The Experts below are selected from a list of 13503 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Jennifer Baka - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
making space for energy Wasteland development enclosures and energy dispossessions
Antipode, 2017Co-Authors: Jennifer BakaAbstract:This paper analyzes why and how Wasteland development narratives persist through an evaluation of Wasteland development policies in India from 1970 to present. Integrating critical scholarship on environmental narratives and enclosures, I find that narratives of Wastelands as “empty” spaces available for “improvement” continue because they are metaphors for entrenched struggles between the government's shifting visions of “improvement” and communities whose land use practices contradict these logics. Since the 1970s, “improvement” has meant establishing different types of tree plantations on Wastelands to ostensibly provide energy security. These projects have dispossessed land users by enclosing common property lands and by providing forms of energy incommensurate with local needs, a trend I term “energy dispossessions”. Factors enabling energy dispossessions include the government's increased attempts to establish public–private partnerships to carry out “improvement” and a “field of observation” constructed to obscure local livelihoods. Unveiling these logics will help to problematize and contest future iterations of Wasteland development.
-
What Wastelands? A critique of biofuel policy discourse in South India
Geoforum, 2014Co-Authors: Jennifer BakaAbstract:Abstract Mirroring global trends in biofuel policy making, the Government of India recently enacted a policy restricting feedstock cultivation to ‘Wastelands’, a government designation for marginal lands. This strategy, the government asserts, will help improve the country’s energy security, mitigate climate change and reduce rural poverty through job creation. As other critical biofuels scholarship has documented, land categorizations like ‘Wasteland’ are political constructs homogenously applied to indicate ‘empty’, ‘unproductive’ land ‘available’ for development. While claiming that such constructions mask socio-political relations on the ground, little evidence has been offered analyzing the impacts of these omissions or evaluating how Wasteland constructions are sustained. This paper provides such an analysis through a case study of Jatropha curcas biodiesel promotion on Wastelands in Tamil Nadu, India. I find that Prosopis juliflora on Tamil Nadu’s Wastelands currently supports a dynamic energy economy servicing both rural and urban consumers. The Prosopis economy provides substantially more energy services, jobs and economic development opportunities than would Jatropha biodiesel. Yet political relations amongst stakeholders obscure the Prosopis economy from biofuel policy dialogs. That Prosopis was originally spread throughout India as part of a Wasteland development program of the 1970s underscores the deeply political nature of the concept of Wasteland. These findings demonstrate that marginal lands, as currently constructed, do not exist. By extension, locating biofuels on such lands is not the ‘win–win’ strategy for simultaneously addressing energy security, climate change and rural poverty that advocates suggest.
-
What Wastelands? A critique of biofuel policy discourse in South India
Geoforum, 2014Co-Authors: Jennifer BakaAbstract:Mirroring global trends in biofuel policy making, the Government of India recently enacted a policy restricting feedstock cultivation to 'Wastelands', a government designation for marginal lands. This strategy, the government asserts, will help improve the country's energy security, mitigate climate change and reduce rural poverty through job creation. As other critical biofuels scholarship has documented, land categorizations like 'Wasteland' are political constructs homogenously applied to indicate 'empty', 'unproductive' land 'available' for development. While claiming that such constructions mask socio-political relations on the ground, little evidence has been offered analyzing the impacts of these omissions or evaluating how Wasteland constructions are sustained. This paper provides such an analysis through a case study of Jatropha curcas biodiesel promotion on Wastelands in Tamil Nadu, India. I find that Prosopis juliflora on Tamil Nadu's Wastelands currently supports a dynamic energy economy servicing both rural and urban consumers. The Prosopis economy provides substantially more energy services, jobs and economic development opportunities than would Jatropha biodiesel. Yet political relations amongst stakeholders obscure the Prosopis economy from biofuel policy dialogs. That Prosopis was originally spread throughout India as part of a Wasteland development program of the 1970s underscores the deeply political nature of the concept of Wasteland. These findings demonstrate that marginal lands, as currently constructed, do not exist. By extension, locating biofuels on such lands is not the 'win-win' strategy for simultaneously addressing energy security, climate change and rural poverty that advocates suggest. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
-
Wasteland energy scapes a comparative energy flow analysis of india s biofuel and biomass economies
LSE Research Online Documents on Economics, 2014Co-Authors: Jennifer Baka, Robert BailisAbstract:Through a comparative energy flow analysis, this paper examines the energy security impacts of growing biofuels on Wastelands in South India. India's National Policy on Biofuels claims that Wastelands are well suited for biofuel production because they are empty and unused. However, in rural Tamil Nadu, a Prosopis juliflora fuelwood energy economy already exists on these lands and services a mix of rural and urban consumers at household and industrial levels. This Prosopis economy currently provides 2.5–10.3 times more useful energy than would the government's proposed Jatropha curcas biodiesel economy, depending on Jatropha by-product usage. Contrary to the government's claims, growing biofuels on Wastelands can weaken, rather than improve, the country's energy security. Further, replacing Prosopis with Jatropha could engender changes in economic and property relations that could further weaken energy security. These findings are not specific to rural Tamil Nadu as Prosopis is widely used as a fuelwood throughout Asia and Africa. Calls to ‘develop’ degraded lands through biofuel promotion similarly exist in these regions. This study underscores the importance of analyzing Wasteland-centered biofuel policies at local levels in order to better understand the changes in human–environment relationships resulting from this policy push.
