Social valuation of biodiversity relative to other types of assets at risk in wildfire.

Environmental crises, such as wildfires, can cause major losses of human life, infrastructure, biodiversity, and cultural values. In many such situations, incident controllers must make fateful choices about what to protect-and hence what to abandon. With an online representative survey of >2000 adult Australians, we investigated social attitudes to this dilemma. We used best-worst scaling to assess preferences across a set of 11 assets representing human life, infrastructure, biodiversity, and cultural values. Survey respondents overwhelmingly prioritized a single human life (best-worst score of 6647 out of possible score ranging from -10695 to 10695), even if that choice resulted in extinction of other species. Inanimate (replaceable) objects were accorded lowest priority (best-worst scores of -4655 for a shed and -3242 for a house). Among biodiversity assets, respondents prioritized protecting a population of the iconic koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) (best-worst score of 1913) ahead of preventing the extinction of a snail (score -329) and a plant species (-226). These results variably support current policy in that they emphasize the importance the community places on protection of human life, but results diverged from conventional practice in rating some biodiversity assets ahead of infrastructure. The preference for protecting a population of koalas ahead of action taken to prevent the extinction of an invertebrate and plant species corroborates previous research reporting biases in the way people value nature. If noncharismatic species are not to be treated as expendable, then the case for preventing their extinction needs to be better made to the community. Given the increasing global incidence of high-severity wildfires, further sampling of societal preferences among diverse asset types is needed to inform planning, policy, and practice relating to wildfire. Other preemptive targeted management actions (such as translocations) are needed to conserve biodiversity, especially noniconic species, likely to be imperiled by catastrophic events.

Valoración social de la biodiversidad en relación con otros tipos de activos en riesgo durante los incendios Resumen Las crisis ambientales, como los incendios, pueden causar pérdidas mayores de infraestructura, vida humana, biodiversidad y valores culturales. En muchas de estas situaciones, quienes controlan el incidente deben tomar decisiones fatídicas sobre qué proteger y, por lo tanto, qué abandonar. Aplicamos en línea una encuesta representativa a más de 2000 australianos adultos para investigar las actitudes sociales ante este dilema. Usamos la escala de mejor­peor para valorar las preferencias en once activos que representaban la vida humana, infraestructura, biodiversidad y valores culturales. Los encuestados priorizaron de manera abrumadora la vida humana (puntaje de 6647 en la escala de mejor­peor con un puntaje posible entre ­10695 y 10695), incluso si esto implicaba la extinción de otras especies. Los objetos inanimados (reemplazables) fueron los de menor prioridad (puntaje de ­4655 para una choza y ­3242 para una casa). Entre los activos de biodiversidad, los encuestados priorizaron la protección de una población del icónico koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) (puntaje de 1913) por encima de la extinción de una especie de caracol (­329) y una de planta (­226). Estos resultados respaldan de forma variada la política actual pues resaltan la importancia que la comunidad le da a la protección de la vida humana, pero los resultados discreparon de la práctica convencional al puntear a algunos activos de la biodiversidad por encima de la infraestructura. La preferencia por proteger la población de koalas por encima de evitar la extinción de una especie invertebrada y una especie botánica corrobora las investigaciones anteriores que reportan un sesgo en la forma en la que la población valora la naturaleza. Si queremos que las especies carismáticas no sean tratadas como prescindibles, entonces se le debe plantear de mejor manera a la población el caso para prevenir su extinción. Con el aumento en la incidencia mundial de incendios de gravedad, se necesita un mayor muestreo de las preferencias sociales por los diferentes tipos de activos para guiar la planeación, políticas y prácticas en relación con los incendios. Se requieren otras acciones de manejo preventivo enfocado (como las reubicaciones) para conservar la biodiversidad con probabilidad de estar en peligro durante eventos catastróficos, especialmente las especies que no son icónicas.

Community resilience across Australia towards natural hazards: an application of the Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measurement.

