Jari Lyytimäki

Nature as a nuisance? Ecosystem services and disservices to urban lifestyle

The lifestyle of people living in urban areas has profound direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity. However, the role of urban lifestyle as a driving force of biodiversity change is not very well understood. This is partly because there is a gap between a social science approach focusing on lifestyle and a natural science approach focusing on biodiversity. We propose that the concept of ecological services and disservices is useful in connecting these approaches. Ecosystem services produced by urban green areas are the focus of a wide range of environmental studies, but disservices – such as safety issues in dark parks or pollen causing health problems – have gained only sporadic attention in environmental studies focused on urban ecosystems. We review and discuss different urban ecosystem disservices from a Northern European perspective. We conclude by addressing the key limitations and possibilities of the use of the concept of ecological disservices in urban biodiversity studies.

The use, non-use and misuse of indicators in sustainability assessment and communication

Sustainability assessments and indicators aim to produce and communicate information needed for evidence-based policymaking, strategic planning or learning. It has been assumed that in order to induce the desired effects, indicators must be relevant and reliable and they must be communicated to the right audience in the right way at the right moment. However, following the criteria for a good indicator does not guarantee that the indicator will be used, nor does it guarantee that the use will produce the desired effects. Various unintended side effects of indicator communication may emerge, particularly with sustainability issues characterised by various actors and multiple temporal, functional and spatial scales. We propose a comprehensive typology summarising different forms of sustainability indicator usage, namely use, non-use and misuse. This typology helps to identify potential positive or negative side effects of indicator usage. We discuss the implications of indicator-based communication, based on insights gathered in four research projects and a literature review. Attention given to potential unintended effects of indicator usage may be the key to increasing the effectiveness of sustainability communication.

Thresholds of sustainability: policy challenges of regime shifts in coastal areas

Abstract With a bang or with a whimper? A number of studies address this key question related to the ways in which ecosystems degrade. Our angle is slightly different. In this essay, we discuss what challenges the possibility of abrupt change poses to environmental policy. As a reference, we use the concept of an ecological threshold which describes how systems can change dramatically from one state to another. Environmental experts have recognized the usefulness of the concept. Both conceptual understanding and empirical evidence from different ecosystems suggest negative and irreversible consequences of trespassing ecological thresholds. However, large gaps remain regarding how to use the concept to prevent negative or enhance positive changes. This observation motivated our review of key features of the threshold concept in order to discuss its use in policy. We draw especially on studies describing European coastal areas. We conclude that, particularly because thresholds cannot be identified and legally defined once and for all, a continuous learning process is critical. We also stress that societies will have to develop diagnostics that support such learning processes.

Climate change as reported in the press of Finland: From screaming headlines to penetrating background noise

News coverage of climate change has increased in the English‐speaking industrialised countries since 2005. The development of news coverage, especially in the United States, has been widely studied. Knowledge of the development and contents of climate debate in other languages than English is sparse. This paper presents the development on the press news coverage on climate change in Finland during the period 1990–2009 and discusses different social, economic and ecological factors influencing the news coverage.

Temporalities and environmental reporting: press news on eutrophication in Finland

Abstract Media coverage is increasingly setting the agenda for environmental policy, even though the media has no formal role in policy making. This article explores water eutrophication in the Finnish press. The focus is on the temporal variations presented in the press articles. The DPSIR framework describing the Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, and Responses, and the concept of timescape are applied in order to analyse and discuss different aspects of temporality. The results indicate that the long-term driving forces and pressures causing eutrophication receive little attention. The eutrophication process is especially connected to the algae occurrences caused by temporary weather conditions. By omitting the long-term perspective and the interplay between different temporal processes, the press coverage creates an agenda that is not likely to facilitate the implementation of the long-term environmental policy measures.