-
the political construction of Wasteland governmentality land acquisition and social inequality in south india
Development and Change, 2013Co-Authors: Jennifer BakaAbstract:Through a micro-level study of a biofuel-related land acquisition in rural Tamil Nadu, India, this article reveals how state–subject relations are shaping modern land deal politics. Through its political construction of the concept of ‘Wasteland’ and its associated Wasteland development programme, the Indian state has facilitated a series of questionable land acquisitions, reshaping agrarian livelihoods in the process. A class of land brokers has emerged to help carry out the state's project of converting ‘Wastelands’ to more ‘productive’, state-defined uses such as biofuel cultivation and industrial expansion. Those whose lands have been acquired as part of these programmes have undergone a transition to wage labour, increasing the prolitarianization of agrarian communities. By documenting the mechanics of this ‘Wasteland governmentality’, this study contributes to a political sociology of the state by unpacking the linkages between the state and agrarian subjects in the context of the ‘global land grab’.
Ingo Kowarik - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
enhancing Wasteland vegetation by adding ornamentals opportunities and constraints for establishing steppe and prairie species on urban demolition sites
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014Co-Authors: Marcrajan Koppler, Ingo Kowarik, Norbert Kuhn, Moritz Von Der LippeAbstract:Following economic or demographic decline, many cities undergo extensive structural changes which often lead to large Wasteland areas. Adding aesthetically attractive ornamental species to such sites has been proposed as a low cost approach to integrate Wastelands into urban greenspace systems and enhance their acceptance by residents. Species from North American prairies and Eurasian steppes are expected to persist on urban sites despite low maintenance, but this idea has not yet been tested under Central European conditions. On urban demolition sites in Berlin, we established a randomised block design with mixtures of introduced species from either tall grass prairies or steppes. To test a low cost approach, the sites were mown once in autumn and never irrigated. Steppe species showed significantly higher mean survival rates (61%) than prairie species (19%). Competition from co-occurring Wasteland species adversely affected prairie species but not steppe species. The second year after planting, survival rates declined due to a severe summer drought. Steppe species likely performed better because, in their native range, drought stress in spring and summer is common. Contrasting, prairie species are adapted to high precipitation during their major development period in North America. Nevertheless, three prairie and eight steppe species showed mean establishment rates >50% and obviously coped with the severe site conditions. Our results demonstrate opportunities for adding ornamentals to Wastelands. In the face of a limited water supply, using robust steppe species appears most promising. Integrating regular irrigation into maintenance schemes could enhance the establishment of prairie species.
