Community Capacity for Implementing Clean Development Mechanism Projects Within Community Forests in Cameroon

There is a growing assumption that payments for environmental services including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction provide an opportunity for poverty reduction and the enhancement of sustainable development within integrated natural resource management approaches. Yet in experiential terms, community-based natural resource management implementation falls short of expectations in many cases. In this paper, we investigate the asymmetry between community capacity and the Land Use Land Use Change Forestry (LULUCF) provisions of the Clean Development Mechanism within community forests in Cameroon. We use relevant aspects of the Clean Development Mechanism criteria and notions of “community capacity” to elucidate determinants of community capacity needed for CDM implementation within community forests. The main requirements are for community capacity to handle issues of additionality, acceptability, externalities, certification, and community organisation. These community capacity requirements are further used to interpret empirically derived insights on two community forestry cases in Cameroon. While local variations were observed for capacity requirements in each case, community capacity was generally found to be insufficient for meaningful uptake and implementation of Clean Development Mechanism projects. Implications for understanding factors that could inhibit or enhance community capacity for project development are discussed. We also include recommendations for the wider Clean Development Mechanism/Kyoto capacity building framework.     

Perceptions of Prescribed Burning in a Local Forest Community in Victoria, Australia

The general perceptions of prescribed burning were elicited from forest users for an area that has been subject to this form of land management for at least 20 years. The largest group consisted of local residents living in and around the Wombat State Forest with two smaller groups of students from a nearby university campus and local professional land managers. A questionnaire was given to each participant in order to explore how the forest was used, to determine the level of knowledge of burning in the targeted forest and Victoria and the perception of the appearance, effectiveness of protection, and accessibility to the forest after prescribed burning. Generally all groups had similar responses with community members having stronger views on the effectiveness and practicalities of prescribed burning, whereas students were more neutral in their opinions. All participants claimed knowledge of prescribed burning activities within Victoria, but fewer had experience of planned fires in the Wombat State Forest. All groups agreed that areas that had not been recently burned had a better appearance than those that had, but this result may have included a range of value judgments. Land managers had a greater understanding of the ecological importance of season and timing of burning; however, some students and community members were equally knowledgeable. Prescribed burning did not impede access to the forest, nor did smoke from prescribed burns pose any great problem. The majority of the participants felt that the amount of prescribed burning done in the forest was adequate for engendering a feeling of protection to life and property, yet many were still suspicious of this management practice. These initial findings indicate several areas in which further research would be useful including the efficacy of education programs for community members and improved communication of burn plans by land managers.     

Perception and Attitude of Residents Toward Urban Green Spaces in Guangzhou (China)

Fast economic and social changes in recent years in China have brought massive expansion, redevelopment, and restructuring of cities. These changes offer cities the opportunity to improve environmental quality through urban green spaces (UGSs) and to address the challenges of meeting community aspirations. This study explored peoples’ minds concerning UGSs in Guangzhou city in south China in relation to the following: (1) knowledge and perception of 25 ecosystem services and 8 negative impacts; (2) attitude toward site condition and management; (3) expectation of landscape design; and (4) preference ranking of venues. A questionnaire was designed to solicit opinions from 340 respondents randomly chosen from residents living in the study area. The results indicated widespread recognition of ecosystem services and strong support of UGS programs. Negative responses were weakly expressed. Amelioration of urban microclimate and environmental quality were emphasized. Environmental functions stressed in publicity programs, together with aggravating environmental problems in the city, tended to focus respondents’ attention on UGS benefits. Wildlife habitat, species conservation and other natural ecosystem services drew limited concerns. Awareness of economic benefits was very low. Visual-landscape contributions with strong preference for naturalistic design and recreational benefits were highlighted. Compared with other countries, Guangzhou residents were characterized by visual–scenic–recreation orientation and pragmatic–utilitarian perception of UGSs, reflecting underlying differences in the understanding of inherent ecosystem services of green spaces. Relevant UGS policies and practices could adopt the approaches of market survey, citizen participation, and precision planning in order to meet increasingly mature and refined demands. Citizens’ understanding of high-order ecosystem services could be enhanced to encourage appreciation of nature and their associated benefits.     

Effect of copper tolerant Elsholtzia splendens on bacterial community associated with Commelina communis on a copper mine spoil

Facilitation, or positive plant–plant interaction, has received increasing concern from ecologists over the last two decades. Facilitation may occur through direct mitigation of severe environments or indirect mediation by a third participant from the same or different trophic levels. The copper(Cu) tolerant species Elsholtzia splendens facilitates the establishment and growth of co-occurring Commelina communis through indirect enrichment of microbial activity. However, whether and how E. splendens impacts the microbial community that is associated with C. communis is less known. We characterized the soil bacterial community in the rhizosphere of C. communis in the absence and presence of E.splendens using PCR-DGGE(polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and sequencing. The result showed that the richness of the bacterial community increased, but diversity and evenness remained similar, in the presence of E. splendens.Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were the most dominant bacteria. The relative abundance of dominant and minor bacterial groups showed distinctly different responses to E. splendens. Principal component analysis and redundancy analysis indicated that variation of the bacterial community was determined by multiple factors and might be driven by the tested soil parameters collectively, or alternatively changed through plant root exudates or other microorganisms. Our results enhance the understanding of how the bacterial community associated with a beneficiary plant responds to a benefactor plant and suggests that the changes of bacterial community composition may have far-reaching influence on plant–soil feedback and the aboveground plant community in the long run.     

