The rapid growth of urban informal settlements or slums, poses a particular challenge for balanci... more The rapid growth of urban informal settlements or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities however is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in-depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilised a multi-scale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labour to the surrounding area. Further, geographic mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, whilst being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.
In recent years the concept of the circular economy gained prominence in EU policy-making. The ci... more In recent years the concept of the circular economy gained prominence in EU policy-making. The circular economy promotes a future in which linear 'make-use-dispose' cultures are replaced by more circular models. In this paper, we use the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries to ask how an imaginary of circularity has been assembled and stabilized, which imaginative resources were drawn on, and how goals, priorities, benefits and risks haven been merged with discourses of innovation, sustainability and growth. Drawing on policy documents and interviews with policy officers of the European Commission, we argue that the monitoring framework and indicator development function as a site collective imagination in which desirable 'circular' futures are coproduced. These futures are imagined to provide novel opportunities for the private sector and to generate jobs and economic growth while at the same time improving the natural environment as measured by selected environmental indicators.
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
Purpose This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energ... more Purpose This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/approach A transdisciplinary approach called “participatory integrated assessment of energy systems” (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance”, which bring innovative concepts and methods. Findings The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes. Practical implications Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely ...
Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in both acade... more Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in both academia and policy. This concept draws attention to the link between different environmental and societal domains, and potentially entails substantive shifts in governance processes. As a consequence, policy-makers and scientists have started to develop metrics to make these interactions and 'trade-offs' visible. However, it is unknown if current framings of the nexus and relevant quantified metrics either reinforce or challenge existing governance structures. This paper explores relationships between framings of the nexus, metrics and models of governance based on discussions with staff within the European Commission. Although narratives around the need for new metrics are situated in a conventional script about the use of evidence to change policy, our data indicate processes of co-production, by which the use (or non-use) of any new metrics is dependent on existing institutional practices; and will reflect dominant political orderings. In doing so we provide a critical analysis of the role of metrics in environmental governance, and direct attention to the discursive, institutional and political arrangements in which they are embedded and with which they are co-constitutive. Focusing on the cultural and institutional settings in which they are established and used, our study suggests that the question of metrics in the water-energy-food nexus needs to be explored as a problem of establishing a legitimate policy objective in the European Commission and EU policy-making more broadly.
Energy security is an ambiguous concept. Growing academic interest has aimed at defining, concept... more Energy security is an ambiguous concept. Growing academic interest has aimed at defining, conceptualising and measuring energy security, often through indicators. Energy policy in the European Union (EU) is not concerned with energy security's ambiguous conceptualisation, nor does it use energy security indicators, but it refers consistently to security as one of its primary aims. In this paper, by analysing the use of energy security both in scientific publications and in EU policy, we argue that the ambiguity of the concept plays a function in the policy process and is only seen as a problem in the academic literature. Building on the uncertainty literature, we conceptualise ambiguity as the type of uncertainty that emerges from complexity. Complexity leads to the existence of multiple representations of a system, which may serve different purposes in the policy process, generating ambiguity. Uncertainty is mobilised to frame energy policy as a matter of security. This has implications for the science-policy interface: on one hand, the analysis suggests that science's aim of providing holistic assessments and clarifications may not serve its desired instrumental purpose in policymaking; on the other, ambiguity allows for materially ineffective policy measures to persist in the name of energy security.
Quantitative information is one of the means used to interface science with policy. As a conseque... more Quantitative information is one of the means used to interface science with policy. As a consequence, much effort is invested in producing quantitative information for policy and much criticism is directed toward the use of numbers in policy. In this paper, I analyze five approaches drawn from such criticisms and propose alternative uses of quantitative information for governance: (i) valuation of ecosystem services, (ii) social multicriteria evaluation, (iii) quantification of uncertainty through the Numeral, Unit, Spread, Assessment, Pedigree approach, (iv) Quantitative Story-Telling, and (v) the heuristic use of statistics. The analysis shows the varied ways that numbers are conceptualized and how different conceptualizations matter for the science–policy interface. Alternative conceptualizations of numbers are used to challenge the model of science-speaking truth to power. Uncertainty, complexity, pluralism, malpractice, and values are mobilized to redefine the relations between...
