Suchergebnisse

Despite extensive enquiry into the socio-political aspects of environmental impact assessments (EIA), empirical material from east- and south-east Asia remains underrepresented in English-language scholarship. This is notable given increasing infrastructural developments and interest in environmental justice in the region. We contribute to this field by evaluating the Miramar Resort EIA controversy in Taitung County, Taiwan, to assess how a developer and a local government conspired to circumvent an EIA process. Through documentary analysis and stakeholder interviews, we assess the argumentation used by different actors to articulate their support for or opposition to the development. We find that much contention rests on claims to economic benefit and environmental protection that cannot be verified, and on limited participation opportunities. We call for further research into strategies used by proponents to discredit the knowledge and experience of opponents within EIA processes, especially given rising global interest in traditional, local and indigenous knowledge.

This paper elaborates challenges for sustainable development based on consumption of the coastal environment through tourism, evaluating the case of the Miramar Resort in Taitung County, Taiwan. Thinking in terms of the blue economy and more sensitive forms of tourism and recreation that consider environmental protection have laid focus on the idea that the coastal environment may be 'consumed', yet that this consumption needs to fit with the principles of sustainability. The purpose of this paper is thus to evaluate what sustainable consumption of the coastal environment may (or may not) look like in a locality facing competing social, economic and environmental sustainability pressures, specifically Taitung County in Taiwan. We conduct in-depth interviews with key actors involved in the dispute over the construction of the Miramar Resort in Taitung, and assess these through the conceptual lens of sustainable consumption. Our study finds significant contestation over the developer and local government claims that the resort represents a sustainable trajectory for the locality, with differing views on environmental impact, fairness of process, and distribution of economic benefit. In a wider context, these findings illustrate the importance of inclusive and meaningful decision-making processes, shared end goals, and good support for local-level coastal managers and planners if consumption-driven developments are to form part of sustainable local development in peripheral coastal regions.

This paper elaborates challenges for sustainable development based on consumption of the coastal environment through tourism, evaluating the case of the Miramar Resort in Taitung County, Taiwan. Thinking in terms of the blue economy and more sensitive forms of tourism and recreation that consider environmental protection have laid focus on the idea that the coastal environment may be 'consumed', yet that this consumption needs to fit with the principles of sustainability. The purpose of this paper is thus to evaluate what sustainable consumption of the coastal environment may (or may not) look like in a locality facing competing social, economic and environmental sustainability pressures, specifically Taitung County in Taiwan. We conduct in-depth interviews with key actors involved in the dispute over the construction of the Miramar Resort in Taitung, and assess these through the conceptual lens of sustainable consumption. Our study finds significant contestation over the developer and local government claims that the resort represents a sustainable trajectory for the locality, with differing views on environmental impact, fairness of process, and distribution of economic benefit. In a wider context, these findings illustrate the importance of inclusive and meaningful decision-making processes, shared end goals, and good support for local-level coastal managers and planners if consumption-driven developments are to form part of sustainable local development in peripheral coastal regions.

This Translations contribution synthesises critical environmental social science research produced in Taiwan and published largely in Chinese. Taiwan is distinctive in east Asia in that it has had, over several decades, a relatively large and prolific community of scholars engaged with environmental justice and sustainability. This research tradition is linked to the emergence of grassroots environmentalism in response to environmental issues faced during Taiwan's rapid industrialisation, and to the democratisation of Taiwanese society from the 1980s onwards. Fuller understanding of research produced and published within in Taiwan hence yields insights for the role of social science within newly industrialising and democratising nations. Although the story of Taiwanese society's relation to environmentalism is to an extent understood in English-language literature, less prevalent are the diverse ways Taiwanese social scientists have engaged with environmental issues, the empirical case studies which have shaped their thinking, and the influences of Western environmental sociology and science and technology studies (STS) within Taiwan. By synthesising Chinese-language environmental social science literature from Taiwan, we characterise three strands of scholarship: activism and social movements; environmental controversies; and environmental governance, policy and institutions. We identify (a) the ability of communities and civil societies to affect change from within extant governance processes and (b) the local-level implications of national sustainable development rhetoric as two areas where Taiwanese scholarship may make particularly valuable contributions to work at the sustainability-environmental justice interface.

This Translations contribution synthesises critical environmental social science research produced in Taiwan and published largely in Chinese. Taiwan is distinctive in east Asia in that it has had, over several decades, a relatively large and prolific community of scholars engaged with environmental justice and sustainability. This research tradition is linked to the emergence of grassroots environmentalism in response to environmental issues faced during Taiwan's rapid industrialisation, and to the democratisation of Taiwanese society from the 1980s onwards. Fuller understanding of research produced and published within in Taiwan hence yields insights for the role of social science within newly industrialising and democratising nations. Although the story of Taiwanese society's relation to environmentalism is to an extent understood in English-language literature, less prevalent are the diverse ways Taiwanese social scientists have engaged with environmental issues, the empirical case studies which have shaped their thinking, and the influences of Western environmental sociology and science and technology studies (STS) within Taiwan. By synthesising Chinese-language environmental social science literature from Taiwan, we characterise three strands of scholarship: activism and social movements; environmental controversies; and environmental governance, policy and institutions. We identify (a) the ability of communities and civil societies to affect change from within extant governance processes and (b) the local-level implications of national sustainable development rhetoric as two areas where Taiwanese scholarship may make particularly valuable contributions to work at the sustainability-environmental justice interface.

The announcement by the Scottish Government of a global 'climate emergency' in May 2019, and the selection of Glasgow as the host city for the main COP26 talks to be held in late 2021 has helped focus attention to the impact of climate change in Scotland. The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought into sharp focus the disproportionate effect that shocks and stresses have on already vulnerable people and places. This short communication aims to contribute to these debates by clarifying existing strengths and open issues for an evidence-driven response to climate change in Scotland's marginalised communities. Growing support for rapid and radical climate action, both in Scotland and overseas, brings into question the role of learned societies and reasoned debate within a climate emergency. To this end, we synthesise recent Scotland-based research into issues relating to climate justice and, drawing on the outcomes of a workshop held in summer 2019, identify aspects where good progress has been made and areas where further work is required for an evidence-driven and just response to climate change in Scotland and beyond.