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How England got to mandatory biodiversity net gain: A timeline
Get PDFBiodiversity net gain (BNG) is a ‘‘net outcome’’ planning policy which aims for development projects to leave biodiversity in a better state than before they started. Understanding the origins and history of existing mandatory BNG is necessary to understand the drivers and barriers that have influenced the policy to date and could inform the development and implementation of future BNG policies. Biodiversity net gain legislation was first discussed in Parliament in England through the passage of the Environment Act (2021) and became a mandatory requirement for most terrestrial and intertidal developments in February 2024. The policy uses habitat attributes as a proxy for biodiversity and represented the widest reaching net outcome policy in the world at the point of its introduction. As such, it is expected to have a significant impact on future land use decisions in England. This paper uses a mixture of literature review and the knowledge of those involved in the early stages of this BNG policy development in England to present a timeline of the stages that have led to mandatory biodiversity net gain. In doing so, we highlight formative events and documents, as an important first step in understanding its history and understanding how this can be used to inform future biodiversity policy
The economic burden of melanoma in the UK: A stage-specific cost analysis underscoring the importance of prevention and early diagnosis
No full textThis article reports the average cumulative costs of melanoma by stage in 2023 and models costs over the next 10 years. These data highlight the marked difference in cost between stage I and IV melanoma, with stage IV melanoma costing 22.5 times more than stage I melanoma in 2023. This cost difference is predicted to further increase over the next decade and emphasizes the need to deliver a comprehensive melanoma public health strategy that includes primary prevention and early detection
Religious Tensions: The Itatehyōzu Shrine in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
No full textAssassin's Creed is a popular action game series starring assassins, and the latest title, Assassin's Creed Shadows, due for release in November 2024, is the first in the series to be set in medieval Japan and features a real-life black man Yasuke and a fictional kunoichi Naoe as the protagonists. The series touts the high quality of its recreations of the regions and periods in which they take place. However, this work contains many unresentful elements to Japanese culture, so it can be frowned upon by Japanophiles. Worst of all, it is possible in the game to destroy Itatehyōzu Shrine, which is still an object of worship today. This shrine complained about it, and there has been widespread protest in Japan, including a signature campaign calling for the game's release to be stopped. The creator distributed a correction programme, however, in practice destruction remains possible. The series has included depictions of the destruction of pharaohs' tombs and Christian churches in the past, but rarely has it attracted such criticism. This paper critically discusses the factors behind this uproar from a historical and political science perspective, focusing on the differences in racial, historical and religious views between Japan and the West
Labour Laws, Welfare, and Gendered Collective Action in Home-Based Occupations: A Focus on the Beedi Industry in Telangana, India
Get PDFGlobal trends of informalisation and feminisation of labour have raised questions around the ‘race to the bottom’, particularly regarding non-compliance with regulations around ‘decent work’. Beedi production, involving hand-rolled country cigars that provide major source of employment for women in rural India, reflects these trends. Despite key legislation—the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966, and the Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976—implementation on the ground remains inconsistent due to decentralised production systems, administrative inefficiencies, and socio-economic inequalities tied to gender, caste and class. While micro-level studies have examined beedi labour conditions, less attention has been paid to how these laws function in practice, how regional disparities shape welfare outcomes, and how collective action influences implementation.
This study evaluates the impact of beedi legislation on workers’ welfare, the factors shaping its uneven implementation, and the role of women-led collective action in securing entitlements. Theoretically, this extends Amartya Sen’s (1999) Capability Approach (CA)—traditionally applied to labour law in developed contexts—to labour laws governing informal employment in India. It conceptualises beedi legislation as a mechanism for expanding substantive freedoms, by integrating the concept of “collective capabilities” (Stewart, 2005; Ibrahim, 2006), highlighting how collective action functions as a critical demand-side factor in securing legal protections. Specifically, it explores three dimensions of the law: working conditions, scholarships for education, and the scope for collective action.