Agricultural expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon is carried out predominantly by small-scale farmi... more Agricultural expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon is carried out predominantly by small-scale farming systems, yet the impacts of smallholders on the ecosystem and social fabric are not fully understood. In this paper, we use the societal metabolism approach to operationalize the analytical concepts of complexity theory put forward by agro-ecology analysis. We define a typology of farming systems and assess the impact of different trends, such as population growth, the emergence of new farming practices and the implementation of policies aimed at increasing agricultural production, on (i) the livelihood of smallholders; (ii) the national economy; and (iii) deforestation and biodiversity loss. Our findings indicate that smallholders find themselves in a subsistence trap, in which intensification of agriculture does not lead to an improvement in income, exacerbates social inequalities, negatively affects the ecosystem and has negligible benefits for the national economy.
The rapid growth of urban informal settlements or slums, poses a particular challenge for balanci... more The rapid growth of urban informal settlements or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities however is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in-depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilised a multi-scale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labour to the surrounding area. Further, geographic mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, whilst being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.
In recent years the concept of the circular economy gained prominence in EU policy-making. The ci... more In recent years the concept of the circular economy gained prominence in EU policy-making. The circular economy promotes a future in which linear 'make-use-dispose' cultures are replaced by more circular models. In this paper, we use the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries to ask how an imaginary of circularity has been assembled and stabilized, which imaginative resources were drawn on, and how goals, priorities, benefits and risks haven been merged with discourses of innovation, sustainability and growth. Drawing on policy documents and interviews with policy officers of the European Commission, we argue that the monitoring framework and indicator development function as a site collective imagination in which desirable 'circular' futures are coproduced. These futures are imagined to provide novel opportunities for the private sector and to generate jobs and economic growth while at the same time improving the natural environment as measured by selected environmental indicators.
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
Purpose This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energ... more Purpose This paper aims to present a new master’s programme for promoting energy access and energy efficiency in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/approach A transdisciplinary approach called “participatory integrated assessment of energy systems” (PARTICIPIA) was used for the development of the curriculum. This approach is based on the two emerging fields of “multi-scale integrated assessment” and “science for governance”, which bring innovative concepts and methods. Findings The application of the PARTICIPIA methodology to three case studies reveals that the proposed transdisciplinary approach could support energy and development policies in the region. The implementation of the PARTICIPIA curriculum in three higher education institutions reveals its ability to respond to the needs of specific contexts and its connection with existing higher education programmes. Practical implications Considering energy issues from a transdisciplinary approach in higher education is absolutely ...
Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in both acade... more Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in both academia and policy. This concept draws attention to the link between different environmental and societal domains, and potentially entails substantive shifts in governance processes. As a consequence, policy-makers and scientists have started to develop metrics to make these interactions and 'trade-offs' visible. However, it is unknown if current framings of the nexus and relevant quantified metrics either reinforce or challenge existing governance structures. This paper explores relationships between framings of the nexus, metrics and models of governance based on discussions with staff within the European Commission. Although narratives around the need for new metrics are situated in a conventional script about the use of evidence to change policy, our data indicate processes of co-production, by which the use (or non-use) of any new metrics is dependent on existing institutional practices; and will reflect dominant political orderings. In doing so we provide a critical analysis of the role of metrics in environmental governance, and direct attention to the discursive, institutional and political arrangements in which they are embedded and with which they are co-constitutive. Focusing on the cultural and institutional settings in which they are established and used, our study suggests that the question of metrics in the water-energy-food nexus needs to be explored as a problem of establishing a legitimate policy objective in the European Commission and EU policy-making more broadly.
