Exploring ecological identity from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics

Ecological identity, acting as the baton to guide the public’s behavior in nature, is closely correlated with environmental crises that threaten human survival. Previous studies of ecological identity are mostly conducted in the domain of sociopsychology with an emphasis on human’s attitude and behavior. Less attention, however, has been paid to the discursive construction of one’s ecological identity. The current study aims to build a framework to explore the mechanism of discursive strategies in constructing one’s ecological identity. To this end, this article classifies different ecological identities according to their impact on nature and the ecosophy of holism. It then puts forward a framework based on systemic functional linguistics to explore how lexicogrammatical resources can be employed strategically in the construction of ecological identity. The framework is significant for ecolinguistic investigations of identity and the cultivation of human’s critical language awareness related to the protection of ecosystems.

Formation of Environmental Identity in Germany and Italy: Actors and Best Practices

One of the important components of environmental policy in recent years is the formation of environmental identity. This article analyzes the German and Italian practices of ecological identity formation, identifies the actors of such a policy, and evaluates the prospects of ecological identity formation in the European Union. Based on case studies and in-depth interviews, the author describes the experience of implementing the Zero Waste concept in the Italian municipality of Capannori and the coastal German city of Kiel. The conclusion that the success of measures to form an environmental identity is influenced by the nature of political culture, the level of economic development, regional development features, but also by targeted environmental education initiatives and the success of grassroots practices in the environmental sphere, is substantiated. As the research has shown, in promoting eco-practices at the local level in Italy the leadership factor plays a large role, including in the framework of protest eco-activism, in Germany ‒ the self-organization of local communities in cooperation with the city authorities. The politicization of environmental identity contributes to the consolidation of citizens around environmental priorities. However, factors such as generation gaps and uneven regional development, as well as the rise of populism, can contribute to deepening divisions and confrontations around the environmental agenda.

GEOGRAPHY AND IDENTITY: AN ANALYSIS OF GEOGRAPHY CURRICULA IN TURKEY

Although there are differences in identity construction depending on countries and periods, some courses have come to the fore in the education system in each per i od. In Turkey, the education system in general, and history, geography, citizenship and social studies courses, in particular, have instrumental importance in the construction of identity. When the literature is examined, it can be observed that there are many studies on history, social studies and citizenship lessons for identity construction. However, there is a limited number of studies on identity construction for the geography curricula. The main purpose of this research was to examine the secondary education geography curricula in Turkey in terms of identity and citizenship construction. The study was planned and carried out as a qualitative case study. Case studies often describe the exploration of a bounded system. In this research, the sample was limited to the 2005 and 2018 geography course curricula, and a detailed description was made by using “content analysis” based on the research purpose. As a result of the research, it was determined in both curricula that the national identity theme had the most expressions, and national identity was aimed to be built by presenting details about the geography of the homeland. In addition to national identity, it was determined that there were also contents related to social identity, ecological identity, universal identity, and a limited number of digital identity and religious identity themes.

Cultivating Nature Identity and Ecological Worldviews: A Pathway to Alter the Prevailing Dominant Social Paradigm

The worsening environmental problems demand a shift from the prevailing Dominant Social Paradigm to the New Ecological Paradigm. Yet, little is known on the conditions necessary for societal adoption of conservation behaviour. This qualitative study explores the social-psychological aspects and processes cultivating ecological identity and worldviews by uncovering the activities, interpretation of experiences that capture mental thoughts, emotions and symbolic meanings within the richness of lived experiences. The findings theorise the process of ecological identity building and offers in-depth insights into the motivations and stages of ecological identities and worldviews that support pro-environmental behaviour. The insights extend the identity theory to illustrate the process of nature identity development to include the stages of identity activation, creation and synthesis; reveal Asian values and beliefs that consumers use to rationalise their consumption behaviour; and provide implications for macromarketing, education and sustainability initiatives, and policy making.

