Otter Monitoring in rural and urban areas 

School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences & Environmental Research Institute

Impact: Local

Otters inhabit a variety of aquatic environments in Ireland, including coastal areas and freshwater rivers. The purpose of this research is to monitor the number of wild otters in Cork City and county, along with their microbiome. Research is communicated and published to increase awareness of our otter populations. This research will also progress otter monitoring techniques.

SDG 15 - Life on Land

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

Peatland rehabilitation, Climate Action and Sustainable Heritage 

Dr. Benjamin Gearey, Department of Archaeology, School of the Human Environment

Impact: International

This research consists of several strands which integrate in the context of international moves and policies for peatland rehabilitation for ecosystem service provision: especially in the context of climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration. A particular strand concerns peatland heritage (the archaeological record and related areas) - the role this can play in terms of promoting sustainable practices and also the importance of peatland rehabilitation for sustainability of tangible and intangible aspects of these landscapes as heritage. The research aims to contribute directly to SDGs via the interface with the United Nation Global Peatland Initiative and the forthcoming Global Peatland Assessment (as a contributing author), which will be launched at COP28.

This assessment looks to set international agendas for sustainable use of peatlands and to guide and influence policy agendas on this front. A submission arising from the European 'WetFutures' Project (JPICH funded/UCC strand) to the United Nations was referenced in the Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights ‘Report on Climate Change, Culture and Cultural Rights (August 2020). An event was co-organised in 2021 called ‘Peatlands, climate change and cultural heritage: global perspectives, problems and solutions’ COP26, held in Glasgow.

SDG 15 - Life on Land

• Target 15.1 - Conserve and restore terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
• Target 15.9 - Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity in governmental planning

SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.2 - Sustainable management and use of natural resources
• Target 12.7 - Promote sustainable public procurement practices

SDG 13 - Climate Action

• Target 13.3 - Build knowledge and capacity to meet climate change
  

Exploring the nature-technology-wellbeing nexus to support biodiversity and generate a sustainable city 

Dr. Paul Holloway, Department of Geography, School of the Human Environment & Environmental Research Institute

Impact: Local, National

This research aims to explore the role of urban green and blue spaces to support under-pressure biodiversity in cities, particularly the spatial configuration of these habitats. Furthermore, this research aims to link to vulnerable groups (i.e. older people) to engage with nature in their local area to support wellbeing through monitoring and mapping nature using technology. This research will lead to a better understanding of the role urban green and blue spaces play in supporting biodiversity. Another aim of this research is to co-develop a system where older people can participate in science and technology through engagement with nature, with an explicit linkage to subsequent wellbeing.

Therefore, success is found in various guises, including knowledge generation to support biodiversity loss, the development of a training and analytical phenology toolkit, participant benefits including education and mental health, community development that provides peer-support and the opportunity for intergenerational exchange. This is the first research group to explore how the spatial configuration of green and blue spaces impact biodiversity metrics within Cork City, where it was found that mixed and connected green and blue habitats support biodiversity better than isolated ones. Building on this, the group are now organizing citizen science workshops where older people are receiving training in nature, technology, and wellbeing to support education in STEM, as well as generate grassroot networks of individuals that will support the monitoring and maintenance of these ecosystems.

“Urban areas are ranked as one of the primary causes of biodiversity loss, meaning research is needed to reverse this trend. When the importance of green and blue spaces to wellbeing are considered, the opportunity to marry research into SDG15 (life above land) and SDG11 (sustainable cities) will not only benefit nature and wellbeing on an individual level, their combined effect will generate a truly sustainable network of local communities that recognise the importance of urban green and blue spaces to a multitude of factors.”

- Dr. Paul Holloway

SDG 15 - Life on Land

• Target 15.5 - Protect biodiversity and natural habitats
• Target 15.9 - Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity in governmental planning

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.4 - Protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage
• Target 11.7- Provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces

Talking to elephants about quantitative risk

Professor Don Ross, School of Society, Politics, and Ethics

Impact: International

This research aims to measure the structural risk preferences of African elephants through choice experiments with elephant subjects. In the course of this they learn a "little language" of acoustic signals that allows us to share information about risky reward prospects with them. This will allow elephant migrations to be influenced by communication of positive incentives, which will in turn allow management of elephant / farmer conflict without scaring or shooting elephants.

The team is working with a consortium of wildlife conservation interests in South Africa to design and implement a system of incentive-driven migration management. This will reduce elephant / farmer conflict, save elephant and human lives, and allow fences between reserves to be taken down so that elephants can range naturally and relieve disastrous pressure on biodiversity that results from overly dense concentrations of elephants. No one has ever previously estimated the quantitative structure of risk preferences in non-humans. This work thus opens a new door in comparative psychology. By comparing risky choices of individual elephants and herds, this research will also shed new light on elephant social dynamics. This work also pioneers inter-species communication about quantitative risk.

“Elephants are highly intelligent, emotionally complex victims of the anthropocene. By communicating with them about quantitative risk, we are providing them with one of the tools that allows humans to adapt to consequences of our recurrent gambles with the environment.”

– Prof. Don Ross

SDG 15 - Life on Land