Energy security is an ambiguous concept. Growing academic interest has aimed at defining, concept... more Energy security is an ambiguous concept. Growing academic interest has aimed at defining, conceptualising and measuring energy security, often through indicators. Energy policy in the European Union (EU) is not concerned with energy security's ambiguous conceptualisation, nor does it use energy security indicators, but it refers consistently to security as one of its primary aims. In this paper, by analysing the use of energy security both in scientific publications and in EU policy, we argue that the ambiguity of the concept plays a function in the policy process and is only seen as a problem in the academic literature. Building on the uncertainty literature, we conceptualise ambiguity as the type of uncertainty that emerges from complexity. Complexity leads to the existence of multiple representations of a system, which may serve different purposes in the policy process, generating ambiguity. Uncertainty is mobilised to frame energy policy as a matter of security. This has implications for the science-policy interface: on one hand, the analysis suggests that science's aim of providing holistic assessments and clarifications may not serve its desired instrumental purpose in policymaking; on the other, ambiguity allows for materially ineffective policy measures to persist in the name of energy security.
Quantitative information is one of the means used to interface science with policy. As a conseque... more Quantitative information is one of the means used to interface science with policy. As a consequence, much effort is invested in producing quantitative information for policy and much criticism is directed toward the use of numbers in policy. In this paper, I analyze five approaches drawn from such criticisms and propose alternative uses of quantitative information for governance: (i) valuation of ecosystem services, (ii) social multicriteria evaluation, (iii) quantification of uncertainty through the Numeral, Unit, Spread, Assessment, Pedigree approach, (iv) Quantitative Story-Telling, and (v) the heuristic use of statistics. The analysis shows the varied ways that numbers are conceptualized and how different conceptualizations matter for the science–policy interface. Alternative conceptualizations of numbers are used to challenge the model of science-speaking truth to power. Uncertainty, complexity, pluralism, malpractice, and values are mobilized to redefine the relations between...
Agricultural expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon is carried out predominantly by small-scale farmi... more Agricultural expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon is carried out predominantly by small-scale farming systems, yet the impacts of smallholders on the ecosystem and social fabric are not fully understood. In this paper, we use the societal metabolism approach to operationalize the analytical concepts of complexity theory put forward by agro-ecology analysis. We define a typology of farming systems and assess the impact of different trends, such as population growth, the emergence of new farming practices and the implementation of policies aimed at increasing agricultural production, on (i) the livelihood of smallholders; (ii) the national economy; and (iii) deforestation and biodiversity loss. Our findings indicate that smallholders find themselves in a subsistence trap, in which intensification of agriculture does not lead to an improvement in income, exacerbates social inequalities, negatively affects the ecosystem and has negligible benefits for the national economy.
This chapter shows how human activity and socio-economic characteristics can be integrated in the... more This chapter shows how human activity and socio-economic characteristics can be integrated in the MuSIASEM accounting to assess the feasibility and viability of a given socio-ecological system. It presents a comprehensive grammar for human activity to represent and quantify the allocation of this fund element within human societies and couples it with the most widely used variables in social and economic sciences, the Gross Domestic Product, a measure of production, and its components, such as Gross Value Added, a measure of production of individual economic sectors, and Import-Export values, a measure of the openness of national income. In MuSIASEM, monetary flows are output flows resulting from the combination of funds (labour, land, power capacity) and input flows (energy, water and other natural resources). The inclusion of this variable in the biophysical accounting scheme of MuSIASEM is essential to establish a link with other accounting methods.
This chapter shows how MuSIASEM can be employed to generate an integrated assessment of the feasi... more This chapter shows how MuSIASEM can be employed to generate an integrated assessment of the feasibility, viability and desirability of alternative energy sources, and more in general to characterize scenarios of alternative exosomatic metabolic patterns of society. The analysis focuses both on the potential contribution (quantity) and convenience (quality) of two potential alternative primary energy sources for the production of electricity in South Africa: concentrated solar power and woody biomass. The chapter illustrates how to integrate technical and spatial analyses into the multi-level system of accounting.
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Papers by Zora Kovacic