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ABSTRACT THE (UN)INTENTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF ‘GREENING’ In the South Wales Valleys, draining coal in the past gave rise to an extractive system that fuelled Britain for decades. Their closure in the 1980s transitioned the towns to the current highest deprivation levels in the country.
CONTENT Global Atlas p.6-11 Social Formation p.12-17 Cartogenesis p.18-23 Sources p.24-25
Beyond the national boundaries, the project looks at how the energy transition apparatus of the UK impacts the way consequential landscapes are instrumentalised globally and how this “greening” veil of Just Transition hides the continuation of business as usual in resource extractions in the Global South. Back in Wales, the Just Transition framework is interrogated and re-thought through a community forestry model in the Valleys where the challenging of environmental forestry conservations empowers local voices, re-designing a new relationship with their landscape commons.
transnational enterprises The Forestry Commission
Westminster Paris Agreement centralised governments community organizations climate change UK public policies
Thesis Project By: Elena Luciano Suastegui, Rafael Caldera & Yasmina Yehia
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A new “green” version of colonialism, this time, waving the flag of climate emergency to justify the same business model that London has been built on.
GLOBAL ATLAS
Here the UK is portrayed after signing the Paris agreement, which aims in decarbonizing the nation by 2050. Sadly, we can only present this picturesque green future for the UK, because its Act frames all actions only within the national border of the country, ignoring the huge impact of the UK fossils industry globally. This map shows the new potential concessions in the Global South territories recently explored by companies headquartered in London, exposing the discrepancies of these green intentions.
ATLAS OF A “JUST” TRANSITION
FIG 1
CONCESSION TERRITORY
OIL/GAS FIELDS
REFINERIES
GAS EXTRACTION
HEADQUARTER
TIME-LINES
PIPELINES
UK H.Q.REFINERIES
OIL EXTRACTION
FRACKING
MARITIME ROUTES
MARITIME LIMITS
G. S FRACKING
COAL MINING
EXPLORATION
FIG 2
Can a just transition be achieved for the Global South Territories?
In Ruhr, Germany a Just Transition took place for the past decades under billionaire investments from private investors and the European Union. The region is now catalogued the third richest European urban centre.
Is it a just transition if it’s benefits just some groups?
FIG 3
Is this transition just for the UK?
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RHUR, FROM ESSEN TO DUISBURG STRATEGIC SITES
INDUSTRIAL
URBAN SETTLEMENTS
URBAN SETTLEMENTS
LANDUSE: PARK
MINE AREA
COAL RESERVES PRIMARY NETWORKS SECONDARY NETWORKS
FIG 4
Planning for a Just Transition require the participation of stakeholders, community, and institutions envisioning a common future. UK policies and oil industry are now leaving behind the territories that fuels the engiens of their economy.
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Athabasca Tar Sands, Canada
Cerrejon Mine, Colombia
The Niger Delta, Nigeria
Vaca Muerta, Argentina
FIG 5
“ALL ROADS LEAD TO LONDON” FRACKING SITE
HEADQUARTER
OIL/GAS FIELDS
REFINERY REFINERY HEADQUARTERED IN LONDON
OIL EXTRACTION OIL REFINERY
OIL EXTRACTION INVESTENT CONNECTION
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SOCIAL FORMATIONS
“Now, the Valleys, Wales, is being neglected by the same system that boasted it’s development, leaving behind one of the most deprived landscapes in the UK” Our project is located in the Valleys of South Wales, where draining Coal in the past gave rise to an extractive system that for decades fueled Britain. Now, it is being neglected by the same system, leaving behind one of the most deprived landscapes in the UK. Cardiff and the Valleys became mutually dependent during the coal era, where extraction occurred in the upper Valleys and the port city was the node that spread the Valleys mineral resources along the UK and Europe. This happened through the intricate network from the collieries to Cardiff, where like in the veins of a living body, tonnes of coal were drained by millions of workers in exchange for “prosperity” and “development”.
THE OPEN VEINS OF THE SOUTH WALES VALLEYS FIG 6
GREEN WEDGES SINC FIG 7
STRATEGIES SITES LAND RECLAMATION SCHEMES
DWELLINGS 1000 units / 20 units
AREA 1500ha/1000ha
Here we map the green policies of the Rhondda Valleys, overwhelmingly dominant compared to housing and retail policies. These reinforce the dormitory profile of the region, where green policies serve to depopulate the Valleys
Green policies for everyone but the people
POLICIES STRATEGIES
Where are the policies for the communities?
