 5.33 --- Environmental education beyond curriculum --- p.102
Chapter 5.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.106
Chapter 6/ --- BEHIND THE STORIES - -FORCES AND DYNAMICS --- p.108
Chapter 6.1 --- Seeing Environmental Education through the Eyes of Teachers --- p.108
Chapter 6.11 --- Conceptualizing the environmental problematique --- p.108
Chapter 6.111 --- Central problems --- p.109
Chapter 6.112 --- Causes of the problems --- p.110
Chapter 6.113 --- Dealing with the problems --- p.112
Chapter 6.12 --- Understanding environmental education --- p.114
Chapter 6.121 --- Environmental education as a matter of lifestyle --- p.114
Chapter 6.122 --- "The cultivation of ""personal"" attitudes" --- p.115
Chapter 6.123 --- Pupils' age and teachers' expectation --- p.117
Chapter 6.13 --- Personal level constraints acting on teachers --- p.119
Chapter 6.131 --- Lack of subject knowledge --- p.119
Chapter 6.132 --- Teaching experience --- p.121
Chapter 6.2 --- School Level Factors in Environmental Education --- p.123
Chapter 6.21 --- The focus of work: the marginalized status of environmental education and General Studies --- p.123
Chapter 6.22 --- Tight schedule --- p.127
Chapter 6.3 --- External Forces and School Environmental Education --- p.130
Chapter 6.31 --- School inspectors and board of directors --- p.130
Chapter 6.32 --- The preoccupation with school reputation and academic attainment --- p.131
Chapter 6.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.133
Chapter 7/ --- A GROUNDED CRITIQUE --- p.134
Chapter 7.1 --- The Non-critical and Apolitical Environmental Agendain School Environmental Education --- p.134
Chapter 7.11 --- The narrow definition of environmental subjectsin the syllabus of General Studies --- p.134
Chapter 7.12 --- The anti-environment themes --- p.137
Chapter 7.2 --- Teachers as Agency --- p.138
Chapter 7.3 --- "The Task Oriented Environmental Education ""Show""" --- p.143
Chapter 7.31 --- "Schools' primary concerns: environmental education and ""quality"" education" --- p.143
Chapter 7.32 --- The reliance on external resources --- p.145
Chapter 7.4 --- Chapter Summary: The Detachment from the Process of Empowerment --- p.149
Chapter 8/ --- CONCLUSION: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF EDUCATION REFORM --- p.150
Chapter 8.1 --- A Restatement on the True Meaning of Environmental Education --- p.150
Chapter 8.2 --- Some Characteristics of Environmental Educationin Hong Kong Primary Schools --- p.151
Chapter 8.3 --- Looking Beyond: Environmental Education in the Whirlpool of Education Reform --- p.152
Chapter 8.31 --- The overarching priority of education --- p.153
Chapter 8.32 --- "Environmental awareness as part of the entrepreneur's ""personality package""" --- p.154
Chapter 8.33 --- The formalization of extra-curricular activities --- p.156
Chapter 8.4 --- Final Words --- p.158
APPENDIXES --- p.160
REFERENCES --- p.163