Natural hazards can turn into disasters when not managed well. An important part of disaster risk reduction is to understand how well communities are prepared for natural hazards and how well they can cope with and recover from shocks in the long term. This research assesses self-reported community resilience and asks what makes a community resilient, using Australia as a case study. It reports on an Australian-wide online survey which included questions related to the Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measurement, a subjective indicator, as well as questions about risk perception, well-being, and self-efficacy. Community resilience was found to be moderately high but scores for community leadership and preparedness were low. Perceived community resilience was positively correlated with age and those with high scores for self-efficacy and well-being. There was, as expected, an inverse relationship between reliance on external support during natural hazards and self-efficacy. The results complement previous studies which used different measures of community resilience.

Eastern Australian Farmers Managing and Thinking Differently: Innovative Adaptation Cycles.

The uncertainty of climate change is a significant challenge prompting Australian farmers to create different thinking and different management systems that ensure sustained farm business viability and continuity, particularly in extreme environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions and adaptive processes for managing farm resilience and cyclic adaptation pathways, in response to climate change. A positive deviance sample of farmers was interviewed, and data was collected from a cohort of twenty-two climate change innovators across Eastern Australia. Grounded theory analysis of data identified three processes and two transactional maps of climate change adaptation, in this under studied farmer cohort. The development of the transactional maps found the resilience and preparedness processes as adaptive learning responses to the stressors of climate change. The processes of managing the business and resources were identified as markers of preparedness and resilience that ensured business viability and continuity. Farmers prepared for climate change through transforming make-over processes as an adaptive learning response to climate challenges. Mapping the cycle of adaptation identified the processes of socio-cognitive agency, learning from feedback and consequences, and contextual variables as critical elements of adaptation. The intervening socio-ecological processes of intelligence gathering and influencing, and socio-cognitive precursors, were found to regulate the adaptation cycle. The cycle was found to have both incremental and transformative transmission processes, and intervening processes of climate and contextual variables. The changing patterns and extremes of climate change were found to impact the growing season, and its potential, as unique variables that demand farm adaptation. Ultimately, this study identified potential points of influence for leveraging preparedness behaviours.

Local People's perception of forest ecosystem services, traditional conservation, and management approaches in North Wollo, Ethiopia.

For their livelihoods, many people rely on the services offered by forest ecosystems. Nevertheless, forests are being lost and degraded on a global scale, endangering the delivery of important services. This is the situation in Ethiopia, a nation where land degradation and deforestation pose a threat to the majority of forest ecosystems. Studies in North Wollo are very scarce and limited despite the present growth in evidence bases measuring environmental services and risks across the globe. The traditional knowledge and attitudes of the locals concerning trends in forest management, conservation, and ecosystem services were investigated in this study. We used many approaches for gathering data. The quantitative data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and general linear regression models. The main threats to forest ecosystems in North Wollo included deforestation for the production of firewood and charcoal, increased population growth and agricultural needs, environmental pollution, the allelopathic influence of exotic species, and loss of soil fertility. These dangers cause instability and a decline in the range of ecological services provided by forests. Regarding this, the customary rules, social exclusion, and indigenous beliefs were utilized as a conservation technique to maintain and protect the remaining natural resources. In addition, the community uses terracing, gully prevention, and hillside planting with native trees to restore the ecology that has been damaged. As a result, efforts should be made to solve the current difficulties and dangers since local people, the government and non-governmental organizations have an interest in preserving forest ecosystems. In general, encouraging the direct involvement of locals in decision-making and equitable distribution of the benefits resulting from the ecosystems could aid in addressing the difficulties and risks to the ecosystems.

How public values for threatened species are affected by conservation strategies.

