The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on t... more The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on the part of the Russian Federation and efforts by the other Arctic Ocean littoral states to reinforce their territorial and, particularly, maritime jurisdictional claims in the region, led to the Arctic becoming the focus of considerable global media attention in recent months. Much of this coverage has been alarmist in tone, replete with tales of a “scramble”1 or “race”2 for the Arctic, talk of an Arctic “land-grab”,3 and unease over a resultant Arctic resource “gold rush”.4 Although some of the media and even diplomatic responses have been, to say the least, somewhat misleading, these events have been set against the backdrop of some startling and potentially profound changes to the Arctic environment which have also served to heighten concerns over events in the region. Th e aim of this paper is to highlight key developments and explore some of the legal and policy issues that arise
The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on t... more The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on the part of the Russian Federation and efforts by the other Arctic Ocean littoral states to reinforce their territorial and, particularly, maritime jurisdictional claims in the region, led to the Arctic becoming the focus of considerable global media attention in recent months. Much of this coverage has been alarmist in tone, replete with tales of a “scramble”1 or “race”2 for the Arctic, talk of an Arctic “land-grab”,3 and unease over a resultant Arctic resource “gold rush”.4 Although some of the media and even diplomatic responses have been, to say the least, somewhat misleading, these events have been set against the backdrop of some startling and potentially profound changes to the Arctic environment which have also served to heighten concerns over events in the region. Th e aim of this paper is to highlight key developments and explore some of the legal and policy issues that arise
The demand for use of the marine environment and coastal areas has never been greater. With ambit... more The demand for use of the marine environment and coastal areas has never been greater. With ambitious targets for the development of marine renewable energy, marine protected areas and interactive marine activities, marine planning has risen to the top of the policy agenda. As the Scottish Government progresses national and regional marine planning under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, accessing information about how Scotland’s marine space is used is imperative. This is particularly important for coastal stakeholders who operate at regional or local scales where data are poorly spatially resolved.
Recent efforts to develop frameworks to assess the sustainability of Australian fisheries introdu... more Recent efforts to develop frameworks to assess the sustainability of Australian fisheries introduce sustainability indicators as tools in fisheries management. The development of these indicators has been in response to community concerns over the use of marine resources, commitments in Australia’s Oceans Policy to ensure sustainable fisheries and the need for appropriate tools to be used in reporting against ESD objectives. This paper provides a review of the emerging approaches that measure sustainability in fisheries, identifying: Market based non-government approaches via the Marine Stewardship Council; Environment Australia’s assessments based on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection (Imports and Exports) Act 1982; and The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture’s ESD project
ABSTRACT The necessity to address climate change has resulted in a widespread debate about the ne... more ABSTRACT The necessity to address climate change has resulted in a widespread debate about the need for a transition to a ‘greener’ economy. How such an economy emerges, by what drivers and at what scale is a significant source of speculation amongst the geographical research community. In the context of longstanding contributions to environmental geography from scholars working at Aberdeen University, this paper outlines a novel research agenda for the Green Economy Research Centre (GERC). The contours of the green economy are examined in the context of economic sectors of food production, tourism, energy and the blue economy. Cross-cutting themes of green transitions, governance, people and place and ecosystem services inform our academic contribution to this evolving and controversial societal issue.
Research into stakeholder perceptions of conventional aquaculture has focused upon issues such as... more Research into stakeholder perceptions of conventional aquaculture has focused upon issues such as risk, impact on other users of marine space, and the factors influencing consumers. However, some of these issues may become redundant with new aquaculture practices such as Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). For practices such as IMTA to realise their potential they must be socially acceptable and this may depend on satisfying key stakeholders. This study used in-depth interviews to identify potential concerns of stakeholders as well as perceived benefits in relation to the development of IMTA to a commercial level of production. A total of 44 interviews were conducted across 12 stakeholder groups in six countries: Cyprus, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway and Scotland. Levels of awareness and understanding of IMTA were mixed across stakeholder groups and across countries. Concerns were raised including: spatial location issues, food safety and disease. Perceived benefits of IMTA included: waste utilisation, minimisation of impacts to the benthos and the filtering of sea lice larvae. Also recognised as important was the creation of new income streams. The results showed that some issues/benefits were more important in certain countries. Risks to the environment, risks arising from governance and risks to the industry itself were raised, but stakeholders felt that these sources of risk could be addressed by research studies, education and changes to legislation. Stakeholders also believed that IMTA could contribute to improving the image of the aquaculture industry. For IMTA to successfully move forward from pilot scale to commercial scale development, it is imperative that the issues raised in this study form priorities for reform and action.