Land Management in the American Southwest: A State-and-Transition Approach to Ecosystem Complexity

State-and-transition models are increasingly being used to guide rangeland management. These models provide a relatively simple, management-oriented way to classify land condition (state) and to describe the factors that might cause a shift to another state (a transition). There are many formulations of state-and-transition models in the literature. The version we endorse does not adhere to any particular generalities about ecosystem dynamics, but it includes consideration of several kinds of dynamics and management response to them. In contrast to previous uses of state-and-transition models, we propose that models can, at present, be most effectively used to specify and qualitatively compare the relative benefits and potential risks of different management actions (e.g., fire and grazing) and other factors (e.g., invasive species and climate change) on specified areas of land. High spatial and temporal variability and complex interactions preclude the meaningful use of general quantitative models. Forecasts can be made on a case-by-case basis by interpreting qualitative and quantitative indicators, historical data, and spatially structured monitoring data based on conceptual models. We illustrate how science- based conceptual models are created using several rangeland examples that vary in complexity. In doing so, we illustrate the implications of designating plant communities and states in models, accounting for varying scales of pattern in vegetation and soils, interpreting the presence of plant communities on different soils and dealing with our uncertainty about how those communities were assembled and how they will change in the future. We conclude with observations about how models have helped to improve management decision-making.     

Women and community water supply programmes: An analysis from a socio-cultural perspective

Community water supply programmes are seen as instrumental in achieving the goal of ‘safe’ water for all. Women, a principal target group of these programmes, are to be benefited with greater convenience, enhanced socio‐cultural opportunities and better health for themselves and their families, provided through improved water facilities. Water supply programmes largely consist of three essential components, namely: technology, people and institutions. Although such programmes are intended to benefit women members of local communities, scant attention is paid to the impacts of the socio‐cultural context of the community on these programmes. This article explores the influence of social and cultural intricacies on the implementation of community water supply programmes, and assesses their effectiveness. The article offers important lessons for the design and implementation of this type of programme. It concludes that the local socio‐cultural context sets the stage for programme implementation, being a dynamic factor that determines actual access to water sources, more so than mere physical availability, which is often used as a criterion for programme performance. The article stresses the urgent need to integrate socio‐cultural factors as a fourth dimension in designing community water supply programmes, and suggests practical measures for enhancing the effectiveness of such programmes.     

农村纪念性景园的生态环境保护探讨——以朱德故居纪念园为例

以朱德故居纪念园的环境保护规划为实例，分析了朱德故居纪念园在旅游开发中面临的生态环境问题：旅游基础设施建设的负面影响，旅游活动引起的环境恶化，当地社会经济发展的压力，忽视人文生态保护。提出了针对农村纪念性景园旅游开发中生态环境治理和建设的综合性保护对策。     

Long- and short-chain AHLs affect AOA and AOB microbial community composition and ammonia oxidation rate in activated sludge

Quorum sensing (QS) regulation of the composition of ammonia-oxidising archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) communities and functions in wastewater treatment was investigated. Specifically, we explored the role of N-acyl-l-homoserine lactones (AHLs) in microbial community dynamics in activated sludge. On average, the specific ammonia-oxidising-rate increased from 1.6 to 2.8?mg?NH₄⁺-N/g?MLSS/hr after treatment with long-chain AHLs for 16?days, and the addition of AHLs to sludge resulted in an increased number of AOA/AOB amoA genes. Significant differences were observed in the AOA communities of control and AHL-treated cultures, but not the AOB community. Furthermore, the dominant functional AOA strains of the Crenarchaeota altered their ecological niche in response to AHL addition. These results provide evidence that AHLs play an important role in mediating AOA/AOB microbial community parameters and demonstrate the potential for application of QS to the regulation of nitrogen compound metabolism in wastewater treatment.     

山地可持续人居环境初探

传统的山地人居环境是建立在传统的农业社会经济、文化基础之上的对自然环境的被动式生态适应，缺少居安安全性、便捷性、舒适性等生活基本保证。现代山地人居环境将以现代生态学为指导，突破山地特殊生态特性对人类的制约，实现人与山地自然和谐共生，满足社区居民物质和精神双重层次的需求，从而真正成为可持续发展的人居环境。     

From place to emplacement: the scalar politics of sustainability

ABSTRACT

Sustainability has emerged as a central concept for discussing the current state of the human-environment system and planning for its future. To delve into the depths of sustainability means to talk about ecology, economy, and equity as fundamentally interconnected. However, each continues to be colonised by normative epistemologies of ecological sciences, neoclassical economics, and development, suggesting that with enough science and development, a more equitable sustainability is achievable. In our analysis, place emerges as an alternative epistemology through which to analyze sustainability. Place exists at multiple spatial and temporal scales, understood through direct observation of boundaries, processes and patterns, phenomenologically through individual experience, and as a complex hybrid: always emerging through interactions among individuals and institutions. Despite the ubiquity of place in the socio-ecological literature, the complexity of place in relation to sustainability is under-theorised, and in as much as sustainability happens or does not happen in real places rather than in policies and models, a place-based sustainability framework is necessary to move forward. To address this gap, we developed the emplacement framework, consisting of four domains: displacement, misplacement, replacement, and emplacement. Each domain is dynamic, constructing place as praxis, and reframing sustainability as a site of collective inquiry and choices. Our goal is to facilitate the active and on-going practices of place-based research and engagement among scholars, activists, and other community members by providing a structure for transdisciplinary dialogue and the application of transdisciplinary research to enable better decision-making.