While the imminent extinction of many species is predicted, prevention is expensive, and decision-makers often have to prioritise funding. In democracies, it can be argued that conservation using public funds should be influenced by the values placed on threatened species by the public, and that community views should also affect the conservation management approaches adopted. We conducted on online survey with 2400 respondents from the general Australian public to determine 1) the relative values placed on a diverse set of 12 threatened Australian animal species and 2) whether those values changed with the approach proposed to conserve them. The survey included a contingent valuation and a choice experiment. Three notable findings emerged: 1) respondents were willing to pay $60/year on average for a species (95% confidence interval: $23 to $105) to avoid extinction in the next 20 years based on the contingent valuation, and $29 to $100 based on the choice experiment, 2) respondents were willing to pay to reduce the impact of feral animals on almost all presented threatened species, 3) for few species and respondents, WTP was lower when genetic modification to reduce inbreeding in the remaining population was proposed.

The importance of Indigenous Peoples' lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals.

Indigenous Peoples' lands cover over one-quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial-level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long-term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands globally remains largely unknown. We conducted the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial mammal composition across mapped Indigenous lands based on data on area of habitat (AOH) for 4460 mammal species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We overlaid each species' AOH on a current map of Indigenous lands and found that 2695 species (60% of assessed mammals) had ≥10% of their ranges on Indigenous Peoples' lands and 1009 species (23%) had >50% of their ranges on these lands. For threatened species, 473 (47%) occurred on Indigenous lands with 26% having >50% of their habitat on these lands. We also found that 935 mammal species (131 categorized as threatened) had ≥ 10% of their range on Indigenous Peoples' lands that had low human pressure. Our results show how important Indigenous Peoples' lands are to the successful implementation of conservation and sustainable development agendas worldwide.

La Importancia de las Tierras de los Pueblos Indígenas para la Conservación de los Mamíferos Terrestres Resumen Las tierras pertenecientes a pueblos indígenas cubren más de un cuarto de la superficie del planeta, una proporción importante que se encuentra aún libre de impactos humanos a nivel industrial. Como resultado, los pueblos indígenas y sus tierras son cruciales para la persistencia a largo plazo de la biodiversidad en la Tierra y de los servicios ecosistemicos. Sin embargo, la información sobre la composición de especies en estas tierras a nivel mundial todavía permanece desconocida en su mayoría. Realizamos el primer análisis integral de la composición de mamíferos terrestres a lo largo de las tierras indígenas mapeadas con base en los datos sobre el área del hábitat (ADH) de 4,460 especies de mamíferos valorados por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. Sobrepusimos el ADH de cada especie en un mapa actual de tierras indígenas y encontramos que 2,695 especies (60% de los mamíferos valorados) tienen ≥10% de su distribución dentro de tierras de pueblos indígenas y que 1,009 especies (23%) tienen >50% de su distribución dentro de estas tierras. De las especies amenazadas, 473 (47%) ocurrieron en tierras indígenas.También descubrimos que 935 especies de mamíferos (131 categorizadas como amenazadas) tienen ≥ 10% de su distribución dentro de tierras de pueblos indígenas con baja presión humana. Nuestros resultados muestran cuán importantes son las tierras de los pueblos indígenas para la implementación exitosa de la conservación y las agendas globales de desarrollo sustentable.

Measuring successful processes of knowledge co-production for managing climate change and associated environmental stressors: Adaptation policies and practices to support Indian farmers.

