Browsing by Author "Farrelly T"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 29
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    A binding global agreement to address the life cycle of plastics
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1/07/2021) Simon N; Raubenheimer K; Urho N; Unger S; Azoulay D; Farrelly T; Sousa J; van Asselt H; Carlini G; Sekomo C; Schulte ML; Busch PO; Weinrich N; Weiand L
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    An ethnography of entanglements: Mercury’s presence and absence in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Antioquia Columbia
    (Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa New Zealand with assistance from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Otago, 23/08/2018) Robertson T; Farrelly T
    This paper describes a ‘follow the thing’ methodology as applied to an ethnography of entanglements. This methodology allowed for a materially and politically nuanced understanding of Antioquia, Colombia’s response to mercury pollution. This pollution primarily originates from the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) industry where mercury is employed in the gold extraction process. In following the mercury, the authors experiment with an ethnography of entanglements. The paper discusses how they address the current lacunae in mining ethnographies by focussing on mining as ‘practice’, going past the provision of technical descriptions of mining and ethnographic descriptions of miners to an ethnography of mining. This ethnographic approach considers the politics of materiality and addresses a lack of attention to the impacts of the presence and absence of materials on social life. Various mining practices in Antioquia illuminate how entanglements between miners and mercury have been co-constitutive of particular modes of ASGM. The paper will also provide examples of ‘negative mercury entanglements’ where efforts have been made to extricate mercury from mining practices. Rather than creating a vacuum, these mercury absences have been generative of new contested symbolic and material arrangements including entrepreneurial and ‘responsible’ mining, debates over miners’ rights, and the creation of new political relationships between ASGM and large-scale mining companies.
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    An Ethnography of Entanglements: Mercury’s Presence and Absence in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold-mining in Antioquia, Colombia
    (The World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA), 1/03/2020) Robertson T; Farrelly T
    This paper describes a ‘follow the thing’ methodology as applied to an ethnography of entanglements. This methodology allowed for a materially and politically nuanced understanding of Antioquia, Colombia’s response to mercury pollution. This pollution primarily originates from the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) industry where mercury is employed in the gold extraction process. In following the mercury, the authors experiment with an ethnography of entanglements. The paper discusses how they address the current lacunae in mining ethnographies by focussing on mining as ‘practice’, going past the provision of technical descriptions of mining and ethnographic descriptions of miners to an ethnography of mining. This ethnographic approach considers the politics of materiality and addresses a lack of attention to the impacts of the presence and absence of materials on social life. Various mining practices in Antioquia illuminate how entanglements between miners and mercury have been co-constitutive of particular modes of ASGM. The paper will also provide examples of ‘negative mercury entanglements’ where efforts have been made to extricate mercury from mining practices. Rather than creating a vacuum, these mercury absences have been generative of new contested symbolic and material arrangements including entrepreneurial and ‘responsible’ mining, debates over miners’ rights, and the creation of new political relationships between ASGM and large-scale mining companies.
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    Discourse, agency, and social license to operate in New Zealand
    (The Resilience Alliance, 17/01/2020) Newton M; Farrelly T; Sinner J
    The construction of discourse through choice of wording and sentence structure can affect power relations between people and groups. Social license to operate (SLO), broadly defined as the public’s acceptance or approval of a company and its operations, is an emergent concept in New Zealand’s marine economy. The way the public discourse around SLO is constructed and communicated can empower some at the expense of others, whether deliberately or inadvertently. This study employed critical discourse analysis to investigate how SLO is used in public documents relating to commercial activities in New Zealand’s marine environment between 1996 and 2017. Specifically, the study explores the implied power relations between government, industry, New Zealand’s Indigenous tribes (hereafter, iwi), communities, and other stakeholders. We find that industry and central government dominate SLO-related public discourse, and they frequently vest SLO agency with industry rather than community groups, iwi, or the wider public. Indeed, iwi are largely absent from the SLO discourse in public documents. Definitions of SLO vary extensively across the documents and are largely captured by industry and central government. We conclude that New Zealand’s marine SLO public discourse empowers industry at the expense of communities and the public, contrary to the notional intent of the concept.