当代佛教如何参与现代环境危机这一公共社会议题是本文的问题意识，参与佛教与人间佛教的环保参与实践及其理论阐述正是现代社会较有影响力的佛教环保实践。
本文首先研究参与佛教的生态正义与人间佛教的心灵环保这两种类型在环保进路上的不同特征，参与佛教的环保以社会抗议、公义的分配制度及文化批判的社会正义诉求为其特征，人间佛教主要团体则以心灵净化、节约资源等行动表现出心灵环保的特点；接着将生态正义与心灵环保放入自然、经济、政教关系等社会处境进行剖析，最后对参与佛教的生态正义与人间佛教的心灵环保这两种佛教环保类型进行对比。
通过两种类型的比较研究探讨佛教参与环保的进路与趋势，冀望两种参与类型的彼此关照，互相学习和进行整合作为佛教参与环保的愿景，即多维视野的佛教生态参与模式，同时兼顾与结合社会与个体、正义与心灵等多维角度，共同推进从社会结构层面的抗争与心灵文化的变革，探索佛教智慧如何更好的参与现代社会环境危机以寻找出路。
Buddhism has involved in environmental protection on the local as well as global level. This thesis seeks to explore how and why the Buddhist modern movements, particularly Engaged Buddhism and Humanistic Buddhism adopt different approaches to environmental issues. The comparative study of these two Buddhist movements and their respective approaches to environment protection attempts to characterize and contrast the two different approaches as Eco-Justice and Eco-Spirituality and to analyze them in terms of their cultural, economic, political and social contexts.
Though the approach of Eco-Justice adopted by Engaged Buddhism focuses on social justice and the approach of Eco-Spirituality adopted by Humanistic Buddhism concentrates on spiritual cultivation, this thesis attempts to argue that they provide contrasting yet complementary approaches to environmental protection. The dialogue between Engaged Buddhism and Humanistic Buddhism on environmental issues will enrich each other and contribute to the Buddhist engagement of environmental protection as a whole.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
梁容.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-196)
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
Liang Rong.
致谢 --- p.i
目录 --- p.iii
摘要 --- p.iv
Abstract --- p.v
引 言 --- p.1
Chapter 第一章 --- 佛教与生态之研究概览 --- p.3
Chapter 第一节 --- 现代生态危机出路之探寻：佛教的救渡 --- p.3
Chapter 第二节 --- 佛教与生态问题之俯瞰：学术研究概述 --- p.6
Chapter 第三节 --- 类型学之研究方法 --- p.20
Chapter 第四节 --- 论文之篇章结构 --- p.28
Chapter 第二章 --- 参与佛教的环保正义（eco-justice）之实践与论述：以泰国为例 --- p.31
Chapter 第一节 --- 前言 --- p.31
Chapter 第二节 --- 参与佛教的环保实践 --- p.33
Chapter 第三节 --- 环保正义的佛教之理论建构及社会论述：佛使比丘自然即法的佛教理论 --- p.53
Chapter 第四节 --- 资本主义社会文化批判与佛教社会经济发展观：萧素乐佛教之现代社会论述 --- p.64
Chapter 第五节 --- 结语：参与佛教环保正义类型之展望与反思 --- p.76
Chapter 第三章 --- 人间佛教的心灵环保（eco-spirituality）之实践与论述：以台湾为例 --- p.82
Chapter 第一节 --- 前言 --- p.82
Chapter 第二节 --- 慈济“预约人间净土：行动与理念 --- p.84
Chapter 第三节 --- 法鼓山“心灵环保：行动与理念 --- p.100
Chapter 第四节 --- “心灵环保进路的分析：宗教意义及社会涵义 --- p.113
Chapter 第五节 --- 结语：人间佛教心灵环保类型之展望与反思 --- p.150
Chapter 第四章 --- 两种类型比较与展望：参与佛教的环保正义与人间佛教心灵环保 --- p.153
Chapter 第一节 --- 两种佛教环保类型比较的视野 --- p.154
Chapter 第二节 --- 生态正义与心灵环保两种类型的比较研究 --- p.157
Chapter 第三节 --- 整合与超越：两种类型的互相对话与互相取鉴 --- p.176
结 语 --- p.180
参考资料与书目 --- p.183

This thesis is concerned with issues of ethnicity, identity and citizenship. In particular, it focuses on the views of Islamic Sunni Lebanese families on the issue of citizenship as a notion of rights and participation. The key question which the thesis addresses is, in what ways can universal notions of citizenship be reworked to simultaneously address issues of justice and difference.

Bibliography: leaves 378-402.
xviii, 402 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.), maps (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm.
Explores the status and nature of interpretation within the Australian whale watching industry, on both a national scale and as it is practiced at three diverse case study sites along the southern coast, and develops strategies which may enable this form of tourism to reach it's highest educative potential
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2000

Consent form, persmission letter and declaration translated into Portuguese. Interview schedule translated into Makhua and Portuguese
Economically, Mozambique is one of the poorest countries globally. Given to its poor state, Mozambique remains environmentally deteriorated. Fortunately, the Mozambican government has embarked on environmental programmes as a strategy for ecological management. However, these strategies seem irrelevant due to ineffective implementation of such programmes. It lacks local community awareness, involvement and participation. The church lacks eco-theology as well as theology that can protect nature and people’s struggles. This study investigated the policies and their implementation towards environmental management in Mozambique. The study also discussed church’s role and proposed a comprehensive theology towards the environment in the city of Nampula. Nampula city is one of the busiest cities in the province and in the northern region of Mozambique due to its business attractions. This study was limited to the Union Baptist Church of Nampula. The data collection was based on two approaches, fieldwork and literature analysis. Fieldwork approach resulted in 20 Nampula citizens’ residents being interviewed. The finding showed that environmental crisis is a socio-economic, political and religious problem of concern. It also revealed that the citizens of Nampula face detrimental and environmental health impacts caused by a weak waste management policy. The incapacity of the implementation of waste management policy, deficiency in the enforcement of awareness and local people input contribute for ecological crisis, leading for water pollution and health problems. The ambiguity of making ecological regulations and resources available worsens ecological crisis. When such regulations are drafted and promulgated without local people’s participation, it may indicate that the law-makers exclude local knowledge about environment into the scientific debate. This can lead local people to resist and not participate even when they are called for. Hence, the research has shown that to make a dynamic ecological policy and an effective waste management, a combination of both top-down and bottom-up approaches are needed. A top-down approach guarantees constant framework while the bottom-up approach encourages local community involvement. In this study, the significance of local community involvement, church advocacy, and pressure in making waste management policy function constitute a key finding. Without active involvement of local people in planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and the decision-making process participation, the earth management may never take place. Therefore, the challenge remains for the government, the church, and the private sector to draw and define methods to attain economic development, protect ecological and civil society.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Missiology)

In this study an assessment of the factors that influence the degree to which a city or community would undertake wastewater treatment and use the output for various purposes is investigated. In assessing these issues two contrasting case studies of wastewater treatment and recycling are studied namely Hyderabad, India (representing a developing country context) and Melbourne, Australia (representing a developed country context). An improved understanding of both these wastewater systems, across different economic and social contexts was found and placed within a single decision making framework.