-
creating novel urban grasslands by reintroducing native species in Wasteland vegetation
Biological Conservation, 2013Co-Authors: Leonie K Fischer, Moritz Von Der Lippe, Matthias C Rillig, Ingo KowarikAbstract:Abstract In many areas of the world, grassland species have declined due to intensified agriculture and abandonment of unproductive sites. In rural areas, restoration approaches seek to counteract this loss. Additional potential for grassland restoration arises in urban settings, especially on large-scale Wastelands isolated from suitable species pools. We explored the potential of urban Wastelands for the development of low-maintenance meadows. We expanded on restoration approaches of rural landscapes by working with altered urban soils and existing Wasteland vegetation. We tested if grassland species of regional provenances can be successfully reintroduced by comparing different restoration treatments: (1) transfer of a threshed seed mixture ( Heudrusch ) from local hay meadows, (2) seeding of species of regional provenances, (3) the same seeding combined with mycorrhizal inoculation. We revealed higher total species richness in all treated plots compared to the control, with similar proportions of grassland species. Both seeding treatments showed increased proportions of target species. The proportion of target species was stable in the seeding/mycorrhiza treatment and increased in the seeding only treatment from the second to the third year of the study to the same level. Urban soil features including stone content were negatively related to target species richness. In contrast, human-mediated impacts (e.g., dog intrusion) showed no significant effect on target species richness. Our experiment demonstrates that urban Wastelands are suitable habitats for grassland species. Including extant soils and resident vegetation results in novel urban meadows with a considerable share of ruderal species but where rare grassland species are able to persist.
Emmanuelle Porcher - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
The Role of Urban Structures in the Distribution of Wasteland Flora in
2020Co-Authors: Audrey Muratet, Nathalie Machon, Jacques Moret, Emmanuelle PorcherAbstract:Wastelands are likely to host a significant part of urban floristic diversity but have received limited attention because they are not considered inter esting green zones. Here, we explore the potential role of Wastelands in maintaining urban biodiver sity to help define effective urban management plans. We quantified floristic diversity in 98 Wasteland sites of Hauts-de-Seine, one of the most densely populated areas in France, and character ized the environmental parameters and spatial distribution of sites to identify some of the factors that influence plant species composition and to explore the impact of urban environment on the floristic interest of Wastelands. Their floristic rich ness represented 58% of the total richness observed in the whole study area. Site richness depended on site area (the largest sites were the richest) and site age, with a maximum in sites of intermediate age (4-13 years). In the largest sites only (>2,500 m2), the floristic distance among sites was positively correlated with geographic distance, which suggests that migration of species among large sites partly controls local floristic composition. In contrast, the environmental distance among sites was not cor related with floristic distance. Finally, we showed that the presence of collective and individual dwellings within 200 m of a Wasteland decreased its floristic rarity, whereas the presence of rivers or ponds increased it. We derive several recommen dations to optimize the management of Wastelands with respect to conservation of urban biodiversity.
-
The Role of Urban Structures in the Distribution of Wasteland Flora in the Greater Paris Area, France
Ecosystems, 2007Co-Authors: Audrey Muratet, Nathalie Machon, Frédéric Jiguet, Jacques Moret, Emmanuelle PorcherAbstract:Wastelands are likely to host a significant part of urban floristic diversity but have received limited attention because they are not considered interesting green zones. Here, we explore the potential role of Wastelands in maintaining urban biodiversity to help define effective urban management plans. We quantified floristic diversity in 98 Wasteland sites of Hauts-de-Seine, one of the most densely populated areas in France, and characterized the environmental parameters and spatial distribution of sites to identify some of the factors that influence plant species composition and to explore the impact of urban environment on the floristic interest of Wastelands. Their floristic richness represented 58% of the total richness observed in the whole study area. Site richness depended on site area (the largest sites were the richest) and site age, with a maximum in sites of intermediate age (4–13 years). In the largest sites only (>2,500 m^2), the floristic distance among sites was positively correlated with geographic distance, which suggests that migration of species among large sites partly controls local floristic composition. In contrast, the environmental distance among sites was not correlated with floristic distance. Finally, we showed that the presence of collective and individual dwellings within 200 m of a Wasteland decreased its floristic rarity, whereas the presence of rivers or ponds increased it. We derive several recommendations to optimize the management of Wastelands with respect to conservation of urban biodiversity.