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HALT THE TOWNS AIDING ASSOCIATIONS COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY + COUNCIL CYCLING TRAILS
COUNCIL SPORT CENTERS
FIG 8
To understand the community dynamics, we have mapped community actions such as the opening of local stores, aid associations and council initiatives. However, these intentions are rather small compared to the size of the problem.
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SITE VISIT: DIGGING DOWN THE TRUTH FIG 9
In 1919 the Forest Enterprise turned the old collieries in Treherbert into a timber factory: a dense monocultural pine “forest”. The landscapes created under that vision are still alive.
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CARTOGENESIS
This map shows the historical evolution of a green policy that conceals a war like perception of a forest as a timber factory. It all started with the creation of the forest commission by 1919, with the power and funds to acquire the collieries that would start to close after WW1. They already envisioned the Welsh coal industry would evolve into forestry. By the eighties, they still preserved the timber factory but now under the Broadleaf policy, claiming conservation and diversity. Now in that same conservation land, the authorities have given concessions to transnational enterprises to build windmills. This energy is drained outside the Valleys. Same pattern with the old coal days, but now with green energy.
“GREEN POLICIES” PALIMPSEST FIG 10
ROAD NETWORKS RAILWAYS NETWORKS
WIND TURBINES COLLIERIES SITE
FOREST COVER SINC AREAS
HOUSING/INFRASTRUCTURE LAND RECLAMATION
Landscapes for the people, by the people!
For the second phase, the accumulation of forestry products after 5 years can diversify into these options, as suggested by the community, engaging a great diversity of jobs. As an example of the succession, the start of inclusion of community allotments and community centres goes hand in hand with the network created in the first phase. This diversification allows for market testing of products readily available at this stage of the process, mainly relying on produce that is non timber related yet.
This landscape shows what the community and us imagine after a policy reform that that can allow the local community to manage and take control of the landscape surrounding them by acquiring a lease. The first stage is triggered by the development of forest management and the immediate consequences.
DENSE PINE WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT FIG 11
ENERGY BIOMASS BOILERS
Communities taking control of their landscape
PHASE 1 “PRIMARY LAND EXTRACTION- ENERGY & WOODLANDS”
Forests for the people, not for wars
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PHASE 2 “DIVERSIFICATION OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY” DENSE PINE WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT FIG 12
AFF BARREN LAND AFF GRASSLAND MICROHYDRO
ENERGY COMMUNITY BIOMASS BOILERS
COMMUNITY FLOW ALLOTMENTS COMMUNITY CENTERS
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TREHERBERT’S TRANSVERSAL TRANSITIONS
FIG 13
FIG. 1 Interactive Shell World Map 2015 (SHELL, 2015) Interactive Shell World Map 2017 (SHELL, 2017) BP Upstream Major Projects (BP plc, 2019) BP Maps (DANIELEINA, 2017) AngloAmerican. Where we Operate (AngloAmerican, 2019) Mapping Just Transition(s) to a Low-Carbon World (Stevis, et al., 2018) North American Pipeline and Oil & Gas Infrastructure Proposals ( The FracTracker Alliance, 2019) South America, Europe, Africa, and Russian Existing and Proposed Pipelines (The FracTracker Alliance, 2019) Oil_and_gas_reserves_merged_Petrodata_V12 (Asbury, 2018) Global Oil Refinery Complex, Daily Capacity, CO2 Emissions, and Various Ancillary Products Produced (The FrackTracker Alliance, 2019) Global Oil and Gas Contracts (Public Version) (Izquierdo Iquierdo, 2018) FIG. 2 OS Data Download. OS Open Map Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Open Rivers 1:25 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Terrain 50 DTM (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Greenspace 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Highways 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Water Network 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local Raster 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) This is an incredible visualization of the world’s shipping routes (Plumer, 2017) Collieries and Plans (Reynolds, 2018) Collieries Page (Welsh Coal Mines, n.d.) List of Collieries in the Rhondda Valleys (Wikipedia contributors, 2018) FIG. 3 Quinn, B., 2016. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/10/shell-sells-canadian-oil-sands-as-boss-warns-of-losingpublic-support [Accessed January 2019]. The Guardian, 2017. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/oct/26/discontent-cerrejon-coal-mine-colombians-cry-foul [Accessed January 2019]. Summers, H., 2017. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/nov/28/amnesty-seeks-criminal-inquiry-into-shell-over-alleged-complicity-in-murder-and-torture-in-nigeria [Accessed January 2019]. Vaughan, A., 2016. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/18/un-criticises-uk-and-german-for-betraying-the-spiritof-the-paris-climate-deal [Accessed January 2019]. Cohen, L., 2014. Reuters. [Online] Available at: https://it.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN16308H [Accessed January 2019].
