Office for Environmental Programs - Theses
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ItemSoil carbon sequestration on Victoria: policy and regulatory constraints( 2011)Soil carbon sequestration (SCS) is the transferral of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the soil. The sequestration process can be enhanced through employing particular land management practices (such as reduced tillage). Some research has found that increasing the carbon pool of soils brings benefits through offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and comes with the additional benefits related to improvements in soil quality, such as increased agricultural productivity and profitability. However, the widespread uptake of SCS land management practices in Victoria has not yet been realised. This is due to a variety of constraints. The key barriers arise out of economic and scientific uncertainty. Specific concerns include issues around transaction costs, the difficulties with measurement and verification of the extent of SCS. A number of practical difficulties embedded in the current legislative framework aimed at achieving carbon abatement through enhancing SCS have also been identified (such as the 100 year `permanence' rule under the Carbon Farming Initiative). To address these issues, more research into the science and economics of SCS land management activities within Victoria is needed. Given the now recognised effects of climate change further research is warranted. This study also identifies that aspects of current policies should be examined and modified so that the implementation of SCS land management activities may commence without constraints.
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ItemA cautious approach to GMO regulation( 2013)The constant human population and events such as climate change hinder the achievement of global food security and threaten the effectiveness of current agricultural practices. To address this issues the need for technological intervention is necessary. That is the case of GM technology, which is being highly implemented around the globe to increase crops' yields, enhance nutrimental value in foods and feed, increase crops resistance to extreme conditions and pesticides among other activities. Nevertheless, the implementation of GMOs involves risks such as toxicity, the creation of super-weeds and genetic contamination. GMOs can bring multiple benefits and represent one of the most promising strategies to achieve global food security. In order to take advantage of such benefits and avoid the risks that GMOs involve they should be managed with precaution. It is through proper regulation that this cautious approach can be achieved. Examples of current regulations are evidence of the lack of precaution and the consequences of it. Such regulations include the Law on the Production, Certification and Commerce of Seeds, the Law on Plant Health and the General Law of Ecological Equilibrium. This Mexican frameworks stand out for its almost non existent precaution regarding the management of GMOs. Consequences of such thoughtless regulations can be summarised in the Mexican maize tragedy. An event triggered by the signature of the NAFTA treaty in 1994 that lead to economic crisis headed by the genetic contamination of GM maize imported from the United States, the country had poor and deceiving precautionary regulations. On the other hand, examples of highly strict regulations are evidence of how inflexibility can hinder the elution of technology. Such regulations includes the Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment, the Regulation (EC) 258/97 on novel foods and food ingredients, the Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 on novel food and feed and the Regulation (EC) 1830/2003 on traceability and labelling of GMOs an GM products (Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs [2001]). These regulations lead the EU approach to a state of 'suspended animation' regarding the advances in GM technology. The description of a 'proper GMO regulation' provided in the present document was obtained by analysing and comparing both approaches. Proper legislation can be defined as uncertainty-wise regulatory frameworks that implements the precautionary principle and risk assessment measures in a coherent-safe directed way, implements a cautious but flexible rigour and is highly specific. In the same way, a proper regulatory framework should also be shaped by safety-relevant stake holders, those advocating for the prevalence of biological diversity, environmental health, sustainability and hunger alleviation rather that those advocating for personal interests and the enrichment of a few. GMOs and such technology should serve not lucrative purposes but those of sustainability and famine alleviation. Under a proper regulatory framework as the one described above is how a cautious approach to GMO legislation can allow the exploitation of the GM benefits in order to increase the effectiveness of agricultural practices and achieve global food security in the light of major challenges such as climate change, the continuous grow of the human population as well as the exhaustion of natural resources whilst avoiding the risks that GM technology involves