The impact evaluation at the centre of this study, was carried out using a generative approach to causality, integrating a theory-based evaluation within a mixed-methods design and guided by an intersectional feminist lens. Fieldwork was conducted in Sirikonda and Thandriyal—two villages in northern Telangana, India’s third-largest beedi-producing state. Adopting a feminist epistemological stance, the study centres women workers’ voices to reveal power asymmetries and intersecting inequalities. Findings show that enforcement gaps deprive home-based workers of protections, while structural barriers, particularly those rooted in caste, prevent Scheduled Caste (SC) workers’ daughters from accessing scholarships and limit SC women’s opportunities for leadership and representation. Women-led unions do secure welfare benefits but face a “pyramid of exclusion,” which restricts their representation at higher levels. These challenges highlight the need to reimagine labour laws and strengthen inclusive collective capabilities, to advance equitable rights for all informal workers, leaving no one behind
Realising an Effective Right to Protest: Impediments and Opportunities
No full textThis chapter addresses the variety of restrictions that can impede the effective implementation of the right to protest with a focus on restrictive legislative changes in a number of jurisdictions and the key role played by law enforcement in regulating protest (in particular, the policing of protests and use of criminal laws such as public order offences). It also discusses the creation of hostile political and legal environments for protests globally, the chilling effect this has created for the right to protest and the practical hurdles confronting protesters who wish to exercise their fundamental rights. It catalogues a number of developing trends in protest laws globally, including the use of wide terminology in legislation to allow state authorities to restrict protests in various ways. The chapter also examines policing practice and accountability, looking at issues such as the interaction between notification/permit requirements for protests, the conceptualisation of ‘disruption’ and the critical, decisive role played by police discretion in the regulation of protests. In doing so, the chapter provides a number of examples from state practice which show evidence of significant departures from international human rights norms and standards
The Ethics of Erasure: On the Practice and Politics of Cultural Expression
No full textIs erasure the antithesis of expression? That is the customary view. I will argue, however, that erasure is, in fact, expression's secret self, always present when expression takes place, haunting the scene of articulation. Looking at examples of everyday erasure, I will explore how they intersect with larger historical erasures and draw out the wider implications for cultural politics, in particular the role of cultural expression in the search for social justice. This is particularly pertinent within our contemporary moment when 'free speech' has become one of the principal sites of political contestation and controversy. The dominant understanding of 'free speech' rests on an antithesis between expression and erasure, so what happens when that opposition is dismantled? And what are the implications for those who want to address long-standing social injustices and inequalities? The essay argues that the practice and politics of cultural expression must also-always involve an ethics of erasure that is attuned to the charismatic singularity of each situation in which difficult judgments must be made
The digital platform assessment matrix: developing a framework for evaluating digital platforms and systems for children and young people’s mental health support
No full textPurpose Digital platforms and systems (DPS) are increasingly used as effective resources to help address the mental health needs of children and young people (CYP). However, appropriate assessment tools to evaluate the quality of DPS remain limited. This study aims to develop a comprehensive evaluation framework for DPS that provides access to mental health support for CYP, with the goal of identifying their strengths and weaknesses and promoting best practices. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a four-step multi-method approach comprising: an extensive literature review and content analysis of existing guidelines; the identification of essential qualities and characteristics of effective DPS; consultation with over 50 stakeholders to ensure the applicability of the evaluation framework; and pilot testing on 53 DPS to refine its structure and functionality. Findings The resulting evaluation framework, referred to as the digital platform assessment matrix (DPAM), comprises 65 criteria for assessing the functional, technical and social features of DPS. The authors propose both a comprehensive version of the DPAM and a shortened version, allowing for flexible use across different contexts and stakeholder groups. Future testing and iterations are also explored. Originality/value The DPAM offers the first comprehensive and operational framework for evaluating DPS that facilitates access to mental health services and resources for CYP in the UK. Its multiple criteria ensure that digital platforms can best serve their users, be compatible with existing health systems and sustainable over time. The DPAM also underpins the development of the new digital platform, which aims to provide CYP with streamlined access to place-based arts initiatives that support their mental health
Anthropogenic emissions of volatile Cd detected in western tropical North Atlantic surface seawater
No full textThe Cd concentrations and isotope compositions of open ocean surface waters are generally thought to be governed by internal cycling, and particularly by the balance between upwelling of more Cd-rich deeper water masses and Cd uptake by phytoplankton. Here we present a new dataset of coupled Cd isotope compositions and concentrations for seawater depth profiles sampled in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean during Leg 2 of the GEOTRACES GA02 section. A box model for the Cd source and sink fluxes of the oligotrophic surface waters of the study area shows that the observed light Cd isotope compositions and low Cd concentrations are a consequence of biological Cd uptake and atmospheric deposition of isotopically light anthropogenic Cd. Aerosols enriched in anthropogenic Cd thereby contributed at least 19%, and possibly more than 45%, to the dissolved surface water Cd inventory during the sampling period. This reveals that anthropogenic emissions of volatile Cd can have a key impact on the distribution of Cd in open ocean surface waters
Enduring the heat: The microclimate characteristics that determine site suitability for an endangered grassland bird during post-breeding
Get PDFEnvironmental changes, including habitat loss and fragmentation in combination with climate change, have increased population reliance on protected areas (PAs) while also requiring individuals to adapt to changing local conditions or search for refugia when conditions deteriorate. Microclimate refugia within PAs may be critical for allowing species to persist when exposed to extreme thermal conditions, yet the availability of microclimate refugia and the ability of PAs to protect species from extremes has rarely been considered. We GPS-tracked 47 little bustards (Tetrax tetrax) in the Iberian Peninsula in 2009–2019, to understand their micro-scale climate and habitat use in the warmest period of the year, the post-breeding season. We compared post-breeding conditions at locations used in that period with those not used after breeding. We found that increasing temperature may reduce site suitability, while sites with greater microclimate refugia availability were more likely to be used by little bustards post-breeding. Although dispersed shrubs may provide micro-refugia, dense shrubby patches were avoided. While almost 63 % of the breeding locations were in PAs, only under 7 % of all post-breeding locations were within these key conservation areas, showing this species is not well protected across its life cycle. We assessed the impact of expected increasing temperatures from climate change scenarios and found that up to 15 % of currently used locations are predicted to become unsuitable, including those falling within PAs. Habitat management strategies should maintain landscapes with diverse characteristics that may provide shelter from extreme temperatures, such as scarce patches of low-density shrubs
Wave attenuation in drifting sea ice: a mechanistic model for observed decay profiles
No full textWave–sea-ice interactions shape the transition zone between open ocean and pack ice in the polar regions. Most theoretical paradigms, implemented in coupled wave–sea-ice models, predict exponential decay of the wave energy but some recent observations deviate from this behaviour. Expanding on a framework based on wave energy dissipation due to ice–water drag, we account for drifting sea ice to derive an improved model for wave energy attenuation. Analytical solutions replicate the observed non-exponential wave energy decay and the spatial evolution of the effective attenuation rate in Antarctic sea ice