Poor access to external resources, and a lack of affordable technologies compatible with socio-economic and ecological settings of rural livelihoods lead to high vulnerability of subsistence farmers to climate change and associated environmental stressors. Traditional knowledge (TK) plays a pivotal role in improving the adaptive capacity of such farmers to cope with these stressors. In India, most of the policies aiming to improve farmers' adaptive capacity are based on a top-down approach and barely consider farmers' TK. Policies can be made more inclusive by mainstreaming stakeholders' perspectives, an approach termed as knowledge co-production. Our study uses a knowledge co-production framework to (i) assess the current state of emphasis on TK and knowledge co-production processes in Indian policies on agricultural adaptation to climate change and associated environmental stressors, (ii) understand the status of TK-led knowledge co-production at the practice level, and (iii) assess the successes and gaps in incorporating TK in agricultural adaptation at the policy and practice levels to manage these stressors. Based on a systematic literature review, we found that despite emphasis on integration of TK, no Indian policy was successful in terms of stakeholder participation and in covering various dimensions of knowledge co-production. Most of the policies covered either two (knowledge gathering and application) or three (gathering, integration and application) dimensions. The term TK was also not clearly defined and it was unclear how to mainstream it into the process for successful outcomes. Co-production process was adjudged to be fairly successful at the practice level in some of the sectors (e.g., management of soil and water resources) where most of the dimensions were covered and stakeholders participated in various steps of co-production. There were significant differences in the success of co-production within (e.g., crop varieties) and between (e.g., crop and natural resource management) the sectors. We found a considerable gap at policy and practice levels on success of knowledge co-production. Insights from the study could help policy-makers to improve policies for the agricultural sector to better adapt to climate change and associated environmental stressors through the recognition and integration of farmers' TK.

Quantifying current and potential contributions of Australian indigenous peoples to threatened species management.

Formal engagement of indigenous peoples in conservation is increasing globally and leads to multiple benefits to communities while contributing to national and international biodiversity goals and obligations. This and ongoing declines in biodiversity have led to calls to increase opportunities for indigenous people to engage in managing their estates. However, there is no overarching understanding of indigenous peoples' involvement in conservation, which limits the identification of new opportunities. We amalgamated information across governments and large nongovernmental organizations in the megadiverse country of Australia to quantify the involvement of indigenous people in management of threatened species. We identified 153 Australian-based projects undertaken by different indigenous groups around the nation in 2015 and 2016 that included explicit funds for management of threatened species or threatened ecosystems. Most were in remote parts of western and northern Australia. Almost one-quarter of all threatened animals and 2% of threatened plants were the subject of some formal conservation action by indigenous people. Occurrence records for 1574 threatened species showed that 823 (89.2%) of 923 species recorded on indigenous peoples' lands were not listed in management projects. This gap may represent new opportunities for conservation initiatives. Because at least 59.5% of Australia's threatened species occur on indigenous peoples' lands, efforts to build appropriate and effective indigenous conservation alliances are vital. However, it is also important to recognize that threatened species are part of complex social, ecological, economic and cultural systems, and to achieve successful outcomes requires consideration of indigenous peoples' priorities, rights, and obligations and relationships with their traditionally owned land and sea.

Drivers of self-reported heat stress in the Australian labour force.

Heat stress causes reductions in well-being and health. As average annual temperatures increase, heat stress is expected to affect more people. While most research on heat stress has explored how exposure to heat affects functioning of the human organism, stress from heat can be manifest long before clinical symptoms are evident, with profound effects on behavior. Here we add to the little research conducted on these subclinical effects of environmental heat using results from an Australian-wide cross-sectional study of nearly 2000 respondents on their self-reported level of heat stress. Slightly less than half (47%) of the respondents perceived themselves as at least sometimes, often or very often stressed by heat during the previous 12 months. Health status and smoking behavior had the expected impact on self-reported perceived heat stress. There were also regional differences with people living in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales most likely to have reported to have felt heat stressed. People generally worried about climate change, who had been influenced by recent heat waves and who thought there was a relationship between climate change and health were also more likely to have been heat stressed. Surprisingly average maximum temperatures did not significantly explain heat stress but stress was greater among people who perceived the day of the survey as hotter than usual. Currently heat stress indices are largely based on monitoring the environment and physical limitations to people coping with heat. Our results suggest that psychological perceptions of heat need to be considered when predicting how people will be affected by heat under climate change and when developing heat relief and climate change adaptation plans, at work, at home or in public spaces. We further conclude that the perception of temperature and heat stress complements measures that assess heat exposure and heat strain.

Portrayal of sustainability principles in the mission statements and on home pages of the world's largest organizations.