The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on t... more The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on the part of the Russian Federation and efforts by the other Arctic Ocean littoral states to reinforce their territorial and, particularly, maritime jurisdictional claims in the region, led to the Arctic becoming the focus of considerable global media attention in recent months. Much of this coverage has been alarmist in tone, replete with tales of a “scramble”1 or “race”2 for the Arctic, talk of an Arctic “land-grab”,3 and unease over a resultant Arctic resource “gold rush”.4 Although some of the media and even diplomatic responses have been, to say the least, somewhat misleading, these events have been set against the backdrop of some startling and potentially profound changes to the Arctic environment which have also served to heighten concerns over events in the region. Th e aim of this paper is to highlight key developments and explore some of the legal and policy issues that arise
The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on t... more The planting of a flag in a titanium canister on the seabed at the North Pole in August 2007 on the part of the Russian Federation and efforts by the other Arctic Ocean littoral states to reinforce their territorial and, particularly, maritime jurisdictional claims in the region, led to the Arctic becoming the focus of considerable global media attention in recent months. Much of this coverage has been alarmist in tone, replete with tales of a “scramble”1 or “race”2 for the Arctic, talk of an Arctic “land-grab”,3 and unease over a resultant Arctic resource “gold rush”.4 Although some of the media and even diplomatic responses have been, to say the least, somewhat misleading, these events have been set against the backdrop of some startling and potentially profound changes to the Arctic environment which have also served to heighten concerns over events in the region. Th e aim of this paper is to highlight key developments and explore some of the legal and policy issues that arise
The demand for use of the marine environment and coastal areas has never been greater. With ambit... more The demand for use of the marine environment and coastal areas has never been greater. With ambitious targets for the development of marine renewable energy, marine protected areas and interactive marine activities, marine planning has risen to the top of the policy agenda. As the Scottish Government progresses national and regional marine planning under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, accessing information about how Scotland’s marine space is used is imperative. This is particularly important for coastal stakeholders who operate at regional or local scales where data are poorly spatially resolved.
Recent efforts to develop frameworks to assess the sustainability of Australian fisheries introdu... more Recent efforts to develop frameworks to assess the sustainability of Australian fisheries introduce sustainability indicators as tools in fisheries management. The development of these indicators has been in response to community concerns over the use of marine resources, commitments in Australia’s Oceans Policy to ensure sustainable fisheries and the need for appropriate tools to be used in reporting against ESD objectives. This paper provides a review of the emerging approaches that measure sustainability in fisheries, identifying: Market based non-government approaches via the Marine Stewardship Council; Environment Australia’s assessments based on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection (Imports and Exports) Act 1982; and The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture’s ESD project
ABSTRACT The necessity to address climate change has resulted in a widespread debate about the ne... more ABSTRACT The necessity to address climate change has resulted in a widespread debate about the need for a transition to a ‘greener’ economy. How such an economy emerges, by what drivers and at what scale is a significant source of speculation amongst the geographical research community. In the context of longstanding contributions to environmental geography from scholars working at Aberdeen University, this paper outlines a novel research agenda for the Green Economy Research Centre (GERC). The contours of the green economy are examined in the context of economic sectors of food production, tourism, energy and the blue economy. Cross-cutting themes of green transitions, governance, people and place and ecosystem services inform our academic contribution to this evolving and controversial societal issue.
Research into stakeholder perceptions of conventional aquaculture has focused upon issues such as... more Research into stakeholder perceptions of conventional aquaculture has focused upon issues such as risk, impact on other users of marine space, and the factors influencing consumers. However, some of these issues may become redundant with new aquaculture practices such as Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). For practices such as IMTA to realise their potential they must be socially acceptable and this may depend on satisfying key stakeholders. This study used in-depth interviews to identify potential concerns of stakeholders as well as perceived benefits in relation to the development of IMTA to a commercial level of production. A total of 44 interviews were conducted across 12 stakeholder groups in six countries: Cyprus, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway and Scotland. Levels of awareness and understanding of IMTA were mixed across stakeholder groups and across countries. Concerns were raised including: spatial location issues, food safety and disease. Perceived benefits of IMTA included: waste utilisation, minimisation of impacts to the benthos and the filtering of sea lice larvae. Also recognised as important was the creation of new income streams. The results showed that some issues/benefits were more important in certain countries. Risks to the environment, risks arising from governance and risks to the industry itself were raised, but stakeholders felt that these sources of risk could be addressed by research studies, education and changes to legislation. Stakeholders also believed that IMTA could contribute to improving the image of the aquaculture industry. For IMTA to successfully move forward from pilot scale to commercial scale development, it is imperative that the issues raised in this study form priorities for reform and action.
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Papers by Tavis Potts