Moritz Von Der Lippe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
enhancing Wasteland vegetation by adding ornamentals opportunities and constraints for establishing steppe and prairie species on urban demolition sites
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014Co-Authors: Marcrajan Koppler, Ingo Kowarik, Norbert Kuhn, Moritz Von Der LippeAbstract:Following economic or demographic decline, many cities undergo extensive structural changes which often lead to large Wasteland areas. Adding aesthetically attractive ornamental species to such sites has been proposed as a low cost approach to integrate Wastelands into urban greenspace systems and enhance their acceptance by residents. Species from North American prairies and Eurasian steppes are expected to persist on urban sites despite low maintenance, but this idea has not yet been tested under Central European conditions. On urban demolition sites in Berlin, we established a randomised block design with mixtures of introduced species from either tall grass prairies or steppes. To test a low cost approach, the sites were mown once in autumn and never irrigated. Steppe species showed significantly higher mean survival rates (61%) than prairie species (19%). Competition from co-occurring Wasteland species adversely affected prairie species but not steppe species. The second year after planting, survival rates declined due to a severe summer drought. Steppe species likely performed better because, in their native range, drought stress in spring and summer is common. Contrasting, prairie species are adapted to high precipitation during their major development period in North America. Nevertheless, three prairie and eight steppe species showed mean establishment rates >50% and obviously coped with the severe site conditions. Our results demonstrate opportunities for adding ornamentals to Wastelands. In the face of a limited water supply, using robust steppe species appears most promising. Integrating regular irrigation into maintenance schemes could enhance the establishment of prairie species.
-
creating novel urban grasslands by reintroducing native species in Wasteland vegetation
Biological Conservation, 2013Co-Authors: Leonie K Fischer, Moritz Von Der Lippe, Matthias C Rillig, Ingo KowarikAbstract:Abstract In many areas of the world, grassland species have declined due to intensified agriculture and abandonment of unproductive sites. In rural areas, restoration approaches seek to counteract this loss. Additional potential for grassland restoration arises in urban settings, especially on large-scale Wastelands isolated from suitable species pools. We explored the potential of urban Wastelands for the development of low-maintenance meadows. We expanded on restoration approaches of rural landscapes by working with altered urban soils and existing Wasteland vegetation. We tested if grassland species of regional provenances can be successfully reintroduced by comparing different restoration treatments: (1) transfer of a threshed seed mixture ( Heudrusch ) from local hay meadows, (2) seeding of species of regional provenances, (3) the same seeding combined with mycorrhizal inoculation. We revealed higher total species richness in all treated plots compared to the control, with similar proportions of grassland species. Both seeding treatments showed increased proportions of target species. The proportion of target species was stable in the seeding/mycorrhiza treatment and increased in the seeding only treatment from the second to the third year of the study to the same level. Urban soil features including stone content were negatively related to target species richness. In contrast, human-mediated impacts (e.g., dog intrusion) showed no significant effect on target species richness. Our experiment demonstrates that urban Wastelands are suitable habitats for grassland species. Including extant soils and resident vegetation results in novel urban meadows with a considerable share of ruderal species but where rare grassland species are able to persist.
Nico Koedam - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
the role of soil and microclimatic variables in the distribution patterns of urban Wasteland flora in brussels belgium
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2007Co-Authors: Sandrine Godefroid, Dennis Monbaliu, Nico KoedamAbstract:Despite increased recognition of the importance of urban vegetation research, few attempts have been made to assess the relative influence of ecological variables on the species composition of urban Wastelands. The main aim of this paper is to assess the relative importance of soil and microclimatic variables in structuring plant species richness and diversity in this habitat. Field investigations were carried out in 22 Wasteland sites situated within the city of Brussels. The vegetation has been recorded in 38 4 m 2 -plots according to the Braun–Blanquet-method. A total of 19 environmental variables were taken into consideration, among others the presence of different kinds of anthropogenic substrates and microclimatic variables. Results indicate that plant species composition in urban Wastelands is mainly driven by soil nutrient content, soil moisture, soil pH and light intensity (as inferred by the mean Ellenberg’s indicator values). Various types of anthropogenic substrates such as concrete, pebbles, sand and rubble had different effects on the species composition, the proportion of neophytes, hemeroby and urbanity level. Air temperature and humidity did show a significant influence on the presence of some species. The contribution of these environmental variables to the species composition and diversity of urban Wastelands is discussed. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