Conservation can be achieved only if sustainability is embraced as core to organizational cultures. To test the extent to which the related concepts of sustainability, conservation, response to climate change, poverty alleviation, and gender equity have been incorporated into organizational culture, we compared mission statements published from 1990 to 2000 with those published in 2014 for 150 organizations, including conservation nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), aid NGOs, government development agencies, resource extraction companies, and retailers (30 in each category). We also analyzed the 2014 home web pages of each organization. Relative to the earlier period, the frequency with which mission statements mentioned poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and a range of sustainable practices increased only slightly by 2014, particularly among resource extractors and retail companies. Few organizations in any sector had embedded either climate change or gender equity into their mission statements. In addition, the proportional intensity with which any of the aspirations were expressed did not change between periods. For current home pages, conservation NGOs, resource extractors, and government agencies were significantly more likely to acknowledge the importance of matters that were not part of their core business, but few aid agencies or retail companies promoted goals beyond alleviation of crises and profit maximization, respectively. Overall, there has been some progress in recognizing poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable practices, but gender equity and a determination to reduce impacts on climate change are still rarely promoted as central institutional concerns. Sustainability in general, and biodiversity conservation in particular, will not be achieved unless their importance is more widely apparent in core communication products of organizations.

Control of vegetable pests in Benin - Farmers' preferences for eco-friendly nets as an alternative to insecticides.

We investigated if eco-friendly nets (EFNs) are a viable and acceptable alternative to extremely high levels of insecticide use in vegetable production. Using a choice experiment, we found that vegetable producing farmers in Benin preferred all of the characteristics of EFNs except the higher labor requirements. The nets had been distributed in a trial phase for free but in the long run farmers would need to purchase the EFNs. The break-even point for investing in nets was found to vary with the lifespan of EFNs, their purchase price and potential health benefits from avoiding large quantities of insecticides. To break even the nets need to be used for at least two production cycles. To overcome risk-averse farmer's reluctance to adopt EFNs we propose a credit and warranty scheme along with the purchase of the nets. The study's findings can guide the implementation of EFNs in other African countries as part of integrated pest management with global benefits for the environment and human health.

Paisang (Quercus griffithii): a keystone tree species in sustainable agroecosystem management and livelihoods in Arunachal Pradesh, India.

In a study of the traditional livelihoods of 12 Monpa and Brokpa villages in Arunachal Pradesh, India using social-ecological and participatory rural appraisal techniques, we found that the forest tree species paisang (Quercus griffithii, a species of oak) is vital to agroecosystem sustainability. Paisang trees are conserved both by individuals and through community governance, because their leaves play a crucial role in sustaining 11 traditional cropping systems of the Monpa peoples. An Indigenous institution, Chhopa, regulates access to paisang leaves, ensuring that the relationship between paisang and traditional field crop species within Monpa agroecosystems is sustainable. The Monpa farmers also exchange leaves and agricultural products for yak-based foods produced by the transhumant Brokpa, who are primarily yak herders. Yak herds also graze in paisang groves during winter. These practices have enabled the conservation of about 33 landraces, yak breeds, and a number of wild plants. Paisang thus emerged as a culturally important keystone species in the cultures and livelihoods of both Monpa and Brokpa. Ecological and conservation knowledge and ethics about paisang vary with gender, social systems, and altitudes. Labor shortages, however, have already caused some changes to the ways in which paisang leaves are used and yak grazing patterns are also changing in the face of changes in attitude among local landowners. Given new competing interests, incentives schemes are now needed to conserve the ecologically sustainable traditional livelihoods.

Potential for using indigenous pigs in subsistence-oriented and market-oriented small-scale farming systems of Southern Africa.