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    Dissecting the Discourse of Social Licence to Operate
    (1/08/2018) Sinner J; Newton M; Farrelly T
    The term “social licence to operate”, or SLO, has increasingly featured in public discussion about commercial operations in the marine environment. As part of the Sustainable Seas National Challenge, we are studying how this term is being used in New Zealand and its implications for industry-community relations.
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    Introduction: Our Plastic Inheritance
    (Athabasca University Press, 2021-07-13) Farrelly T; Taffel S; Shaw I; Farrelly, T; Taffel, S; Shaw, I
    There is virtually nowhere on Earth today that remains untouched by plastic and ecosystems are evolving to adapt to this new context. While plastics have revolutionized our modern world, new and often unforeseen effects of plastic and its production are continually being discovered. Plastics are entangled in multiple ecological and social crises, from the plasticization of the oceans to the embeddedness of plastics in political hierarchies. The complexities surrounding the global plastic crisis require an interdisciplinary approach and the materialities of plastic demand new temporalities of thought and action. Plastic Legacies brings together scholars from the fields of marine biology, psychology, anthropology, environmental studies, Indigenous studies, and media studies to investigate and address the urgent socio-ecological challenges brought about by plastics. Contributors consider the unpredictable nature of plastics and weigh actionable solutions and mitigation processes against the ever-changing situation. Moving beyond policy changes, this volume offers a critique of neoliberal approaches to tackling the plastics crisis and explores how politics and communicative action are key to implementing social, cultural, and economic change.
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    Is Voluntary Product Stewardship for E-Waste Working in New Zealand? A Whangarei Case Study
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 30/05/2019) Blake V; Farrelly T; Hannon J
    New Zealand currently manages its annually generated 99,000 tonnes of e-waste via voluntary product stewardship schemes. Limited data is available to determine the success of this approach. This lack of data is cited as the logic preventing the declaration of e-waste as a priority product by the Minister for the Environment which would trigger the enforcement of mandatory product stewardship. This case study, involving a survey of e-waste creation and management in Whangarei District households, as well as analyses of local services, and local and national policy, found that only 1.8% of the estimated e-waste created in the district is recycled by municipal services. The ‘cost to recycle’ and ‘a lack of knowledge’ present as barriers to engagement in these services, with ‘the lack of ability to repair/the cost to repair’ found to be the most significant driver for e-waste creation. The adoption of mandatory product stewardship for e-waste was recommended, as this measure would ensure robust and transparent data collection, see recycling services become more accessible, and raise awareness of these services, thus reducing the value-action gap. Mandatory e-waste management would also impact product design to ensure affordable repair-ability further supporting a circular economy for electronic goods.
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    Plastic Pollution and Waste Colonialism
    Peryman M; Cumming R; Farrelly T; Ngata T; Fuller S; Borrelle S
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    Plastic Pollution as Waste Colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Ocean Nexus Centre and Nippon Foundation, 2021-11-19) Peryman M; Cumming R; Farrelly T; Ngata T; Sascha F; Stephanie B
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    Plastic Pollution as Waste Colonialism in Moananui
    (University of Arizona Libraries, 2022) Fuller S; Ngata T; Borrelle SB; Farrelly T
    Plastics pollution is a global, relational, integrated, and intersectoral issue. Here, we undertook narrative analysis of semi-structured interviews with nineteen key plastic pollution decision-makers. They offered a contextual lens to understand challenges facing Pacific Island (Te Moananui) nations in preventing plastics pollution. We build on the work of Ngata (2014-2021) and Liboiron (2014-2021) to situate the narrative analysis within a "waste colonialism" framework. We argue that plastics pollution as waste colonialism transcends environmental, policy, and industry concerns. "Indigenous political ecologies" of plastics pollution provide an understanding by which plastics pollution prevention can be examined at multiple scales. These include, at the international level: trade agreements and import dependency, donor aid and duplication, and transnational industry influence. At the local level: pressure from local plastics manufacturers, importers and suppliers, and barriers to accessing the latest science. Located within a global and regional context, our findings capture the systemic and long-standing impacts of colonialism on Indigenous responses to plastics pollution prevention and management, highlighting its effects on human and environment health and wellbeing. Sustainable solutions to plastics pollution for Te Moananui require the centering of its peoples and their deep, lived, and intergenerationally transmitted knowledges in the identification of challenges and solutions, the implementation of activities, and amplification of a shared regional voice.