SOURCES
FIG. 4 OS Data Download. OS Open Map Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Open Rivers 1:25 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Terrain 50 DTM (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Greenspace 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Highways 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Water Network 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local Raster 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) This is an incredible visualization of the world’s shipping routes (Plumer, 2017) Collieries and Plans (Reynolds, 2018) Collieries Page (Welsh Coal Mines, n.d.) List of Collieries in the Rhondda Valleys (Wikipedia contributors, 2018) FIG. 5 AngloAmerican. Where we Operate (AngloAmerican, 2019) Aspects of globalisation – a case study of a TNC. Shell (coolgeography.co.uk, n.d.) BP What we do (BP plc, 2019) BP Maps (DANIELEINA, 2017) North American Pipeline and Oil & Gas Infrastructure Proposals ( The FracTracker Alliance, 2019) Oil_and_gas_reserves_merged_Petrodata_V12 (Asbury, 2018) South America, Europe, Africa, and Russian Existing and Proposed Pipelines (The FracTracker Alliance, 2019) Global Oil Refinery Complex, Daily Capacity, CO2 Emissions, and Various Ancillary Products Produced (The FrackTracker Alliance, 2019) Global Oil and Gas Contracts (Public Version) (Izquierdo Iquierdo, 2018)
FIG. 6 OS Data Download. OS Open Map Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Open Rivers 1:25 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. OS Terrain 50 DTM (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. Greenspace 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. Highways 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. Water Network 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. VectorMap Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† OS Data Download. VectorMap Local Raster 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018)† This is an incredible visualization of the world’s shipping routes (Plumer, 2017) Collieries and Plans (Reynolds, 2018) Collieries Page (Welsh Coal Mines, n.d.) List of Collieries in the Rhondda Valleys (Wikipedia contributors, 2018) FIG. 7 RCT Employment Allocation (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Green Wedge (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Housing Allocation (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Land Reclamation Scheme (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Local Nature Reserves (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Plan Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Retail Allocation (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Retail Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Settlement Limit (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT SINC (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Special Landscape Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Strategic Sites (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Strategy Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Town Centre (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan. Annual Monitoring Report 2016-2017 (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan up to 2021. Adopted March 2011 (Cook & Gale, 2011) FIG.. 8 RCT Special Landscape Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Local Nature Reserves (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) BBC (Duffy, S., 2015) Wales Online (Houghton T., 2017) Rhondda Tunnel Society (Rhondda Tunnel Society, 2019) Communities First (Wales Gov, 2019) Sports & Leisure (Rhondda Cynon Taf Gov UK, 2019) Jobs & Training (Rhondda Cynon Taf Gov UK, 2019) Parking, Roads & Travel (Rhondda Cynon Taf Gov UK, 2019) Visitor (Rhondda Cynon Taf Gov UK, 2019) Resident (Rhondda Cynon Taf Gov UK, 2019) Improving Tonypandy (Tonypandy Online, 2019) Friends of Ferndale (Beta, 2018) Good Energy to green Welsh valleys (renews, 2018) Into the valleys (Richard Jinman, 2005) FIGS. 9 TO 13 National Landscape Character Areas (Natural Resources Wales 2008) National Inventory of Woodland and Trees (Natural Resources Wales 2002) NRW Forest Ownership (Natural Resources Wales 2019) Open Access – Dedicated Forests (Natural Resources Wales 2019) OS Data Download. OS Open Map Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Open Rivers 1:25 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. OS Terrain 50 DTM (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Greenspace 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Highways 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. Water Network 1:2 500 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) OS Data Download. VectorMap Local Raster 1:10 000 (Digimap® Ordnance Survey, 2018) RCT SINC (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Special Landscape Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Special Landscape Area (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) RCT Local Nature Reserves (Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Development Plan, 2017) Sites of Special Scientific Interest (Natural Resources Wales 2001).
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Elena Luciano, Rafael Caldera, & Yasmina Yehia?