Indigenous pigs in South Africa are a source of food and economic autonomy for people in rural small-scale farming systems. The objective of the study was to assess the potential of indigenous pigs for improving communal farmer's livelihoods and to inform policy-makers about the conservation of indigenous pigs. Data were collected from 186 small-scale subsistence-oriented households and 102 small-scale market-oriented households using interviews and direct observations. Ninety-three percent of subsistence-oriented and 82 % of market-oriented households kept indigenous pigs such as Windsnyer, Kolbroek and non-descript crosses with exotic pigs mainly for selling, consumption and investment. Farmers in both production systems named diseases and parasites, followed by feed shortages, inbreeding and abortions as major constraints for pig production. Diseases and parasites were more likely to be a constraint to pig production in subsistence-oriented systems, for households where the head was not staying at home and for older farmers. Market-oriented farmers ranked productive traits such as fast growth rate, good meat quality and decent litter size as most important selection criteria for pig breeding stock, while subsistence-oriented farmers ranked good meat quality first, followed by decent growth rate and by low feed costs. We conclude that there is high potential for using indigenous pigs in subsistence-oriented production systems and for crossbreeding of indigenous pigs with imported breeds in market-oriented systems.

Circular economy, environmental quality and tourism receipts in Europe: A time series data analysis.

The study examines how progress towards a circular economy (CE), patents related to recycling and secondary raw materials as a proxy for innovation, affect tourism receipts. The study uses Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Error Correction Method (ECM) to analyse time series data from EU countries from 2000 to 2020. Our estimates show that there exist long-run and short-run equilibrium relationships. In sum, evidence shows that promoting circular innovative practices, including recycling and using secondary raw materials in tourist destinations, could improve environmental quality and positively impact tourism receipts. The study concludes with policy and practical suggestions for circular economy innovation towards green tourism, destination management, and sustainable tourism.

Multifunctional farming as successful pathway for the next generation of Thai farmers.

Young farmers play a significant role in sustaining food security and the communities' and rural areas' viability. However, as with many countries, Thailand is facing a decline in the number of young farmers who, if not productive and satisfied with their farm business, are likely to exit farming to take advantage of their increased educational level and off-farm job opportunities. Data were collected by interviewing young farmers in the Prachin Buri province, Thailand, with the aim of assessing their reason for farming in the long-term and the type of farming. Farming decisions can be categorised into three types: full-time profit-oriented farming with a focus on rice production (~53%), full-time multifunctional farming in innovative mixed or organic production systems (~23%), and part-time farming where young farmers work off-farm and farm outside regular working hours (~24%). Using path analysis, we investigated which physical and psychological factors affect young farmers' decisions to pursue these three farming types. The results show that non-monetary farming's benefits are as important as monetary benefits. Education, farming and regular off-farm work experience, farm production, market and pest problems, and government support directly affect the farming types. These effects were also mediated by attitudes towards farming and net farming income. Young farmers choosing to pursue multifunctional farming have higher incomes, more often apply sophisticated technologies, and farm more sustainably than those choosing the other types of farming. This indicates that a shift from conventional rice production to more diversified production systems using innovative technologies is needed to sustain farming success and retain young people in the farming sector.

Governance of forest resource use in western Nepal: Current state and community preferences.

Improved governance of natural resource use is critical to the sustainability and maintenance of environmental quality. In western Nepal, unsustainable resource extraction is seen by the local community as a major threat to forest sustainability. While most respondents to a survey of 243 households inside and outside a protected area (PA) thought the laws for managing resource use were adequate and appropriate, a far smaller proportion thought they were achieving their objectives. Disenchantment with the existing governance regime was strongest outside the PA, probably because there was greater investment in community engagement within the PA. The most likely reason for this failure is the deeply embedded corruption within the forest governance system. Devolution of power to local communities by increasing governance participation is one of the most likely means of containing corruption. It was therefore not surprising that governance participation was rated as the most important governance principle by respondents in a best-worst scaling experiment. Respondents also regarded effectiveness, accountability and transparency as important governance principle to improve management of forest resource extraction from red panda habitat.

Trade-offs between development, culture and conservation--willingness to pay for tropical river management among urban Australians.

