More than just linking the nodes: civil society actors as intermediaries in the design and implementation of payments for ecosystem services–the case of a blue carbon project in Costa Rica

While in many cases the benefits of ecosystem services (ES) can be enjoyed on different scales, the provision of ES requires engagement and commitment at the local scale. Therefore, the local level becomes important when thinking about compensation schemes or payments for ecosystem services (PES) as an approach to managing ES. The difficult task of bringing together different actors and institutions at different scales for specific conservation projects at the local level often remains in the hands of intermediaries. In this paper, we investigate the role of a civil society organisation (CSO) as an intermediary organisation in a PES scheme, the Community Blue Carbon Project (CBCP) in Costa Rica. To assess the role of intermediaries in a PES scheme, we rely on social network analysis and examine the position and role of the intermediary organisation. Based on Net-Map interviews, which is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualise, discuss and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes, we find that the intermediary organisation in the CBCP is composed of several institutional and individual intermediaries who create both formal networks for connecting the international to the local level and informal networks for creating trusting relationships among the actors. Different spatial levels are reflected within the CSO’s organisational structure, and the CSO mitigates the distributional, procedural, recognition and contextual aspects of environmental justice.     

Use of 210Pb and 137Cs to simultaneously constrain ages and sources of post-dam sediments in the Cordeaux reservoir, Sydney, Australia

Environmental radionuclides can be employed as tracers of sediment movement and delivery to water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs. The chronologies of sediments that have accumulated in the Cordeaux reservoir in Sydney, Australia, were determined by the rate of change of (210)Pb(ex) with depth and indicate slow accretion in the reservoir. The ratio of enrichment of radionuclides in sediment cores to (210)Pb(ex) and (137)Cs concentrations in a reference soil sample within the Cordeaux catchment indicates that the dominant source of sediment in the Cordeaux reservoir is surface erosion (detachment and removal of sediment at depths less than 30 cm). However, in the Kembla Creek arm of the reservoir a mixture of sources was detected and includes sheet and rill erosion together with sub-soil contributions. Implications for the utility of these radionuclide sedimentation assessments, especially where samples are limited, are that well-constrained chronologies and sources of soil erosion are facilitated.     

A Data-Based Conservation Planning Tool for Florida Panthers

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest threats to the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). We developed a data-based habitat model and user-friendly interface so that land managers can objectively evaluate Florida panther habitat. We used a geographic information system (GIS) and the Mahalanobis distance statistic (D ²) to develop a model based on broad-scale landscape characteristics associated with panther home ranges. Variables in our model were Euclidean distance to natural land cover, road density, distance to major roads, human density, amount of natural land cover, amount of semi-natural land cover, amount of permanent or semi-permanent flooded area–open water, and a cost–distance variable. We then developed a Florida Panther Habitat Estimator tool, which automates and replicates the GIS processes used to apply the statistical habitat model. The estimator can be used by persons with moderate GIS skills to quantify effects of land-use changes on panther habitat at local and landscape scales. Example applications of the tool are presented.     

Decomposition of forest products buried in landfills

The objective of this study was to investigate the decomposition of selected wood and paper products in landfills. The decomposition of these products under anaerobic landfill conditions results in the generation of biogenic carbon dioxide and methane, while the un-decomposed portion represents a biogenic carbon sink. Information on the decomposition of these municipal waste components is used to estimate national methane emissions inventories, for attribution of carbon storage credits, and to assess the life-cycle greenhouse gas impacts of wood and paper products. Hardwood (HW), softwood (SW), plywood (PW), oriented strand board (OSB), particleboard (PB), medium-density fiberboard (MDF), newsprint (NP), corrugated container (CC) and copy paper (CP) were buried in landfills operated with leachate recirculation, and were excavated after approximately 1.5 and 2.5 yr. Samples were analyzed for cellulose (C), hemicellulose (H), lignin (L), volatile solids (VS), and organic carbon (OC). A holocellulose decomposition index (HOD) and carbon storage factor (CSF) were calculated to evaluate the extent of solids decomposition and carbon storage. Samples of OSB made from HW exhibited cellulose plus hemicellulose (C + H) loss of up to 38%, while loss for the other wood types was 0–10% in most samples. The C + H loss was up to 81%, 95% and 96% for NP, CP and CC, respectively. The CSFs for wood and paper samples ranged from 0.34 to 0.47 and 0.02 to 0.27 g OC g^?1 dry material, respectively. These results, in general, correlated well with an earlier laboratory-scale study, though NP and CC decomposition measured in this study were higher than previously reported.     

Evaluating long-term trends in littoral benthic macroinvertebrate communities of lakes recovering from acid deposition

The Mann–Kendall test has been proposed as a nonparametric method to evaluate trends in long-term water quality datasets with missing values, serial correlation, and non-normality. However, this test has rarely been used to evaluate long-term trends in biological data. In this study, we used the Mann–Kendall test to evaluate trends in 15?years of data on benthic macroinvertebrate communities from 17 Precambrian Shield lakes. We also used the van Belle and Hughes test of trend homogeneity to assess whether common among-lake temporal trends existed. We assumed that evidence of a common regional trend among lakes would support the hypothesis of long-term biological recovery from past acidification. We found decreasing proportions of Chironomidae and increasing proportions of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) in both single-lake and multi-lake trend analysis. Moreover, six of the nine lakes with significant trends in more than one benthos metric displayed a significant decrease in Chironomidae and increase in EPT concurrently, indicating a shift towards more acid-sensitive taxa. Weak trends in several of the biological metrics indicated that recovery in these lakes has been impeded. Results of this study indicate that the Mann–Kendall and van Belle and Hughes trend tests are useful statistical tools to evaluate long-term patterns in biological data.     