Transformation of indigenous peoples’ Ecological conciousness

The world of Indigenous ecological reality has a spatial and temporal structure. The need for a favorable natural environment, sufficient natural resources’ quantity and quality, as well as env ironmental security has been permanently present in autochtonous existence. Researchers of North American and Siberian indigenous peoples’ ecological identity agree that of the two criteria, spatial structure plays more important role than temporal. The indigenous peoples’ spatial identity is linked to their deep conviction that everything in the world “stops” periodically, so if you pray in the right locality, where higher powers are most likely to stop at that very moment, prayer would be heard. Thus the feeling of attachment to ethnic homeland is crucial in the process of creating an ethnic niche. Most of the Indigenous people believe that their nations were created at the territory they live now, so this locus is the center of the universe for them. The past and the future are understood by the natives at the level of physical perceptible sound, visual, tactile and sensory sensations, thus the concept of the sacred landscape is formed, and each nation has its own notion of it. Indigenous writers sometimes shift temporal-spatial layers, superimposing chronotopic planes, suspending astronomical time, thus destroying the boundaries of the real world and at the same time creating fascinating spaces that are an important part of the indigenous spatial identity. Thus, spatiality functions in fictional texts as a stylistic device designed to express the opposition of different worlds.

Ecological morphology of Saxifraga hirculus L. in the North-east oF European Russia

Изучено географическое и экологическое своеобразие распределения представителей двух подвидов Saxifraga hirculus в пределах северо-востока Европейской России. Показано, что в условиях холодного климата на переменно влажных субстратах разных типов тундр произрастают растения subsp. compacta, при постоянном сильном увлажнении и в более тёплых условиях - subsp. hirculus. Произрастание в разных условиях привели к значительным различиям в жизненных формах: основная биоморфа северного подвида - это дерновый рыхлокустовой поликарпик, типового - поликарпик дерновый корневищный. We studied the geographical and ecological identity of the distribution of representatives of the two subspecies of Saxifraga hirculus in northeastern European Russia. They showed that plants of subsp. compacta grow in cold climates on alternately wet substrates of different types of tundras; plants of subsp. hirculus grow under conditions warmer conditions with constant strong humidification. Growth in different conditions led to significant differences in biomorphs of both subspecies. The basic biomorph of the northern subspecies is loose turfy polycarpic perennial herbaceous plants, while that of the typical one is the rhizomatous turfy plant.

Defining Dry Rivers as the Most Extreme Type of Non-Perennial Fluvial Ecosystems

We define Dry Rivers as those whose usual habitat in space and time are dry channels where surface water may interrupt dry conditions for hours or a few days, primarily after heavy rainfall events that are variable in time and that usually lead to flash floods, disconnected from groundwater and thereby unable to harbor aquatic life. Conceptually, Dry Rivers would represent the extreme of the hydrological continuum of increased flow interruption that typically characterizes the non-perennial rivers, thus being preceded by intermittent and ephemeral rivers that usually support longer wet phases, respectively. This paper aims to show that Dry Rivers are ecosystems in their own right given their distinct structural and functional characteristics compared to other non-perennial rivers due to prevalence of terrestrial conditions. We firstly reviewed the variety of definitions used to refer to these non-perennial rivers featured by a predominant dry phase with the aim of contextualizing Dry Rivers. Secondly, we analyzed existing knowledge on distribution, geophysical and hydrological features, biota and biogeochemical attributes that characterize Dry Rivers. We explored the capacity of Dry Rivers to provide ecosystem services and described main aspects of anthropogenic threats, management challenges and the conservation of these ecosystems. We applied an integrative approach that incorporates to the limnological perspective the terrestrial view, useful to gain a better understanding of Dry Rivers. Finally, we drew main conclusions where major knowledge gaps and research needs are also outlined. With this paper, we ultimately expect to put value in Dry Rivers as non-perennial rivers with their own ecological identity with significant roles in the landscape, biodiversity and nutrient cycles, and society; thus worthy to be considered, especially in the face of exacerbated hydrological drying in many rivers across the world.

Sweetness and HPOWER: Waste, Sugar and Ecological Identity in the Development of Honolulu's HPOWER Waste-to-Energy Facility

Recent studies have demonstrated the high spatial, economic and ecological stakes of solid waste management in remote island environments, like Hawaii, but also suggested ways in which conceptions of risk and identity have factored into stakeholders' decisions regarding particular waste management technologies and processes. Through an analysis of historical and archival documents, this article examines linkages between a declining sugar plantation industry and the development of a major waste disposal project, and shows how an ecological identity narrative which combined an understanding of Honolulu as a place needing to reduce reliance on imported resources with an understanding of metropolitan Honolulu as a major centre for plantation sugarcane agriculture resulted in a plan for combining waste disposal with sugarcane processing. Focused on the historical case of the HPOWER facility on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, I argue that ecological identity offers new insights for understanding how environmental infrastructures are conceptualised and resisted, and that explicit consideration of ecological identity in the analysis of environmental governance may lead to improved scholarly understanding as well as improved outcomes for governance itself.