Unrecognized, concealed, or forgotten -- the case of absent information in risk communication

There are differing and partially incompatible views about what kind of issues should be included into risk discussions and what kinds of risks should be emphasized and dealt with. While the emergence of new risks has been extensively studied, relatively little attention has been paid to the roles that the absence of information can play in risk debates. Potentially relevant information may be downplayed or omitted and less relevant overemphasized when actors with varying interests, knowledge bases, and risk frames interact. Multiple and cumulative environmental and health risks caused by chemicals and other stressors pose particular challenges for risk communication. We identify and discuss different forms of unrecognized, hidden, and forgotten information by using chemical risks as a case. A widely applicable typology of absent information in risk communication is outlined.

Voices for the darkness: online survey on public perceptions on light pollution as an environmental problem

Light pollution is increasingly affecting ecosystems and human health. We present results from an online survey aimed to chart what aspects of lighting are considered harmful and how light pollution is perceived by the public. We focus on affluent societies by using Finland as an example of a northern industrialised country. The survey generated 2053 responses, particularly from well-educated urban persons living in residential areas and interested in astronomy or environmental issues. The results show that the lighting of residential areas and lighting serving traffic are considered the most common sources of light pollution while commercial lighting is perceived as the most annoying form of light use. Respondents commonly considered light pollution as a disturbance for outdoor recreation and relaxation. The results suggest that the ecological and health effects of light pollution emphasised by the research are poorly known by the people emphasising the aesthetic aspects. The results indicate relatively wide but passive acceptance for policy measures aimed at reducing light pollution.

Coping with Ecological Thresholds in Coastal Areas: Results from an International Expert Survey

Ecological thresholds have raised considerable interest as a concept that may help to understand and manage environmental challenges in coastal areas. We present results from an international survey on ecological thresholds targeted at coastal and marine experts. The results show that experts are confident that coastal areas are affected by risks and changes related to ecological thresholds. Experts also are concerned that current coastal management structures and practices are not capable of preventing the crossing of the thresholds of harmful changes, especially those related to climate change. The results also show a high level of variability of views and suggest a need for the creation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary platforms and processes of open-minded deliberation needed for the adaptive management of coastal areas.

Communicating Chemical Risks for Social Learning: Findings from an Expert Opinion Survey.

Environmental and health risks caused by chemical substances have been intensively debated in various arenas of science and policy, and in news media. The impacts of risk debates on the public have been widely studied, while less attention has been paid to expert views. We present results from a cross-national survey charting expert views on the policy-level assessment, management, and communication of chemical risks. We focus on the need for reflexive concepts and approaches in risk assessment and governance when seen as social learning processes. Based on the results we present recommendations for improving risk communication of expert organizations.

Integrated frameworks for assessing and managing health risks in the context of managed aquifer recharge with river water.

Integrated assessment and management of water resources for the supply of potable water is increasingly important in light of projected water scarcity in many parts of the world. This article develops frameworks for regional-level waterborne human health risk assessment of chemical and microbiological contamination to aid water management, incorporating economic aspects of health risks. Managed aquifer recharge with surface water from a river in Southern Finland is used as an illustrative case. With a starting point in watershed governance, stakeholder concerns, and value-at-risk concepts, we merge common methods for integrative health risk analysis of contaminants to describe risks and impacts dynamically and broadly. This involves structuring analyses along the risk chain: sources-releases-environmental transport and fate-exposures-health effects-socio-economic impacts-management responses. Risks attributed to contaminants are embedded in other risks, such as contaminants from other sources, and related to benefits from improved water quality. A set of models along this risk chain in the case is presented. Fundamental issues in the assessment are identified, including 1) framing of risks, scenarios, and choices; 2) interaction of models and empirical information; 3) time dimension; 4) distributions of risks and benefits; and 5) uncertainties about risks and controls. We find that all these combine objective and subjective aspects, and involve value judgments and policy choices. We conclude with proposals for overcoming conceptual and functional divides and lock-ins to improve modeling, assessment, and management of complex water supply schemes, especially by reflective solution-oriented interdisciplinary and multi-actor deliberation.