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    Plastic Pollution Prevention in Pacific Islands Countries
    (2/12/2020) Farrelly T
    Key findings from research conducted with ten Pacific Island waste management leaders. After identifying key policy gaps and the unique challenges facing each country, the participants and the research team offer recommendations to strengthen plastic pollution policy frameworks across the region.
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    Plastic pollution prevention in Pacific Islands: Gap Analysis of Current Legislation, Policies and Plans
    (EIA, 2020-08-01) Farrelly T; Borrelle S; Fuller S
    Using a gap analysis, this study aims to identify the current limitations in national plastic pollution policy for preventing plastic pollution. It also explores the potential to implement best practice for the reduction of plastic pollution and the promotion of a safe circular plastics economy.
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    Plastic Pollution Prevention in Pacific Large Ocean Island Developing States (LOSIDS)
    (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for the Pacific and UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, 4/02/2021) Farrelly T; Borrelle SB; Fuller S
    The rate of plastic pollution entering the environment is accelerating with plastic productionpredicted to increase by 40% over the next decade. Plastic pollution transcends territorial boundarieson ocean and air currents. Large Ocean Small Island Developing States (LOSIDS) are on the frontlineof the plastics crisis and associated climate change impacts. This desktop gap analysis identifiedpotential strengths and weaknesses in national policy frameworks in 52 key documents relevantto plastic pollution in ten Pacific LOSIDS. The study found considerable gaps in the vertical andhorizontal integration of plastic pollution-related policy, and a lack of access to current science-basedevidence on plastic pollution including evidence related to human health impacts and microplastics.The study concludes that, even if Pacific LOSIDS were to include best practice management of plasticpollution across all policy frameworks, they could not prevent plastic pollution, and that a plasticpollution convention is needed
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    Plastic Pollution Prevention in Timor-Leste: Gap Analysis of Current Legislation, Policies, and Plans
    (SPREP, 2023-06-01) Steenhagen E; Sascha F; Farrelly T; Stephanie B; Ana R-G
    Plastics comprise sixty to eighty percent of all marine litter globally, with millions of metric tonnes originating from land-based sources every year (Borrelle et al., 2020; PEMSEA, 2020). An estimated 11% of plastic waste generated globally are mismanaged and enter freshwater and marine environments, equating to 86,740 metric tonnes (Mt) every day (Borrelle et al., 2020). If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050 (Geyer, Jambeck & Law, 2017, p. e1700782). Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Timor-Leste are disproportionately impacted. Timor-Leste is currently experiencing disastrous impacts to marine ecosystems, health related problems and destruction of biodiversity due to the alarming increase of land- and marine-based plastic pollution. In Timor-Leste, approximately thirteen percent of the waste stream is made up of plastic. The Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) estimated that approximately 20.7Mt of plastic waste was released in the waters around Timor-Leste in 2010, with the amount expected to rise to 64.2Mt by 2025 (PRIF, 2018). Mismanaged plastic waste because of poor waste infrastructure and failed landfills is transported by wind, waste-water outfalls, and inland rivers, much of which eventually enters waterways, land and soil, and the marine environment (PRIF, 2018). Consequently, the government committed to eliminating plastics from the natural environment by 2023 through the ambitious ‘Zero Plastic Timor-Leste’ campaign. It was a goal in name only, as it is not close to being achieved as of 2023. This report aims to provide insight into Timor-Leste's capacity to implement plastic pollution reduction measures by providing a gap analysis of its current legislation, plans and policies. The research finds significant gaps in all analytical categories. Most alarming are the gaps that exist under the waste prevention, microplastics, and protection of human health themes. Findings suggest that the current institutional framework cannot protect human and environmental health, including human rights and biological diversity. The protection of Timor-Leste’s environment through the elimination of the discharges of plastics into the environment will only be possible through extensive amendments to legislation and policy frameworks that prioritise prevention through strict import rules, and supported by an effective international global treaty on plastic pollution that mandates that mandates core obligations, control measures, and impPlastics comprise sixty to eighty percent of all marine litter globally, with millions of metric tonnes originating from land-based sources every year (Borrelle et al., 2020; PEMSEA, 2020). An estimated 11% of plastic waste generated globally are mismanaged and enter freshwater and marine environments, equating to 86,740 metric tonnes (Mt) every day (Borrelle et al., 2020). If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050 (Geyer, Jambeck & Law, 2017, p. e1700782). Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Timor-Leste are disproportionately impacted. Timor-Leste is currently experiencing disastrous impacts to marine ecosystems, health related problems and destruction of biodiversity due to the alarming increase of land- and marine-based plastic pollution. In Timor-Leste, approximately thirteen percent of the waste stream is made up of plastic. The Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) estimated that approximately 20.7Mt of plastic waste was released in the waters around Timor-Leste in 2010, with the amount expected to rise to 64.2Mt by 2025 (PRIF, 2018). Mismanaged plastic waste because of poor waste infrastructure and failed landfills is transported by wind, waste-water outfalls, and inland rivers, much of which eventually enters waterways, land and soil, and the marine environment (PRIF, 2018). Consequently, the government committed to eliminating plastics from the natural environment by 2023 through the ambitious ‘Zero Plastic Timor-Leste’ campaign. It was a goal in name only, as it is not close to being achieved as of 2023. This report aims to provide insight into Timor-Leste's capacity to implement plastic pollution reduction measures by providing a gap analysis of its current legislation, plans and policies. The research finds significant gaps in all analytical categories. Most alarming are the gaps that exist under the waste prevention, microplastics, and protection of human health themes. Findings suggest that the current institutional framework cannot protect human and environmental health, including human rights and biological diversity. The protection of Timor-Leste’s environment through the elimination of the discharges of plastics into the environment will only be possible through extensive amendments to legislation and policy frameworks that prioritise prevention through strict import rules, and supported by an effective international global treaty on plastic pollution that mandates that mandates core obligations, control measures, and impPlastics comprise sixty to eighty percent of all marine litter globally, with millions of metric tonnes originating from land-based sources every year (Borrelle et al., 2020; PEMSEA, 2020). An estimated 11% of plastic waste generated globally are mismanaged and enter freshwater and marine environments, equating to 86,740 metric tonnes (Mt) every day (Borrelle et al., 2020). If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050 (Geyer, Jambeck & Law, 2017, p. e1700782). Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Timor-Leste are disproportionately impacted. Timor-Leste is currently experiencing disastrous impacts to marine ecosystems, health related problems and destruction of biodiversity due to the alarming increase of land- and marine-based plastic pollution. In Timor-Leste, approximately thirteen percent of the waste stream is made up of plastic. The Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) estimated that approximately 20.7Mt of plastic waste was released in the waters around Timor-Leste in 2010, with the amount expected to rise to 64.2Mt by 2025 (PRIF, 2018). Mismanaged plastic waste because of poor waste infrastructure and failed landfills is transported by wind, waste-water outfalls, and inland rivers, much of which eventually enters waterways, land and soil, and the marine environment (PRIF, 2018). Consequently, the government committed to eliminating plastics from the natural environment by 2023 through the ambitious ‘Zero Plastic Timor-Leste’ campaign. It was a goal in name only, as it is not close to being achieved as of 2023. This report aims to provide insight into Timor-Leste's capacity to implement plastic pollution reduction measures by providing a gap analysis of its current legislation, plans and policies. The research finds significant gaps in all analytical categories. Most alarming are the gaps that exist under the waste prevention, microplastics, and protection of human health themes. Findings suggest that the current institutional framework cannot protect human and environmental health, including human rights and biological diversity. The protection of Timor-Leste’s environment through the elimination of the discharges of plastics into the environment will only be possible through extensive amendments to legislation and policy frameworks that prioritise prevention through strict import rules, and supported by an effective international global treaty on plastic pollution that mandates that mandates core obligations, control measures, and implementation measures for the elimination of plastic pollution at all stages of the plastics life cycle.