Silent water: a brief examination of the marine fisheries crisis

This paper is an attempt to synthesize and briefly examine the causes of the marine fisheries crisis, and to speculate about future initiatives. Ultimately, the human appetite is at the root of the marine fisheries crisis. But religion, technology, population pressure, science and our economic systems have provided vehicles for human appetite and thus contributed to overfishing. These various topics are further discussed in the context of the potential restoration of marine fisheries populations. All titles with gratitude to The Talking Heads. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Building a better methane generation model: Validating models with methane recovery rates from 35 Canadian landfills

The German EPER, TNO, Belgium, LandGEM, and Scholl Canyon models for estimating methane production were compared to methane recovery rates for 35 Canadian landfills, assuming that 20% of emissions were not recovered. Two different fractions of degradable organic carbon (DOC_f) were applied in all models. Most models performed better when the DOC_f was 0.5 compared to 0.77. The Belgium, Scholl Canyon, and LandGEM version 2.01 models produced the best results of the existing models with respective mean absolute errors compared to methane generation rates (recovery rates + 20%) of 91%, 71%, and 89% at 0.50 DOC_f and 171%, 115%, and 81% at 0.77 DOC_f. The Scholl Canyon model typically overestimated methane recovery rates and the LandGEM version 2.01 model, which modifies the Scholl Canyon model by dividing waste by 10, consistently underestimated methane recovery rates; this comparison suggested that modifying the divisor for waste in the Scholl Canyon model between one and ten could improve its accuracy. At 0.50 DOC_f and 0.77 DOC_f the modified model had the lowest absolute mean error when divided by 1.5 yielding 63 ± 45% and 2.3 yielding 57 ± 47%, respectively. These modified models reduced error and variability substantially and both have a strong correlation of r = 0.92.     

Enforcement Authority and Vegetation Change at Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary,Rajasthan, India

Land cover change in protected areas is often associated with human use, especially illicit extraction, but the direction and spatial distribution of such effects and their drivers are poorly understood. We analyze and explain the spatial distribution of vegetation change at the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Aravalli range of Rajasthan, India using remotely sensed data and observation of conservation institutions. Two satellite images are examined in time series over the 13 years following the founding of the sanctuary through a cross-tabulation technique of dominant classes of vegetation density. The resulting change trajectories are compared for their relative distance to high-traffic forest entrance points for local users. The results show 28% of the study area undergoing change, though in multiple trajectories, with both increasing and decreasing density of vegetation in discrete patches. Areas of change are shown to be closer to entrance points than areas experiencing no change. The patchiness of change results from complex issues in local enforcement authority for middle and lower-level officials in Forest Department bureaucracy, leading to further questions about the efficacy and impact of use restrictions in Protected Areas.     

Albatross populations in peril: a population trajectory for black-browed albatrosses at south Georgia.

Simulation modeling was used to reconstruct Black-browed Albatross (Diomedea melanophris) population trends. Close approximations to observed data were accomplished by annually varying survival rates, reproductive success, and probabilities of returning to breed given success in previous years. The temporal shift in annual values coincided with the start of longline fishing at South Georgia and potential changes in krill abundance. We used 23 years of demographic data from long-term studies of a breeding colony of this species at Bird Island, South Georgia, to validate our model. When we used annual parameter estimates for survival, reproductive success, and probabilities of returning to breed given success in previous years, our model trajectory closely followed the observed changes in breeding population size over time. Population growth rate was below replacement (lambda < 1) in most years and was most sensitive to changes in adult survival. This supports the recent IUCN uplisting of this species from "Vulnerable" to "Endangered." Comparison of pre-1988 and post-1988 demography (before and after the inception of a longline fishery in the breeding area) reveals a decrease in lambda from 0.963 to 0.910. A life table response experiment (LTRE) showed that this decline in lambda was caused mostly by declines in survival of adults. If 1988-1998 demographic rates are maintained, the model predicts a 98% chance of a population of fewer than 25 pairs within 78 years. For this population to recover to a status under which it could be "delisted," a 10% increase in survival of all age classes would be needed.     

家庭运输和损耗:食物生命周期中与环境有关的家务活动

在对食物生产系统进行环境相关的系统分析中,消费者阶段(家庭运输、烹制、储存和损耗)是整个食物生命周期中对环境产生影响的一个重要因素.然而,家庭是食物链中调查最少的部分.对家庭信息的收集有很多困难,因为家庭数量庞大,同时与食物相关的活动通常会与其它家务劳动活动混合在一起.环境系统分析和消费者研究两领域研究人员相互合作,通过用问卷、日记和采访面谈的方式调查瑞典的家庭,收集了关于家庭食物运输和损耗的数据.每户每周的平均运输距离是28～63km不等,而这主要依靠怎样分配和其它差事相搭配的运输任务.调制食品时的损耗变化范围是0～34%,而不同类型的食品会有所不同.储存的损耗率为0～164%(因为有更多的食物被扔掉,如对食橱的清理,而不是消费).在调制和储存两阶段中奶制品因损耗少而得分最高.