by Future Making in the anthropocene
Currently, we’re witnessing the effects of human behavior on the natural world: mass migration and mass tourism, in the midst of soaring temperatures and a dramatic loss of biodiversity. How do these global issues translate to the everyday practice of urban and landscape planners that are trying to keep our environment livable? In this series, we'll be talking to young academics enrolled in the research and training programs Heriland and Terranova. Can their research inspire urban and landscape planners to actually adapt current practices?
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October 20, 2023
<p><strong>Energy transitions: learning from the past</strong> </p> <p><strong>How can we learn from past transitions in systems of energy production and consumption? This is the main question for the sixth and last episode in the ‘Future Making in the Anthropocene’-podcast series. In order to sustain current lifestyles in the industrialized (Western) part of the world, enormous amounts of energy are needed.</strong> <strong>By studying past crises in energy systems starting with the agricultural revolution, we can learn what we need to do, to transition to a low-carbon future.</strong></p> <p><br></p> <p>Terranova-researcher Alex Martinez looked into historical shift in <em>energy regime,</em> starting with the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to an agricultural society. Every transition since has resulted in a higher demand in energy consumption, requiring higher levels of production. He concludes that our environment can no longer provide the energy needed to sustain the model of continuous growth and argues for a shift towards a more environmentally friendly way of living. "We are stuck in a loop. Each time we resolve a crisis, we create a new and larger one. In the current transition towards a low-carbon future, we find ourselves in a new resource- and energy crisis. We need to find a way to step out of this loop."</p> <p><br></p> <p>Menne Kosian of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands adds to Martinez’ insights with examples from practice. Whereas some people see changes to our landscapes such as the introduction of solar farms and wind parks as a threat, Kosian places them in a larger historical process of adaptation. "Change is the main characteristic of landscapes. If you preserve landscapes, you take away their main characteristic." This doesn’t mean any kind of change contributes to the character of a landscape. In order to provide integrated solutions that answer to local characteristics, knowledge of historical developments in the landscape can be used as a source of inspiration.</p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>Show notes</strong></p> <ul> <li>Martinez, A., Kluiving, S., Muñoz-Rojas, J., Borja Barrera, C. and Fraile Jurado, P.: "From hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies to the Agricultural Revolution: Disentangling Energy Regimes as a complement to cultural phases in Northern Spain", The Holocene 2022, Vol. 32(8) pages 884–896. Access the paper: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836221095990">https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836221095990</a></li> <li>JPI Cultural Heritage & JPI Climate: White Paper, Cultural Heritage and Climate Change: New Challenges and Perspectives for Research, March 2022 <a href="https://www.heritageresearch-hub.eu/white-paper-cultural-heritage-and-climate-change-new-challenges-and-perspectives-for-research/">https://www.heritageresearch-hub.eu/white-paper-cultural-heritage-and-climate-change-new-challenges-and-perspectives-for-research/</a> </li> <li>Vreenegoor, E. and Kosian, M.: “Using Cultural Heritage and Historical Analyses for Current and Future Problems With Too Much or Too Little Water”, Internet Archaeology 60, 2022. Access the paper: <a href="https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.60.6">https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.60.6</a> </li> <li>For more information on the reuse of water mills as local energy supply, check:</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1621">https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1621</a> of <a href="https://www.ern.org/en/small-and-micro-hydropower/">https://www.ern.org/en/small-and-micro-hydropower/</a> and <a href="https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/4753/1/Alonso-RSER_2011.pdf">https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/4753/1/Alonso-RSER_2011.pdf</a> </p> <ul> <li>Contact <a href="https://www.terranova-itn.eu/alexandre-martinez/">Alexandre Martinez by email</a></li> <li>Contact <a href="https://kennis.cultureelerfgoed.nl/index.php/Menne_Kosian">Menne Kosian by email</a></li> </ul>
September 29, 2023
<p>The fifth episode of the ‘Future Making in the Anthropocene’-podcast covers the impact of climate change on landscapes. We are experiencing the devastating effects of the warming of the planet: forest fires, floods and heavy storms. They impact our lives and affect natural habitats. Computer models help to understand climate change and provide information on the future. But those models will not be able to halt current trends: is humankind ready to act?</p> <p><br></p> <p>"If you want to project what will happen to our climate in the future, you have to look back into history", states Frank Arthur. Arthur is a researcher in the Terranova-program, working at the University of South-eastern Norway. Arthur has simulated the climate of the past 11,500 years in different European regions in a high-resolution model. Such models are essential in simulating climate patterns and can help to project trends into the future.