title: Agricultural land management strategies to reduce phosphorus loads in the Gippsland Lakes, Australia

authors: Roberts, Anna M.

subjects: Benefit:Cost analysis

abstract: A target to reduce phosphorus flows into the Gippsland Lakes in south-eastern Australia by 40% in order to improve water quality has previously been established by stakeholders. This target, like many others worldwide, has been set mostly on the basis of environmental concerns, with limited consideration of issues such as technical feasibility, socio-economic constraints, political factors and associated costs and benefits. An integrated analysis at the catchment scale is undertaken to assess the agricultural land management changes required to achieve this target, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these changes. Based on assumptions used, it appears technically feasible to achieve a 40% reduction in P load entering the Lakes. However, the least-costly way of doing so would require around A$1 billion over 25 years, a dramatic increase in the current levels of funding provided for management. Results of a sensitivity analysis indicate that there is little or no chance of investment in a 40% reduction being cost-effective. On the other hand, a 20% P reduction could be achieved at much lower cost: around $80 million over 25 years and requiring more modest land-management changes. Reliance on voluntary adoption of ‘Current Recommended Practices’ is unlikely to deliver changes in management practices at the scale required to have sufficient environmental impacts. Enforcement of existing regulations for the dairy industry would be amongst the most cost-effective management strategies. The major implications of this work for agriculturally induced diffuse-source pollution include the need for feedback between goal setting and program costs, and consideration of factors such as the levels of landholder adoption of new practices that are required and the feasibility of achieving those adoption levels. Costs, landholder adoption of new practices and socio-political risks appear neglected in the formulation of many water quality programs. The study provides a demonstration of an approach to integrated multidisciplinary research addressing complex environmental problems with multiple decision makers, multiple stakeholders, and high uncertainty. On the evidence of experience in this study, the approach deserves consideration in other contexts.

text: Agricultural land management strategies to reduce phosphorus loads in the Gippsland Lakes, Australia A target to reduce phosphorus flows into the Gippsland Lakes in south-eastern Australia by 40% in order to improve water quality has previously been established by stakeholders. This target, like many others worldwide, has been set mostly on the basis of environmental concerns, with limited consideration of issues such as technical feasibility, socio-economic constraints, political factors and associated costs and benefits. An integrated analysis at the catchment scale is undertaken to assess the agricultural land management changes required to achieve this target, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these changes. Based on assumptions used, it appears technically feasible to achieve a 40% reduction in P load entering the Lakes. However, the least-costly way of doing so would require around A$1 billion over 25 years, a dramatic increase in the current levels of funding provided for management. Results of a sensitivity analysis indicate that there is little or no chance of investment in a 40% reduction being cost-effective. On the other hand, a 20% P reduction could be achieved at much lower cost: around $80 million over 25 years and requiring more modest land-management changes. Reliance on voluntary adoption of ‘Current Recommended Practices’ is unlikely to deliver changes in management practices at the scale required to have sufficient environmental impacts. Enforcement of existing regulations for the dairy industry would be amongst the most cost-effective management strategies. The major implications of this work for agriculturally induced diffuse-source pollution include the need for feedback between goal setting and program costs, and consideration of factors such as the levels of landholder adoption of new practices that are required and the feasibility of achieving those adoption levels. Costs, landholder adoption of new practices and socio-political risks appear neglected in the formulation of many water quality programs. The study provides a demonstration of an approach to integrated multidisciplinary research addressing complex environmental problems with multiple decision makers, multiple stakeholders, and high uncertainty. On the evidence of experience in this study, the approach deserves consideration in other contexts.

year: 2012

title: Fine-scale cryogenic sampling of planktonic microbial communities: Application to toxic cyanobacterial blooms

authors: Puddick, Jonathan

abstract: A lack of fine-scale methods for sampling planktonic microbial populations hinders advancement in understanding the responses of these communities to environmental conditions. Current methods provide resolution at scales of centimeters to meters, but not at the millimeter-scale required to understand highly stratified communities. To address this we developed two cryogenic sampling tools to collect spatially-precise samples from aquatic environments while simultaneously preserving the microbial communities. The application of these samplers was examined over a 5.5 h period using a cyanobacterial scum (Microcystis) formed in experimental mesocosms. A cryogenic “surface snatcher” collected a discrete layer (ca. 1 mm) of surface water. Compared to conventional surface sampling methods, the surface snatcher samples contained up to 22-times more microcystin, indicating that less underlying water was incorporated into the sample. A cryogenic “cold finger” sampler was used to collect vertical profiles of the upper 40 mm of the water column. This profiler provided new insights into the fine-scale structure of Microcystis scums, demonstrating that more microcystin-producing Microcystis was contained in the surface 5 mm than the 35 mm below. The results also showed that upregulation of microcystin production was highly localized in the top 2.5 mm of the Microcystis scum. Our results demonstrate that extreme changes in cyanobacterial communities can occur over small distances, and indicate that sampling resolution is of great importance for improving knowledge on cyanobacterial blooms and toxin production. While this study focused on microcystin-producing Microcystis, the cryogenic sampling tools described here could be applied to any planktonic microbial community.

