Considering the needs of indigenous and local populations in conservation programs

Local rural and indigenous communities have assumed increasing responsibility for conservation within and between areas buffering the impacts of agricultural or resource‐extraction zones and protected areas. Empowering local communities as central partners in conservation and climate‐change mitigation has allowed many people to gain access to land and citizenship rights but has provided limited improvements in access to social services and economic opportunities even as expectation about their role as environmental stewards grows. These expectations, however, are inconsistent with reality. We conducted multiple field studies in Brazil since the mid‐1980s to illustrate the discrepancies between conservation programs and local conditions and expectations. We suggest that public policies and conservation programs should not delegate responsibility for managing protected areas to local and indigenous communities without considering local needs and expectations and locals’ attitudes toward conservation. In other words, behavior that maintains or improves the environment should not be treated as traditional based on the expectations of outsiders. Framing local populations as traditional environmentalists creates contradictions and frustrations for local populations and for conservation professionals and policy makers.     

Climate change impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa: from physical changes to their social repercussions

Regional Environmental Change - The repercussions of climate change will be felt in various ways throughout both natural and human systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change projections for this...     

Failure rate evaluation with influencing factors

A new methodology for failure rate evaluation with influencing factors is proposed. A quantitative part allows integrating potential available data from feedback. Then, a qualitative analysis deals with influencing factors such as design, environment, and use to provide more coherent and argued results. The main idea is to use some criteria to fix the failure rate within a prior interval, according to the influencing factor states. To this end, the system is broken up into main component groups. When a component group is susceptible to an influencing factor, its baseline failure rate is multiplied by the relevant influencing coefficient. A seven-step methodology is presented to define the model, identify and rate the influencing factors, set indicator functions taking the uncertainties into account, and calculate the influencing coefficients. The proposed methodology is global enough to be usable for a large number of safety instrumented systems and influencing factors. For example, an application regarding safety pressure relief valves is given. The prospect is for more efficient risk management by acting both on systems and influencing factors.     

Greenhouse gas production and efficiency of planted and artificially aerated constructed wetlands

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by constructed wetlands (CWs) could mitigate the environmental benefits of nutrient removal in these man-made ecosystems. We studied the effect of 3 different macrophyte species and artificial aeration on the rates of nitrous oxide (N₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) production in CW mesocosms over three seasons. CW emitted 2-10 times more GHG than natural wetlands. Overall, CH₄ was the most important GHG emitted in unplanted treatments. Oxygen availability through artificial aeration reduced CH₄ fluxes. Plant presence also decreased CH₄ fluxes but favoured CO₂ production. Nitrous oxide had a minor contribution to global warming potential (GWP < 15%). The introduction of oxygen through artificial aeration combined with plant presence, particularly Typha angustifolia, had the overall best performance among the treatments tested in this study, including lowest GWP, greatest nutrient removal, and best hydraulic properties.     

Participatory diagnosis in urban planning: proposal for a learning process based on geographical information

Urban planning involves compromise between the diverse and often contradictory issues supported by the different stakeholders. The literature generally agrees on the need to broaden the participation base to overcome this difficulty. However, participation should not be limited to problem solving, but should also take place in the problem setting phase. This paper proposes a participatory diagnosis process for structuring the problem setting phase. We describe an experiment in a participatory diagnosis conducted with the residents of a Geneva neighborhood. The experiment began by identifying the residents' concerns, which were then reformulated under broader issues. Some 20 spatial indicators were built using GIS tools, and were then applied in a second phase of resident consultations to assess the relative importance of each issue. The ensuing priority issues formed the core of the diagnosis. The approach emphasized comparison between the daily experiences of residents and so-called official information (i.e. census tract, traffic measurement, and so on). The residents were therefore involved in a learning process that allowed them to consolidate or modify their opinions. The process led to the emergence of a clearly defined collective awareness that supplanted individual aspirations.     

Multi-biomarker approach in wild European bullhead, Cottus sp., exposed to agricultural and urban environmental pressures: practical recommendations for experimental design

In freshwater ecosystems, a large number of chemical substances are able to disturb homeostasis of fish by modulating one or more physiological functions including the immune system. The aim of this study was to assess multi-biomarker responses including immunotoxicity induced by urban and agricultural pressure in European bullheads living in a small French river basin. For this purpose, a set of biochemical, immunological, physiological and histological parameters was measured in wild bullheads from five locations characterized by various environmental pressures. Moreover, to address effects of physiological status and contamination level variation on biomarker responses, fish were sampled during three periods (April, July and October). Results revealed a clear impact of environmental pressure on fish health and particularly on immunological status. An increase of EROD activity was recorded between upstream and downstream sites. Upstream sites were also characterized by neurotoxicological effects. Fish exhibited upstream/downstream variations of immunological status but strong differences were observed according to sampling season. Conversely, regarding biochemical and immunological effects, no significant response of physiological indexes was recorded related to environmental pressures. According to these results, the European bullhead appears as a valuable model fish species to assess adverse effects in wildlife due to urban and agricultural pressures.     

Prenatal molecular diagnosis in RASA1-related disease

RASA1-related disease is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by capillary malformations, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and/or arteriovenous fistulas (AFVs). Penetrance is nearly complete and vascular malformations may cause serious complications such as organ injury due to oxygenation disorder, brain abscess, hemorrhage, and stroke. Early diagnosis is useful in order to discuss optimal management, including AVMs/AVFs embolization or surgical procedures, and try to prevent some of the complications. In this context, molecular testing of RASA1 gene mutation in relatives may help to better manage the family. All arteriovenous malformations are however not accessible to such procedures. In addition, these therapeutic procedures may result in potential side effects and complications. A couple was referred to our genetics unit and asked us for prenatal genetic testing about a RASA1 mutation. Here, we discuss about arguments that led our team to accept prenatal testing. To the best of our knowledge, no molecular prenatal diagnosis was reported until now in RASA1-related diseases. This first report of prenatal diagnosis in RASA1-related diseases may also offer perspectives for a more general discussion in the field of inherited arteriovenous malformations.