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The Final IEM Hurdle

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  Hurdlers - Source: The New York Times.  For the final hurdle of my learning on this IEM course, the hill country farm conversions to forestry group of five prepared a presentation to bestow upon the course leaders via an online Teams meeting. As expected, due my slow internet speed, when my turn to present came the Teams system failed and another group member needed cover for me. Slow internet is a barrier it seems to effective IEM processes. To overcome this issue when working as a group and meeting online, we did not use video, and instead used voice calls. This worked well, for a few reasons, firstly, the coms system didn't crash, secondly, more attention could be focused on the item being addressed rather than someone’s hair-do, thirdly, it felt more relaxed not having to present a certain way, or worry about what was going on in the background when meetings took place. The final IEM course scenario (not so relaxed) was to present our analysis material and recommendation...
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Cairns Model for Integrated Environmental Management - IEM

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Working in an integrated way to achieve  short and long term collaborative, holistic sustainable outcomes for environmental problems is complex. Thankfully others such as Buhrs and Cairns have come up with models to guide an IEM process.  Below the Cairns IEM model explains a step by step approach from problem definition through to achieving short and long term goals. Cairns' full name was Hugh John Foster Cairns and he was a Fellow of the Royal Society and a British microbiologist that contributed to molecular genetics, public health and cancer research.  Cairns IEM model. Source: Cairns, J, J. 1991 . According to Cairns, IEM can  be defined as ''a proactive or  preventive measures that maintain the environment in good condition for a variety  of long-range sustainable uses. Alternatively, IEM may be regarded as coordinated  control, direction, or influence of all human activities in a defined environmental  system to achieve and balance the bro...
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Integrating spheres and ideas - IEM in practice

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It's all connected   Interconnected spheres of IEM: Rod Barker (2022). An IEM processes is multifaceted, it takes coordination and facilitation to make sense of complex information and processes to attain certain outcomes. According to Cairns (1991), a large challenge for IEM is working with government institutions that battle over policy powers to maintain control over their spheres of influence. As most things are in this universe, there are innumerable interrelationships between multiple forces and organisms that are constantly changing. Luckily for me the universe was not included as a problem for my study assignment, yet it did feel that way at times. In the final weeks of my study about IEM, I've found out what it can be like to be part of an integrated environmental policy approach. Mentioned in the previous blog, attaining shared views on relatively simple things, such as 'sustainability' become massive barriers to forward movement. Making progress on comp...
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Transforming New Zealand's Rural Communities to Enable Continued Economic Expansion

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Image Source: Stuff NZ,2019.   There are many interrelated factors when considering policy decisions, and with the shift towards carbon farming, many  sheep and beef farmers  around New Zealand are concerned about the changing landscape. Not just the visual factors, there is a focus on biodiversity, forest fires, loopholes in trading carbon credits, pollution laundering, displacement of lamb and beef farms and farmers along with the support structures and businesses that make up rural communities. The TVNZ Sunday report below informs about the switch to forestry that will likely reduce certain rural populations and force families to shift elsewhere.   While these changes could seem problematic, the background problem is climate change, and more specifically,  human behaviours  such as fossil fuel burning, deforestation and agricultural practises. Would it be too ambitious to take such a broad view in the research and analysis phase of an IEM appro...
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Politics, Post-Truth and IEM

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Image Source: 100% Pure New Zealand An IEM approach is meant to be a strategic process that integrates various principles to arrive at a ‘meta-theory’ that can broaden perspectives to inform analysis of the problems (Buhrs, 1995). Multi-institutional, legislative and policy approaches must then be incorporated into the decision-making for environmental problems. Identifying and assessing sticking points and core problem causes is essential to effective IEM (Buhrs 1995). The previous blog introduced the documentary, Hot Air by Alister Barry which investigated the pitfalls for policymakers that attempted to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) outputs in New Zealand. The changes that took place for the New Zealand government as a result of neoliberal economic ideals during the 1980s, 90s and 2000s transformed policy approaches.  Alister Barry investigates this topic in his documentary Someone Else's Country .  There was a distinct shift from being a highly regulato...
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Freshwater Management – Te Waikoropupū Springs, an IEM Approach

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Te Waikoropupu Springs (the springs) situated in Mohua / Golden Bay is the largest and clearest  freshwaters sources  in New Zealand. The springs is sacred (tapu) for local iwi ( Ngati Tama ) therefore, iwi and others want to protect it from pollution. Since the 1990s, dairy farming around New Zealand has more than doubled in size, this has been the case in the Takaka Valley which is in the upper water catchment of the springs. As a result, freshwater use for dairy farming has increased and degradation of waterways has declined in low-land areas around New Zealand. The film Milked highlights many of the compounding factors that industrialised dairy farming has for people, animals and the environment. The barriers for improved environmental and sociocultural outcomes for waterway health (including Te Waikoropupu) stem from New Zealand's government's biased approach to managing natural resources. They and other regulatory authorities are caught in a colo...
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An IEM Matrix

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The Matrix. Source: Warner Bros. Entertainment Ton Buhrs (1995) poses ideas and ideals for an IEM approach, to integrate various principles developed through a range of philosophies and sciences, to arrive at a ‘meta-theory’ that can broaden perspectives to inform analysis of the problems and incorporate multi-institutional, legislative and policy approaches for environmental problems. The diagram I made and shown below illustrates how an IEM needs to begin with research and analysis.   It's important to select the boundaries for analysis.  Nate Hagens  (2022) suggests that narrow boundaries of analysis will reduce the scope of how an environmental problem can be accounted for and managed. Alternatively, wider boundaries seek to include broad-scale and compounding long term effects.  A  strategic aspect of an IEM plan might be to educate a local community and involve schools as an approach. The tactics and tools are devices that enable the plan, for example, usi...
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