text: Fine-scale cryogenic sampling of planktonic microbial communities: Application to toxic cyanobacterial blooms A lack of fine-scale methods for sampling planktonic microbial populations hinders advancement in understanding the responses of these communities to environmental conditions. Current methods provide resolution at scales of centimeters to meters, but not at the millimeter-scale required to understand highly stratified communities. To address this we developed two cryogenic sampling tools to collect spatially-precise samples from aquatic environments while simultaneously preserving the microbial communities. The application of these samplers was examined over a 5.5 h period using a cyanobacterial scum (Microcystis) formed in experimental mesocosms. A cryogenic “surface snatcher” collected a discrete layer (ca. 1 mm) of surface water. Compared to conventional surface sampling methods, the surface snatcher samples contained up to 22-times more microcystin, indicating that less underlying water was incorporated into the sample. A cryogenic “cold finger” sampler was used to collect vertical profiles of the upper 40 mm of the water column. This profiler provided new insights into the fine-scale structure of Microcystis scums, demonstrating that more microcystin-producing Microcystis was contained in the surface 5 mm than the 35 mm below. The results also showed that upregulation of microcystin production was highly localized in the top 2.5 mm of the Microcystis scum. Our results demonstrate that extreme changes in cyanobacterial communities can occur over small distances, and indicate that sampling resolution is of great importance for improving knowledge on cyanobacterial blooms and toxin production. While this study focused on microcystin-producing Microcystis, the cryogenic sampling tools described here could be applied to any planktonic microbial community.

year: 2016

title: Kimihia, rangahaua ngā tikanga heke iho. He taonga huahua e riro mai: Exploring whakapapa as a tool towards a kaupapa Māori assessment framework in early childhood education

authors: Paki, Vanessa Anne

subjects: kaupapa Maori assessment

abstract: This study explores whakapapa as a tool, which can be used as a kaupapa Māori assessment framework in early childhood education, positioning kaupapa Māori theory as a paradigm base underpinning a philosophical and theoretical discourse towards assessment for children's learning. This thesis represents the culmination of a personal and professional journey, derived from the writer's longstanding interest in and commitment to kaupapa Māori early childhood education, and more specifically, philosophies and practices for assessment in this context. The study has canvassed a vast terrain of kaupapa Māori philosophy in its search for a theoretical grounding for a kaupapa Māori assessment framework for early childhood education.
Foundation to the study has been the premise that the notion of whakapapa serves as an overarching philosophical matrix, encompassing the interconnected realms of genealogy, spirituality, and knowledge that precede, surround, and embrace the Māori child. Throughout the thesis, diagrams are employed to demonstrate and model the whakapapa underpinning the conceptualisations being explored. After contextualising the study within a historical overview of the impact of colonisation of kaupapa Māori education and research, it is suggested that a re-examination of key concepts from tikanga Māori will illuminate transformative possibilities applicable to the study's focus on the development of a theoretical base for an assessment tool within kaupapa Māori early childhood settings. Drawing from the literature, the thesis re-positions the view of the Māori child to one of being nurtured within a philosophical construct underpinned and immersed in tikanga such as whakapapa, ira tangata, whanaungatanga, mana and tapu, and ako, providing a strongly Māori theoretical base for the envisioning of the assessment process. The outcome of this study is to propose an assessment framework, which embodies and reflects these core kaupapa Māori philosophies as praxis.

text: Kimihia, rangahaua ngā tikanga heke iho. He taonga huahua e riro mai: Exploring whakapapa as a tool towards a kaupapa Māori assessment framework in early childhood education This study explores whakapapa as a tool, which can be used as a kaupapa Māori assessment framework in early childhood education, positioning kaupapa Māori theory as a paradigm base underpinning a philosophical and theoretical discourse towards assessment for children's learning. This thesis represents the culmination of a personal and professional journey, derived from the writer's longstanding interest in and commitment to kaupapa Māori early childhood education, and more specifically, philosophies and practices for assessment in this context. The study has canvassed a vast terrain of kaupapa Māori philosophy in its search for a theoretical grounding for a kaupapa Māori assessment framework for early childhood education.
Foundation to the study has been the premise that the notion of whakapapa serves as an overarching philosophical matrix, encompassing the interconnected realms of genealogy, spirituality, and knowledge that precede, surround, and embrace the Māori child. Throughout the thesis, diagrams are employed to demonstrate and model the whakapapa underpinning the conceptualisations being explored. After contextualising the study within a historical overview of the impact of colonisation of kaupapa Māori education and research, it is suggested that a re-examination of key concepts from tikanga Māori will illuminate transformative possibilities applicable to the study's focus on the development of a theoretical base for an assessment tool within kaupapa Māori early childhood settings. Drawing from the literature, the thesis re-positions the view of the Māori child to one of being nurtured within a philosophical construct underpinned and immersed in tikanga such as whakapapa, ira tangata, whanaungatanga, mana and tapu, and ako, providing a strongly Māori theoretical base for the envisioning of the assessment process. The outcome of this study is to propose an assessment framework, which embodies and reflects these core kaupapa Māori philosophies as praxis.

year: 2007