</p> <p><br></p> <p>To create an accurate climate model, meteorological data is combined with archeological archives, retrieved from archeological sites such as glaciers, ice cores, sediment layers and lakes. This historical data is fed into the models to simulate what happened many ages ago. This method makes it possible to develop models with a higher resolution, that deliver more accurate data than their predecessors. "In order to increase accuracy, we need to add more climate models with high resolution into the system, adding to the ones that exist already. The next step is to use these models to project into the future", says Arthur.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) traces and interprets climate change on a global level. Their reports provide insights into the far-reaching consequences of climate change to our planet. Hans Renssen, professor on Climate Change and supervisor of Arthur's research, isn't convinced that governments are taking adequate measures to limit the emission of greenhouses gases. However, both Renssen and Arthur are persevering in their long-term endeavour to spread knowledge on climate change to policy makers, among others. In the podcast, they explain how their research contributes to the huge task humankind is facing.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Show notes</p> <p><br></p> <p>- Arthur, F., Roche, D. M., Fyfe, R., Quiquet, A., and Renssen, H.: Simulations of the Holocene climate in Europe using an interactive downscaling within the iLOVECLIM model (version 1.1), published in: Clim. Past, 19, 87–106 <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/cp- 19-87-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-</a><a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/cp- 19-87-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">19-87-2023</a></p> <p>- According to the IPCC Synthesis-report, published in March 2023, it is only possible to avoid warming of 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) or 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) if massive and immediate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are made.</p> <p>- Contact <a href="https://www.usn.no/english/about/contact-us/employees/frank-arthur" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Frank Arthur </a>by e-mail</p> <p>- Contact <a href="https://www.usn.no/english/about/contact-us/employees/hans-renssen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Hans Renssen</a> by e-mail</p>
August 6, 2023
<p>This episode of the Future making in the Anthropocene-podcast focuses on actionable science and how to raise awareness among different stakeholders about changes in their landscapes. This type of science starts from the bottom up and addresses dilemmas that communities are faced with. By consulting them in the development of scenarios of possible and desirable futures, this research method helps to empower citizens in complex decision-making processes and prevents that they feel left out. As a result, stakeholders from totally different backgrounds are introduced to each other’s perspectives and might, ultimately, become involved in policies that affect their environment.</p> <p>Developing scenarios helps to envisage possible futures and understand the effects of choices we make now. Scenarios also help to breakdown wicked problems into smaller parts. By providing a better understanding and a framework, science can help to bridge differences between people from different backgrounds. Scenarios are discussed with as many stakeholders as possible. In that way, local knowledge is accumulated and can be put to use by policy makers, who are supported by this process in the difficult decisions that need to be made.</p> <p>In a recent study, Terranova-researcher Roberta Rigo verified how scenarios could actually contribute to land management. By zooming in on two regions in Brittany (France), she questions how effective scenarios are in producing outcomes for local stakeholders. She interviewed and brought together a multitude of current stakeholders in workshops that dealt with several issues that are of importance to those living and working in the region. These dealt primarily with the management and availability of water, for all types of use, including farming. Due to recent droughts this proved to be an overarching subject that concerned everyone involved, from citizens to professionals such as water managers. The setup urged all of them to think about water management from a broad perspective.</p> <p>This method seems to counteract a current trend of narrowing of perspectives, or so-called siloization, in the management of landscapes. This concerns regions throughout Europe. In the Netherlands, for instance, farmers have long been pressured to produce as much as possible, often at the expense of the farmland's soil and water quality. This has led to a sharp decline in biodiversity that Sarah Westenburg, a Dutch expert on agricultural policy, is hoping will be turned around by supporting farmers' collectives in their transition towards more nature-inclusive agriculture. BoerenNatuur, the organisation representing 40 agricultural collectives in the Netherlands, facilitates these collectives in executing more ecologically sustainable agricultural practices by providing so-called green blue services. These green blue services can support the necessary transition, but they do not yet, however, yield enough revenues to provide farmers with the necessary support and incentive to change their current business model of farming.</p>
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