Australia's system of tropical rivers constitutes one of the largest and least changed drainage networks in the world. However increasing demand for water in parts of Australia, along with ongoing drought, is driving pressure to develop these rivers. This paper reports the results of a choice experiment (CE) to assess the benefits of different management strategies for three tropical rivers in northern Australia: the Daly, Mitchell and Fitzroy Rivers. The CE was carried out using a survey mailed to Australian urban populations. The results showed that 90% of Australians were willing to pay a once-off payment for the management of tropical rivers. Respondents who had visited or lived near the rivers were willing to pay more for cultural, recreational and environmental services than those who had not. Respondents classed as 'developers', who made up only 4% of the 684 respondents, considered a substantial income from irrigated agriculture as important. Unlike 'environmentalists' and 'neutrals', 'developers' were unwilling to pay for high quality recreational fishing or for having floodplains in good environmental condition. All groups, however, were willing to pay for high cultural values.

Socio-Economic Impact of and Adaptation to Extreme Heat and Cold of Farmers in the Food Bowl of Nepal.

Farmers worldwide have to deal with increasing climate variability and weather extremes. Most of the previous research has focused on impacts on agricultural production, but little is known about the related social and economic impacts on farmers. In this study, we investigated the social and economic impact of extreme weather events (EWE) on farmers in Nepal, and explored how they coped with and adapted to heat waves and cold spells between 2012 and 2017. To address these aims, we conducted a survey of 350 farms randomly selected from the Bardiya and Banke districts of the Terai lowlands of Nepal. They were specifically asked to rate the impacts of extreme temperatures, as well as their effect on labour productivity and collective farmer health, and the detailed preventative measures they had implemented. About 84% of the farmers self-reported moderate or severe heat stress during the last five years, and about 85%, moderate or severe cold stress. Likewise, the majority of respondents reported that both farmer health and labour productivity had been compromised by EWEs. Productivity loss had a strong association with the perceived levels of heat and cold stress, which, in turn, were more likely to be reported by farmers with previous EWE experience. Potentially due to the increased care required during EWEs, those farmers with livestock reported increased heat and cold stress, as, surprisingly, did those who had implemented adaptation measures. Farmers seemed to be less prepared for potential threats of cold spells than heat waves, and therefore less likely to adopt coping strategies, since these are a recent phenomenon. This study identified some limitations. The cross sectional and self-reported data, as a common source of information to estimate health impact, level of heat/cold stress and labour productivity loss. Community-based education/community engagement programs could be developed to facilitate proactive adaptation.

Exploring Heat Stress Relief Measures among the Australian Labour Force.

Australia experiences frequent heat waves and generally high average temperatures throughout the continent with substantial impacts on human health and the economy. People adapt to heat by adopting various relief measures in their daily lives including changing their behaviour. Many labour intensive outdoor industries implement standards for heat stress management for their workforce. However, little is known about how people cope with heat at their workplaces apart from studies targeting some specific industries where labourers are exposed to extreme heat. Here, we analysed responses from 1719 people in the Australian labour force to self-reported heat stress and associated coping mechanisms. Three quarters of respondents experienced heat stress at their workplace with fatigue and headache being the two most frequently stated symptoms. Almost all of those who were affected by heat would hydrate (88%), 67% would cool, and 44% would rest as a strategy for coping with heat. About 10% intended to change their jobs because of heat stress in the workplace. We found differences in heat relief measures across gender, education, health, level of physical intensity of job, and time spent working outside. People working in jobs that were not very demanding physically were more likely to choose cooling down as a relief measure, while those in labour intensive jobs and jobs that required considerable time outside were more likely to rest. This has potential consequences for their productivity and work schedules. Heat affects work in Australia in many types of industry with impact dependent on workforce acclimatisation, yet public awareness and work relief plans are often limited to outdoor and labour intensive industries. Industries and various levels of government in all sectors need to implement standards for heat management specific to climate zones to help people cope better with high temperatures as well as plan strategies in anticipation of projected temperature increases.