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    Plastic Pork n' Puha: Plastics in food contact materials and food production in Aotearoa
    Farrelly T
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B798Ei0UDXM&feature=youtu.be While early research into plastic pollution was limited to marine ecologies, the links between plastic food contact material, food production, and human health are starting to gather apace. Civil society groups tasked with understanding plastics pollution from holistic, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural perspectives have been instrumental in making these connections. From this vantage point, plastics can no longer be seen as inert objects; but as unpredictable, lively matter that resists containment within a ‘circular economy’. This paper will show how the relational ontologies of plastic food contact materials and chemicals and plastics in agricultural soils may challenge not only current food safety standards in Aotearoa, but also the enrolment of plastics in a circular economy.
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    Political ecology, privation and sustainable livelihoods in northern Thailand's national parks
    (University of Arizona, 2020) Pongchiewboon A; Farrelly T; Hytten K; Holland J
    National parks provide a wide range of ecological, social and economic benefits. However, in some cases the establishment of national parks has also led to the displacement of Indigenous people, the disruption of their livelihoods, and ongoing social conflict. Northern Thailand's national parks are home to approximately one million Indigenous people. Balancing the interests and needs of national park authorities with those of Indigenous communities within and adjacent to these parks poses significant challenges. This article employs qualitative research methods to assess the livelihood strategies of six Indigenous hill tribe communities residing within three national parks in Northern Thailand. Due to the criminalization of the traditional farming systems and restrictions imposed on land use, these communities have had to adapt their livelihood practices to survive. Our findings suggest that communities remain in a state of flux and are continually adapting to changing circumstances. It is argued that greater community empowerment and participation in collaborative decision making is crucial to strengthen both sustainable livelihoods and environmental conservation efforts within Northern Thailand's national parks.
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    Qi no tu i baba ni qwali (living down by the river): Impacts of flooding and mining on ecosystems and livelihoods
    (Frontiers Media S.A, 28/07/2022) Varea R; Varea R; Kant R; Farrelly T
    A vast ocean rich with resources to maintain a sustainable livelihood surround Pacific Island Countries and Territories. In Fiji, coastal resources are a primary source of food, medicine, income and other necessities for livelihood security. Human-induced climate change places growing pressure on the quality of coastal resources due to the increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters like coastal erosion and flooding. Anthropogenic activities like coastal mining of earth minerals further threatens livelihood security with cumulative pressure on the coastal environment and its resources. This paper discusses the compounding impacts of mining in the flood-prone community of Vanua Votua in Ba (Fiji). They currently witness the degradation of their coastal environment and its resources (iqoliqoli). The people of Vanua Votua have a cultural and spiritual attachment to their coastal ecosystem as indigenous custodians. However, they are limited in their ability to conserve and protect their iqoliqoli due to an unfair legal duality of national coastal governance structures and processes between the state and indigenous custodians. We found that a central issue of coastal mining, governance, and the people’s livelihood vulnerabilities, is Fiji’s Mining Act [Cap 146] and associated environmental legislations and policies that consolidate much of the coastal governance authority with the state. The Fiji Mining Act is currently under review. This paper provides a timely case study using the Sustainable Livelihood Approach and the Vanua Research Framework, outlining the need for current and future legislation to be nuanced and sensitive to the realities of the local context.
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    Redressing the Faustian Bargains of Plastics Economies
    (Athabasca University Press, 2021-07-13) Farrelly T; Ian S; Holland J; Farrelly, T; Taffel, S; Shaw, I
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    Speaking up to end plastic pollution: Ensuring Pacific voices are heard.
    (Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University, 8/09/2022) Farrelly T